Hey gang,
It is with a heavy heart that I write this m--but if I'm honest, I knew it was coming sooner rather than later. I'm afraid I must officially close my pickup thread. I have a lot on my plate right now and am so far behind on things like my dissertation, that the stress and anxiety is beginning to suck the joy out of almost everything. Between a rather busy monthly release, the FairyTails event, and MNSSHP all happening within one month, I have reached a breaking point where my own pin collecting stopped being fun. And that, above all, I cannot allow.
Beyond that, the prospect for future pickups at any sort of similar scale is extremely slim. Yesterday I received a letter from the IRS detailing back-taxes owed because it did not occur to me to file self-employment tax in 2017 for pickups. While I'm glad I've been able to do this and help everyone, it has officially reached a government-level crisis and, simply put, it's not worth it. [Also, I love you all, but please do not contact me with tax advice XD it is being handled, but is no less stressful.]
This weekend, I will be packing up all pins and sending them out--domestic and international. I will not be holding any pins as I will not be doing any pickups in September. Invoices for the pins from this past week are being compiled now and will be sent out over the course of the weekend. My goal is to get everything mailed out by Friday of next week, weather permitting.
It has been an honor and a privilege to have been your WDW pickup wizard for almost three years. I am so happy to have watched collections grow and know that I've had a hand in making them spectacular. I am so proud to have helped curb the unseemly secondary market for a time. And I am so thankful for the incredible kindness, love, and support all of you have shown me throughout this process and the fantastic friends I have made along the way. I am sorry I have to hang up the pickup bag, but I couldn't have asked for better company along for the ride.
Keep an eye out for those last few invoices, and some surprise releases from yesterday that I managed to snag as well. And, too, the slow steady trickle of outstanding feedback.
Thank you all, again, for everything.
Always your Parks Pickup Wizard,
~Merlin