#trying to do my best

[phylogenyunlimited]

On Chargebacks

So those who are following me know that I'm the staff person at Museum of the Earth who designed the Paleozoic Pals and who is responsible for shipping the thousands of orders we received in response to a viral news article in January.

We received over 2000 orders (we got 1600 through the entirety of calendar year 2024, for context) and I have been doing pretty much nothing but shipping since January 14th. So far, I've shipped 1653 orders, and there are 395 more left to go. Many of those remaining orders were placed in January. I've been living, sleeping, and breathing the shipping of packages for over a month now, while my other responsibilities are falling by the wayside as I attempt to get these orders under control. And we're down to the hundreds now, so it feels like the goal is within reach.

While it does give me the warm fuzzies that so many people wanted to support us, what does not give me the warm fuzzies is the constant barrage of angry emails I am fielding every single day from irate customers demanding to know why I haven't shipped their items yet. If you visit our website, you'll see the banner explaining our backlog. If you're emailing me, you probably visited our website. So please, know that I am doing everything I can to get your orders out as fast as I can, but I am not a superhuman. There is only so much I am capable of.

But all that aside, what really, really frustrates me is when a customer, having not even tried to contact us regarding their order, initiates a credit card chargeback.

Here is the thing about chargebacks. You may think they're super convenient. The credit card company refunds you, and you don't have to go out of your way to get in touch with whoever you purchased from. But what you may not realize is that in addition to refunding you, the card company also charges a fee to the company they're pulling money back from. In this case, the fee we received on the chargebacked order was almost the same value as the order itself.

Companies can dispute chargebacks in theory. You can submit evidence that you provided the product or service, for example. It doesn't matter if you do that or not - the bank will side with the customer anyway, and the process takes 60 days. So you wait 60 days to see if your money will be refunded, and then it isn't. One time we had a patron submit a chargeback on their museum tickets because they didn't enjoy their museum experience. They claimed that they had not received what they paid for. We disputed the chargeback and provided timestamped evidence that we had provided the patron their tickets and the duration of time they visited the museum. The bank still sided with the customer.

Please, if you're going to do a chargeback, make sure you've done everything else to get your money back first. Contact the company you bought from. Ask for a refund. While it might not be a big deal for large companies, chargebacks can do serious harm to small businesses.

Sorry for ranting, but after weeks of fielding angry emails, to wake up to a chargeback in the morning is just a lot to deal with. I hope everyone enjoys their stuff. If you happen to still be waiting for yours, know that I am working on it every day. I promise to start posting something happier once I'm done with all this shipping.

[ionomycin]

phoenix and the priestess

[blueskittlesart]

Open your eyes...

[skellydun]

why is it when people ask me what i want as a gift i immediately become someone who enjoys nothing at all and has never wanted anything a day in their life.

[laughingcatwrites]

As a reminder that good exists out there, a coworker recently confessed to me that he found out his child is questioning their identity (kid's gender redacted for this post). The kid is keeping it from him, so he can't say anything to them or show that he knows, but he's doing his best to get mentally prepared and educated so that he'll be ready whenever his kid does feel comfortable enough come to him.

For context, this guy is a big, bulky middle aged dude who loves sports and typical outdoor "manly" activities. As his coworker and friend, I know he's a kind and sweet teddy bear of a person, but his kid probably views him as a stern, authoritarian figure, the way most teenagers view their parents. His family lives in a conservative area, so I'm sure between that, their dad's looks and interests, and the fact that their dad is a Figure of Authority, the kid is worried that they won't be accepted.

But you know what? When he found out about his kid, the first thing he did was reach out to his closest queer friend and ask for resources for parents of questioning children. His biggest fears are that his kid will be bullied or discriminated against and won't feel comfortable enough to be themself. His second action was to find himself a mentor in another parent who went the same situation (kid coming out in a conservative town). The other person is preparing him for some of the struggles his kid may face and the fights he may need to take on as a parent to make sure his kid is safe and treated well.

Something I want to emphasize for people focused on language as the primary method of allyship is that when we spoke, he used some outdated terms and thoughts about gender and sexuality. That does not make him bad. These were the terms and thinking used about questioning teenagers when he was growing up and he never needed to learn more current ones. But now that he does have that need, he's throwing himself in head first because that's his kid and he's darn well going to make sure that his kid feels welcomed and has a safe place to be themselves even if they never come out to him.

[lindenhe]

I was practicing with clothes and got a little carried away~

Also a little contribution for the tailor!Astarion au, because my Tav is a bard with a noble background and usually has a need in fancy outfits.

[pangur-and-grim]

every time I say “starting nooooow I won’t have any major expenses” something HAPPENS! there’s raw sewage backing up from my drains, and apparently the plumbers will need to break the floor and the wall to get to the pipes and fix it.

if the cat stuff hadn’t wiped out my bank account, this would be annoying but manageable. as it is…..I’m going to try to get everything up in the store for Friday.

[faelapis]

gang whats the most thorough list of vetted fundraisers for gaza?

also, if someone is NOT already vetted, whats a good way to submit names/users for vetting?

[anbaisai]

well maybe you should help her out, jamil 😤

[factual-fantasy]

So FireAlpaca and my Tablet(?) are still riddled with problems and glitches, but I was able to find a work around the breaking problem... somewhat- 💀

So in celebration of still being able to limp along with FireAlpaca, I have drawn happy Pomni this time instead of sad! And essentially canonized Gummigoo x Pomni to my AU <XDD Its one of those veeeery rare ships that sliped through the cracks.

I'm thinking it'll be the classic case of "What is this feeling... oh its love? Well I better not tell her in case she doesn't feel the same" 💀

[otaku553]

Luffy week day 1:

Smile!

[linterteatime]

the shade lord and some corpses- i mean guys i almost forgot about

More gijinkas here!

[demigod-shenanigans]

Leo. Genuine question. How much time did you spend staring at Jason’s lips to figure that one out?

[shroomerr]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BOY EVER, KENNY MCCORMICK!!!!!! my favorite little guy,,, i hope he gets all of the kfc he desires for his special day

[anemonet]

Technoblade....

[czaneavecg]

When it feels like your sister didnt even grew