The coronavirus situation is unfolding rapidly. It’s scary, I know.

I don’t want to add to the cacophony of information and discussion about this pandemic, what we all should be doing, thinking, feeling. I’m worried, scrolling like everybody else, donating, joining community support groups, cancelling gatherings, moving things online, social distancing, preparing for isolation.

I do however want to update customers about how this may affect orders etc.

For the main, everything is running as normal right now (17th March). So much is unknown right now, but I’ve made this page (accessible from the top menu) which I’ll keep updated.

Order shipping and delivery

Most countries are currently operating regular delivery services, however some of the worst-affected are experiencing delays or suspension of delivery services. We can’t keep track of every single country’s changing situation, and point customers to this page for information. Please be aware we can’t be responsible for delayed packages at this time – we ask that you keep yourself informed of the situation in your own country and consider this before ordering.

On our end, we are now shipping throughout the week, so as to shave a couple more days off the waiting time for most orders. As of next week, we’ll start shipping all non-tracked UK orders first class (tracked orders are already super fast).

I’m also looking into changing the way we ship orders to relieve pressure on our local Post Office. Post Offices are franchises, and the way I currently ship (I take parcels to the PO, they do handle the shipping and then bill me) is designed to keep as much money in the local community as possible – with this method, they keep all of their income. However, if Post Office staffing becomes an issue, we’ll switch to printing postage in-shop for as long as neccessary. This means the Post Office won’t get the income from my shipments, but will also drastically speed up the shipping process by taking a whole stage out of the process.

Stock

I’m currently able to order most stock as normal – however this may change in the near future (despite Trump’s nonsensical ramblings, international trade import/export are bound to be affected).

Staff wellbeing

Little Red Tarot runs from my spare room. The wonderful Hele comes in twice a week to process orders. As well as working together, Hele and I are besties and also neighbours (she literally lives one street away from me – so not too scary a commute) in this rural town in Wales. We’ve got a social distancing pact going on that limits our contact with others, so that we can continue to have work and social times together, and of course we’ve introduced some stringent hygiene measures in the shop. It seems likely that total isolation will become neccessary pretty soon, and we’re busy making plans for isolation work she can do from home, plus isolation/sick pay for her so that having to isolate won’t threaten the income she relies on.