What we do
First thing in the morning we print up the orders
then we split them into sections for efficient order pulling.
Most orders follow a theme…
mostly OTKs, or tights or men’s socks, baby socks, warmers ect
many have a misc pair or more
several will need stuff from all over.
A few of us each grab our first stack, look it over
writing our thanks, replying to notes if needed
we collect our boxes and carts and head out to find your socks…
collecting order after order as we go…
until we’ve found every last sock
Then we stack them on these shelves…
Our shipping team takes over from here.
They weigh them and package them and send them off with amazing speed.
After that it is the hands of the US postal service…
and for all the thousands of socks we send out each week
only a few seem to arrive late or go missing.
Most arrive swiftly, to your happy toes.
And so it goes…
December 2nd, 2007 at 6:53 pm
For all that work you do, my legs, feet, toes, fingers, and arms Thank You.
December 2nd, 2007 at 7:54 pm
I admire and appreciate all your hard work. I’m a new discoverer of your business, your wonderful world of all things socks, and am so happy to know you exist. I’ve made two orders already, but there will be plenty more to come! Rest assured, I will become a regular customer…
Keep on working because you all are doing excellent!
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:07 pm
That was a really neat post! I felt like I was there, pulling an order myself. Oooh, and how well everything is organized. It seems all your hard work on setting up the new place will pay off this holiday rush…
I have a quick question. If I’m getting this right, as you are collecting the socks for your stack of orders you put them in the plastic bins, so each order has it’s own bin. What I’m wondering is how come you don’t end up occasionally putting a sock in the wrong bin, especially when a bunch of people order different colors of the same style? I find that just beyond comprehension. (If it was me, I’d make this mistake immediately, probably once a day or so!) But in all my orders I have never gotten the wrong sock, not once, not even the right sock in the wrong color!!! =)))))))
December 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Truth be told…
we do miss one here and there. The trick is to stay fully focused, and even then, every so often you grab the wrong lace up thigh high or the color on the line above or swap an invoice, the shipping guys are pretty sharp and try to double check everything as it goes in, but we are merely human ~:)
December 2nd, 2007 at 10:40 pm
yes i too am amazed at the accuracy….i have had one error in all this time!
ok ok and off subject but those MP socks that are up…i want and i almost ordered both immediately and on your pic they look SOOOOOOOOOOOO long but in the notes it says only 15!!!!!!!!!! inches!!!!!!!!!!! that just seems so short compared to the pic….sigh….that would be so short on me….are they really only 15 inches????
December 2nd, 2007 at 10:42 pm
ps and in pic number 3 – what are those???? they look like the same item in different colors…but i have never i dont think had any of these….i dont know that tag…but very appealing from this pic.
December 2nd, 2007 at 11:18 pm
If I’m not mistaken, the third picture has several pairs of EG Smith cotton tights.
December 3rd, 2007 at 12:02 am
ok i know i am leaving many responses….but got me thinking on my orders….and i have also always been amazed and somehow thrilled by how many goodies can be jammed into the little packages….its like those bags that you suck the air out of and then when you open them up everything quadruples in size.
December 3rd, 2007 at 1:23 am
Raubynn, I think there is nothing wrong with leaving many responses.
What else am I going to read when I need a break from school/work? My sock community is my favorite ditraction and escape =)))))
December 3rd, 2007 at 6:43 am
Aw, thanks so much!!!
Yes, those are the EGs in the third pic and thanks for pointing out the 15 inch thing, not sure, maybe I measured them before wearing? I wrote it a couple of weeks ago and have identical tights to add, had all the pix taken BUT accidentally deleted the images of the black pair, just discovered this sad error Friday night. I was really hoping to add the rest of the MPs at once, but since they are not all ready and we have loads of the ones I did add I got them up, the rest will be by the end of this week. This week, which is sure to be extra crazy…
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:15 am
One of the things I have always appreciated about Sock Dreams is the free shipping – and my Sock Dreams orders often arrive MUCH faster than orders from other places where I spend as much as $10 for shipping charges. It was really neat to see this process.
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:17 pm
This is completely unrelated but I was thinking today that I have a new sock dream, kind of, so I had to ask.
Have you guys ever considered making something like Long Cuffable Scrunchable… armwarmers!? Long enough to be pulled almost to the shoulders or to be slouched? Kind of like Simone’s Black Sleeves, but knit and in more colors. Something not too thick but warm, perhaps with the texture of the Super Dreamies or the Super Basics.
