For one small business owner, COVID-19 was a blessing in disguise. Tahira Resalat, known as the woman behind Teecaake, relaunched her Harry Styles-inspired online shop in December of 2019, months before the pandemic hit. Her shop’s following grew rapidly due to social media outreach and the influx of spare income. Teecaake operates from London and now boasts three hand-drawn collections: The Harry Collection, The Woman Collection, and The Desi Collection with a variety of prints, mugs, clothing, and accessories.
While COVID-19 did a few favors for Resalat, the recent USPS controversy in the United States “absolutely affected [the number of sales].” She explained, “It’s not only shipping, it’s the whole system. I’m seeing [the few things I have sent to America] trapped in a port for days, weeks even.”
In August, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy cut overtime, removed 700 high-volume mail sorters, and limited post office hours causing extreme delivery delays. This move raised concerns for domestic small businesses that rely on the USPS, as it is the only carrier that delivers to every address. For international small businesses, it meant something else entirely.
Resalat used to offer free shipping worldwide but due to USPS cuts, the price to ship to America doubled overnight.
“A majority of my consumer base is in America because [Styles’] has a huge fanbase there. When I was charging free shipping the money I was making was still worthwhile. [After the cuts], I was making negative money, taking into account shipping, manufacturing, and fees. The only thing I could do was change shipping prices because if I raised product prices, people in Europe would be unfairly paying extra [for something only applicable to America.] But as soon as you see free shipping taken off, people are like ‘I don’t want to shop from here.’”
Resalat’s mother helps her with the packaging on high-volume days. She said, “[The cuts] increased the number of damaged parcels that are being received. We’re doing our best to take more time to damage-proof [packages.] This adds more hours to the … process but it has to be done.”
Resalat tries her hardest to make sure her customers receive their orders but “there’s nothing I can physically do after I take it to the postal office. There’s a lack of awareness about the effects of the cuts … Small businesses aren’t Amazon. [Customers] expect packages right away and they’ll take it out on me by saying hurtful things. I’m being forced to refund sales because of massive delays [and damages] that aren’t my fault.”
Resalat relies heavily on social media to stay connected with her customers. She recently joined TikTok with the help of her sister, Tahta Resalat, who raised another concern amidst these trying times: “Talks of [TikTok being banned in America] caused a lot of chaos in the community which is definitely a negative if you’re using the platform to make sales.”
Resalat makes an active effort to stay positive despite the recent change in sales. “All I can do is be consistent. I’m having to pay a lot to send [PR boxes to influencers in America] to get the word out because [customers] are definitely deterred if there’s no more free shipping. Hopefully, if they like my work enough they won’t mind paying a little more.”
She concluded, “[Postal services] are great. It’s given me a chance to excel … and they’re supporting people of color and women-owned businesses. They make deliveries happen. If you take money out of it, you’re not just hurting services, you’re hurting individuals who have the opportunity to be so much more.”