ADVICE NEEDED

On Oct 23, 10:00 am, "Vibrant Jewels"
wrote:
We had an extended discussion once - I think it was here, but it might have
been in another NG!!! - about packaging.

I think that was here.

But it seems to me that selling beads and components in small, inexpensive
lots is a different breed of cat. I believe in securely packaging items... I
usually wrap them in bubble wrap, and put them in a bubble envelope... But
I'm wondering if the gift box thing is really necessary. And most of my
products are paid for via PayPal, so I purchase the postage online and then
just put the package in my own mail box. That saves a lot of cost. All you
have to do is pack it and weigh it and PayPal calculates the cost.

There's a bit of a newish problem. Shipping beads of any size will
be _at least_ a "large envelope", because a bubble envelope alone
is more than 1/4" thick. Then it's uneven, and likely rigid, so you're
into package rates, minimum 3oz, $1.34, and that's just the postage.
Also, they have changed the minimum size requirements so that
everything has to be at least 6" long (adding to weight).

I recycle packaging when I can, partly due to the prices we have to
pay here, but unless I'm shipping very small seeds (not seed beads,
but seeds that have the consistency and size of sawdust) I find I
can't charge less than $2.50, unless it's something rather expensive
and on which I actually have something like a profit margin, which
I can ship free.

(Karleen, you may have wondered about the postage for that bead:
it was marginal between "large envelope" and "small package")

Aloha,
Maren
HiloBeads: Beads - Beading Supplies - Hand-made Jewelry
http://www.hilobeads.com/
Blog at: http://hilobeads.blogspot.com/
Art and Fine Crafts Fair at East Hawaii Cultural Center, Sat. Nov. 28,
8a.m.-4p.m.
Artists' Fair at Hilo Art and Glass on Sat., Dec. 20, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

On Oct 23, 10:07 pm, Valerie wrote:

Have you tried selling on Craigslist? I sold a nice little lot of beads
I no longer needed a few months ago. It took a while to weed through the
no-shows but it finally sold for the price I wanted it to. Just be sure
to write "firm" on your listing there, if you don't want people to
haggle with you. And best of all is that it's free to create a listing!

I second Craigslist. You get a bunch of spam/scam emails, and
it may take a while to sell things, but it's free and listings are
for
45 days, and your expired ads stay in your account so you can
repost them (but have to re-add the pictures). I don't have many
Craigslist sales, but they're usually bigger ones. Craigslist frowns
as non-local sales, shipping, etc., so mentioning that may get your
ads flagged and removed. - And, local of course doesn't have to
mean your house or their house, I tend to meet with people in mall
parking lots or at work (lunch breaks). -

Aloha,
Maren
HiloBeads: Beads - Beading Supplies - Hand-made Jewelry
http://www.hilobeads.com/
Blog at: http://hilobeads.blogspot.com/
Artists' Fair at Hilo Art and Glass on Sat., Nov. 15, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Art and Fine Crafts Fair at East Hawaii Cultural Center, Sat. Nov. 29
Artists' Fair at Hilo Art and Glass on Sat., Dec. 20, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Originally Posted by Vibrant Jewels[_2_]

I still have tons of beads & supplies and more than I'll ever use
personally...
Should I try eBay right now, or would Etsy or some other venue be better?
I'm still listing on JustBeads (and having to fix my auctions due to a hack
they recently suffered... if you look at them, some have no pics or
descriptions...)..any ideas? Suggestions? Warnings?

If you are planning to sell on Etsy, the items must be listed as SUPPLIES unless they are handmade/handaltered BY YOU.

It's unnecessary to eat the cost of shipping/handling. I charge exactly what the post office charges (including Delivery Confirmation) plus a nominal handling charge to cover the packing envelope, bags/box/bubble wrap that the individual items are in, tape, label, printer ink, time, gas... Weigh the items and figure the cost using the calculator on the US Postal website. Sometimes when a buyer purchases several items and the shipping costs (that you have listed) are combined, your listed shipping amount might be too high, but offer to refund any overcharge. This way, you're not losing money and the buyer is getting a fair, honest shipping cost.

If you look at my Etsy shop, you'll see that I have shipping broken down in 4 categories - USA, Canada, Mexico and Everywhere Else. I'm in New Mexico, so the UK/Great Britain First Class International shipping rate is the highest for me - that's what I have the Everywhere Else rate set at. If you're on the East Coast, Australia or New Zealand shipping rate might be the highest, so you might want to set the Everywhere Else at this rate.

Clear pictures are NECESSARY!!! Also, I suggest putting measurements in both inches and millimeters.

Hope that helps!