#and it's like we're paying for the test because we legally have to but anything else will depend on your plan

[thequeenofsastiel]

So while I don't love the idea of sharing my medical information like this, especially because the reason for my illness was pure stupidity on my part, I think what happened to me is so important for people to know, especially since cannabis(weed/pot/grass/marijuana etc) will almost certainly be legalized in the United States nationwide for recreational use in the next few years.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I 100% support legalization. Don't get it twisted. But there's a disease associated with cannabis use that I think is important to know about.

What happened to me was Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. For people who don't want to click the link, essentially what happened is that my brain stopped processing THC(one of the active ingredients in cannabis which starts out as THCA but turns into THC when burned) in the same way that it normally does. They still don't completely understand why yet, though hopefully more research will be done to explain what exactly is happening in the brain and body. The symptoms are cyclical vomiting and intense abdominal pain. Because the disease isn't well known, people who get it usually end up consuming more and more because paradoxically cannabis treats what it causes. This can lead to a complete inability to even keep water down, which can result in kidney failure, killing the person who has it. This is almost what happened to me.

About six years ago I developed the disease. Like most people, I had no idea what was wrong so I kept smoking more and more. I lost all of my body fat, my muscles got eaten away to the point where I couldn't walk or even feed myself. I eventually had to go to the hospital for a kidney infection. I went to five doctors before I got to one who knew about CHS and was able to diagnose me. So I stopped smoking cannabis, and recovered eventually. And I would be remiss to not acknowledge that the only reason I survived was because my girlfriend and her husband(I'm poly) insisted that I move in with them so they could take care of me. They hand fed me, held me up in the shower, took me to doctors, and even allowed me to bring my cat to their house despite the fact that husband was allergic. I owe them my life.

For over a year, I couldn't even be in the same room as someone smoking cannabis. But slowly it got to the point where I could. And because cannabis is addictive(yes, it is addictive, don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you otherwise), I started smoking periodically. But I couldn't do it too often or my symptoms came back. CHS is a lifelong condition, as far as we're currently aware.

A few weeks back my roommate went out of town and asked me to care for their cat, saying I could have as much of their weed as I wanted. Because I was addicted and also stupid I smoked for a week straight. Then they came back and I stopped. I knew I'd probably pay for it, but I had no idea how much.

About a week and a half ago, I woke up around 2 AM needing to use the restroom. But I was massively dizzy and couldn't walk straight, and kept crashing into walls on my way there. I managed to go and make it back to my bed, and spent a couple of hours slowly getting dizzier and dizzier and more and more panicked. I finally decided that I couldn't handle it alone, so I reluctantly woke up my roommate. They sat with me on the couch while I got worse and worse(and berated me for not waking them up sooner, god I love my roommate).

After about an hour we realized we had no choice but to go to the hospital. We were planning on taking their car, but I eventually crumpled to the ground and was only barely responsive, so they called an ambulance. They had to strap me to a chair to carry me down two flights of stairs(we live on the third floor).

Once I got to the hospital, the doctors ran every test imaginable and they couldn't find anything wrong with me, likely because they've yet to develop tests for CHS. Since we couldn't find anything wrong with me, we had to assume that it was my CHS recurring. But it was worse this time.

The last time I had CHS, I never collapsed and became non responsive. I just lost more and more weight and had abdominal pain so severe that I could barely bring myself to breathe. So I had no way of anticipating what would happen. None of the research done on it so far indicates that this could be a result.

The result wasn't just nausea. I couldn't walk. Which made no sense. My leg muscles were fine. I didn't have any physical injuries. But I couldn't walk. So I was sent to a physical rehab facility. After a few days I finally had a physical therapist who is familiar with CHS and also has extensive knowledge of how the brain works. She said that what probably happened was that cannabis scrambled the neurons in my brain which damaged my ability to process external information in the way needed to be able to balance enough to walk. There's no guarantee that that's exactly what happened, but it makes the most sense to me. So they needed to work with me while my brain recovered. Which it did. I'm fine now. Though I still need anti nausea meds, but that probably won't be for much longer; my stomach appears to be recovering.

That's what happened to me. I don't like sharing how stupid I was, but I think it's important that people know that this is a potential side effect of cannabis use. Please either reblog this, make your own post about it, and/or tell people in your life that this can happen. Because this disease kills. I feel lucky to be alive after this. Though I will likely owe thousands of dollars to the hospital even with insurance. I don't know how much yet, and I'm not looking forward to the bill. Yay to the American healthcare system.

