There is such a thing as being *too* successful, to the point that your customer growth overpowers the growth of the business itself, causing the opposite effect of sustainability because customers begin to distrust the business for being unable to keep up.

It's happening here.

Black Garnet Books is just the owner (me), full-time, and a few volunteers. It has no permanent location. It was started 4 months ago to fill a gap in the literary community in Minnesota.

It's unreasonable to expect it to operate on the same level as indie heavy hitters.

It is *beautiful* to see how many people want to support this bookstore. But there are 400+ pending orders right now. That would be a lot for any bookstore, let alone one operating without a full team, a loading dock, a storage room, etc. etc.

Even with a disclaimer on the website letting people know that there is a heavy delay on shipments, the inbox is still filled with "just wondering where my order is" emails.

People have volunteered to help but...there's no store y'all. It takes MONTHS to open a physical place.

I'm speaking out about this because it's a serious issue that arises out of reactionary activism. You *cannot* decide to support BIPOC-owned businesses and then get upset that they can't meet demands they weren't designed to meet. I refuse to fall into that trap & you should too.

Someone else brought up this great point that small businesses are...wait for it....SMALL. And in the case of Black Garnet Books, tiny! Miniscule! A literal fetus compared to bookstores who've been in the twin cities for 10+ years hahaha.

Please, pleeeeease, be patient!