Thought this might be worth a blog post, since it’s come up a lot recently.

I don’t give out my supplier information. Just as a general rule. I’m sorry.

It’s not to be mean. It’s not – as has been suggested – because I’m afraid of competition. It’s not because I want new businesses to fail.

It’s for the same reason that, when teaching dance lessons, I don’t give students written notes on what we’ve learned. It’s for the same reason that I don’t let Wally use a calculator when doing math.

Would it be easier, shorter? Yes. Would it save our dance students work, avoid “re-inventing the wheel,” to give them my notes? Sure. Would it save time to let Wally use a calculator? Absolutely.

But, as was said in a book I recently read, the benefit is in the seeking. (The Chronicles of Prydain.)

First of all, most people who’ve owned their CD operations for as long as I have had to work pretty hard to find their suppliers. Not only locating potential suppliers, but then also contacting suppliers, purchasing samples, testing the samples, making preliminary orders, finding through trial and error who is and who isn’t reliable, etc. It’s expensive and it’s time-consuming.

So, yeah, I’m not eager to just hand my hard work over to newcomers to the industry, simply because it was a lot of work. I’m not alone in this sentiment.

Second, I’m not going to say that digging up supplier information is a rite of passage or anything. But it is part of the new business experience. And I think there is a benefit to be gained in the seeking of your own suppliers. Not only just for the experience… but because, who knows, you might unearth some really awesome supplier that nobody currently uses. How boring if we all got our fabric from the same source? (And in a few cases, most CD makers do get all of one supply or another from the same source, and those sources inevitably have poor customer service because there’s virtually no competition.)

Third, though this might sound snotty, if you can’t use Google, you need to really re-think whether you should own a business. And I’m not just being snarky, I’m being honest. If you really can’t figure out who my supplier for Prorap covers is, as was seriously recently asked of me, then are you going to be able to navigate child-product laws or HTML? (In case you don’t understand why that is funny… the supplier for Prorap covers is, um, Prorap.) If you can’t figure out how to get ahold of Touchtape, are you going to be similarly stumped when you need to get a sales tax permit?

There are good resources out there. Use them!

It’s not that I’m unwilling to help. To the contrary, I’ve helped out countless new business owners over the years, either through advice, answering of questions, helping with marketing, product testing, or whatever was asked of me. Not only cloth diaper or babywearing businesses, but other baby products businesses, and a few completely unrelated WAHM businesses. I’m more than willing to help. But I’m not going to do your work for you.

Got this email today.

I’ve been wanting to start CD my 1 yr old! But don’t know where to start. I don’t know what kind to try Or what will work for her! I don’t want to buy diapers to find out they don’t work and So I was wondering if you’d be generous enough to send us a sample? We want to try an AIO, pocket, or fitted with cover! Just something So I can get the feel of cloth diapering. We will be buying if they work for her! Thank you for understanding.

Hmmmm. No. I mean, wouldn’t we ALL love that? I’ll take one sample of EVERY type of diaper out there, K? And then I’ll decide which I like best, and buy more. (though if I had gotten enough free samples, I wouldn’t need to buy anything, right?)

My response:

Hello, Heather! No, we don’t send out free diapers, but good luck finding someone who will. I understand your not wanting to experiment, but it’s like anything else in life, and sometimes involves trial and error. Your best bet is to buy high-quality diapers, and stick with something simple like prefolds and covers or fitteds and covers. AIOs and pockets are much more prone to problems.

I’m sure when you started buying clothes for your child, you also didn’t want to buy a brand only to find out it didn’t fit quite right, but I’m sure you also had to learn the hard way that some brands fit better than others, right? Same with food – when our family first switched to natural peanut butter, we hated to spend the money on it only to find out it tasted like butt, however, that’s exactly what we had to do, and eventually we found a great local producer whose product tastes great. I’m sure you’ve experienced the same thing. It’s no different with diapers, or anything else.

Sizing is probably the one thing I get the most questions about. It’s so hard on diapers, and the weight ranges are only broad estimates, because each baby is so differently sized.