I’ve been staring at the long, soft sleeves of my sweater and wishing I could just cut them off and wear on their own… I’ve been thinking that I can buy some little girls’ tights and cut them into arm warmers but that would be nothing compared to how nice you guys could make them…
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:39 pm
What a cool post. I love seeing “behind the scenes.”
Niq did you get my email? I sent it to your Niq addie. I can’t login to make a review, even though I can log in here, but this place keeps logging me out too. ? It may be because I was logged in when my computer seized up and croaked. Anyway you can post that old review I still have in there if you like it.
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:44 pm
I can attest to stuff missing in orders lol(I have ordered a lot of large orders) I just send off an email and it gets fixed up right quick :)
I promise to do more reviews eventually… it’s been busy lately… somebody wanna come over and help me clean a spot to take photos in? lol
December 3rd, 2007 at 6:52 pm
My shipping team is awesome wicked fast! :)
To think, 6 years ago we were elated to fill one mail bucket of socks to send off, today we sent out 450 orders! We use big mail bags now, but that would be equivalent to maybe 80 mail buckets! 3 people, sometimes only 2, sending out hundreds of orders within 24 hours, boggles the mind really…..
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I love posts like these, just makes me think of how much I’d LOVE working for you guys someday. Any plans on moving to Pittsburgh? lol, of course I’d likely have to move to you first.
I agree on someone else’s comment, I’ve ALWAYS been impressed with your shipping. Free shipping and I’ve never had to wait more than 2 or 3 days to get my order no matter how late I make it or how close to whatever holiday and I’m on the other side of the country. Yet places much closer that you have to pay shipping on it takes a week or sometimes even a little longer. And I LOVE those magic packages, they really do squeeze a lot in there! My dog thought my most recent order was a new stuffed animal for him and tore it up, but thankfully he didn’t do any major damage to my socks!
December 4th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Oh, Sena, that is an AMAZING idea!
December 4th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
=)))))) Thanks Rotund!
I can’t stop thinking about it! I might actually try the girls’ tights idea, while waiting and hoping that something like that might appear on here some day. I will report on the results =).
December 5th, 2007 at 12:19 am
I used to cut off kids tights for leg warmers….i had one pair i just adored- they were actually little knit leggings with a contrasting ankle and came out so cute when i cut them….tried sweater sleeves as well…..those can be a little too slouchy & unravelly (sp?) in some cases.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Sena, I’ve done that with some longsocks that the feet are too monsterous on my 6.5s, and they don’t shrink enough in the dryer.. Then I can wear them as leg or arm warmers. It makes me a little sad to cut them, but it’s sadder to have to part with a sock cuz of my tiny feet. I really need a sewing machine.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Any thoughts on selling the button hole elastic by the yard or the piece?
December 7th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Whoosh!!!
What a week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t even know where to begin, so much to say and answers to provide. I haven’t even looked at personal emails or photo editing since last week and didn’t log on at home at all for a few days either as we’ve all been working over time and extra fast to keep everything running smoothly. No days off for me & Bsti and everyone’s hard work is paying off because Liz & I found time to get some pictures taken of new colors and styles, just a few but it was a welcome break. Tomorrow I’m staying home & editing and planning a fresh journal entry. But first, more hot chocolate…
December 7th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Sena,
You’ve got some good ideas there!
When I got my serger a couple of years ago I had so much fun whipping up sleeves but making enough of them consistently to sell on the site was more than I can manage on top of everything else. As it is I can rarely keep up with the basic sock garter making, even with help. But I do believe we are almost ready to do it properly, just have to get through this busy season…
It is just one of many things I am eager to get to after this extremely busy holiday season slows back down…
J-L I don’t know what it is about PA, we probably send more socks there than anywhere else, and both of our site designer/developers are actually in your area!
December 8th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Wow, that’s so organized…i am impressed ! Now that I see how busy you guys are, I feel bad for even leaving a comment asking you to email me when you ship my socks, although it’s urgent o.O. Thank you so much for this site…and hope to deal with you thousand and one more times x]]!
Merry Christmas to everybody!
December 8th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Really good to see how things work. I had just ordered some socks last week. I just imagined how they moved through the process. Thank you .
December 14th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Santas little helpers~ hehe love you Sisy, keep up the good work.
