Tough Day in the home office.

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So mid last year after being on furlough (job retention scheme here in the UK) for months and my job security going down the pan every week. I decided to take the plunge to start a small e-commerce store (like 100’s others) with the plan slowly grow it over the years. The idea not to expect any wage and put 100% revenue back into the company to help it grow.

So I set the launch of the store going live for Vivid Voltage release giving me a few months to create a company, build a website, get trade accounts, grow social media etc.

Started off great a lot better than I expected honestly ( mainly down to the Pokemon hype at the moment) but everything was selling good, Yu-Gi-Oh, accessories etc. Was actually getting up in the morning with a huge small knowing that I was getting up to pack parcels and hopefully pretty smiles on peoples faces during this bleak time.

Honestly, at first, I didn’t think it would give me that much satisfaction just shifting new product but then I started receiving positive reviews and returning customers. Honestly, the best feeling I’ve ever felt working and really changed my mindset on my future. Mindset if I put in the work, money and time this could be my living in the next year or two.

Fast forward today… back to the 9-5. Lockdown 3.0 here in the UK we joking call it here. Work trying to squeeze every ounce of time, energy and effort out of me. Like it’s my fault that I haven’t been working for the past year nearly and reminded daily if I don’t put in the hard work I probably won’t have a job when the job retention scheme ends. Honestly giving my 100% for this company.

Anyway, I come home late again after putting in more unpaid hours. Nuke another microwavable meal just to make sure that the lasagne isn’t frozen in the middle like it has been the previous two nights. Open up my emails to find a dozen annoyed, angry emails from customers. Something I wasn’t expecting or had before but I knew someday I would get an unhappy customer but I would do my best to help.

But I wasn’t expecting these and I’m feeling like all my hard effort I’ve put in over the last 6 months is coming undone all at once. Some of the highlights:

One customer unhappy with the pulls and wants a refund else I’ll get a bad review

One customer unhappy that their parcel arrived early

Two parcels have gone missing with the courier

One parcel was left on the door matt of a busy main road and has gone missing

One parcel looks like it had been left out in the rain overnight and looks like a right off

But the most disheartened one so far and the one I starred at for more than 30 minutes debating whether to cry, laugh or just pack it all in and go back to my miserable job.

Claims that I have opened these new Alakazam V boxes and resealed the boxes and packs. That’s the one that hurts the most knowing they will receive a Trustpilot email soon. After the huge essay of a complaint and no photo evidence. I know I can expect that 1-star review to come.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story.

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Feels bad man, good luck, I’m sure things will pick up again.

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I’m sorry man, thats pretty rough. Hopefully things get better

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@danetime,

Keep your head up and persevere! I’m sorry to hear the struggles that seem to be non-stop coming at you. To try to combat it, I think you can take these instances as opportunities to learn how to better protect yourself and your business while you’re first starting out and find creative ways to better fulfill the needs of your customers as you continue to grow.

Hope to hear good news update soon for you!

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Hey man,

Keep your head up, I’ve been in similar situations where it feels like everything is going wrong, then you get a glimmer of hope and you get shot right back down again.

If I was you I would sit down and evaluate your goals in terms of career, side hustle/hobby and generally what you want to do in life. Ive been in positions where ive had a job i thought would be amazing only for it to be the worst period of my life ever, compounded with 2-3 hours of commuting a day, feeling like your wasting time, was genuinely awful and felt like there was no way out.

The best thing I did was to cut out as many negatives I could out of my environment bit by bit, the career is often the biggest impact you can make as it takes so much of your time, if you nail that, everything else will fall into place.

Dont worry about the negatives on the Pokemon Card selling side, a lot of us have been in that situation but you learn to take hits and become stronger because of it.

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That sounds like a tough day indeed, sorry all this is coming at you at once.

Just keep at it and remember that hardships exist to make us stronger, smarter, and more resilient. Things will look up sooner or later and you’ll be in a stronger position mentally once you overcome these temporary setbacks. Don’t give up!

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I hate that, when you tap the outer part of the lasagne and it’s really really hot and you push your finger through a tiny bit and it’s still hot. So you take it out of the microwave and go to eat it, but there is about a cubic inch of frozen coldness right in the middle that ruins a perfectly good meal.

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@danetime , I can’t help you with the angry customers or problems at work, but I definitely have had stressful days the last few months. What always helped me is to go for an evening walk. Leave your phone at home, don’t set a route, and just walk for half an hour or more to clear your mind and to get some fresh evening air. After you get home, don’t spend a minute on work, but get a good, long night’s sleep instead. I am sure you’ll feel better in the morning.

