It has not been long since I posted my Opening Day announcement, and I already have a confession to make.
Running a brand-new online store sounded simple in my head.
I pictured adding carvings, posting stories, sharing photos, and watching everything come together smoothly.
Reality had a different plan.
In a moment of ambition, I decided to put up a sale. Easy, right? Just lower the prices, click publish, and celebrate. Instead, I tried to use the Shopify API and ended up creating the opposite of a sale. Every price on the site shot up like a rocket. That was not the intended effect.
One second, I thought I was being clever. The next second, it looked like I had listed museum pieces on loan from the Smithsonian.
So the so-called sale lasted about fifteen seconds. After that, I spent the better part of a week doing cleanup and trying to reverse whatever I had done. I am still not sure how I accomplished it. I know I will not be letting the API make financial decisions for me again.
Here is the good news. The site is back up and running. I'm busily adding pieces by hand now instead of trusting the API's. Prices are being entered manually and intentionally. Everything is stable again because a human is in charge, a slightly traumatized human, but still a human.
The heart of this project is the same. I want to bring authentic Zuni carvings to collectors and to people who are just learning about them. I want this to be a place that honors the artists, shares the stories, and keeps the traditions alive.
I also want to avoid blowing up prices again. That part feels important.
Thank you for following along as I learn, fix things, break things, and try again. There will be more stories like this. Hopefully not too many more that involve prices skyrocketing.
Here is to the adventure.
And to learning the hard way that the API is not my friend.