When I was a teenager, Teen magazine had a picture essay of  120 lbs. They photographed some 10 teens who all weighed 120 lbs. Some were tall and skinny, some short and plump, some were small but thick. They were all so different, and wore clothing of all sizes.

Babies are the same – 8 lbs can be long and skinny, or it can be short and fat. Add to this that they grow so quickly and at such different rates from each other… sigh. it’s tough to size a diaper on the phone or via mail!

Wallypop diapers are sized somewhat uniquely, but I think most companies have their own unique sizing. Our smalls are true smalls. Theyr’e not newborn size (doesn’t mean they won’t fit your newborn!). They’re small. They fit for a few months, max.

Our mediums are totally awesome, though, and will fit most babies once they’ve outgrown small diapers until they’ve potty trained. I’ve moved both my kids over at about 3 or 4 months. Though I made liberal use of the crossover tabs (which is why they’re there) the dipes and covers fit wonderfully at that age! And, they continued to fit Wally until he was nearly 4. And he’s not a small kid.

The Larges are quite a bit bigger than the mediums. Not necessarily around – but in the rise. To accommodate kids at that age, who are usually not getting a whole lot bigger around, but definitely are getting taller!

A note from a customer has prompted this blog post. She is trying to reduce her use of plastic (admirable, also a goal of my family this year) and wanted me to be sure to ship without using plastic.

Which made me think. (Also made me chuckle, she paid with a credit card, aka “plastic,” and the play on words made me smile all day.)

I do ship in plastic about 70% of the time. Plastic does this neat thing, it keeps your fabric items dry and protected from the shipping process in a way that cardboard just cannot. It’s lighter, meaning cheaper shipping for you. It’s easy and compact to store.

But it’s also not what I reach for first. In order, here’s how I prefer to ship your items:

- Used cardboard boxes or other used shipping containers. Sometimes, however, I save these for customers who have chosen DHL or UPS. These shipments are often larger than the poly envelopes I have, and DHL won’t take packages in USPS boxes, lol. (And, um, that would be illegal.)

- USPS Priority mail, I reach for USPS Priority boxes first. Sometimes I don’t have one that’s a good size, sometimes I’m all out. But if I have one that will fit, it’s what I use.

- Polymailers. These are my standby, and what most orders go out in. They’re inexpensive, lightweight, waterproof, durable, and available in many sizes. I almost never run out, because I can store about 1000 in one file cabinet drawer, whereas cardboard boxes present more of a storage issue.

So if you’ve ever wondered about the logic that goes into what I reach for when I ship your item…now you know.

OK, nobody really asked this. It has come up in conversation recently, though.

I’m not Amazon or Target.

1) I don’t have an IT department. I have me. So I don’t have an IT department to run my fancy shopping cart system that will calculate a hundred different things and give you real-time shipping information. I wish I did. But if I had that much money, honestly, I’d probably close Wallypop and spend the money doing something like travelling.

2) I don’t have 24 hour customer service. I can’t even guarantee you a response in 24 hours. I mean, I try. But I’m a mom. I have kids, I homeschool, I volunteer, I’m active in 4 nonprofit organizations, and I teach dance lessons 3 nights a week. Some days, we have activities all day, and by the time I sit down to work, it’s WAAAAY to late to consider calling you back. I will call back. I promise. Just not immediately. (PS, I also don’t answer the phone every time it rings. Sometimes I’m not home. Sometimes I just can’t get to it. I kind of chuckle when I get a message with “I’d prefer to talk to a real person and not a machine.” I mean, I’d like it, too, but then again, I also enjoy not sitting by the phone all day in case someone calls, you know?)

3) I can’t take back your item after you wore it 3 times and then decided you no longer liked it. Why? I don’t have the profit margin to make up for that type of loss. Target can take back your items because they’ll just sell them clearance at 50% off, and they’ll still make money. Abercrombie and other stores ship your returns (or damaged merchandise, as well) to one or two stores across the country and sell them for super cheap. (My sis used to work at the Abercrombie location that received this merchandise. Loved those days.) I can’t generally sell your used items and still make money from them. Though I’m pretty sure that none of those places will accept worn items, either.