Sidenote, a fascinating side effect happened. I can no longer remember what it feels like to be high. Like intellectually I could tell you what it felt like, but the feeling is no longer there. The urge is no longer there. That's why I've been using past tense when I say I was addicted to it. The desire is simply gone for the first time in ten years. I think my brain is protecting itself. Refusing to allow me to want it so this never happens again. It's incredible what trauma can do to the brain. And may I just say. Thank fucking goodness.

[kandovany]

Help?? I'm kinda having a crisis?

So I'm transgender FtM, and 18. I came out back in 2019 to my parents, they blew me off. I always told them I wasn't comfortable being who I am, since I was 6.

They always berated me.

Well my brother, came out as FtM too. He did it a week after my parents finally acknowledged my transition.

My parents completely blew me off, and congratulated him. My brother has always gotten the good end of the stick, since he's not 'troubled' like me.

He basically used me as a lab rat to test the waters and see if it was safe to come out. Now I wouldn't be pissed, if it wasn't for him telling my parents I'm quote 'Faking it' because I'm not as masculine as him? Gender is a spectrum sweetie.

Not just that, but because he's transgender too, he's convinced my parents that siblings can't be transgender. They can. It can be genetic.

I feel like this is a rat race where we're literally fighting for our parents attention. I fully support his transition. But I don't support the fact he'd throw me under the bus like this, to fend for himself. I barely got anything from our parents, I can't even go to college because they took my college fund. Meanwhile they'll fund his college fund. I'm an adult so I should probably just get over it, but when it comes to the other stuff they've been doing, which I'll discuss soon, we have a problem.

My parents are allowing him to transition. And paying for it out of their own pockets.

My parents told me when I came out (Keep in mind I was just as old as he is now) To basically pay for everything on my own, they're not accepting me, it's just a phase, and I can go live on the streets and be homeless.

I don't fucking know what to do at this point, because nobody in my family fucking accepts me.

To make matters worse, my psychotic Mother, decided to convince my psychiatrist that I'm not mentally stable enough to be in charge of MY own documentation. This means she's been going in, reading my notes, changing where I had my name CHANGED on documents, and accusing me of doing all this ludicrous shit. My mother shouldn't be able to do this considering she has diagnosed Mucheusen. Shouldn't that be a red flag? And I'm a ✨LEGAL FUCKING ADULT✨

Which no shame to people with mental disabilities, I'm just horrified what's going on.

She's made it out that I have schizophrenia and Borderline Personality Disorder. I don't.

But if someone can please give advice, I literally don't fucking know what to do.

I sometimes feel like her mislabeling me is taking away from people who ACTUALLY NEED MENTAL HEALTH and who's parents AREN'T JUST BATSHIT CRAZY. Like I know dozens of others that need this help, not me. I'm scared these labels she puts too, will also label these people badly.

[asleepinawell]

american health insurance companies: sorry to hear you caught the plague, we sent you some soap (fine print: but we aren't paying for anything else unless we have to)

[newtonsheffield]

Ughhh those paparazzi saying those awful things in front of Edmund… I was wondering what he thought after the whole incident

I think Edmund was a little confused to say the least.

I think Edmund understands that his Dad is somewhat of a public figure but I don't think he really understands what exactly that means. And I don't think he really understands that Anthony could buy him the entire gift shop at the museum and it wouldn't even really make a dent. He knows vaguely that his Dad is wealthy, but he doesn't really know how wealthy until he tells his Dad that what his mum really wants is a car, and Anthony has his car go to the most expensive looking car garage Edmund's ever seen, test drives the car and says

"Do you think Mum'll like this one Sprout?"

And they sit with the sales person who says the total the car will come to and Edmund let's out a little squeak, barely able to comprehend so much money and Anthony shrugs, digging into his pocket and says

"If I pay you with a cheque can I drive it home now?"

And Edmund sits in the front seat of his Mum's new Range Rover driving through the city and finally says.

"You're like really rich aren't you?"

And his Dad shakes his head and says "No. We're really rich. Your Mum and I have a joint account now, though she's yet to use it."

And he sounds almost irritated.

So at this point in the story, Edmund's more confused than anything else, he doesn't really understand why people would even be interested in him. And he doesn't really understand why they were calling him a bastard.

And at dinner, after he's seen the pictures online, and the articles calling his Mum a gold digger he asks about it.

"Mum, why were they calling me a bastard?"

Everyone at the table stops, frozen, and his grandmother recovers first.

"Edmund, sweetheart maybe we should-"

But his mum cuts her off. "It's fine Mary, he's allowed to have questions."

