Agh - the pink has gotten to me.....

I completely agree.

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net
"Kalera Stratton" wrote in message
...
Ah, but if buyers get to sign up on a monthly basis depending on what
artist is doing that particular month, then they're basically just
buying a bead from that artist, rendering the bead-of-the-month-club
moot. I think it would only work if people signed on for, say, 3-month
minimums.

As for paying up front, I don't think people should expect more for
doing that, because I for one have never seen a bead seller who offered
E-Z Financing!

Buying sight-unseen, though, is a different story. A'la Rent-a-Tink, it
eliminates all kinds of merchandising for the beadmaker, and so the
buyer should definitely benefit from that.

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Kandice Seeber wrote:
LOL - a conundrum - yes, totally. And I agree with the part about
the
subscriber being able to get a little more for buying the beads sight
unseen, and for paying up front. It's definitely a risk for them.
That's
why I think there is a happy medium that might work out for everyone.
It's
finding that happy medium that's interesting and might be difficult.

Personally, I would do this if the following happened:

The cost per person is $20-$35, with shipping included.
The artist has total artistic license, with the knowledge that each
person
gets around the same caliber of beads, and that caliber was agreed upon
beforehand.
The subscribers have complete understanding about what they are paying
for.
The artists would facilitate that by stating in advance the quality of
beads
they would make in general.
The artists would receive the money before shipping out the beads. I
don't
think I can go for the monthly payment thing, because I think the number
of
subscribers would change every month, and some artists would make more
than
others, not necessarily based on their own output. For instance, if
artist
A only has 30 people signed up for their month, and artist B has all 50
signed up, and they both got the same share of money for each month,
artist
B would be making more beads for less money. I hope that makes sense.
I
think subscribers will likely pick and choose a month based on which
artist
is signed up for that month, and some artists might have more demand
than
others. The amount of money needs to reflect that, otherwise it's not
fair
to the artists.
This is based on what Starlia is saying in the WC thread about
subscribers
being able to sign up quarterly, monthly or yearly.
If we only allow a yearly subscription, then there would be total
commitment, and the artists would be able to split the cost evenly as
originally stated.

Well, I don't know if the original intent for this was to keep new people
interested - I think we have a lot of that already.
Tina, $10 for a small focal or even an accent including shipping is way too
low. And I am not the only one who thinks so. Shipping out one single bead
for $10 is just, well, not worth it. And doing that 50 times is really not
worth it. For me, it costs the same amount to ship one bead as it does to
ship 20 to one person. I'm paying for packing materials, postal costs and
time. You cannot compare sets to singles for this reason. If you're buying
a set from someone, $5 to $10 per bead doesn't seem that unreasonable. But
if you consider the increase in cost of shipping 20 beads to one person to
20 beads to 20 people, that's a huge difference.
I know you are looking at things from a cosumer point of view, and that's
fine, because I know you're not a lampworker. I don't think you are
understanding the artist's point of view, though. And just because something
is prices a certain way on auction, does not mean people can get that price
elsewhere. Personally, the cost for listing on auction is very low, and the
time it takes to ship a single bead to many people is way more than the time
it takes to take pics of sets of beads.
Even when people were ordering from me, I asked that they pay shipping on
orders below $25. I absorb shipping on items above $25 because then
shipping is pretty low.
I will do this for $20 or more. But I will not do it for less than that.
$10 is just out of the question for me.
Just my own opinion - other artists may feel completely different, and I
certainly understand that. Different stuff works for different people.
--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

I think Carla's original suggestion was aimed at new bead
collectors/users,
and thus indicated a lower price and lower expectations. Probably what
I'd
call an accent bead. This would not be my own preference.

On the other hand, if I pay $25 for focals, I want more control of what I
buy. So this would not be my preference either.

I think for me, I'd want to know who the artists are, and then I'd want a
moderately priced upgrade accent bead. Basically a small, simple focal.

The sort of thing you often find in a group of "orphans". Like the ones I
got from Michelle Eilts. Or some I have from Mary Ann Williams (at $5 @).
I have a set of 5 small red beads with black stringer and dots from Lori
Greenberg. I have Jerri Roey's maze beads in turquoise at about that
price
per bead. Heather Davis beads at $5. Susan Burwash fauxpals at $6 @ for
BIN. 9 Liz Johnston (Aristotle's Lantern) flowers, etc for $40. Mountain
Morning beads. Nisha beads. These are all good beads from good artists.

