If you haven’t heard already I broke my collar bone last month. Its been an interesting time since then of being heavily reliant on others to do many of the things I was used to doing by myself. I’m grateful to all those who have stepped up and assisted me. Anything I’ve written since then has been typed one handed. Unexpectedly I have been able to take some photographs though this has been very difficult. Though possible to hold my camera one handed, it is so much easier and better with two. Transport has been one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. I’m looking forward to not having my arm in a sling and regaining the use of my arm.

The accident I had in 2008 was what led me to sharing my creativeness with the world and I’m now taking another step in that journey. 2015 I decided that the corporations advertising i wore on my clothes weren’t paying me enough to promote their brands and I really should start advertising my own work.

I created various designs for both Some shorter than others and 52. After 7 years of wear the ones I’ve worn could do with replacing. If you would like one of those let me know. I’d happily exchange one with you for a new one.

Redbubble v Teepublic

Over the past few days I’ve battled the pain and created some new designs for a new year. I read through multiple articles to research who could be the best site to sell them through. Michael Essek’s post was the one I liked the best though there are many out there. Redbubble sounded like the best fit for me so I created the designs. Created an account with them, went through the lengthy process of setting up the store with them. Went through the lengthy process of making sure each design appeared correctly on all the different items. After days of reading my account was restricted I searched to find out why and when it would go live so I could share it with you. I discovered in their help section that it could take up to 5 business days for a new account to become active. While I waited I ordered some t-shirts for myself and looked forward to them arriving.

Then I checked my email and discovered this

Hello neville,

We’re writing to let you know that your account has been suspended.

Accounts may be suspended for the following reasons:

• There was fraudulent activity connected to the account.
• The products listed in the shop may not have been originally created by the user, such as mass produced art reproductions, stock images, or vector packs.
• The shop may have contained products that could be misleading to consumers, such as claiming to be products not offered on the Redbubble marketplace or possessing inaccurate qualities or materials not offered on Redbubble.
• The account was created after an associated account was disabled.
• The account was found to be owned or operated by someone under 16 years of age.

Suspended before it even went live. Not a good start to our relationship. So I investigated the appeals process because I can’t think of anything I did that falls under any of those very generic dot points. this is what their website says.

Can my suspended account be reinstated?

Updated December 13, 2022 10:52

If your account was suspended for spam, fraud, or violating our policies, it will not be reinstated. 

However, despite the sophistication of our robots, occasionally an account gets caught in our filters and we may be able to reverse the suspension. This is a rare circumstance, but it happens from time to time.

If you believe this was a mistake, you can submit an appeal using the form below. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind about the account appeals process: 

• Our team isn’t able to respond to all appeals, nor are we obligated to disclose the nature of the account suspension. 
• Due to the sensitive nature of these requests, it can take us up to two weeks to process appeals. 
• You will only receive a response if we find that the account was suspended in error and will be reinstated.

After days of sitting through the pain and then laying down to help ease it waiting up to two weeks to share with you what I had been creating was not something I wanted. Plus with no account anymore I don’t even know if they will fulfil the order I placed. So i went back to the articles I’d researched to find an alternative.

This is so easy..

Teepublic sounded like the next best alternative for me so I registered with them. The shop was activated instantly. No multiple day waiting period. No suspensions (so far). I’ve uploaded all the content I submitted to redbubble and some extra ones I created in the meantime. The upload process was so quick and easy in comparison i was double checking things because it felt like I’d missed something.

I’ll let you know once I do if redbubble want me on their sight or not. Regardless of the outcome of the appeal Teepublic is the place to add my new merch to your collection. If you have good experience with other similiar sights please let me know in the comments below.

If you want to share my creativity with the world, happy shopping. https://www.teepublic.com/user/nevillehiatt