I never thought that a decision made by Trump somewhere on the other side of the world could almost shut down my business. But that is exactly what happened.
We got a letter from Omniva (Estonian Post) on August 19, saying they would stop shipping parcels to the US starting the very next day. They told us to find other ways to deliver our packages. The problem was that August 20 was a holiday in Estonia, so we didn't have time to do much about it. This was a big deal for us because about sixty percent of our shipments go to the United States. A lot of our customers in America buy wall decals from us, so this change was going to affect our business in a major way. We were going to have to act fast to find a new way to get our products to our US customers.
We quickly began looking for a way to resolve the issue. Our first step was to reach out to Omniva to find out when they would resume shipping. Unfortunately, their response was vague, leaving us with a lot of uncertainty. They told us it could take anywhere from two to three weeks, or possibly even two to three months, before shipping would be back to normal. This was particularly concerning for us, as we were still receiving a steady stream of orders for our wall decals from customers in the United States every day.
We came up with a solution, but it wasn't ideal. Instead of stopping sales in the United States on online marketplaces, we chose to continue as usual. The reason for this decision was largely due to how Amazon, Etsy, and eBay work - everything is based on rankings. The more products you sell, the higher you rank in search results. We had spent years building up our rankings, and the thought of losing all that progress in just one day was too much to bear. So, we decided to keep selling our wall decals as we always had.
We used to ship everything through Omniva, but then we had to switch to FedEx. The issue was that FedEx was a lot more expensive - it cost two to three times as much. This was a big problem for us, because it meant that our profits almost disappeared overnight. Suddenly, our margins were barely there, and we had to figure out how to make it work with the new shipping costs.
We got hit again about a week later. All the packages that were ready before August 20, but handed over to Omniva after that, were sent back to us. A total of 70 packages came back. By the end of September, we were facing a big loss, mainly because the shipping costs ate up all our earnings.
We started to get used to things. We found out that we could send small wall decals to the United States in regular envelopes with stamps. They got to where they were going without any problems. This helped us save some money. In October, we were able to raise our prices by about five dollars. Luckily, our competitors also raised their prices, so the market changed together. Even though October was still a little slow, it was better than September.
Let me make one thing clear. Omniva didn't do anything wrong. They were ready, and everything was working fine on their end. The problem actually happened in the United States, with the USPS system. They just weren't prepared to handle parcels, process customs forms, and deal with all the data. So, the issue wasn't in Estonia, it was in America.
We had been waiting for weeks, having weekly calls with Omniva, just to get some updates. And then, after nearly two months, they finally reopened shipping to the United States, but only for business clients. It was a huge relief, to be honest. However, there was a catch - the price had gone up by about one and a half times. But at least now we have a clear idea of what the real shipping costs are, and we can set our marketplace prices for wall decals in a way that lets us make a profit again. This is a big deal for us, because it means we can start moving forward and growing our business once more.
This whole ordeal almost brought my business to a standstill, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. It made us take a step back and re-evaluate everything we were doing. We came up with new ideas, revamped our entire logistics system, and figured out ways to get things to our customers more efficiently. And you know what? It showed us that our team is capable of overcoming anything that comes our way. We learned to think on our feet and handle unexpected problems, which has made us a stronger and more resilient company in the long run.
We got a nice surprise too. I was able to build a strong relationship with UPS during this time. They had better deals than FedEx, with lower prices and faster delivery. We're almost done signing a contract with them, which will make our wall decals delivery even more reliable in the US.
We developed a quiet algorithm to reduce losses. When an order came in from the US, we'd pack it and put it on hold for ten days. If Omniva could fix the problem within that time frame, we'd ship it through them. But if they couldn't, we'd switch to FedEx instead. Luckily, our standard delivery time is around two weeks, so everything still arrived on schedule. The best part was that our customers were none the wiser - they never knew about the behind-the-scenes scramble to get their orders to them on time.
That is the story. Not the most pleasant one, but very real. One decision made far away can change your plans in a single day. And sometimes, when your business is built around shipping wall decals across the ocean, you learn very quickly how dependent you are on systems you cannot control.