4) I don’t have boatloads of inventory, and when I run out, I can’t just order more. Because I make most of my inventory myself. When I run out, I have to make more. Sometimes, it’ll be a month or so. I generally try to stay on top of inventory, but things got out of hand this year with my mom’s illness/death and I’m still making up for that.

5) But I’m not like them in so many good ways

When you email, you get me. The owner.

You can order your items made however you like them. Pick a fabric, get your own fabric, snaps, Touchtape, hidden soaker, snap-on soaker, 6 yards, 5 yards, extra long straps, add a pocket, etc.

We usually want to make you happy. Big stores don’t care.

Well, Amazon and Target don’t offer the fantastic products we do.

As I’ve explained in the past, I don’t keep regular open hours at Wallypop. For one, it’s against the current zoning restrictions. Also, it doesn’t really work well with our physical set-up.

Many customers lately have explained that they actually prefer this set-up, anyway. It means that they can stop by when it’s convenient for THEM.

One thing that sometimes causes confusion, though, is the need to set appointments. I do work at home, and we’re home quite a bit in the winter, but we’re not always here. Plus, with everything going on with my mom, sometimes we plan to be home for a day, but we end up needing to run out and get something for her unexpectedly. So, I prefer to set appointments with customers – so I know when you’re coming, and I can make sure to be here.

It’s much easier for us to plan our days when we know somebody will be here at, say, 2:00, rather than knowing someone’s coming “in the afternoon.”

If you schedule a time to stop over and your plans change, it’s not a problem – just be sure to give me a call and let me know. We’ll reschedule something that’s convenient for you.

PS, the best way to set up an appointment is to email or call.

Another installment in the not-quite-frequently asked questions thread…

How much do your EcoShop Totes cost? How much are your Doll Diapers? How much is a fitted diaper?

The answer? “Let me look it up.” Yes, I look up my prices. Every single one of them. Why? I am HORRIBLE at remembering numbers. I don’t even know my own sister’s phone number. So to avoid mistakes, I look them up. Every one, Every time.

Does this mean that it would have been just as fast to look them up yourself on my website? yes, it does. I totally don’t mind talking to customers on the phone, but have had a few recently get frustrated that I need to pull up my website or pull out the price sheets to quote them prices. I’d rather be giving you CORRECT information, though!

Another one? How much would it cost to ship X, Y, and Z to my town?

Answer? “I don’t know.” The best way to determine shipping costs is to put the items you want into the shopping cart then begin the checkout process, where you will be given a range of options for shipping.

Another installment in the not-quite-frequently asked questions thread…

“Do you have regular ’store open’ hours for locals to shop?”

No, I don’t. Several reasons.

First, I have gotten to know the zoning commission folks fairly well over the years. Long story. And it’s not like we’re friends, they’re just very helpful and I apparently have a lot of zoning needs. But anyway. Their guidance has been that it would be counter to my zoning for me to have regular retail store-type hours, even if it’s just a few hours a week.

Second, the way my office/workshop/showroom is located, there is no good way to accomplish open hours, anyway. If you’ve been here, you know what I’m talking about.

I’m really flexible as far as setting appointments, and having a set appointment means that you know I’ll be here, attention focused on you.

Thanks!

Welcome to a new series at the Wallypop blog. I often get asked the same questions numerous times – not enough to be considered “Frequently Asked Questions,” but more than once, at least. So here you go. I’ll post various questions here. OK, and I’ll make some up, too.

For our first FAQ: So what’s up with closing the store all of a sudden?

Well, I’m getting ready to launch a fantastic new version of our website. This week, it’s time to load in all the inventory, a process which will take several days. During this process, it will be quite difficult to process orders, so to minimize errors, we decided it was best to close for a few days! We’ll be back and better than ever on the 15th.