Hey Peeps!
The Kittenish Behaviour Boutique is two years old! Fancy that. Today I thought I would go through some of the questions that I get asked on a regular basis……
Q. Kittenish Behaviour??? Where did that come from?
A. My very bestest friend nicknamed me Kitten many many MANY moons ago (we are talking like eighteen years ago, so thats a lot of moons!). The reasons were……on one of our first meetings I ended up curling up and falling asleep with my head in her lap and the other reason was our shared love of Georgette Heyer regency romance novels the lead heroine in one of our favourites is called Kitten. When I started this little blog back in 2010 Kittenish Behaviour seemed like the logical choice as I was going to be writing about my life and the crazy things I got up to. Two years ago when I decided to open up the boutique it seemed totally natural to keep on using the name. The rest is (recent) history.
Q. Why did you open the Kittenish Behaviour Boutique?
A. About twelve years ago I got myself my first computer and about eleven years, eleven months and twenty nines days ago I got myself my very first eBay account…….I have always loved vintage clothing and the USA seems to have the best selection. I spent hours trawling through the vintage listings and got myself many many lovely dresses. One day someone had listed something incorrectly and I stumbled upon Trashy Diva…..that was it. I was hooked! I think one of my first orders was for at least ten items (mostly sale items) and boy was that a shock when I got the import fee demand! I opened up the boutique because I love these American designers but was fed up of paying nearly £30-£40 extra per dress to have them in the UK, postage costs were high and the Import Fee Powers That Be were always cruel to me. I thought that if I wanted these dresses there had to be other UK Ladies that wanted them too. I worked out that if I imported the pretties and sold them myself then I could reduce that extra £30-£40 each individual dress was costing quite significantly.
Q. Is it just you?
A. Yes it’s just me! Well unless you count Chiana my parcel inspector….
(she only inspects the parcels once they have been completely sealed, she gets no where near the contents!) and the hamster in the attic that keeps my dial-up modem running (ahhhh the joys of living in the land of no/little interwebs!).
And now some more of the serious questions I get asked…..
Q. Why are your UK postage charges so high?
A. The UK postage charges are high in general. If I’m posting to somewhere in the UK I charge £8.50 for tracked and insured service, the actual cost of postage is £8.45 (for one dress). I charge a flat rate of £8.50 (packaging is free!) regardless of how many dresses you order…..not that I’m trying to encourage you to buy more dresses!
Q. Why are your international postage charges so high?
A. Again the UK’s postal charges are generally just high! Posting to the US for example costs from £19 upwards. I charge a flat rate of £22 (packaging is free!) , if your postage is significantly lower than this I will issue a refund for the difference but if your postage comes to more than £22 I won’t ask you for the extra!
Q. I’d rather pay for a cheaper postal service with no insurance!
A. Really???? Think about it…..you’d rather save between £5-£10 on postage costs on your £100 plus dress. What if it gets lost in the post (this happens, it’s happened to me)? Your dress has gone and your down £100, I can’t send you another one…..was saving that £5-£10 worth it? I’m sorry but I won’t send anything without insurance.
Q. Why do I have to pay import fees? Are import fee’s covered in the postage costs?
A. I have no control over the import fees of other countries (wouldn’t it be cool if I did though?!) I have to fill out a customs form for any parcel I send abroad and then it’s in the hands of the Import Fee Powers That Be (bow down and worship them…..they might spare you!). Import fees are NOT covered in my postage costs and I can’t be held responsible for them if the Import Fee Powers That Be are not kind to you.
Q. Why do you offer free worldwide postage and then wait so long to post my item?
A. I offer free worldwide postage only when I’m lucky enough to be going away on my holibobs (holidays to those of you that don’t speak fluent Siân) which means that I am physically parted from all my lovely stock (believe me it’s a wrench leaving all the pretties alone) and can’t send your items out until I return from whatever distant land (usually Saudi Arabia or Nuneaton) I’ve been visiting! This is my way of saying thank you for your order but sorry I can’t post it immediately, I know waiting for the pretties is tough!
Q. I’d like to buy one of your smaller items why have I got to pay the standard postage cost???
A. You don’t! Contact me and I’ll get you an accurate quote for the item you have your eye on.
Q. Your prices are higher than the designers prices for Trashy Diva and Bernie Dexter dresses, whats going on?
A. Yes my prices are slightly higher than you would find buying direct from the designers and that’s because I’ve had to pay shipping to the UK and the import fees for the pretties (the Import Fee Powers That Be are never kind to me). I’ve tried to keep the prices as low as I can though.
Q. You have items on your boutique that are out of stock……why!!! Why you tease us?
A. I keep items showing that are out of stock because in most cases I can order you another one. I do take down items that are no longer available from the designers.
Q. I would like to buy a certain dress but you either a. don’t stock it or b. you stock it but not in my size?
A. Get in touch I’m happy to order in specific dresses for you, you just need to let me know!
Q. Woop! Woop! You’ll order me a specific dress? I love you! (Steady on there!)
A. Yes I certainly will. If you are after a specific dress I am happy to order that for you. For me to place an order with either Trashy Diva or Bernie Dexter I have to reach a minimum spend amount. What I do is put you on the Custom Order Wishlist. As soon as I have enough orders (usually 3) to meet the minimum spend I will contact you to check if you still want your dress. If you do still want your dress then you buy Kittenish Behaviour gift vouchers, I place the order…..happiness ensues! (If you for some reason don’t like your dress I will issues you a cash refund so you aren’t stuck with gift vouchers that you might not be able to use for a while but I only offer this refund on gift vouchers if they are directly connected to the Custom Order Wishlist service)
Q. Can I exchange my gift vouchers for cash?
A. Only if they were bought as part of the Custom Order Wishlist service otherwise I’m afraid not, but if there is something you really want that I don’t currently stock just ask…..you never know I might be able to order it in for you!
Q. I love the dress but in real life it just doesn’t work for me…..*super sad face*
A. Online shopping is both awesome and sucky in equal measure. No crowds, ability to eat chocolate whilst shopping from your comfy sofa but no ability to try on your pretties before you spend your hard earned cash. If for some reason your item isn’t exactly what you’d hoped it would be I will of course refund you. You just need to return the item to me within a week of your receiving it and you must use an insured postal service!!
Q. Sizing!!! Argh…… unclear, are they UK sizes are they US sizes?
A. There is a lovely sizing chart linked to the measurements of each item on the item page but as a rule of thumb, if you are drooling over a Trashy Diva lovely then the sizes listed are Trashy Diva (USA) sizes. Same goes for Bernie Dexter beauties!
Q. You don’t reply to my emails?
A. This is odd as I love to chat! If I’m not replying to your emails it’s because I’m not getting them (my Tech Guy is willing to back me up on this) there have apparently been a few problems with the service which we (HA! We! Read that as though I’m asking and my Tech Guy is doing) are working on fixing. In the meantime there are lots of ways to contact me…… email me at sian@kittenishbehaviour.com if that doesn’t work message me on the Facebook Page or you could even call me on 01983 857144 I promise I don’t bite (unless you ring me at like 7am….then I probably will bite….you have been warned!)
If you have any other questions please feel free to get in contact with me, like I mentioned I love to chat! These last couple of years have been quite an experience but I wouldn’t change them for the world!
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