PACAS Socks Review

Alpacas are one of the softest and cutest animals out there. Their fur makes exquisite high quality products too so when I learned that there was a brand that made socks from alpaca fur I knew I wanted to try them. Not only is their fluff soft but it also has insulating superpowers to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter. While I did read reviews and some people were unamused that the socks are not 100% alpaca made, it is still the main ingredient. I believe in transparency though and believe that the company should in fact make the percentages public on the website so people are not misled. It is smart marketing though as they are not technically promising all alpaca either so I get the reasoning. 

At the bottom of this post you will find the video review for the socks from PACAS but here on the blog I wanted to share my review on their customer service/ order experience. Upon making the purchase I did as most of us do, checked the reviews where there were thousands of five stars raving about them. After that we purchased the socks for Christmas gifts, on December 4th. The website states a 2-7 business day turn around which meant it had plenty of time to get here by Christmas. By the second week we reached out to the company thinking it was merely a holiday slowdown that caused them to fall behind. Once the third week came and went with no reply from their “customer service team” I took to social media. At this point the thought that this company was a fake started to loom around. 

The next step was to head to their social media accounts, Facebook, instagram etc. to message them directly. This is where the reviews were that were below the five stars of folks voicing similar issues. Some had success months later and other were forgotten. After spending $100 on socks one would expect a simple reply from the company to put their mind at bay. With no reply in sight I wrote to them via their socials since they appeared to keep posting to promote customers to buy. Why have a social team promote business you cannot keep up with though. It makes no sense to have a large base of customers if you cannot provide the services to the amount of people you are attracting. 

Yet again no reply, by now Christmas and New Years had passed.  I emailed the company and requested to cancel my order but still there was no reply.  There was one option left, the Better Business Bureau. Pacas has a three out of five with most of the complaints filed getting solved. Instead of writing out a complaint I called the number and was told that I would be getting a refund. There was no real dispute as so many other customers had the same issue previously. Months later we had forgotten about the socks fiasco and suddenly they appeared at the door. To ask the company what had happened would be yet another frustrating matter as they had never replied to the previous attempts. We kept the socks and well they are great to say the least. My father loved his so much that we decided to create another order. This time we were ready to wait however long it would take now that we knew that they were in fact legitimate. However, within about a week the socks had arrived. This was at the end of February. My advice for those who are wanting to try this company is to do so but know that if you order near the holidays it may be a while. I never received a reply but I assume that the company got backed up after Black Friday sales and spiraled from there. My hope is that they have adapted and learned from it and are back and better than ever on the sales front. 

Let me know if you’ve tried alpaca socks and what you think about them? Check out the sock review below.

 XOXO Faith

Small Business Story Time | Shipping

Starting a small business is obviously a roller coaster, so let’s talk about what I’ve learned about shipping. Although I am very much an amateur in the small business community some may call it a side hustle but I’d rather poor the energy out there that it is a small business. Either way let’s not get off track, being an amateur means learning as you go and while some may decided to skip past the icky parts I would rather document my journey to help others. Also it doesn’t hurt that sometimes mistakes can make amusing stories too.

XOXO Faith

Etsy Order | Pack with Me & Profit Stats

While I do not have a “successful” Etsy shop yet I have been learning as I go. At this stage I am learning a lot so rather than be ashamed of having the few orders I do I decided it was the perfect time to share my knowledge to help other new Esty shop owners or those curious as to if Etsy is a good place for them to sell their crafts. In the video today it showcases how I package an order which in itself is always fun to see how people do it and what they include in their packages. Also discussed today is the actual stats for this listing meaning what the profit margin is as well as where the rest of the money actually goes when selling on Etsy. Shop owners usually say that they are “successful” and that Esty takes a portion of the money but I’ve yet to see someone share the raw data.  I know I was curious before opening up my shop and yes Etsy gives a full description and calculator on its site, however, I did not find it helpful or accurate. It is very misleading which is why I am breaking it all down for you so you can do the math to figure out how to properly list your items. 

Stats Cheat Sheet 

  • Listing Fee: $0.20
  • Relisting Fee: $0.20 * They will charge a $0.20 relisting fee to change the stock number to the next digit and keep the item listing for sale.
  • Shipping Label: Depends on the weight and size of the product and will not effect your profit unless you are offering free shipping. The label is added into the order total which is added in through the processing fee.
  • Processing Fee: 3.0% of the order total plus $0.25
  • Transaction fee for Shipping: 6.5% of shipping total
  • Transaction Fee for Product: 6.5% of item total
  • Sales Tax: is collected from the buyer and does not effect your stats but is calculated towards the processing fee since it is down with the order total.