December 16th, 2007 at 3:03 am
I just wanted to say that your team does an awesome job! I got my very first order in only 3 days! Between that and the awesome products you sell… you have a great buisiness… and a customer for life! I love your OTK socks the best! :)
February 8th, 2008 at 2:27 am
Thank you so much for your socks! I love all of them!! Keep making your rockin’ awesome undergarments!! They make me smile and I know they make others smile as well! Hooray for socks-dreams!!
:)
September 4th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Thanks so much for providing excellent service & products! I love my leg warmers I bought the other week..and today I’m buying another pair haha..my poor calves…at least now they can be happy :D
jess
September 8th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I love this post, and all its loveliness. Behind the Scenes is wonderful, and although I’m sure you guys aren’t hiring (with a customer base that’s also a fanbase, why would you ever need to?), I have to agree with Jamie-Lynn when she said she’d love to work for you guys some day.
Perhaps…How’s the weather in Portland?
November 25th, 2008 at 8:06 am
oh how i’d love to have a warehouse full of socks! oh wait, i almost do by now! i can’t get enough…:) xoxo
March 19th, 2009 at 8:20 am
That sock warehouse is beautiful. (:
I am so pleased with my first order. I only ordered two pairs for now because my last paycheck was small, but with free shipping I had to at least get something so I wouldn’t go crazy having to wait several weeks to make a big order. And these stockings fit my skinny legs so well. <3 I was so happily surprised because my socks got here in just two days with free shipping! Thank you! <3
May 19th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I just came by to thank you all for your hard and really great work!
Everytime i take a look over your Site i find some more Dreams that i want to have :-)
And when the next Cash comes in i will! Until then i have to wait and snuggle with my absolute fantastic Armwarmes from you.
By the way… If i could i would move to your store. :-) Here in Germany its not so easy to find good stores for a really plus sized Girl like me. It´s really great how you describe every Pair and your Tips for fitting are a real help!
So please keep up your work for all of us Sockaholics, many thanks from here to you!
July 15th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
For all the lovely arm warmers, sleeves, and socks i’ve found here, I think i love you all. =D
It’s the middle of the summer and my arms get cold at the strangest times, but with what i’ve already bought from you my problem is solved!
From my forever cold arms, a very heart felt thank you and keep up the good work!
July 21st, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I am so in love with your socks!!! I have placed my very first order and after seeing how you do what you do… I’m sure I’ll be placing my next order very soon
July 28th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Just wanted to say thanks for having a store like this! I have looked EVERYWHERE for OTK’s and FINALLY have ordered 5 pair from you! Just finished placing my first order! Im sure I will be placing many more :) Its nice to see a company have passion for what they sell and also their customers! Thank you Sock Dreams!
September 8th, 2009 at 8:18 am
oooo, really looking forward to my first arm warmers! It was so hard to just pick one color. I may get a trip to Portland later in the month. Where will the new location be in relation to Powell’s bookstore? (my mecca and trip reason)
Merci!
September 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am
We’ll be three miles south of dowtown Portland so roughly 5 miles from Powell’s City of Books… Google Mapped
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:41 am
I am always utterly amazed at your speedy shipment and high quality of your products. I’ve been purchasing from you guys for around a year and my appendages (and boyfriend… apparently he likes thigh high socks almost as much as I do!) thank you very much! Nylons simply don’t hold up during cold Michigan winters!!
October 18th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
i love you …love love love…all the way from Texas…and I can never ever place an order less than $200- not because of your prices- but because I LOVE EVERYTHING YOU SELL!!! My daughter just moved from Bellinham, WA to Portland for school- so I WILL BE COMING TO YOUR STORE with each visit to Portland (several times a year)…I am an extremely avid shopper- and you are one of my all-time faves…your shipping is absurdly fast- and FREE!! and no sales tax to boot!!! I will NEVER buy another sock, leg/arm warmer from anyone else…this is year 3 for me to be a loyal customer- many more to come!!! I keep spreading the word- You are fab!!!
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:23 am
I placed an order on Sunday Night and realized once I placed it that I had wanted a different color of one item- I emailed back- and you guys caught the change even though my order had already processed…It shipped out on Monday-and arrived on Wednesday-from OR to TX!!! I loved my items so much that I have just placed YET another order…almost $300 this week- and worth every single penny…I will be back VERY VERY soon to start my holiday shopping!! I have posted your link on Facebook- and am spreading the word- already several friends placed orders this week based on my rave reviews and link posting on Facebook!!
October 24th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Awesome! sooo glad we could help and that you are so pleased!!!