I am closing my merch store, and here's why.

A few weeks ago, I soft-launched a merch store. It has the usual — t-shirt, stickers, pins, and so on.

But I’ve decided to close it, and I wanted to be transparent with you about why.

The main issue is that the fulfilment partner I picked couldn’t guarantee that orders bound for Canada would start their journey in Canada. (This is something they didn’t make clear when I started with them.)

Most orders did — most were made in Canada and shipped from Mississauga — but a small handful, when their Canadian facilities got busy, would be sent to the U.S. to get fulfilled. That would sometimes mean surprise duties, and while I disclosed that all over the store, it never felt right.

It felt like I was breaking the spirit of what we’re trying to build together here.

I asked for everyone’s thoughts and the general “vote” was mixed.

In the end, I decided that being fully Canadian was more important than bigger revenue numbers.

I’m going to shut it down on Monday. (Yes, three weeks before the biggest buying season of the year is a terrible time to stop selling things 😂)

After that, I’ll spend some time hunting for a Canadian partner who can keep everything truly here.

If it relaunches, it will probably mean fewer items, fewer colours, fewer of the fun little things that never sold anyway but still made me feel like a real entrepreneur for five minutes.

It also means I likely won’t be able to ship to the U.S. anymore, which I also don’t like because Americans have been cheering Canada on from across the line.

🎁 So, if you want to get something before it leaves, pick up a gift for a family member, or you’re in the U.S. and want some of the “I Stand With Canada” stuff, it’ll be open today and through the weekend at https://shop.todmaffin.com

At the end of the year, I’ll be donating a portion of all sales the store has ever made to the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Foundation. Their work toward Indigenous reconciliation is really important to me and Jocelyn, and it feels right to end this chapter by giving something back.

Thank you for the advice and the feedback. I’m really grateful you’re here.

It still shocks me that my dumb-ass little videos and the national Healthcare Infusion movement can live side by side, but it feels like we’re building something that matters.

And I’m so very grateful that you’re a part of it.

Tod 💜