sometimes thrifting is the ultimate head-scratcher. will it sell? will anyone else see it the same way i do? i passed this chair up once... it was only $2. and it just sold on etsy for $145. umm, whoops.
however, i happen to know there was a very good reason i passed it up. i think a tupperware bowl might have been sturdier than this chair. and i don't really want to pass that on to my customers.
it's very difficult to present both an accurate and a flattering picture. i'd hate to think of anyone disappointed in a purchase from my shop. even late packages make me worry late into the night. so, should i have picked up the chair? or was i right to leave it? what would you have done?
{i would love to credit the picture, which i think is lovely, but don't want to badmouth the shop, which i also think quite highly of. another moral dilemma. i suppose if you must peek, click here.}
I don't think you screwed up. I hear ya on the head-scratching, though. I'm relatively new to the game, and it can be a mind-bender. I'm unclear on whether that exact [wobbly] chair that you saw is the one that sold... but in any event, the last thing you want is someone unhappy with a purchase from your shop. I think in these cases, you just have to go with your gut. I would have left a wobbly chair, too.
ReplyDeletethere are two separate chairs, but they would be identical. my issue wasn't with a defect in the chair (such as a wobble) but the fact that the plastic itself was incredibly flimsy. it flexed easily when i went to pick up the chair. and that just will not show in a picture.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely go with your gut. and it's ok to cry about it later too.
ReplyDeletei have passed up a number of things because i felt the buyer, like myself, would probably be disappointed in the quality of the purchase. i guess maybe ask your self what the chair, flaws and all, is worth to YOU. maybe you don't charge 145.00, but instead 50.00.
or maybe it's just poor design and was only worth the 2.00 to begin with.
Ah. I understand much better now. And if you'd rather sit in a Tupperware bowl, that isn't a good sign. I think you did good. (Of course, if you explain that Tupperware might be sturdier material to sit in, and people want to buy it anyway, I suppose that is their choice...)
ReplyDeleteI had to smile at your post, because I recently had a bit of an ordeal acquiring a very similar orange chair from Craigslist. When it finally made it off the ferry and to our front door, I was soooo disappointed to see how flimsy it was. Visions of my childhood tupperware did actually come to mind!
ReplyDeleteIt went promptly into the garden, where it now provides an inexpensive splash of color whenever I look out the window. I guess the moral of my story is that wobbly plastic chairs are not always ideal for online shop inventory, but they can make great plant stands ;)
Seriously, though- your customers will appreciate your integrity-- It makes a real difference.
Loving your shop more every day!