Things will get better. Head up. Tomorrow is a new day. :blush:

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“One customer unhappy that their parcel arrived early”

This person can fuck all the way off.

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Sounds tough, what are your margins on reselling booster boxes of you don’t mind me asking?

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Jeez this sounds rough but keep your chin up. It’s not about how hard you hit but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. We all have bad days so there can be better ones after.

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Wicked sorry to hear that. To have all of those happen all at once would put anyone over the edge of a good cry sesh. Do what you need to for yourself and know that, this too will pass. You got this.

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The customer is not always right.

Buck up, buddy. Sorry going’s been rough. Shitty people have created a very shitty situation and there have been many victims of it, some more affected than others–you it seems especially so. In times like these, it’s good to be able to fall back on other things to cheer you up. Do you like who you are? Are you a good person who does good things? Got a girlfriend or wife? Good friends? In good shape? Healthy? Not that you need all of those to be happy right now–just good things to think about and be thankful for in rough times like these, and if you don’t have those things then the pursuit of those things will bring you a more stable and satisfactory life:)

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Oh man, that’s incredibly unfortunate and I’m sorry for the situation you’re in. One thing sticks out to me though: despite the hardship you’ve endured, you still seem to have a calm, level head on your shoulders. That collected mindset is what will carry you through this.

I’m not sure if you responded to the customers yet, but some of their concerns weren’t your fault, and you should (politely) tell them that. Package arrived too early? Sorry dear customer, take up that issue with the post. Pulls were terrible? Dang bro, that’s part of the gamble, we can’t all be winners. Packs resealed? Proof please! Carrier-lost packages is definitely just a loss if it’s true, I’m assuming you have tracking on each package so you would know if it was actually lost. The tricky ones are the package theft and water damage, it could go either way because you can only ensure the product arrives at their house - if they want it, they should be there or have someone get it, it’s not your fault they weren’t prepared. Perhaps their shipping came with insurance? Maybe they can take their issues up with the post. If they paid for shipping on their end, technically they own the package and its contents once it leaves your possession. Just things to consider.

I’m unaware of how your review system works, but if you can publicly respond to illegitimate/exaggerated reviews, definitely do that. It’s clear your intentions are well, so make it known!

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I am sorry to hear that, I have had several hard days in the last weeks due to not being able to anything apart from being home. For you being fucked so hard by customers when you are trying your best is honestly heartbreaking. I cant imagine the stress that comes from these customers when you are dependent on them for your income. It is hard in the lockdown but try to talk about your struggles in real life too if you have the possibility. It helped me the past few days myself. It will help to have times on your day when you are not thinking about work, like taking a walk in the evening and then maybe watch something on tv before going to bed. It is important to not think about work during this, that helped me with my stress.

Times will be better! Keep your head up❤️

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Thanks for all your support and kind words I took the time and read them all your comments. Woke up this morning not really wanting to get up and face the world. However checked my emails and seen that I had a Trustpilot review… My heart sank.

But was a great review and I’m over the moon that this person went out there way to right quite a detailed review. It’s like somebody knew I had a terrible day. That review was the motivation to get and crack on with the day. Chasing couriers, emailing customers and working more on my website. Even had time to go and replace those microwave meals with slightly heathier options… I’m a sucker for cheese.

@powolski , funny you suggested that. That’s exactly what I did… minus the phone would be lost with that. Then got an early night of youtube Haribo and wine.

@0ean , all depends on what set really. Vivid Voltage at one point was 35% but I really like don’t selling them for full price as I believe that’s the reason why collectors should buy booster boxes is to save money as there isn’t a RRP (MSRP I think those across the pond call it) for booster boxes. Other set’s its as low as 10% like Rebel Clash.

I’ve started holding back on selling everything at once because the getting sealed product from suppliers is like a Russian trying to get a rifle before heading to the front. It’s actually so bad that the UK only official distributor have stopped taking new accounts. I got in just before the change in policy… something I still grateful that I started when I did.

Also I love waiting for “scalpers” or “flippers” to post booster boxes for over £180 in Facebook groups and then I create a post directly after pointing them to my website for the same product. Releasing hold stock back for under or around RRP/MSRP. Then waiting for them to get shirty with me… a personally joy of mine. Also find it a great way to build a client base.

@enigma, emailed them all this morning trying I’m best understand there complaints more and to see if I could improve areas my end.

