Tumblr Imposters - October 19, 2024
I've been getting a lot of reports from people again regarding someone on tumblr posing as me and posting my patreon material [ account mustystrade ]. I am aware of this, but I don't have a tumblr account so I can't send in a report. I'm not really willing to make any more social media accounts, and frankly I feel that it would be a waste of time.
I simply cannot control the behaviour of other people. Even if tumblr took the account down, they would probably just make another one. I was on social media for over 20 years before I deleted all of my accounts, and in that time I have learned 1000 times that I do not have the power to make anyone change their mind. If someone is willing to pretend to be me, go against everything I've asked people not to do, and publicly post content I create for my Patreon to survive, then I can assure you that they do not give a single shit about my well-being and will not listen to what I have to say.
That's just how things are and why I won't be returning to social media. All I can do is keep making art.
New Shirts Available - October 11, 2024
I've upscaled and retouched a couple of designs used in TPOF and uploaded them to my Teepublic store!
Derek's scorpion tattoo prints on the BACK for T-shirts- I figured that was the more appropriate way to set that up. I only earn $2 per shirt sale from Teepublic so I admit I often forget about it ^^; But a friend told me I should put these up so people can have them and I agreed. Check em out if you wanna :D
Low Shop Stock - October 10, 2024
Hello folks! My Etsy store is a bit low on stock on some items. I've just bought a small restock order to replenish some of the low-stock items [ Fox keychains, Strade/Ren/Lawrence bloody portrait keychains, Derek keychains, and Gore Whore shakers ]
I apologize for the low stock and for only buying a small restock before the holiday season. I made a bit of a financial fucky wucky.
Basically, I spent everything I had to buy a foreclosed apartment that will have a room for merch so I can run my business better [ and renovations to make it liveable ], and then the CRA decided that they want all of my next years taxes up front halfway through the year. Not sure how that's legal but you can't really argue with the tax man and I'm not trying to get my legs broke. Anyway, because of all that I don't have enough money to buy a proper restock.
I do not need help with this, so please don't worry. I've already got it sorted. It's just going to be a kind of awkward winter this year with possibly some stock holes in the store. This will be temporary! Everything will eventually be properly restocked. I should operating more smoothly by next spring! [ And once I've actually moved into the new apartment, I'll finally have the space to develop and stock brand new merch items! ]
Etsy's Lies [ sigh ] - October 3, 2024
If you have made an order recently on Etsy [ where my shop is based ] or plan to in the near future, please be aware that Etsy is displaying shorter delivery estimates to customers than are actually true.
The image above was screencapped from my shipping label purchase screen. I did not sit on this order whatsoever- the customer actually made the order minutes before I took this screencap and bought their shipping label.
This phenomenon is very common, affecting most of my orders and, according to the seller forums, a lot of every other seller's orders as well. It appears to be a widespread issue throughout Etsy- at least from shops based in Canada and the US.
I believe Etsy is lying to customers about the delivery estimates to appear more competitive in the approaching holiday season, since shops with indie sellers generally do not have access to the infrastructure that allows websites like Amazon to send orders in a single day. However, these lies have consequences for the sellers. Most customers view me [ or any other seller ] as solely responsible for the speed of deliveries, when the reality is that we have zero control over any part of the delivery process aside from when the package is initially put in a post box.
So, in conclusion, I suppose I am just asking my customers to please order your items well in advance of when you need them- they may arrive a few days later than Etsy tells you they will.
Patreon Leaks - August 29, 2024
I just wanted to post a quick reminder that I do know there are several social media accounts leaking my Patreon content [ I've been getting a lot of messages again ]. Unfortunately, there's really nothing I can do about it. I don't have social media accounts of my own to report with and even if I did, they would simply make new accounts.
If you don't have enough money to subscribe to my Patreon and you really want to see the art previews, you can go see the leaks. It's okay.
If you don't have enough money buy my games and pirate them instead, it's okay.
