AltGuild Leather Traveler's Notebooks OLD

This page is no longer being updated. BUT A new public group has been created so you can all enjoy the fun.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/altguildleather

Merry Christmas and see you all in the new year. In the meantime here is a cute video thats going around Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYwL5H4ZNok&list=RDFYwL5H4ZNok&start_radio=1

The Kiffness - Big Billy (Singing Cat) [FULL Version] Big Billy is the biggest wet w***y & no one can ever take that away from him! Subscribe to my channel for more videos like this: Kiffness The full studi...

Whats black and blue and read all over?

Need your thoughts. I am thinking about doing a Game Of Thrones theme cover of some kind.

Is there any interest out there?

I am not sure if the first style will be a map of Westeros. Or if I should do 4 styles, one each of the house sigils, and their respective motto.

Your thoughts?

Free gift card for the month of september .com use code "SEP20"

https://altguild.com/discount/SEP20

:)

She has no idea what I wrote. :)

Oh, and for the record. Those are her words. :) :) I just happen to agree.

Also I got her the best doctor I know. Though he is a bit…. STRANGE. Take a closer look at her bottle of pain pills. :) :) :)

So ya. This happened.

It's ok. It's not me. Just my wife.

You know what this means now right? Ya….Its ME thats going to have to do the laundry, clean the litter box, wash the dishes, mow the law, change the oil in the car, get on the roof to nail down that loose shingle, and shovel the snow when that time comes because they said this is going to take a long time after surgery before she can walk right again. Oh and lets not forget Dinner, breakfast, and coffee in the morning…ect

So you're going to have to excuse me if I am a little later shipping orders. They will still be shipping within the advertised timeline. Just may be more near the end of it for some.

OH I forgot. You want to know HOW she did this? She was climbing on the monkey bars in the park with the kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ya I know...RIGHT?

You will have to excuse me now. Apparently she needs a new insert for her notebook.

NOT JOKING!!!!! About the insert that is. :)

Chris

Ok. I did it. I joined TikTok and jumped in the rabbit hole hole. OMG what have I done!!!!!!!!! Follow me https://www.tiktok.com/

Some more images of the latest release "Leonardo" at altguild.com

It's almost ready!!!
https://youtube.com/shorts/JOs_0ZE0Gjg?feature=share

Coming soon. Leonardo da Vinci medical drawings leather travellers notebook by Altguild #shorts Coming soon. Leonardo da Vinci medical drawings leather travellers notebook by Altguild ► Soon to be available at https://altguild.com/

Leather cutting day.

Just got some new hides in, and getting them cut down to size.

Your thoughts?
https://youtube.com/shorts/4zuowIaBATc?feature=share

Should I? #shorts Working on some ideas. This one is themed after Leonardo Da Vinci. Debating whether to make this a new cover available in all the sizes. Any interest? ...

Will I make it on time?

https://youtube.com/shorts/HuC_fgSVPWA?feature=share

Will I make it? #shorts So ya. This is what I am willing to do for you, in order to deliver your hand made leather traveler's notebook cover. :) :http://altguild.comFol...

The snow in my yard has doubled in height over night, but at least my orchid is now in full bloom. :)

New video link below, and the grass turned green, the rooftops were clear of snow as well.

That was yesterday. Now we are snowed in and a lot more to come.

Soooo…. I took some time to learn more about video editing. Here is my latest with some help from a good friend Ron.

Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/u9-vgm42u7Y

New product idea. Thoughts? Interests?

I think the picture explains it all.

Latest batch to enter the mail a few days ago. Can you spot yours?

Every so often, you just have to stop and have some fun.
https://youtu.be/QNhwHbMV7B0

altguild.com

Sometimes you just have to stop and have some fun. Just having some fun.------ Click INTERLUDE ------https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Biagyb7AcK8----------------------------------------------------------------...

Yayyyy!!!! The new store is now open. Altguild.com

Part 3 of 3: Last post about why I decided to start my own website.

Last Reason.

Etsy forces their successful sellers to pay for their new advertising scheme. If you see an ad for an item I sell and click it, they take a cut after you purchase that item. On the surface this sounds fair. And I thought so too, but here's the rub.

