On Blogging 5, Internet Sales and A Concerns

I’m more and more concerned about where the internet is taking us as a culture and what the end game might look like? Travel is still my escape for about four months a year and probably what keeps me semi-sane.

When I’m home I confess, I’ve become way to involved with the web. On an average day I’m online working on three websites (one’s an ecommerce site), four social media sites (facebook etc) and three market place shops (Etsy), not to mention following news and a few favorite websites. There have been a few episodes in the past that bothered me but at the. One was a semi-political instagram joke that I made that got me attacked. I still wish my usual posts would get just a fraction of that one posts traffic?

A Disturbing Incident

I operate an Etsy shop selling emergency ID cards. It isn’t a business since I only charge a few bucks and I usually only break even on a sale (material costs, postage, sales tax and Etsy fees and commission). I do it as a service inspired by an international incident that happened to friends of mine. There are several cards in the collection providing information on name, medical conditions, drugs, emergency contacts and information on living wills.

An average card order for one set costs $3.95 delivered and includes two cards and a self-laminating pouch. Each card is also available as a downloadable pdf.

After four years there have been no real problems except for two or three stupid people and they’re always the ones that have to write a horrific review. After hundreds and hundreds of sales I’m still rated at four and a half stars.

The Problem Card

In just the past two months one ID card is getting very strange attention. The card in question is a child’s emergency ID. It offers recommendations that it get attached like a luggage tag to diaper bags, car seats, bikes etc. It includes the usual information and space for contact information for mom and dad. That’s the problem!

Two months ago I got an email from someone saying they were a child (struck me as odd?) claiming to have two dads and could I modify my stock card to accommodate that? Since I could unlock the art, make some changes and print the card in maybe 15 minutes (remember – no profit) I responded that if they bought a card and immediately emailed me with the order number and the requested changes I would make the modification. I never got the order!

Since that time I have now received three more similar requests involving non-binary families. I’ve responded to each the same way and still haven’t received a single order. It’s less than four bucks and I’ve offered to do the custom work.

Think maybe it’s a trap of some sort – anybody have any ideas?

Interested in buying some ID cards visit my Etsy Shop by clicking HERE