She takes a deep breath putting her fork down as she continues, "Neddy, they were calling you that because they assume that your Dad and I weren't married."

His brow furrowed, "But you were, you got married. You said you did."

She smiles sadly, "It can be a little complicated, sometimes when you get married outside of the country, it's not the same as getting married here."

"So you were never married?! Did you lie to me?!" He doesn't know why he's getting so upset, but something just keeps pushing him harder and harder, even though he can see his Mum's getting upset as well.

"Neddy, please." She says quietly, and he can see the tears in his eyes. "Your father and I considered ourselves married, whether or not it was legal."

And it should have been enough, but for some reason, it just wasn't, not when he'd had a good day, and it had been ruined. "So you don't even know?! Well that's just great! Now I'm a bastard and you're a slut! That's what people are saying about you, you know that, don't you?!"

And he can't wait for her answer, stands from the table and storms from the room, even when his Aunt, whose never raised her voice to him in is whole life says,

"Edmund Sharma, come back here and apologise to your mother, this instant!"

Even when his grandmother says "Edmund, sweetheart-"

Even when he here's his mum's choked sob.

He keeps going.

[fjordfolk]

Sorry if this isn't the sort of question you wanna answer publicly! But if you don't mind, could you tell me how breeders are in Norway? Here in America, they tend to be REALLY snooty and rarely will a breeder give anyone under 25 the time of day. We're pretty good at health testing, not so good at not breeding biters. Oftentimes we'll have NuVet and ~holistic~ thrown around. Minimal vaccination protocol too, if any vaccines at all! Are Norwegian breeders less ridiculous?

Ofc it's hard to speak in broad lines, but culturally I'd say yeah, it's pretty different. But then they’re also just all people and you’ll find good and bad, you know?

TLDR; You’re pretty likely to get a dog from whichever breeder you want. Most breeders follow the rules, but the rules are outdated. Some people are just assholes.

I can only speak to sheltie/farmdog/spitz breeders etc because those are the ones I mostly interact with, and breeders of high-drive dogs are (rightfully) pickier and have different ways of doing things, but I'd say there's no inherent problem for anyone to buy a dog from a breeder in Norway. I know several people who got their dogs around 18, I was 21 without any kind of experience or ambition and right out of school when I got Sparta, and I've never been met with hesitation from a breeder. Imo most aren’t snooty, but some are pretty set in their ways.

I think part of the difference is that *most* breeds in Norway have no pet/preformance split. There's no difference in price or contract depending on how "hopeful" a puppy is. There's no "pet quality" and "show quality" or limited registration or anything like that. Sparta, with no champion parents, cost the same and came with the same contract as a puppy of a 3x world champion. Legally, all dogs sold on a standard NKK contract are pets. Dogs are usually expensive, too -  many breeds these days standard at roughly $2000.

Breeders of companion-type dogs are expected to raise their puppies more or less in the living room, the idea being that if you're breeding family members, you should be raising family members. Not all do, of course, but kennel buildings seem more frowned upon now than a few years ago. For this reason, I tend to look for breeders with younger kids or grandkids, since I feel they're the most likely to understand the importance of stability in a dog that's "just a pet."Vaccinations are routine and must be done by a vet - twice or thrice by the time they're 3 months old and then usually annually. At this point, vacc coverage in Norway is good enough that Parvo incidents are news stories.

Imo in "my" breeds, we have a handful of great breeders that check most or all marks, heaps and heaps of "okay" breeders that could certainly be doing more but isn't actively fucking up the breed, and a handful of really shit breeders you couldn't pay me to take a puppy from. You have about the same chance of getting a puppy from any of them, though, and it’s pretty high.

Norwegian breeders as a whole are shit at health testing though. There are good ones, for sure, but in shelties we're still having arguments about whether screening for HD is "looking for problems" and I see plenty and enough dams whose only health documentation is "eye screened clear as a puppy." Shelties are also one of the breeds with a lot of politics, the community seems super clique-y, with main divides running along topics like health testing and UK vs US lines. It's here, with the ones still arguing about things that happened in the 70s, that you'll get into the breeders that won't sell you a puppy. Not because you're too young or lack experience or aren't a good enough handler, but probably because your cousin once bought their puppy from someone they don't like.

I read a post a while back about someone talking to a judge of Elkhounds. Elkhounds used to be remarkably bad-tempered, it was thought that in order to risk their life going up against a half-tonne horned beast, a dog had to be mean. The jugde said something like "we've come far in eliminating poor temperament in our dogs now. I wish I could say the same about the owners."

