From:
Liam Benson
Estimated Read: 2 min
North of Cable, Wisconsin
Monday, 9:32 a.m.
Dear Seek Jesus family,
If you placed an order and have been waiting, this letter is for you.
We are canceling every open order and issuing a full refund. First I will explain how your refund will work, then what went wrong, what happens next, and a final word from my heart.
I know I said this message would be out on Saturday. I spent the last few days on a quiet lake with my dad, praying and asking God to help me say this the right way.
When I took over Seek Jesus earlier this year, my heart was set on building something beautiful for Him and for you. I poured everything I had into the mission of uniting believers under one roof through this brand, the apparel, and the ambassador community.
And then, piece by piece, things started to break in ways I never saw coming.
Your Refund
If you are waiting, the only question that really matters is:
When will I get my money back?
Every open order will be refunded in full.
I am funding refunds personally while our payment processors hold our balances - more on this in a moment. We will process refunds in the order they were placed and work through them every single week until the last one is complete.
Because Shopify and our third party processor are holding a large percentage of funds for 180 days, I cannot send everything back at once with a click of a button. So I am doing the next best thing I can: continuing to work in my other businesses, generating income there, and using that money to steadily refund Seek Jesus customers while we wait for the held balances to be released. As those balances unlock, that will help us move faster and make sure everyone is made whole.
It will not be quick or simple, but the commitment is simple: every order will be refunded, even if I have to carry it on my back until the last one is paid.
What Went Wrong
Behind the scenes, two things hit us hard at the same time: our payment processors and our manufacturer.
1: Payment processors
When we took over Seek Jesus, there were already customers who had placed orders with the previous owner and still had not received their products. To protect this new chapter and make sure everything was clean, we created a brand new Shopify account and new business entities, separate from the previous ownership.
For a while, that worked, until about halfway through April when Shopify linked our new setup to the previous ownership and locked our ability to process card payments. They also held our entire balance for 180 days. That was many tens of thousands of dollars. It was not profit. It was the capital we needed to manufacture, ship, and operate.
We adapted and switched to a third party payment processor so we could keep accepting orders. For a short time, that worked, but within weeks they made the same decision. They deemed the business too risky, locked our ability to process payments, and froze all of the funds in that account as well.
On paper, it looked like there was money. In reality, almost all of our operating cash was locked in accounts we could not touch, and we had very little available to actually run the business.
2: Manufacturer failure
The final straw came from our manufacturer.
In early February, we placed a bulk order for about $50,000 worth of hoodies and sweatpants. The samples we received were solid. It looked like we were on track to get a large amount of inventory into the United States quickly so we could deliver the quality you were expecting on a reasonable timeline.
Over the next several weeks, the story kept changing. Delays in material. Issues overseas. Price and shipping increases. At first it seemed difficult but manageable, until it no longer felt right.
Eventually we learned the truth: they had gone out of business and taken our money with them.
We are fighting to get that money back. I believe we have a strong case and that it is likely we will see a refund, but that process is not quick or overnight.
Those facts are real, but they do not change this: you trusted us with your money, and we did not deliver on time. That is my responsibility, and I am treating it that way.
The Accusations
I also know there are harsher words being used right now.
I know there have been conversations accusing me of taking advantage of people, scamming, or swindling them. If you have been waiting on an order for far too long, and communication has not been what it should be, it is easy to feel like you have been played.
Not counting the tens of thousands of dollars currently held by payment processors and the $50,000 stuck with the manufacturer who went under, the business itself is in the negative by roughly $75,000. I have not profited from this in any way, and I have not paid myself from Seek Jesus. There has been no secret payday behind the scenes.
That does not erase the frustration or the waiting, and it does not erase my responsibility. But I need you to know this clearly: I would never knowingly profit off His name by harming people. That is not who I am, and it is not what this brand will ever be.
My Communication
There has also been a lack of excellent communication. You deserved more frequent updates and clearer answers.
Around the time I took over this brand, my dad’s health took a hit and I moved back home to be with my family. A lot of personal weight landed at once. That does not excuse my silence, but it does explain why I fell short. You trusted me with your money and your time, and I should have been more present and proactive in keeping you in the loop.
For that, I am sorry.
What Happens Next
I am not giving up on Seek Jesus. This is a reset, not an ending.
Before anything else, step one is simple: make things right with the people who have already ordered. That means issuing refunds, one by one if I have to, until everyone who is waiting is taken care of.
At the same time, I am working with a different manufacturer to put together a new line of products that matches the standard you deserve. The difference this time is how we operate.
One of the biggest mistakes I made was assuming I could run this brand on the same production timelines I use with my other businesses, where preorders can be fulfilled in around six weeks. In this case, that did not happen. I own that.
So I am not going to run Seek Jesus that way again.
The next chapter of this brand will be built much slower and much more carefully. I will be ordering inventory, waiting until it has physically arrived, checking it, and only then even thinking about relaunching publicly.
No more depending on best case scenarios.
No more moving forward based on timelines that are not fully in our control.
Slowly, carefully, and the right way.
A Final Word
On the spiritual side, this has been one of the greatest tests God has ever put in front of me.
I spent everything I had trying to make this work and will continue to do so. There were nights where it felt like everything was collapsing at once, from the finances to logistics to my family’s health. And yet, in the middle of that, He has used this to pull me closer. I have had to lean on Him in ways I never had to when things were going well.
I still believe Seek Jesus is His. I still believe He is not done with this story. This reset is not the end. It is a painful, humbling middle chapter.
If you have read this far, thank you.
I am asking for your forgiveness where I have fallen short, especially in communication and in underestimating the complexity of what we were stepping into. I am asking for your patience as we work through refunds, doing everything we can to make you whole. More than anything, I am asking for your prayers.
With love,
Liam