Quality Rant + Shop Announcement :-)

When starting this creative side hassle I was well aware that it wouldn't be as glamorous as some make it appear in their idyllic studio vlogs on youtube hehe. Makes me wonder if it's just my bad luck/incompetence or if the others mostly keep their frustrations private.

A few of weeks ago my bookkeeper asked me to count all inventory to determine how many sticker sheets were still on hand, if there were any damaged pieces etc. And oh what an eye-opener that was…

While counting I came across a serious number of issues many of which appeared to be production-related. Unfortunately it was too late to claim anything as several months have passed since the stickers had been delivered. Still I sent a few back to the printing house for analysis and luckily they agreed to replace a significant number of stickers, for which I’m extremely grateful! (Even after quality issues these folks remain the only supplier I can trust with the stickers (I’ll probably explain why in one of the future posts hehe))

I must admit it was largely my oversight. When my stickers arrived from the printing house I accepted them all without checking as everything looked fabulous on the surface! I didn’t count or examine every single item because I had confidence in the company as it has been praised (and generally rightfully so!) by many people whose opinion I trust. But that was my mistake. I should have gone through the whole delivery to know it for myself :) 

The irony of the situation is that my full-time job is in corporate quality assurance and I know how important it is to perform incoming inspection when goods arrive at a warehouse or manufacturing plant for further processing. This is truly embarrassing actually xD I wonder if any of my colleagues ever read this and laugh at me next time I’m auditing them, for not practicing what I preach haha. Oh well, yet another lesson learned the hard way I guess :-)

So, while quite a few faulty sticker sheets have been replaced, I still have a bunch with some imperfections like light creases and damaged backing sheets. It would be a shame to throw them away as most of the issues barely impact the stickers themselves, so I though it would be okay to offer them at a lower price on Etsy. So yeah, if you’re looking for a bargain and can live with minor defects - check out my shop.