[sixeyesgojo]

Hi. I'm not sure if anyone will read this since it's a little personal but I want to remind people:

being kind is a virtue but a free one. Especially if you work in a teaching position.

I actually kept it short because so much more happened but basically it's this:

Lately, I have had a very hard time with all the stress piling up one by one - without being able to solve them due to lack of time. So last week I went home and kind of ditched school, so I can take care of my other stuff (that is way more important) and to see my parents again. However, due to circumstances worsening, I had to call in sick and it came to the point where I decided to restart taking medication. However, I forgot to hand in my doctor's note on the same day and called my principal to let her know and explain my situation.

Instead of listening to me, she cut me off and assumed stuff. I don't know what she thought nor do I care but her comment devalued not only my health condition, morals, but also endangered my wellbeing because she sent me straight into a spiral of mental breakdowns with her reaction. One after another, they came after she hung up on me after wishing me to "get well soon" rather passive-aggressively.

I understand she is busy as a principal (she hardly responds to us) but she didn't give me any time to explain what was going on with me.

I have a lot of stuff to do and at this point, I have no idea how to shoulder it all. Furthermore, I am not someone who cries easily over their own circumstances but I cried a lot that day.

Despite paying a lot for this school and being a diligent top student (some of you may know), I considered dropping out right then. It might seem impulsive in your eyes but this wasn't the first time she made a student cry since we started in September. This isn't being straightforward nor does this contribute to solving any problems, this is being an asshole without merit. In that vulnerable moment that I had, that person managed to rob me of any hope that I held onto all those weeks.

This school seriously has issues regarding organization. We've been in exam phase non-stop since March. The first exam phase ended. We had one week of break and then the next one already started and we're currently still in it. Additionally, I also have to prepare a presentation about a company in English and study because we regularly have tests twice a week in Japanese. On top of that, I struggle financially and I have to deal with some legal documents. (etc.)

Last night, I fell asleep while working on my presentation in English. I couldn't finish it in time. Of course, I felt bad when I told my English teacher that I couldn't finish it in time. Judging that it was better to be direct with him, I told him I couldn't do it because I am mentally unstable.

He pulled me out of class and talked to me, asked if I was okay, if I can attend class right now or if it was better to go home. He was very kind and you could see that he was very concerned. He listened to me, let me explain my situation and gave his advice respectfully. He told me that it was okay and that I should do whatever makes me feel better - even if that was taking an extended break. He also told me not to worry about my principal and that I was doing excellently.

Just like that, without admonishing me, he managed to create a safe space for me where I could be vulnerable (my voice cracked too) and feel safe.

Kindness doesn't cost you anything and it can make someone's life much better. Trust me when I say that I will appreciate this man for life now.

[consultinggallifreyanfallenangel]

I need help from my SPN Family or literally anyone.. I don't have any family or friends that can help me.

I've been extremely sick with a sinus infection that has spread to my eyes, ears, throat and lungs. I tested negative for Covid, but it might be a new variant. I'm literally going blind from whatever this is. I'm also dealing with possible pancreatitis and might need surgery, but I can't see a specialist for a few more weeks.

I've been sick since February 27th. I have an immunodeficiency that makes it nearly impossible for my body to fight off any virus. Whatever I have now is the WORST I've ever had, that's including the time I barely survived double-pneumonia when I was 2.

I missed so much work from this illness that they fired me. They wouldn't allow me to enter the building with my symptoms or work from home because I was an "essential employee". It was a temporary contract, office job so I didn't have any benefits like PTO or FMLA.

I've been to numerous doctors and put on 3 separate rounds of the strongest antibiotics and steroids any doctor can legally prescribe me and I'm still getting worse.

To top things off, my brother (only family I have) has been homeless and living on my couch for months and he broke his leg right after I got sick, so he can't work for the next few months, either. He JUST started his job before he fell at home, so he doesn't qualify for PTO or FMLA either. There's no way he can help out financially.

I also have a permanent back disability from a semi-recent work injury. I have extreme difficulty standing/walking and I'm not supposed to lift over 15 pounds for the rest of my life. So finding a new job is very difficult.

I applied for unemployment but somehow lost my benefits a day after I was approved and I don't even know why, so I never received any financial aid from the government.

I started working part-time for DoorDash, because I need some kind of income ASAP and I can't exactly work in an office while I'm extremely sick. I wear PPE but I'm still worried about getting other people sick. I can only work a few hours a day and it's EXTREMELY difficult for me to do with my back disability and illness, but it's the only thing I can think of to get income fast. I can't exactly donate plasma and I don't own anything I can sell.