The economy is shit right now and times are hard. I totally get it and I will survive. I'd really prefer that people take care of their health and basic needs rather than give me money, if it's a choice between the two.
The only thing I ask for- beg for, really- is to please respect the 18+ rating on my work. Internet censorship is reaching a fever pitch and one of the most common arguments for it is that children are getting into content meant for adults. If people can point to careless minors who consume my content as proof, my ability to fund and distribute my work to consenting adults could be revoked. I will be unable to work on these games.
Please respect the 18+ rating and let me create art in peace. That is all I want.
Apple's new 30% fee for Patreon - August 12, 2024
As you may know, I have a Patreon account! I can't link you from here though because of Patreon's TOS. My name is Gatobob.
The reason I'm writing this news update is because Apple's app store is forcing all appsPatreon to pay a 30% fee on in-app purchases starting in November. If you try to become a new patron to anyone on Patreon after Nov 1st on an iOS device like an ipad or an iphone, you will be charged 30% more. You can avoid this fee by using any other device, like a computer. This applies to all Patreon accounts, so please spread awareness!
[ strikes me as pretty strong anti-competitive/monopolistic behaviour but what do I know... ]
Edit /August 13 - small corrections. Also I wanted to add a bit more info about what I know. For now, This new 30% fee will only apply to users signing up for a new subscription on Patreon on the Apple App store after Nov 1st. People with existing subscriptions should not be affected even if they are using the Apple App.
Patreon is giving me, as a creator, a choice to either have this new 30% fee charged on top of my existing prices [ the default ], or to absorb the fee by lowering my profit. I am choosing not to absorb this fee, because I believe this charge is unjust and that buyers should be discouraged from subscribing via the App store. I don't believe that Apple is entitled to 30% of my profit for doing absolutely nothing. I hope thier business suffers from this gross overstep.
I encourage anyone who only has access to Apple handheld devices and the App store to view my Patreon updates on pirating websites or various leak accounts instead of paying the fees after Nov 1st.
Merch Restock - August 7, 2024
My Etsy store is restocked!
Merch Restock Incoming - August 6, 2024
I've just received my shipment of replacement merch to restock my Etsy store! This includes the Ren Heart pins and the Fox Logo pins!
I'm just gonna need a little time to go through the boxes and recount my inventory ^^; I'm hoping I can get it done tomorrow but this is the busiest week of my life for some reason with a bunch of appointments so I am scramblin'
Positivity Post - August 4, 2024
I figured it's time for some good vibe video recs again :)
[ I'd like to verbally recontextualize the part in this video about the Great Green Wall project in Africa- I want to point out that this can be interpreted as an example of terraforming. We as a human species are in fact currently terraforming an earthlike planet [ Earth ] to be more hospitable for life. We are doing that right now :) ]
The last rec is a bit different, but it's a channel I've been using for years now to improve my mental and physical health: Yoga with Adriene. This link is to a playlist of her most recent 30 day set [ she posts a new 30 day set once every year for Jan 1st ] and I highly recommend these videos if you'd like to get a bit more active in a way that doesn't require many tools, much space, or even a whole lot of time. She's a very experienced instructor and I love that her videos so heavily focus on mental health and breathing technique. FLOW - A 30 Day Yoga Journey
Etsy adult content ban - July 30, 2024
My store on Etsy [ gatobob.etsy.com ] Is now shadowbanned and will not show up in any search results [ whether you search for 'gatobob' or any of the characters ]. This is because of the combination of Etsy's new adult policy and because I voluntarily marked every single one of my items as 'mature'.
Despite my disagreement with this kind of ham fisted censorship [ as opposed to simply improving the search system and communicating better with sellers ], I still do not want any of my products to be viewed by minors. This is why I've marked all of my items as 'mature' despite them not directly falling under Etsy's classification for 'adult content'.
Unfortunately, this is already confusing my customers and possibly losing me sales [ I can't know for sure yet. I will collect data over a week from the ban ].
If you would like to help me, please share links to my store and this website with consenting adults who are already interested in my work.