*The simplest way to calculate your portion is to calculate 78% off your listing price. Yes that means the other 22% goes stickily to lovely Etsy fees. Keep in mind this is a rough estimate to simply help guide you to create your proper pricing. From the 78% you will also need to dive in a little further by subtracting all material costs. Next subtract your personal labor cost and then you will have your profit total.


Example: A handmade blanket listed for $50 without free shipping. The item cost $7.95 for the customer to ship to their residence and the tax rate is 7.5%. The customer paid $61.75 total.

FeeFee AmountRunning Total
Processing Fee: 3.0% of the order total plus $0.25$1.85 + $0.25 = $2.10$59.65
Shipping Cost$7.95$51.70
Transaction Fee for Shipping: 6.5% of shipping total$0.52$51.18
Transaction Fee for Product: 6.5% of item total$3.25$47.93
Sales Tax$3.75$44.18
Listing Fee: $0.20$0.20$43.98
about 71% Profit Margin

Let’s break down our profit into our expenses.

Material Cost$12.00Fabric Cost
Labor Cost$15Your Portion
Retail Price$50Listing Price
Profit$16.98Back into business

Free PDF Template for Download. (:

XOXO Faith

Poshmark – Mercari Resale Tips & Tricks

Over the past year I have tried my hand at reselling clothes and various items. Currently, I’ve sold over sixty items! As time has progressed so have my strategies of creating quality listings. Below are my top tips for creating listings that leave viewers with all the information they need in order to purchase your items with confidence. One thing I would not recommend wasting your time with is creating a fluffy description. Instead fill the description section with essential information. I have created a cheat sheet list down below of what I recommend putting in the description section. Also use these tips to up your photography skills for flat lays and more. If you would like to see how I edit my photos for listings please let me know. (:

Stain Remover Wars

Stains can be annoying and somehow thrilling whenever you find the perfect cure all. Either you walk around cautiously  or only wear dark clothes to lower the percentage of ever coming into contact with a spot that ruins your favorite outfit. Although I have reviewed stain removers in the past I wanted to see which one was the absolute best. I’m constantly trying new spot removers for items I’m selling on Poshmark as well as for items I love such as the sweater in the video below with several mystery spots. In the tutorial below I will be testing: Zout, homemade paste, Grandma’s Spot Remover, and Clorox Bleach for Colors. 

Unboxing Review | Invisibobble + Thomas Kinkade

Happy holidays everyone! Does anyone else hear Jack Skeleton’s voice (from the ride) when anyone says this? Wanted to create a short post on my favorite cyber deals this year. These are strictly the deals that I used on purchases for myself so that I could test them out. First was on a random Target trip when I spotted the Thomas Kinkaide puzzles, instantly I assumed they would be $25-30+ as they were Disney. There were no price tags for them so I simply passed by them the first time I saw them. The next trip I decided to pick one up and see how much they were with the self scanner. Once it rang up for $4.99 I was shocked and skipped my way back to the Disney section to get more. Altogether it was $15 for twelve 500 piece puzzles which is crazy even if they weren’t Disney. I believe it started a new holiday tradition as well, to spend time putting together puzzles whether it be on a Saturday or even 15 minutes after work. 

Etsy Photo Error Fix & Opening a Shop

When it comes to the question what is my dream job it has always encompassed two things, fashion and creating which is why I finally took the plunge and opened up an Esty shop!!! No, I am not hoping for overnight success but the ultimate goal is earning enough to support myself and my family one day. I like the freedom creating gives me and to be honest I’ve always fancied what goes on the item rather than making the actual item from 100% scratch. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that someone is enjoying and creating memories in something you designed. 

Anxiety Fidget Tools

Push, pop, click, the time is approaching for things to open up, restrictions to be lifted and tensions to continue to rise. The anxiety is still in the air to make these next steps and if you are a part of the worry wart club. Welcome, here are a few tools to reduce these feelings plus there pretty fun even if you’re not stressed too. All of these tools work by altering your chain of thought in various ways such as texture, pressure and aroma. 

How to: Sell your Old Clothes

Did you know the average person only utilizes twenty percent of their closet? Take a moment to analyze your own closet, how many pieces have been pushed to the deep dark crevices in your closet? Are there items you purchased but never actually wore apart from trying them on once? Unfortunately, there are a few of mine which I did not feel confident in but kept with the intention that one day I would. It’s a trap for some and a good motivator for others. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, I’m sure there are a few items laying around that you are willing to get rid of so why not sell them to regain a portion of your money back. I used to think the only people that were successful selling their used clothes were those who had a large following online but honestly there is a buyer out there for everything.

Home | The End of a Season

Although it has been a couple of weeks it still seems so surreal that we moved. People keep asking how I feel about all the changes, I’m happy but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it too. Funny isn’t it, how one moment can feel like forever and once it is over it’s as if it happened in a blink of an eye. No, it was not an easy decision or journey by far, there were a lot of challenges and things we never anticipated that arose as well.