I'm literally relying on tips from this part-time job to pay all of mine and my brother's bills. I've had to cut corners literally everywhere. I'm driving my car without insurance and gas prices have skyrocketed so this job might not even be worth it.

I've literally never asked for anything in my life and I feel extremely ashamed making this post.. but I made a GoFundMe page for myself and my brother.

We're both terrified of being evicted any day. I literally checked myself into a behavioral unit just to get medication to calm me down. I've just about maxed out of credit cards paying the rent and don't have any savings to fall back on. I'm in so much debt right now that I can't take out a loan and my brother is in even more debt than me that it literally made him homeless in the first place. He also isn't on my lease and legally isn't allowed to live with me, so that alone could get us evicted.

TL;DR: I lost my job due to being incredibly sick for over a month and now myself and my brother might get evicted.

We really appreciate any financial aid we can get, even $1 would help us at least buy some groceries.

Here is a link to our GoFundMe

Thank you 🖤

[existentialstatesofmind]

Our First Christmas

Clare: raised an eyebrow at the mention of a loophole, that could either be bad or good for Erika. She listened closely and slowly nodded. Erika needed parents who could focus on her and she didn't know if they had enough attention to give a child right now. There was so much going on in their lives and things wouldn't be slowing down for at least the next year. She expected their moms to drive them, especially her, up the wall with wedding planning before Clare and Drew got their special day and a honeymoon as a reward. Drew had a new restaurant to run too."I'm only enrolled in a few online classes but I'm taking them so I can advance at work. The position I want is going to be opening up soon, one of my co-workers is taking a better job in Vancouver. If I get it then I'll have the security I need." Clare reminded Drew. "Legally they'd have to offer maternity leave to me if we fostered or adopted a child...if I took it now though I don't know what I'd do if I got pregnant. I don't know how often we're allowed." She smiled at her fiancé . "Well, you're considerate and thoughtful unlike Audra but she didn't ruin anything. I can still think about it. Either way, we're going to be spending time with Erika. More time than I'd get to at the hospital." Clare wouldn't rush into anything they couldn't handle. Not even as a temporary situation. She was very aware of the fact that they'd gotten a puppy because they weren't ready for a bigger responsibility yet. This was really unexpected. They'd talked about having a big family after they were married. Clare knew which room she wanted to be the nursery and they'd discussed turning another one into a playroom. There would still be several available after that like the room she'd put Erika in. Space wasn't an issue. "Okay." Clare went on into the kitchen. She knew what she wanted, the snack stuff, so she got it out of the icebox. "Aww. They'll be best buds in no time, and this will keep Dutchess away from the tree. I know and not just Erika. Us too. Which is why I wanted something else to eat. So we're not as tempted to eat the decorations." She laughed softly. "Fix your sandwich please, we've got work to do." Clare instructed Drew. "This might be the only alone time we get too. I had things I was going to share with you Babe." She bit her lip. Did the situation with Erika cancel out any excitement over her test results?

Drew: listened when Clare reminded him about having the security with her job that she needs. "That's great to have the security just in case something happens." he smiled at her. When she mentioned not having maternity leave now if she got pregnant, he shook his head. "There is no defined amount of maternity or paternal leaves you get by law. Giving birth is different, that effects your body so they have to give you maternity leave for that even if you already took one to foster a kid. If work denies it after you give birth we can and will sue and we'd win simply because you need the time to to heal." He explained. "I had to have a lawyer make up the contracts for my employees and read them. That was in the contract and should be in yours. Even if it's not in yours the law states that when a woman gives birth she is required at least seventeen weeks maternity leave failure to oblige to that law can result in not only a law suit, but the company will be fined by the state amongst other things. When fostering or adopting a kid, you get thirty-five weeks simply because of the process and its up to the company to pay you or not. Law states that both leaves are unpaid, but it's the employers choice to pay or not, however you do get to keep your benefits, your seniority still goes up, and you keep your job. A lawyer had to drill most of the laws into my head." he explained, though he was unsure of what was happening with Erika, but also knowing that wouldn't put their plans on hold. Sure they had to fit Erika in their lives for the time being, but he knew regardless that his mom would be willing to take her to get Omar used to her. "I can also take Erika to work with me, I don't have to stop by as much. Jazz gave me her general manager so she balances the money at the end of the night and enters the amount in an app my friend created for me. Once she enters the numbers, the app keeps track of it, takes out everyone's pay at the end of each week and messages me the final numbers for said week. The app also lets me know if numbers don't match up. I've been using it before she was hired and it knows our daily income rates so when it's low I will look at it and have to fix it. It also takes out the pay for those who get direct deposits. It had a few bugs in the beginning such as not sending me the correct amount of money in my bank account, but we fixed it and it's been running smoothly. It also let Jazz know she had something wrong with her income and she found out one of her new hires was stealing from her, now she has cameras all over her restaurant and a way to watch from home." he assured. "I just stop by to pick up the paper work. I can do everything else from here. That way Erika has more time with both of us." he added knowing he'd have more time at home with her to help with Erika. Drew laughed when Clare mentioned Erika and Dutchess keeping each other from the tree and kissed her head before fixing his own sandwich. Hearing Clare mention having things to share with him piqued his interest. "What things?" he asked and put his hands on her waist. "Did you get some new lingerie?" he questioned with a raised brow. "Because if you did, we could always test it out. Erika should sleep for a few hours, eat, take her meds, then go back to sleep. Her body needs to regain it's energy levels which could take weeks based upon the information the doctors gave. I had walked in on a parent with her son asking the doctor why he didn't have any energy and wanted to sleep, apparently chemo takes more out of the kids than it does adults." he shrugged. "So her taking four hour naps, then playing for two hours, then taking a three to four hour nap, then playing more and sleeping all night is normal. Week by week she should be sleeping less and less." he assured and took a bite out of his sandwich.

