Here's a fun tip that I feel all of us are smart enough to already know: Don't dictate someone else's prices for them!
When a crocheter known as Krafty Katt got a message about a commission, she had no idea the potential customer would end up being the customer from hell. Let's see what happened.
It's an amazing hobby that she does in her spare time, when she isn't busy being a flight instructor. Yup, she managed to master crocheting around teaching people to fly planes. What a boss.
It's a degenerative disorder that affects the way tissues connect. So, as you can imagine, it takes her a while to crochet something! She'll do it anywhere, though, even while waiting for surgery.
Katt, who sells her crochet pieces on Etsy, does not consider herself a small business and doesn't run her Etsy that way, either. She's a hobbyist who occasionally sells her creations.
Why do these demands feel like the most complicated, obnoxious Starbucks order ever? Anyway, the customer laid out all of their demands for this giant blanket from a small, one-person business.
Katt let them know that it would be $400 for the blanket, since they wanted luxury materials and a frankly large blanket for one person to make. $120 for materials, $240 for time.
At her prices, she charges about $2/hour for her work, which is actually massively undervaluing her own worth! However, the customer thought it was more than reasonable to ask that she lower her hourly rate even more.
The thrifty customer bargained that the blanket should now cost $70, which is about half the price of the materials needed for it — but don't worry! Katt will be getting the materials on sale, OR ELSE.
She started trolling the customer, who clearly no longer intended to exploit her feelings for labor! I love the use of a Deadpool meme, that was the icing on the troll cake.
She told the customer she has a full-time job that doesn't involve crocheting, and she won't be putting up with any haggling or negotiating from them any longer.
I just have to thank her for escalating her price to what her time was actually probably worth.
Note to self: never cross an angry crocheter, they can and will dunk on you.
It's a Reddit dedicated to telling stories or posting screenshots of people who bite the hand that feeds them. Give it a scroll for five minutes and you'll need to go do something relaxing to get your blood pressure down, trust me.
I mean, this is exactly it. The customer really did try to make it seem like them needing a blanket was her problem, not theirs. Bless their heart.
Apparently, emotional manipulation is pretty much part and parcel of choosing beggars. As the second commenter pointed out, they're relying on a pretty flawed assumption of other people's vulnerability.
The sheer audacity of using your birthday as leverage is one thing, but imagine telling a guy selling rare sneakers that no one buys sneakers anymore. That's some clownery right there, your honor.
According to this commenter, a machine doesn't yet exist that can replicate and mass produce a crochet pattern. So you really do have to pay artisans what they're worth, since all crocheting is done by hand!
If you ever see someone undervaluing their time in order to accommodate someone else's demands, remind them of their worth! They deserve to be paid for their time and skill.
