AIBU to tell an Etsy seller their grammar/ punctuation is incorrect?

[Lolabear38]

Looking at signs on Etsy earlier and one I noticed said ‘Dog’s welcome’. Obviously dogs doesn’t need an apostrophe here - looking at other items in their shop I also noticed things like ‘mum’s are magic’ and some others. I messaged the seller about something I wanted to buy but mentioned the incorrect use of the apostrophe - in a polite, what I considered to be constructive way - and got a very arsey reply!

Apparently they have ‘hundreds of very satisfied customers’ (and actually they have had hundreds of sales according to their Etsy stats) and nobody has ever complained before, therefore it must be me who has the problem and I should probably look at other shops if I’m going to be ‘a perfectionist about it’.

AIBU to have pointed this out? I genuinely don't spend my days seeking out grammatical errors to correct but why are people blasted for trying to help like this? I'm not claiming my own grammar or language is perfect, but neither am I selling signs with mistakes on them. It seems like anytime someone does point out mistakes they're labelled 'grammar police' and demonised.

YABU - you should have let them carry on using apostrophes incorrectly and looked at another shop instead.

YANBU - you were trying to help 🤷🏻‍♀️

A company lost my custom for wedding invitations when they said ‘stationary’ in their ads. Morons.

Our dog groomer regularly posts on Facebook “come get an appointment for you’re lovely doggies”

Nothing wrong there - as long as they are addressing the dogs direct. Possibly not the best business method, though, as dogs don't tend to have their own money!

I know of a florist the same.

Think something like Amber Lily's Flowers.

Amber Lily is her daughters name so the apostrophe is correct in that case.

Sorry, that was for @lyla82

I did exactly the same when I bought a clock. It said - ITS ROVER O'CLOCK - on each of the sample's. I ordered it and asked if she could please make it IT'S and she was not too pleased. She said she's never cared about grammar. She then made me my clock and didn't put the apostrophe in! Rather than make a fuss I made the apostrophe out of a match stick and put it in myself! I think you were NOT at all unreasonable.

Yanbu.

There's a petrol station about 10 miles from me that sells 'confectionary' ! As an ex grammar school girl I was brung up on proper English and it makes me mad to see spelling and grammatical mistakes. All too common these days, alas. Look at Twitter and other social media entities.

Erm, 'sample's' ??

Oh and have just recalled a wedding venue where I do some work sometimes has 'larger' on their drinks menu. I can't be bothered to tell them.

oops - 🤐

My Mum bought an Escape Room game from Etsy, the type that you print off yourself. It had lots of spelling and grammar mistakes, so my mum sent her an email gently pointing them out. I was slightly horrified but the seller was really grateful for the feedback!!

Its, I mean it's, easily done!! 😄

This drives me mad too, but I find the best thing to do is bite your tongue and say nothing. I even heard a reporter on a news slot say ‘they should have known’ rather than ‘should have known’. I just cringed! I’ve had business emails quoting there instead of there or they are. It’s just the way these days. All you can do is not slip into the habit yourself. Incidentally; my 7 year old granddaughter was telling me how she has to keep correcting her friend’s English. I had to tell her not to do it, because it offends people. Though that shouldn’t be the case, should it ?

Not specifically an error, but I'm always bothered by a local toddler group called 'Boogie Mites'. I get that it's a play on Boogie Nights, and mite is a slang term for a small child, but my brain goes to parasite.

See I couldn’t even type it wrong in my feed. 😂 I intended to write that he said ‘they should of known’ instead of ‘they should have known’

did she really have 'hundreds of satisfied customers' or 'hundred's of satisfied customer's' 🤣

I think that illiterate people sometimes think if in doubt put an apostrophe in, just to be on the safe side.

I think that illiterate people sometimes think if in doubt put an apostrophe in, just to be on the safe side.

I agree - it's like they think that omitting one could be a bad error, but shoving one in when there is any doubt is just a sensible precaution that can't possibly be wrong - the grammatical equivalent of popping your umbrella in the car on a fine day, just in case the weather should happen to turn, and it was still a wise thing to do, even if you end up not needing it!

Some people really struggle to understand that there can be more than one rule, depending on the context; and that a rightly-applied rule in context A can be wrong if used in context B, and vice versa.

It’s called the Grocer’s Apostrophe for some reason. But taking that as a lead, all I care about from a grocer is that his/her produce is ok, not how he/she mangles grammar. But surely in the case of a sign-maker, getting this stuff right is critical to doing the job properly. Therefore it’s worth the trouble of making the correction and worth the trouble of advising others not to use their services if they get arsey about being corrected.

I have to be honest (and maybe it's been mentioned already) 'could OF' drives me mad. And I see (and hear it, actually) all the time. I correct my kids, and husband, but don't bother with anyone else. It just seems to be part of the English language now - it's just pointless to correct people. But if it was someone close and I felt I was doing them a favour (ie maybe within a job application or advertisement, perhaps), I would definitely correct them.

Thinking about it - I also hear 'we was' way too much. It hurts my ears but I let it go. 😉It's just so common now.

But in this situation, I'm not sure if I would have corrected them, but I don't think YABU, you were trying to help as it is their business.

Accent in a text? That's a new one on me!
But I will never forget being told off for my tone in an email

I once politely pointed out that a woman had her skirt tucked into her knickers (at Henley Regatta) and she called me a rude bitch. Some people are just too easily offended to be helped!

I bought something functional on Etsy as a gift for a friend starting her own biz, using the initials of the biz. Despite requesting the initials in capitals, the item came with the second letter lower case. They said that that’s what that letter looks like in the font they chose. It was unusable as didn’t reflect friends logo. They offered to redo in a different font.

Someone else I know paints signs and had a few refusals to pay for commissions because she doesn’t follow the grammar or capitalisation she’s been given in the order.

Perhaps your seller is 'foreign' i.e. English is not their first language OR they were just failed by the education system if based in an English speaking country if it is their first language. Perhaps they have language difficulties? I'm sure they appreciate your corrections?

Of course, that last sentence may not be right.