[topicprinter]

PREVIOUS POSTS & CLIFFS - Skip if you've been with us the whole journey!Part 0I'm going to start a dropshipping e-commerce website with a large number of items & a (hopefully) unique value proposition. I'm using this as a test post to see if you guys would be interested in taking the journey with me.Most importantly: I'm not now, nor plan to, sell anything or benefit from this directly by any means. I won't be posting my website, linking to my blog, or offering a course at end (if I start making money). The reason for these posts will be: to gather my thoughts into words, to regurgitate what I'm learning (teaching is the best way to learn new concepts, etc etc) and most importantly to get input from you guys. I'm hoping people may learn from what I do, mistakes I make, things I read/summarize, etc. and that I can learn from your guys' experience.My rules for myself & my customers - I won't use dropshipping from overseas as an excuse for lack of quality. I will only put up items that I have faith in because of reviews, orders, and vendors. I will spend the time to make sure my customers are not "fooled" - upfront on shipping times, easy returns, etc. I will not con people for the sake of making a sale. With transparency & honest interactions I hope to limit my returns/problems & keep recurring buyers as well as take pride in my products & websiteQUESTIONS ANSWERED:I have a question. I've seen some dropshipping sites based on franchise merchandise. Harry Potter, Disney, etc. Are there legal risks? Is there any risk of being shut down or sued?Question - if you ship from aliexpress, how long does it take for your customers to receive the product? A week, a month?How will you address the fact that most customers will probably feel cheated when they order something from your website and then it turns up as a package from some "random" Chinese retailer ?Part 1First and foremost: thank you all for your kind support in this thread... not only the responses, but the dozen+ messages. Some of you just wrote to say you're interested, some even offered to help out. I'm grateful and hope you all keep along with me on the journey - rain or shine.The idea: I debated whether to get specific with you all or not, but.... here goes. If you can do the idea better than I will, congratulations :) The website will be a variety of items curated into collections for gift giving. For example - a curated list of items for college graduation for someone who is into automobiles. This custom curated list will include car tools, unique car items (one real example: an anti-glare sun visor), maybe a battery charger, etc. This gives me two target markets - for the gift giver, and the gift getter. It will have a request feature ("wishlist") but will be marketed towards gift givers ("hey sister of a college graduate, no idea what to get your brother? check out what our staff recommends"The problem(s): it's broad. But what's the biggest problem I forsee? Gift giving isn't always thought ahead of time. It's not something you plan a month in advance (because, you know, dropshipping). Shipping times, shipping problems, shipping times, shipping problems. We'll tackle it. Our marketing will have to be top-notch.Marketing PlanApps & ProgramsChoosing ProductsFinancialsQUESTIONS ANSWERED:Newbie here. Question for you: why did you start your business with shopify? Why not sell your product on amazon first, build up some sales $, then expand into your own webspace? The way you're doing it seems very daunting to someone who has never done this before (me).How do you decide on product pricing ? Do you have a formula you use ? Does it take into account the possibility of returns and the upfront cost of purely the operating cost ? Id love to know more of what kind of margin you shoot for and how you take everything into account to come up with a price.I have a question about how drop shippers become successful at all with the shit turn around time. Unless it's a really niche item I can't get anywhere else I would close any website so fast if I saw 20 day shipping time.Part 2The Website: is more or less finished. I have about 20 products left to finalize (choosing pictures, editing description, etc.) & finalizing some of the categories.The Legal Stuff: This is the major sticking point before I'm ready to launch. A lot of you guys mentioned that my idea of using an LLC & a DBA was overkill and I looked into it further. I decided on bypassing the LLC for now, and just starting as a sole prop w/ a business bank account & credit card and using a DBA. When/if we start making some money, we can move to an LLC (not a single-member one though because it's