First off sellers are forced into their advertising scheme and can not opt out ever. That alone is not right. What makes it even worse is that if a customer of mine, that I have done all the work to attract to Etsy, and so already comes to my shop. If they see an ad by Etsy for something l am selling….Lets say a box of bolts. If they click to see what it's all about, even if it ends up not being anything of interest to them.. If they come back any time in the next 30 days to buy something, even something that has been in their cart for ages. Etsy takes a cut of that sale. That's 30 days. I can understand maybe a day or two, but not 30 days.
customers. Don't get me wrong. When I do finally hit those thresholds. I will flip the switch and start charging taxes, but until then. Why pay?

Lastly, Etsy's terms of service forbids me from selling my products outside of Etsy for a lower price. To combat this in some way. All future discount codes/coupons will be for my new website only.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions, but more importantly. I hope it helps in making some of your decisions.

I'm confident in mine.

Part 2 of 3: A follow up on my post about why I decided to start my own website.

Second reason.
Etsy had a problem with some sellers hiding the cost of their items in their shipping. Etsy’s response to this is to start taking a percentage 5% cut from our shipping.

Now all the honest sellers are being made to pay unfairly. This has not only solved the problem for Etsy but increased their profits at the cost of its good sellers, as they are taking an cut of both our sales as well as shipping.

Part 1 of 3:
I have received a few messages asking why I bother to start my own website.
It's far too long of a post to explain all my reasons. So I will do it in three parts.

I don't want to just dump on Etsy, and I do recommend them for anyone interested in getting into online sales, but there are reasons that once you start to become somewhat successful, you will want to make the move.

First Reason.
Taxes. Etsy collects taxes, when legally I don't have to do it on my own website. Kinda.

I do not have what is called nexus in the US. This means I don't have property or a shop located in the US, and as such, until I reach a certain threshold I don't have to worry about it. That means savings directly for many of my customers. Same goes with GST for my Canadian customers. Don't get me wrong. When I do finally hit those thresholds. I will flip the switch and start charging taxes, but until then, why pay? I am looking at an invoice for a recent customer that paid about $12 in tax because I don't have my own website. :(

As some of you may know. The grand opening of my new website is on the 24th of this month. I would like to welcome everyone by offering a discount code for 10% of anything in the new shop. It will last for two weeks ending on the March 13th at 11:30pm.

I look forward to serving you all.

Chris

Things are coming along so well that I can now pick an opening date for the new website. February 24th ish. After I have slept in. Got up. Had my coffee. :) Altguild.com

On the lighter side of things.
Apparently some schools are a bit upset with me. According to the parents of a hand full of children who I taught how to play. "Chan Tho."

As in seen in a Doctor Who episode. You basically have to start each sentence you speak with Chan and then end it with Tho.

Technically you are supposed to divide your name in two and use that. But I kept it simple for the kids.

Chan here is the link to a short clip of what I mean tho. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m31Qh1uonJQ

Chan Doctor Who: Chantho Speaks tho Chan It would be rude not to speak like Chantho tho. Chan So leave a comment in the same format as her speech tho. Chan Whoever breaks the format is a rotten...

In case anyone is interested. These are the location outside of north america that I am repeatedly shipping to. In order of most repeated sales. So ya..... Looks like I am going to continue shipping to the EU. Phewwww...!!!

The Netherlands
Australia
Germany
UK
Norway
Singapore
Israel
Sweden
Japan
Finland
Hong Kong
Spain
Austria
New Zealand
France
Malta
Taiwan
South Korea
China
Russia
Belgium

On a positive note. :)

Things are coming along great with the new website. You will note that "altguild.com" no longer gets you to my Etsy store. Try it out.
https://altguild.com/
Oh and don't worry. The Etsy store is still up and running.

Altguild Etsy store link.
(https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Altguild)

Altguild Altguild leather travelers notebook covers

Do I stop selling to the EU? TAXES!!!!!!!!!!! Ok give me a moment to settle down….

As you all may know. I am starting my own website.
Part of this is having to deal with taxes and VAT for different locations.
The US is no problem. I got that sorted out. Same goes for Canada.
The EU on the other hand is NUTS!!!