I wouldn't realistically suggest $5 @ for these beads as onesies. But, if
the point is to reach out to people newly interested in lampwork, $10,
including postage is a very reasonable compensation for the artist. And
it
can be a way to get new customers for the more sophisticated beads.

And yes, these are eBay prices, but with the prepaid beads there are no
retail costs -- for listing, photographing,rent, etc.

Tina

"Kandice Seeber" wrote in message
...
Price also depends on quality, technique, colors used, popularity and so
many other things. You may not think that $5 or $10 is low, but I think
you
will be hard-pressed to find an artist who would agree with that. Why
on
earth would an artist want to absorb the cost of shipping out 50
separate
beads for that little?? $5 would not cover the cost of shipping and
time
for one single bead, even if the bead were simple. It just wouldn't.
$25-$35 for a set of 5-7 beads... You might find these on ebay or
justbeads,
which are *wholesale markets* to many, but it would be hard to find
examples
of this pricing on websites. And if such low priced sets exist, one
needs
to look at the factors which make the sets such a low price. Again -
quality, technique, colors used, popularity of the artist or the type of
beads, difficulty of the beads, etc., the venue where the beads are
sold,
etc.

All the artists joining in will have to agree to a price and to a type
of
bead that fits the price. That's going to be hard, I think.

I'm not trying to be a lampworking snob here. I'm being realistic.
There's
got to be something beneficial here for the artists as well as the
subscribers. And no matter how you look at this, it is *still
production
work*. There's a deadline, a number of beads, a type of bead and a
price
point for the bead. There's a commitment. Some artists don't do this
very
well. Some artists love it.

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

Not picking on you, Kandice. Yours is simply the last in this thread
I've
read.

You know, I have bought lots of sets of beads in the $25 to $35 range,
that
include 5 to 7 beads -- in boro, or pokes or raised dots. Heather
Davis's
Cameo roses beads are about $5 each. I have a set of poppies by
Waimea
Mist
that was $60 for 5 sculptural flowers and 6 sculpted bud accent beads,
plus
spacers.

So I don't think $5 to $10 is outrageously low. Also, for beadmakers
who
do
not have a following, it would be a really cool thing to have some
reliable
income.

Tina


"Kandice Seeber" wrote in message
...
Yes, true. Which might work for me if the charge was around $20 -
$30
(which means no more than 1-2 beads per person). I'm still thinking
about
it - and am interested to see what others think as well. If there's
enough
interest, it sounds like something worth doing.

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

Kandice,

If you have 50 paid subscribers for the year, and you know when
your
(the
artist's) month is, you have until then to get the 50 beads made.
That
is,
they're all due in one month, but you don't have to make them all
in
one
month, right??? Unless, of course you're the first artist on the
rotation.
Perhaps y'all might want to build in a (possible) 6-week delay
from
time
of
subscription to shipment of first month's beads.

But, if you know in May that you'll need 50 beads for the club in
September,
you can spread out your production across 4 months.

No?
Alison

"Kandice Seeber" wrote in message
...
Right, but it would have to be all in one month. And depending
on
the
cost,
it might be more than one bead per person.

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

The artists would rotate months. You would make 50 beads a
year,
period.

"Kandice Seeber" wrote in message
...
A $5 bead from me would be a simple scroll bead of
medium
size.
But
the
customer would have to pay for shipping. And to be honest,
one
simple
bead
per month is just not worth it for either the artist or the
customer,
IMO.
And 50 scroll beads would be a major production nightmare
for
me.
However, something in the neighborhood of $20 to $30 per
month,
with
full
artistic license might work. One focal bead or maybe a very
small
set.
But
it's still production work. It's like doing beads for a
show.
And $80 a month would be amazing, but that's a lot of beads
in
one
month.
$80 would buy someone 10 or 11 beads in general, and that
multiplied
by
50
people is mind boggling. 500 - 550 beads. Yep, that's
pretty
much
what
I
have been doing for the last three months, and I have no
desire
to
do
that
again. That kind of production work is not my cup of tea.
I'd love to bounce around this idea a little more though -
it's
kind
of
fun
to think about.
--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

I understand the limited finances - I am there too. But
the
artists
also
need to be paid what their beads are worth.

See, I'm thinking of the artists. And the customers
who're
flush
enough
to
actually be patrons of the arts. I'm not thinking of the
people
who
want
to
get beads for almost-nothing. To me, the idea of getting
a
bead
a
month
for $5
is a ripoff of the artist. To ME.
~~
Sooz
-------
"Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle
your
jewelry."
John
Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance
~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soozlinkslist.html