pretty useless, as far as I've read). I decided against an LLC due to the tax, record keeping, etc. & the fact that in my state the fees for an LLC are about $500 minimum.The Marketing PlanQUESTIONS ANSWERED:Will you reach the merchants from aliexpress before placing an order or you will just place the order without contacting them directly? How do you know they are up for dropshiping? If a client want a refund, they will send the item back to china, you get to pay them (the client) then you ask for the money from the merchant? I really want to know how refund works in this business.How do you know that your customers won't realize you're drop shipping and then order directly from your supplier for a cheaper price?I have a question about how drop shippers become successful at all with the shit turn around time. Unless it's a really niche item I can't get anywhere else I would close any website so fast if I saw 20 day shipping time.1 - WE ARE LIVE, LADIES AND GENTLEMENThe website launched earlier this week, once I finished up all my paper. Here's a cliffnotes on what I did before launch -DBA: Registered DBA instead of using an LLC or starting a new company. We're gonna start as a sole prop and see where we go.Mailbox: I purchased a 3 month plan @ the local UPS for a large sized box for returns, paperwork, and to be able to register for official paperworkBusiness Bank Account: I went with Chase. Easy and smooth. I'm even considering moving my personal accounts over because I liked the experience so much better than my ~15 years of experience with Wells Fargo.Business Credit Card: I applied for and got the Spark Business Card from Capital One. They offer 2% cash back and $500 cash bonus. Got a $10k spending limit off the bat. Thank you Dad for teaching me about maintaining good credit @ 16 years old. I did however run into one problem with Capital One.... they made me go to visit a branch in person to be able to authorize my card. They're only open 9am-4pm on weekdays, and the closest one to me is 50 miles away. That was a shitty day. Totally unncessary... but I guess fraud protection brings about weird things.Sales tax: Did a little bit of research, talked to a few friends, shit is confusing. First filing date is next year, so we got some time to work it out. For right now, Shopify is taking care of determining the sales tax for customers in my stateAliexpress account created, all social accounts made, products finished & updated, and the website framework is complete.2 - What the Website Looks LikeHomepageHomepage2CategoriesProduct PageTracking PageAll the pictures are free use stock photos from https://unsplash.com/3 - Wait - we have sales?Of course we have sales! Unfortunately.... they're all from family :( During the first few days of launch, I wanted to work on the tracking pages, practice ordering from Aliexpress, looking at the e-mail templates for ordering/shipping/payment, etc. We have a variety of outcomes....Order 1: 2/3/17 (2 items)Item 1: Processed (purchased on Aliexpress) 2/4/17, shipped 2/6/17 from China, arrived in USA 2/9/17, expected delivery 2/11/17 = ONE WEEK TURN AROUNDItem 2: Uhoh. Processed 2/4/17...... quiet. Quiet. Nothing from vendor. Where is it? Messaged vendor 2/7/17.... bummer. Cancelled. I've heard about some vendors who put ePacket as an option but do not actually offer it. This company had TONS of orders & good feedback, as well as the top star rating, but still had this issue. Kind of scary. For the future, if this comes up again I will tell the customer that the item is backordered and the ship date will increase, and ask them if they prefer to receive a refund or accept the increased shipping time. I will then be removing the vendor and all their products off my list.Order 2: 2/5/17 (1 item)Item 1: Processed (purchased) 2/5/17, shipped 2/6/17 from China, arrived in USA 2/9/17, out for delivery 2/10/17 = FIVE DAY TURN AROUNDSo....Ordering via Aliexpress using Oberlo is a BREEZE. Orders easily, uses customers address, pays easily, leaves pre-written note, attaches information to Shopify when order is placed, and easily updates tracking. All done via the Chrome extensionUsing three different vendors, I had three vast experiences. The first item processed & shipped reasonably. The second item I heard NOTHING until I reached out, and then had the epacket issue. The third item, I got a message from the vendor very quickly saying they received the order and will be shipping soon - processed quickly and no problems.4 - Wait.... wtf is this Merchandise section?You may have noticed in the screenshots of the new MERCHANDISE section. I know this T-shirt Dropship Thread by /u/W1ZZ4RD got