For everyone who has inquired and supported Element Shears in their amazingly fast growth over the last few months, I wanted to have a better explanation out there of just what is happening with this project.
In Autumn of last year I decided that I wanted to move forward with gaining as much knowledge about shears as I could and to both share that with groomers, and to possibly start looking for someone to work with to create custom designed shears for my signature label. In the early summer of this year after much looking, I finally found a supplier in France of quality hand made, unique designed shears that I looked forward to being able to offer here in the US. I was most happy that I was going to be able to get those shears out there at a much lower price than the other shears of their level so that groomers could really afford them. In fact, I was most proud of the honesty in their pricing and quality.
I used some of my savings to start up this business, as many people have to do to start up a new endeavor who do not have an investor. And I was very afraid when I first sent out that large amount of money so far away to someone I had never met, with bills here of my own and a family to provide for, that I would lose all of that money I had worked for and have nothing to show for it. Even the employee at Western Union mentioned to me with a raised eyebrow that so many people get scammed over the internet in just such ventures. Still, I had to try to make this happen, and so I held my breath & counted out the stack of bills for her to wire overseas, and did not exhale until she had it entered into the computer for fear I'd chicken out.
It was in late summer that I made the first order of shears from this forger. They took awhile, and I waited wondering if they were really going to arrive at all even though my forger reassured me things were progressing well. They came in beautifully. I was very happy with them, and made only a few changes to their design for what I hoped to be many subsequent orders and what would compose a very nice set of shears for groomers of all skill levels.
They all sold in an amazingly short time, and with the help and support of those friends who already had shears to try out (Thank you), the word got out quickly that they were well worth their price.
I used the profit from those shears and again used some of my own money to make a larger order to cover the many inquiries. I presold some of the shears to assure that I would have enough money on hand to turn around and make another order quickly to keep up with response. I was all the while afraid that if this person decided to bait me out and them make off with a lot more money I would be in the hole to an uncomfortable investment point. But told myself that they would not have gone to the trouble to do anything at all for me in the first place if they intended to just take my money. So, I made that second order, and that is when the problems began.
I got the shears, most all of them were beautiful, but some of the models were changed from what I had posted for sale online and pre-sold. Some of the thinners did not work, some others had different styles of accents, and then to add, they came in 2 weeks late. Still, I covered a couple of refunds out of pocket and got all of them sold which were sellable.
I emailed the forger many times to let him know that I needed credit for the shears which did not work, and could not accept the shears which had been substituted in the order because this was a signature line and could not waiver in their design. We went back & forth until I thought we understood each other's professional stance, and he reluctantly gave me credit, but I would not get it until I made another order. I still had people waiting and an ever growing list of inquiries which I wanted to take care of, along with a real need to make this project work because it looked so promising-- so I made a third order in late August. It was my largest order, but still, according to the forger, a very small account compared to others who ordered 1000's of shears from them. So, out went the money, and on went the waiting. That order cost me nearly $5,000.
After a late arrival of nearly an extra month, and a host of fibs from the forger, I received the parcel and opened it to begin testing them one by one. I had a sheet of orders and each shear that tested out was placed aside with the customer's name on it. I cleaned them, tested each one, and began to see a lot of problems.
It was as I tested the last shear that I knew I had some work ahead of me.
Now, whenever one starts a business where they rely on another entity to supply them with their product on which they place their name and reputation- You take a risk. Some would say that it can be such a risk that it isn't worth taking, and after this, I can understand why. I have always said that things go best for me when I just do them myself and I have a very hard time leaving important things for others to do. Those who know me know I carry that to a fault at times. But, it isn't always good to be right- in this case, my relying on someone else left me very let down, and left some of my clients let down as well.
I covered fixing most all of the faulty shears by paying to have them sharpened or completely re-edged. The straight shears all came in beautifully, it was the thinners that again this forger struggled with, but with this order it was nearly half that had something wrong with them. I had exactly enough perfect shears to cover the pre-paid orders, but the inquiries were going to have to wait even longer while they were sharpened or re-edged. I took a breath, didn't sleep well, and emailed or called everyone I could to let them know of the delay in a professional manner- all the while wishing I lived closer to France.....
In the end, 30 out of 100 sets of thinners worked out of the box, the rest I had to either have worked over or were so unsalvageable that they had to be tossed- which made me sick to do. It was like taking $20 and $50 bills and throwing them into the garbage- something that in this ecomony is absolutely absurd let alone a mother of 3 doing as a part time business venture on the side.
After weeks of back & forth again with the forger, trying to field inquiries from new clients and give answers to questions about shipments and availability, I could only wait to see what the forger told me so that I could take it for his word and relay the update to clients. I would wait holding my breath for an answer, relay it to people as a fact, only to have his word be lies and to be left standing high & dry. To this day, I have none of the faulty shears relpaced, and not even a working email to contact him through or so much as a pick up on any of my calls. So, I am supposing that I must take my lumps and turn a cheek. Which I will do, and the rest will just have to be on his shoulders- and that's if one assumes they even care.
Luckily, by taking the time and trying to be honest, most people understood and were not upset. But still, I was upset- I put my reputation behind everything I do, and I had let myself into a project where I put that in jeopardy, of sound mind- and I felt a bit foolish for it.
So, today, here I sit. I am out a large sum of money, and some people who were waiting for shears still do not have them. Most people will never know what went on behind the scenes, but I hoped that writing this might explain the delays, the mix ups and most of all, remind people to invest and venture wisely. If at all possible, do the work yourself or don't even risk it.
I tried. I wanted to do this, and I did. I put out some really very lovely and beautifully working shears; but there is simply no way that I can sacrifice quality and take money from those who work as hard as I do and ever question if I earned every cent of it.
So, the Element Shears line is for now, shelved.
It isn't really a loss if you put it into perspective. Many people lose a lot more than I did. Some people lose their reputation, many more lose their moral fiber when faced with that versus losing money. I kept that at least. But especially I am grateful for the people I met through this project- some of which have become good friends. And I am grateful for the knowledge I have gained from research and doing this project, maybe I can share that with someone else.
Perhaps someday again I will find another forger, but until then, enjoy your shears and take good care of them because they are officially "retired"!
