Etsy love

I am, admittedly, obsessed with Etsy. I first heard about Etsy from an article in Country Living Magazine. I have subscribed to Country Living since I was 19- love! I look forward to it every month and every month it feels like 2 months before it shows up in my mail box because I have the patience of a 2 year old.
After seeing items listed there and in Martha Stewart Living I got wise to the fact that this wasn't just another website. I finally checked it out and was immediately smitten. I told everyone who would listen and started spending my kids's nap time on Etsy just perusing and falling deeper in love.
I bought my daughter some handmade booties. I got my husband a t-shirt with a boston terrier with wings on it (we had recently lost our boston, Baxter). Then, I got my sister-in-law a custom silhouette for Christmas. I was hooked. I couldn't stop.
My favorites were the vintage shops. I bought a few vintage Fisher Price Little People sets for my son and couldn't believe the deal I got! Every time I would open my newly delivered packages I would find a handwritten card with a message just for me! Sometimes I would get a little gifty of some sort and I would show everyone, "Look! Who does that! Amazing!"
These were my people. They saw through to the core of me and knew my deepest vintage desires. I felt like I finally found it- the thing I would do if I had a million dollars and didn't have to work.
Once I started selling on Etsy I realized that it wasn't just customer service that prompted these people to be so gracious. Buyers, too, were blowing my mind with nice.
My first patron was patient and very understanding while I worked out the kinks in my pay pal account (I didn't have it verified yet and it would not allow me to accept payments yet). Then, when I shipped her package I discovered what shipping really costs and chalked it up to a lesson learned (I would only be making a dollar on her purchase of a set of berry bowls and a creamer). She sent me a message that she had deposited the extra shipping cost into my pay pal account and said, "I just wanted your first sale to be a positive experience all around."
I was shocked and my eyes welled up with tears. I woke my husband up to tell him. She really did make my first sale a positive one and this whole Etsy experience has been wonderful. I have since dealt with very  friendly, supportive people and am so happy I decided to join this community.
Just thought I'd share with you the proof that nice is still alive. That there are people out there that don't use nasty to get ahead or to get what they want. Being happy with what you do and feeling fulfilled by it are more important than making a lot of money, but you can have it all if you remember that.