lots of hate on this subreddit (the people on /r/juststart were much nicer....) but I ran across it and I was inspired. I see why a lot of people are skeptical - he's selling his b2b software, he's not talking much about how to actually MAKE the sales, and he seems to have an invested interest in teelaunch. I looked into it heavily and here's why I decided to pursue a similar (if not same) approach to add to my website:Yes he's promoting his b2b program. He doesn't shy away from it. He answers all the questions in the thread, and knows what he's talking about. I can appreciate the honesty, and I definietly appreciate that he's still answering questions 1 month laterThe biggest hiccup people will have is finding a designer - I already have one. My best friend is a designer, and we've decided to work on it together. He designs on his spare time, and we'll split up profits from merchandise. I don't need to do any work on that end.The biggest deal for me: my products felt sparse. I had ~230 products at the moment from Aliexpress, but each of the categories felt light because it's spread so thin. I found this opportunity to be a GREAT way to increase my inventory list easily - and without maintaining a huge 500-750 product list from Aliexpress.The fulfillment & following up could not be easier using teelaunch. I have found their customer service & information lacking, but as long as they follow through with their promise of fulfillment I have found it great so far. I've placed one test order for myself, and the app deals with the fulfillment, the payment, shipping, e-mailing, tracking, etc.Using a second sales channel on Amazon will be a great way to boost income - I hope. Since it's pretty easy to transfer information from Shopify to Amazon now that they're integrated, I think there could be a lot of space for additional income streams. Unfortunately, I could not post any of the Aliexpress items on Amazon (for obvious reasons), but custom merchandise I can. Let's see how it goes.Here's a screenshot: http://ift.tt/2lyhT8a - I'm still working on adding all the items to Amazon as well as to the website itself. This will be a continual process but one I have great hope for.5 - So what's next?Over the next month, I will be introducing a few new products from Aliexpress, lots of custom merchandise products (whenever I get designs from my designer, basically), and then spending the majority of the time on marketing & advertising now that the framework is set in place. The plan:$100/month on Google Adwords (plus a free $100 thanks to Shopify's coupon thing)$100/month on Facebook Ads/Facebook Likes$100/month on the remaining ad spend - Reddit? Instagram? Social Influencers? Etc.Now that the majority of the website framework is done, the next post will cover the marketing plan & advertising. I will include my plans, my ads, my results, what I've learned, ask for advice, all that good stuff. I'm looking forward to analyzing the ROI and sharing the results with you all.The last remaining part of the website to do is SEO - keyword analysis, content creation, backlinking, etc. That will be a continuous process that I will explain further along w/ the marketing in the next postHere's a few links I'll be reading and using over the next month.... http://ift.tt/2ltlAjB http://ift.tt/2lyexCb http://ift.tt/2c2kClY http://ift.tt/2l0vFUE - Financials & AppsBusiness Expenses so far (approx 2 months):DBA Register: $23.00DBA Newspaper Posting: $23.00Shopify Theme: $58.00Namecheap Domain & Email: $14.06 (1 year)Instagress Payment: $9.99 (1 month of "time", mostly for testing)UPS Mailbox: $150.00 (3 months)Shopify: $106.88TOTAL: $384.93..Monthly Costs Moving Forward (including Shopify Apps):Mailbox: $50.00Amazon Professional Account: $39.99Shopify Monthly: $29.00Consistent Cart App: $4.99Fomo App: $19.00Oberlo App: $29.90 (/u/kalvel please give me free stuff)Trust App: $0.00HelpCenter App: $0.00MailChimp App: $0.00SocialShopWave App: $29.00 (these guys had the best wishlist app, and their customer service was AMAZING. they helped me for hours via chat. I love them. /u/Kalysbek you are a baller, thank you.)TaxJar App: $19.00Teelaunch App: $0.00Trackr App: $0.00TOTAL: $220.88/month..So, let's try to make $250/month profit to start off with. Cool?THE END. Please let me know any questions you have, any suggestions you have, any advice you have, and let me know if you guys like the layout of the posts. More info? Less info? More screenshots? More explanation? More TL;DR? Let me know.P.S. I will respond to posts & messages as fast as I can, but please be patient. Thanks. Thanks for your kind words, thanks for your help, and thanks for your love.