They started this thing called IOSS. I am not going to spell it out as it causes PTSD.
In short. Its a number that you are supposed to be able to register for. Onces you get it you include it in your shipping and when the parcel arrives. The customer does not have to pay vat tax on the order. All I have to do is submit ONE A MONTH any vat I collected to the appropriate authority.

Except. I am not allowed to register for an IOSS number because I am not located in an EU country. Apparently if the EU can reach out and jail you if you are a bad actor. Then no IOSS for you. Instead I have to find an intermediary that will issue the number to me for a fee. AND IT’S NOT A SMALL FEE. They in turn take care of the payment, after I pay them.

Big box online places like Etys, Amazon and ebay can afford to jump through the hoops to get their own IOSS number they can use for their marketplace stores, but the little guy just can't afford that.

So I am left with a hard decision. Just send my order to my EU customers like normal and hope they know ahead of time that they are going to have to pay the VAT/DUTIES. Because some get surprised by that and refuse the parcel. It then gets sent back to me on my dime.
Or do I stop selling to the EU……:( Thast 27 locations :) That would make MANY people very unhappy.

Ok EU customers. What's your thoughts? Am I just blowing this out of proportion? Is it the norm to expect these fees to be paid when you order for Canada or other countries?

It's in know way ready yet, but I have officially started building my own website for Altguild. It's going to take some time but with all your wonderful support I have been able to get some professionals to help. Will update when I have more news.

Everyone has a muse. Thoughts, dreams, ideas or plans. Ever thought of giving it a home. Might I suggest this. “My Muse” Available in larger sizes like A5 as well as smaller sizes like A6 and more. Plus you can add a personalized name.
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Altguild

And this is what I was greeted with this morning!!!

Something random.
I got this as a gift a year ago. The flowers lasted a month and I was going to chuck it. But I changed my mind, and held onto it to see if it would bud again. Then one day a month ago. BUDS. Then just the other day I woke up to this gorgeous flower!! My first orchid.

I tend to believe that we all make our own luck. Today though, I want to make some luck for you. Let’s start the new year, and each day on a lucky page, as Fortune, prosperity, protection, and more await you.

You will find the Azure Dragon for protection, the 7 lucky gods, your lucky numbers, and more lucky symbols adorn your cover. Just have a closer look as we welcome the tiger.

Good luck! :)

Time to pat myself on the back. I was going though some boxes we still have from after the move to our new home, and came across this coffee table book I received around 2019? It was a crazy time back then with all the renovations, new house/home shopping, and selling of our old home. So I put it aside in one of those places we think we will never forget or loose it.

On a positive note. Look what Jen now has.

Greedy or Grateful? You decide.

Etsy recently announced that on July 16th, 2018, they will be increasing their sellers fee from 3.5% to 5% on the sale of an item. And, they are also going to be charging an additional 5% on the shipping. It works out to a 64% increase.

Etsy says that with this increase, they are planning to invest even more in making Etsy the best place to run our creative businesses, and will be offering optional monthly packages that give us access to a suite of new tools...AT AN ADDITIONAL MONTHLY COST!

Sorry about the caps.

So what they are saying is....We will increase our fees so that we can offer you options that you will also have to pay for???

What now?

Some businesses are raising their prices. Some are simply leaving Etsy. ME?..... I am staying where I am and am not increasing prices my prices.

In addition, as of today, I have started building my own website. This way I can hopefully move all my HAPPY and WONDERFUL "REPEAT" customers over there, in the future.

You might ask..Why I didn't do that from the start? Well first off, if you do your research, the financial costs of running your own website is actually the same, if not a little more, than using a third party, plus you have to manage it. I wont get into all the details so just trust me on this. It was not really worth the effort.

It's now worth it for me to create my own website, in addition to utilizing Etsy, and this price increase is just the right kick in the butt to get me started.

How long before it's up and running? No idea. Non. Notta... Like with everything I do, I like to learn. So, its going to take some time to get it right. Quality in everything Altguild offers is our top priority. Stay tuned for future updates.

Oh, and if you don't mind, give this some share love. I hope it inspires others to create their own spaces as well. Feel free to express yourself in the comments.

Learning is life. :)

Chris

Just a little steampunk love for you all. Please share the love. :)
Available now at Altguild.com.