Let's finish this tiara disaster once and for all

The Story So Far

After one of my exclusive tiaras went viral on tiktok last year, I opened pre-orders for another batch to be made.

How a pre-order works:

1. You purchase the item, reserving it.

2. The money goes to acquiring the item(s).

3. When the item arrives, it is shipped to you.

I woke up the next day to over 300 pre-orders. I immediately panicked and shut them down, but two weeks later, I received my first chargeback for “item not received”. It would be the first of many, as it turns out a majority of these tiktok buyers did not understand what a pre-order was. As I had already spent their money on the tiaras they ordered, these refunds were coming directly from my pocket - charged to personal credit cards.

After a month’s delay, the first shipment of 100 tiaras arrives, so I am fulfilling orders 24/7. People are excited! But 100 tiaras will not fill 300 orders, so those still waiting are angry. Now into November/December, refunds and chargebacks happen several times a day. I keep checking the tracking for the next 100 tiaras, which shipped back in September. The tracking hasn’t moved since, and I am emailing with USPS, the LA Port Authority, and the vendor.

In January, my partner’s mother dies of covid, and we are uprooted to Delaware for 2-3 months to settle her affairs - all while still managing contact with USPS, etc. about the missing shipment. Our wedding is cancelled. After 6-7 months, it’s time to accept that shipment #2 is not coming. Due to all the refunds, I cannot afford to replace them without using the funds that were originally allocated to shipment #3.

They arrive and I am working on those around the clock. However, 49 customers remain from the initial order and the final batch (100 tiaras) understandably will not be released by the manufacturer until my account is current.

This is why I allowed a small pre-order in June (with this explanation) to help cover the remaining balance, as there will be plenty of available tiaras due to the minimums and number of cancellations. There will be a small handful leftover when this is all said and done.

Unfortunately, despite all of these efforts, I’ve lost over $18,000 to this disaster and am currently filing for bankruptcy.

With the bankruptcy destroying any options for credit, the total amount I'd need to solve all of this once and for all is $5,595.12.

Then there's shipping costs and supplies, like labels, boxes, and padding.

I want this over with just as much as all of you probably do. I know you're tired of hearing about it. For a moment, consider how embarrassing this is for me.

If you have any questions, or require a refund yourself, you know where to find me.