Bean Card Program & Shipping Changes
Posted by Helen Wang on
Greetings ❤️ I feel like for the past few months, I have just been sharing bad news, and I'm so sorry for that 😓 I have two updates today. The first, I was already planning on announcing next week. The second, came up unexpectedly on Friday. I thought to just get these announcements out together earlier rather than later.
0. Table of contents
1. Bean Card Program Changes
The bean card program is a concept I came up with before I designed my first sheet of stickers, 10 years ago 🥹 It has been a really unique part of TCMC, which is why it greatly pains me to say I have decided to end the program on February 28, 2026.
Moving forward, I will be focusing on the potato points program. I will be adding a selection of vinyl stickers, sticker sheets, and other fun rewards which customers can redeem on the website using points.
This decision was made as an effort to reduce a big part of my workload. It is quite taxing to record-keep: especially with stickers purchased at retailers, being traded, gifted, and unfortunately, photocopied. On new release days, we typically receive 500-800 emails, with the majority being for bean cards. While I have a rockin' assistant working alongside me, we still get very overwhelmed each time 😔
It is very hard for me to take things slow voluntarily, because I truly love working on TCMC so much 😭 I am very, very aware that this is stepping away from the charm that we have, towards something automated, and I am so sorry. I would not have made this decision unless I felt it was necessary for me to continue in the years to come :(
I hope in the long run, with a lighter workload and a lighter mind, I can give back in other ways. I hope to indulge in my random creative ideas, chat with everyone more, pack orders, attend more in-person events, host workshops, etc.
2. USA & International Lettermail
This second piece of bad news came-up unexpectedly this Friday. Canada Post started to refuse en masse, untracked lettermail of stickers to the USA & international countries. While some are still going through, we have received several cartons back as well. At this time, I do not feel comfortable sending lettermail and taking chances especially with customers' orders.
The biggest hit will be international customers who rely on lettermail the most 😔 I will be speaking with my accountant about obtaining an IOSS number for prepaid duties in the future. In general, I will continue to look into solutions to mitigate this issue but at this time, this is an abrupt end to untracked lettermail which we do not have a say over.
Snail Mail Subscriptions: Because these are only sent 4 times a year, we have an alternative that may work. I want to double check some things first before confirming, but I will keep customers updated.
3. Shorter Summary
Bean Card Program
- Ending Februrary 28, 2026. We won't be accepting cards in exchange for freebies after this date.
- Starting February 28, we will launch a restructured points program on the website. Customers will be able to redeem a variety of vinyls, stickers, and discounts using reward points. We will be doing a recalculation of the rewards to ensure it will be fair for customers.
Shipping Changes
- We can no longer accept lettermail orders from USA & international customers. All USA & international orders will have to be (un)tracked parcels.
- This is because Canada Post is returning some of these shipped lettermail.
- I will be working diligently in the coming weeks to find other shipping solutions, in hopes of lowering shipping costs for our customers.
- This does not affect Canadian customers.
4. Personal Note
It has always been important for me that my work is accessible to customers. It means the world when customers choose to spend their dollars at my store.
While I was stressing over the bean card program announcement, getting hit with this shipping challenge has in honesty, been more devastating to me personally. (One of our machines also randomly broke yesterday, but I will save that for another day 🙃) As mentioned earlier, I will be trying my absolute best to find other solutions in the coming weeks.
Thank you for reading. These changes do not benefit customers much, if at all, and I completely understand any disappointment. Shopify does not have a feature where we can respond to blog comments (whyyy???) so if you have any questions, please email thecoffeemonsterzco@gmail.com so I can properly get back to you! Thank you again for your time, and... um... bye 😭
Comments
Hey there Helen, I have been a long time watcher of your channel before ordering from your website. I appreciate you sharing your experience with us. We like you and your style. I have always loved the idea of the bean cards, and the way they work, but I also have adhd so I don’t have a lot of room in my brain to do them. My Potato reminds me to see the program every time I’m here, and it is so cute too. I love your style and your work. I have been using the bean cards for postcards style book marks/ writing boards in my notebooks. They work really well for the b6 sizes. Thanks for all the fish.
Shipping costs change every month. Things will change. People adapt. You have a tremendous amount of fans.
Hey there Helen, I have been a long time watcher of your channel before ordering from your website. I appreciate you sharing your experience with us. We like you and your style. I have always loved the idea of the bean cards, and the way they work, but I also have adhd so I don’t have a lot of room in my brain to do them. My Potato reminds me to see the program every time I’m here, and it is so cute too. I love your style and your work. I have been using the bean cards for postcards style book marks/ writing boards in my notebooks. They work really well for the b6 sizes. Thanks for all the fish.
Shipping costs change every month. Things will change. People adapt. You have a tremendous amount of fans.
Sorry to hear of your export troubles! With Canada now being your primary market, would you please consider changing your currency to CAD? The USD stops me from buying from you.
I loved the whimsy of the bean cards and collecting the bean stickers from each sheet. However, your health and well-being are more important! Automation is not ideal, but this is also a sign of how much your business has grown over the years. You are doing fabulous work! Your customers will continue to love and support you as you grow and the world changes.
Girly pop,
One quote/concept that’s really been sticking with me and on repeat lately is the concept that you cannot control how others see you or treat you, or events and circumstances that happen to you. You can only control how you react to them. Your actions and dedication to your customers tell us that you always do your best- in your work and in delivering your product. We see you! Life is hard right now but I for one am willing to pay what’s needed to get that feeling of satisfaction when picking just the right doodle head sticker for my planner/journal.
Thanks for all you do! Take care of you and thennn your shop 😘 we’ll be here! ❤️
Hello, I know this is hard for you and I am sorry. As customers we must accept this as you can’t do everything and must adapt as your business grows. I can’t image how stressful this all must be. As a customer in the US I know the shipping and tariff situation has been challenging. I am happy to pay tariffs in advance and higher shipping fees. Having access to the TCMC website to order from you directly is FANTASTIC. Its really hard to get TCMC items on American websites. You should not have to shoulder the burden for shipping issues and higher tariffs. As for the bean cards, I agree with another poster, its a nice program but I always forget to send mine. I am happy either way, with whatever system you choose (or no frequent buyer system, if it comes to that). Take care of yourself Helen. Your customers need to remember that without you, there is no TCMC. We appreciate you!
Thank you for your transparency and your dedication!
Thank you for your transparency and your dedication!
Hi for one am in The. I’m glad the bean cards are going away camp because I always forget to use them. I think I’ve got five or six that are full now and I love the potato because it’s already on the website. All I have to do is pick it. While change is always a hurdle this shows growth, and growth is good. Am I happy about the shipping issue, well no but that is out of your hands, I know several Canadian companies that use third party shippers because the USPS can be difficult to work with, and now this from Canada Post, I can’t help but think this has something to do with the Asshat in the White House and his sphere of influence, as major companies here who have always shipped USPS have ended their contracts with them over his decisions and that increases shipping costs, and I know he has many supporters within the Canadian government or so I am told from my Canadian friends. I am willing to pay a higher shipping cost although I live on a fixed income and am unable yo order like I want to, I could spend a small fortune on TCMC stuff and because of my monetary limitations I miss out on things of a higher bracket like the Pen and Ink, but I save and order the stickers I really want and will use and I will continue to do so, even with higher costs for shipping.
Hi Helen
Those return mails, what will happen to those return mail orders