Mid-November Shop Updaes!

Welcome friends! I'm back at it with another round of shop updates. The last few months have been extraordinarily busy (both here,with school, and my "day" jobs). I've been working hard behind the scenes to make sure the shop is growing at a sustainable pace. 

Shipping

Shipping is very, very tricky. It's something that I've been tweaking here and there over the last two years as I learn more about it. With holiday shipping increases and sending some products from my home and some products from my apparel partners, I realized that my current shipping model ($3.50 flat rate across the board) was not cutting it. I could increase my prices across all items, or, adjust the shipping cost. It's always a hard call, as you never really know what will work out better in the end.

• Stickers, keychains, small items send from my home will have three shipping options (if ordered alone!) they are:
• $1 flat-rate untracked shipping
• $3 flat-rate tracked shipping
• Priority Mail Express (1-3 day)
• Apparel + mugs, custom items:
• $3.50 flat-rate

Ordering a mixed order with both types of items will combine the standard tracked flat-rate shipping for both ($6.50)

As annoying as these changes may be to some, they will allow me to keep pricing my products fairly while still continuing to grow sustainably.

Sustainability

Y'all, I really hate being wasteful. The fact is though, every time I place an order for a batch of stickers, keychains, etc. I always end up with quite a few that aren't really perfect. Not bad, just...not perfect. And of course when you buy something from a shop, you should expect perfection.

I've decided to add grades to some of my products, for those who don't mind a few minor scratches or scuffs at a reduced price. I've also introduced these adorably named "Oops!" mystery sticker packs that include a random assortment of perfectly good stickers with minor imperfections.

Rewards

This is a fun one!! I've added a rewards program to my shop for my frequent-flyers. This is the perfect way for me to say thanks to you all for your support of me. You can earn points (or Stars, as my logo has stars) for signing up, having a birthday, joining my email list, and spending money. Unlike my Starbucks Stars, these Stars expire after two long years (I'm not mad or anything).

I've also had folks ask me about an ambassador program. While I'd love to have one, I really just don't have the time to spend on organizing one. I also feel like I still have a way to go to truly stabilize my shop and don't want to be too ambitious in my approach. However, the great thing about Stars, is that you can also earn them by referring friends to Pa'lante with your own personal code. You both earn $20 worth of points when your friend completes their purchase. Woo!

Sign up/track your points by selecting the star icon on the bottom left of your screen while browsing the shop.

Growth