Open Letter to the Community
This will be long, I apologise. I’ve been meaning to make this post for awhile now, and I think now is as good a time as any. Many people don’t really know me, but I’ve been around for awhile in the community (my “how to buy from rakuten” post is going around again, I saw). I’ve seen it change and grow, and I love that it’s growing. There are more people to connect with, more people to share joys of alpacasso with, art friends, forums, etc. It’s amazing!
But with a bigger community comes a larger amount of people, obviously, and problems can easily arise. This is not a call out post, first and foremost. This is honestly just a gentle reminder.
As the buying and collecting community grows, so does the selling community. I cannot stress enough that sellers are people too, and most of the time they sell only as a hobby– just like the people that collect as a hobby. Sellers are not robots. They are humans. They are people. Often times, they are only one person and they have other responsibilities in their lives. If you think they possibly lost your email or forgot, send another one and gently remind them. Apologise, repeat yourself, say thank you, and wait again.
Please, be nice to your sellers. Be kind, say please and thank you, use your manners, and don’t expect them to respond to you 24/7 and around the clock. Again, they have lives that do not entirely center around replying to angry emails.
Contrary to popular belief, the customer is not always right– but no matter how mean you are to a seller, they are obligated to be nice to you, and trust me when I say that it’s very hard to be kind to angry or rude people. I worked in the government for years, I have experience with irate people (I was screamed at, demeaned, and accused of murdering babies before– I have a badge of honour!).
But sellers (especially well-known ones) are so often held to a very high standard that the moment they’re “rude,” their reputation could crumble. They shouldn’t have to lie back and take it, but they do, and that’s hardly fair. If you’re nice to your cashiers, why not be nice to your sellers? And if you aren’t nice to your cashiers, you should be. It makes everyone’s days go better. More flies with honey than vinegar, as the saying goes.
If you make a good impression on someone, they will remember you in a better light obviously than if you are incredibly mean to them. They’ll remember that, I assure you, and it could end up that they will not sell to you anymore. Am I saying be incredibly fakely nice? No, of course not— but basic manners are not a lost endeavor! Please, be kind and courteous, and they will return the favour.
Really. It’s not that hard to be nice to the community in general. If someone is wrong, why correct them nastily? Why condemn someone for accidentally buying a bootleg/bootie, or buying one just because they liked it? It doesn’t take much to be kind to everyone, especially people who are just starting out collecting.
Sometimes, sellers and collectors overlap. Don’t shame anyone for what prices they set or chose to sell as. Collecting, whether we all want to admit it or not, is a competitive hobby. The more people in a community there are, the more competitive it can end up. Alpacas that used to go for 50$ can turn into 150$ or more, because of supply and demand. I talked about this on a different post, but it bears repeating.
Honestly, nobody is happy that prices are raising. Supply and demand is a monster, but it happens in a large community with a competitive hobby at the heart of it. Take the blue macaron– a very sought after alpaca that hardly shows up in any size.
When I begun the community, there was an unwritten “rule” that 1$ = 1cm, generally. As of now, that is not so much the case. That is what happens though– a community grows not only in people, but it grows and evolves in methods and processes.
Now, with that in mind, a blue macaron should go for 45-55$ by the end of it all. Yet, they can easily go upwards of 100$ to even 250$ or so– especially when bidding comes into the picture. However, if that person then sells the alpaca they bought, they might want their money back give or take. This particular hypothetical alpaca still has all its tags and is not dirty, so it’s “mint” by community standards. It retains its value, so it sells for the same amount sans… let’s say, 50$. They haggled.
The next person that buys it intends to keep the alpaca, so they cut the tags off and toss them. The value depreciates slightly. Later on, this person decides to sell for whatever reason. Without the tag, a vehement collector wants a better discount. More haggling, and the alpaca drops to 150$.
This could go on and on. Yet, at the same time, perhaps there’s another blue macaron that sells for 80$, with tags. Endless opportunities.
Patience is an absolute virtue when collecting, and it makes the hunt worth it usually. I won’t tell you how to collect or how to price. That is not my business nor my place. I will end this before it gets too long, although I’m sure I forgot some things I intended to say.
But, I can only plead for everyone to get along and for everyone to take a moment and please remember that there’s people behind the screens. The single person replying to your email took time out of their schedule to answer your question nicely. Mind your manners and thank them. Appreciate their hard work that they do for you and because they love alpacasso as much as you do.
That’s what makes us a community: our love for these adorable UFO plush toys. Thank you for reading.
