I had put my online store, Addicted Geeks, into “pause and build” mode for two months to save some money and take a break. I have wanted my own business for many years, but I would certainly prefer a brick-and-mortar location with a website for extra sales over a full e-commerce business. Sadly, my only affordable option right now is e-commerce, with an occasional local event now and then that lets me interact with customers.
One of my biggest issues with having an online store is the amount of spam my business email address gets. I don’t know why people think it’s okay to spam a business, or really anyone in general. No business is going to say “hmm, I really need someone to redo my website, so I’ll just go with this random person who emailed me.” I do nearly everything myself, mainly because I cannot afford to pay someone, so I’m the one going through all the emails and getting agitated. I wish I could afford to have someone help, especially when it comes to marketing…because I hate that stuff.
Really though, the thing I hate the most is that people are more likely to be rude over the internet versus in person. We see this with online bullying in schools today. I remember high school—I was bullied a lot back then. I cannot imagine not being able to get completely away from it, but I also cannot imagine living my childhood and teenage years through social media and missing out on so much in the real world.
Let’s be honest, it’s a lot easier to be mean when you aren’t directly looking the person in the eye. Hell, my boss at Joann would do this—I noticed she would be more open to ideas and more friendly in person versus through emails. If she wanted to berate me, it was almost always an email. If she wanted to order me to do something, email. If she wanted something completed, but was open on how it was done, she would visit.
I have never been this type of person—a coward always hiding behind a keyboard. Maybe I’m a little more aggressive behind a keyboard, but because there is no one to debate, and the best conversations happened through an intelligent debate. Still, what I say in writing I am likely to say in person if people would listen, but they don’t, so I write. It’s how I get out my frustrations, and, believe me, much of what I write, including my books, has come from real-life conversations, arguments, and life experiences.
I might be harsher in a review online versus telling the manufacturer or business in person, but that’s because it’s a review. If I’m talking to you in person, I’m probably going to provide feedback and you are going to reply, creating a conversation. I’m usually only harsh if a business shown terrible service repeatedly over time. Everyone has bad days, but if you are rude each time, it’s going to come back to bite you.
Lately, businesses want to make more excuses than solve the problem. That’s actually why I abruptly left 5th Avenue Animal Hospital. I reviewed them on Google after multiple rude interactions with the office staff, then one of the vets proceeded to make excuses for their behavior while I was there with a sick cat. Yes, because the best time to tell a customer that they should accept subpar standards for the same price (or more, since their fees keep going up) and be happy about it is when they are already stressed and worried. In the end, I did edit my review, but not the way they wanted.
Over the holiday season, I had someone accuse my company of selling black market goods. Now, when I purchased the item in question, it was from the same seller from which I had bought other items. These were toys that looked like they were from the company that sells them in big bulk (which I could not afford), and they were still pretty cool regardless. Unfortunately, the quality of later purchases from the same seller were not the same, so I had put them on clearance with a disclaimer in the listing. One customer purchased two and then sent me a nasty email, accusing me as if I was trying to rip her off.
My business is focused on geeks. Why? Because when Toys R Us was beginning to close stores, I wondered where I would buy the toys I liked to collect. Where would I get stuffed animals and action figures? I don’t shop at Walmart, and Target’s toy section sucks, so that basically leaves GameStop…yuck. Then I thought “what if I made a store that carried what I love?” That is literally how Addicted Geeks was born.
I can’t buy from big name brands like Hasbro or Mattel. I can’t even buy from Wizards of the Coast because I don’t have a physical store. I can buy from small businesses that carry unique items that are not found many places. I can buy from individual sellers looking to sell collectibles and random items. I can buy from various sellers in China, some of which have pretty cool stuff that is of nice quality, like the plush dinosaur backpacks I bought.
When I started Addicted Geeks, it was a PC repair business with a selection of dropshipped goods on the website. But people don’t want to pay for PC repair—the number of times I heard “I can just buy a new one” when I tell them I charge $25 upfront. Where are you getting a new laptop for $25? Cut me in on that deal! Dropshipping was not for me, and certainly not right for my brand. If the quality isn’t something I would want for myself, I don’t want to sell it, so I started keeping a small inventory on hand. Now I ship most items myself, with only t-shirts and some mugs dropshipping from suppliers. Anything that does dropship, I have personally checked the quality before listing the item.
But back to that customer and the “black market” goods. Rather than contact me about concerns over quality—which people have done before with various items that I no longer carry—the customer in question flat out accused me of trying to rip her off. That was a harsh blow. I built this business for people like me: people who love toys and fun stuff. I built this business in the hopes that someday kids can come to my store and feel a fraction of the joy I felt when I would visit Toys R Us. I certainly did not build this business to rip people off, and certainly not to make money on subpar products.
This is where brick-and-mortar wins: being able to actually see and feel an item. I have several items that just do not look as good as pictures on a website, and cheaper items that maybe look better. I had one item I was iffy on, and after the only customer who bought it wanted to return it, I pulled that item. It was a Legend of Zelda necklace that was only $5, but I was hesitant to even list it. I should have trusted my gut and stuck to my principles: if I wouldn’t buy it, don’t sell it. The toys the black-market customer complained about did not fit that criteria—I bought at least five from Addicted Geeks for myself.
Addicted Geeks is about to enter it’s third year and has yet to turn an annual profit. That’s what a startup business is in the beginning: it’s a lot of work with no profit. You put everything you can into it because it’s what you want to do, not because you want to get rich. Maybe you’ll be a success, maybe you won’t. It’s even harder when you come from a low-income family, but I knew I had to try.
The truth is some customers make me want to close it for good. I’ve worked retail a long time and most customers are friendly people. It’s the ones who think they are entitled that make me want to sell the brand and all the data to someone else and hide in my house to write. People like the woman at the local mall event who blocked my table, repeatedly telling me she had no money to buy anything while her kid kept knocking things over and touching everything. People who think businesses should sell everything super cheap because that’s what Walmart and Amazon do. People who think running a business is super easy and you just create product listing or price items in a store and walk away.
If I could make a living writing, I would do that over trying to keep an e-commerce business running. I hate all of the details of e-commerce and avoid extensive marketing like the plague…like COVID-19. I continue in the hopes that this year will be the year Addicted Geeks makes the tiniest profit. We were much closer last year than the year before. And, when we do make that profit, we are one step closer to a brick-and-mortar store, which is the business I really want.
For now, I continue because, realistically, what else am I going to do with my inventory of toys, accessories, and various random items?