Posted on 05/26/2021 3:14:58 PM PDT by conservative98
A recent easing of mask-wearing guidelines from the US government was a welcome change for many Americans. That wasn't entirely the case for mask seller Gabriela Henriquez.
"I immediately called and texted my friends who were working for me making masks through the pandemic and said this wasn't good news for us," said Henriquez, who sells face masks on Etsy.
LittleLadyAHomemade for her handmade masks plunged more than 70% the day after the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention announcement on May 13. The agency said that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances.
"The market just dropped," she said. "I had a phenomenal last year in sales. Now what? Where do we go from here?"
Etsy seller Gabriela Henriquez. Etsy seller Gabriela Henriquez. Last year, the pandemic turned face masks into a wardrobe staple. Sellers big and small benefited from the trend. Etsy said cloth masks had erupted into the hottest new product category on its platform last summer. In August, the company said 110,000 sellers on its marketplace had sold as many as 29 million face masks, totaling $346 million.
The boom may be coming to an end. In early May, Etsy said in an annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the face mask market was poised to soften, noting that it had seen "demand for certain items, like handmade masks, diminish significantly with the rollout of the vaccine."
Now, sellers like Henriquez, who spent the past year investing more than $150,000 in her mask business, are trying to figure out how to successfully pivot.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
One featured an elegant black script on a white background (well, at one time the background was white ... I kept in on the floor in the back of the car and never washed it ... gnarly is good in this type of situation) that read: "F*ck you, Gavin Newsom".
The other was the rebus puzzle made popular during the 2016 election, "I love country music" on which I replaced Hillary's face with Newsom's to represent the first syllable of the word "country" (well, it seemed an accurate description of the vile tyrant during his 14-month reign of amateur despotism and professional destruction.)
Except for a couple of "knowing nods" I didn't receive any "feedback" when I wore one of them (usually in the local supermarket ... then again, I rarely wore either of them or any other type of facial security blanket for that matter (and I didn't stay locked inside my home as so many others continue to do.)
Although in the death throes of his governorship Newsom commands that the totally useless mask continue to be worn until the Ides of June (the day the Communist Chinese Cooties were finally able to reserve a U-Haul and get the hell out of California forever, I presume), I have no idea where either mask is anymore. I haven't seen them since I didn't wear them at Christmas. Cheers!
S&M shops hardest hit.
Bras were turned into masks; so, turning masks into bras would work.
What were their mask sales before the pandemic?
Doilies are the next hot thing.
A type of rooster repellent?
“Binary Bikinis” I like the brand! For Binary people!
Market for fear collapses overnight. Leftists despair…
Yes, in a manner of speaking.
She’s not THAT kind of Hen!
The could start making white hoods for the Democrats...
They had to know that the “mask boom” was temporary and should have planned accordingly.
The demand for fear muzzles will decrease significantly, but Karen still wants to wear her mask so a very small market for the nasty things will remain.
Now, sellers like Henriquez, who spent the past year investing more than $150,000 in her mask business, are trying to figure out how to successfully pivot.
If you have such little foresight as to go and invest that kind of money into inventory/supplies as a trend is bottoming out, or don’t understand how to “pivot”, perhaps you aren’t cut out to be a businesswoman. I suppose now Biden will ask for money to subsidize people like this who have lost their “business” due to the relaxing of covid rules.
That’s why I only have a handful. I’ve been wearing them since 2014 during flu season under the advice of my transplant surgeon. As a result, they don’t technically go out of fashion for me.
And at Anime conventions, they’re a fashion statement due to their popularity in Japanese culture. Trust me, they’ll be around for awhile, especially with all of those who refuse to give them up.
I had kids outside of a Hobby Lobby ask me where my mask was as I exited. I live in Illinois, so some places are still enforcing a non-rule. They then asked if I was vaccinated, and I told them it was rude to ask.
Daughter bought us our first masks on Etsy, paid like 20 bucks apiece including shipping.
Wally World selling them for a buck a throw now.
Was a nice gig while it lasted I guess.
Add more elastic and Turn them into ball warmers.
Haha.
When I go into a store, I now see most masks for $1 - $2, where before they were $5-$10.
Get a job.
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