Customer that complained there parcel arrived early. I now understand he swapped shifts at work so he could be home for the parcel. Has some bad neighbours and worried one of those would end up with it.

Customer that complained about wet parcel ended up keeping the Alakazam V Box and pulled a rainbow rare Pikachu (wish he sent it back now :grin: ) but will send him a replacement jumbo card for the damaged one. Luckily everything else okay.

Customer that complain about the me resealing the box believes that there was too much glue on the box and was slowly coming away. After checking other boxes I can see a few others where the glue hasn’t sealed correctly. Guess quality control isn’t Pokémon biggest concern at the moment. Seen how many Charizard promos have crimps on them lately? but given that plus poor pulls does make it look sus.

Missing parcel I now believe the courier jumped the gun and said it was delivered ( Sub contracted couriers only get paid for parcels delivered). Hopefully gets there today.

Again thanks for taking the time to hear my story!

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It’s great to hear today has been a better day! If I lived in the UK I would definitely place orders with you. Looking forward to your future success!

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First and foremost, I give you props for being open minded and recognizing that something isn’t making you happy, even if its something normalized by society.

Second, I give props for the fact that you shifted from a 9-5 into an entrepreneur. I actually have had similar goals such as yours, creating a stream of income that doesn’t involve working my 9-5. It’s incredibly hard to accomplish, but when you get over the hump and through the lows, I have high hopes that it’s worth it. You’re always going to go through unnecessary losses like this, with dishonest people exist in our messed up world. Just remember that those dishonest buyers probably don’t have the entrepreneur skills or web design skills that you have, and thus they prove their lack of character to people like you trying to make an honest living.

If you can make it through the downs of entrepreneurship, you’ll be able to experience the ups of entrepreneurship. And I think that what you are mentioning is all normal activity experienced by businesses. I actually just got off of chat with an eBay rep because buyers and sellers on eBay have new schemes where they purchase from you, and delete their accounts once you ship their item, or they’ll delete their accounts once you purchase items from them.

Keep grinding with your eCommerce, I love to see it, and if you don’t mind, link it, some E4 members may visit your site :blush:

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Hey dude,

Sorry you had a tough day. Just from a veteran full-time Pokemon guy, I did want to point out a couple things, though.

  1. This is 100% the reality of people in the hobby. Everything that you enjoyed as a hobbyist gets flipped upside-down when you make this your job. You are no longer just chilling with friends. You are instead providing the products that they care the most about in the world. This is probably all they think about. Which means they’re going to be more emotional, more dramatic, quicker to anger, and have higher expectations than anything else. Every moment feels like an eon when they’re waiting on you and they will make that your problem.

  2. You are stepping into an arena that is more competitive than a traditional job. Especially during this time. The barriers to entry are incredibly low and that means that it is cut-throat on margins and client expectations. You have to be perfect every single time. Otherwise, the next guy is just going to fill in your place.

  3. Make sure that you find a way to toughen up your skin if you continue to do this. This is not your last day like this. The opposite is true. You will face more and more days like this. If you can’t find a way to separate out what your clients are saying/doing from who you are and your satisfaction with what you are doing, you will get eaten alive. A lot of veterans get criticized for a “holier than thou” attitude, but it’s actually just that survival in this game requires that shit doesn’t stick.

If you take this time to be reflective, you’re going to do yourself a lifetime of favors. Make 100% certain that you want to trade the emotional experience you’ve had with the hobby thus far for the realities of being a dealer. It’s a one-way street. If you decide that you do want to buckle down and make that exchange, start critiquing your process. Why should they buy from you? Working hard and being honest isn’t unique. It’s the minimum requirement. That’s the starting point and you have to find edges, build advantages, and sacrifice more than the next guy. How do you handle when they’re mad? What is your customer service doing that the next guy isn’t? How are you making sure that you aren’t being consumed by your customers? They’re going to want more time than the margin justifies. They’re going to want more care than they’re paying for. They’re going to be unreasonable, unwieldy, and quick to forget everything you feel you’ve done for them. What’s your gameplan for when they happens?

If you’re smarter than the next guy, you’ve got this. This is day one in developing that hate yourself muscle where you wake up every day unaffected and with a plan. You’re feeling hurt because you’re still new and soft. Embrace that and use it to get stronger. Remember how bad today felt and make sure that you go a direction that makes tomorrow better.

Just some love from me. And I hope you see my heart in it.

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Now that you’ve just read @funmonkey54 's post above this one, read it again.
It’s golden information/advice.

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