help?

My current employer allows me to sell at work - I put a display out, mostly
of earrings and jewelry. And we are also going to have a craft show at work.
She scopes out other possible venues, such as local boutiques... I need to
get the lead out and take my stuff around town.
--
Karleen Page/Vibrant Jewels
http://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm
JustBead Auctions
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
PayPal Merchant Account
https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=7XJ98L86Z7S2C
"roxan" wrote in message
...
I feel the same way that is why I sell at craft shows and have had good
success with in home parties. Hang in there and always look for new
opportunities in different places.
Roxan
"Karleen/Vibrant Jewels" wrote in
message hlink.net...
I don't think that online is a good venue for selling finished pieces,
unless you do it on your private website, and have built up a clientelle
that appreciates your work and style. Even then, I believe that you
have
to
promote it as much as, or even more than, an offline shop. Some ppl get
into
offline galleries and do well, others do well at craft shows and that
type
of thing. I've even heard that some do well by hosting their own jewelry
parties, but I've not tried that.

The bottom line is that most people who shop online for beads
1) Know how to make it themselves
2) Even if they admire your work enough to buy it, only want to pay for
the
cost of materials
3) And probably have more jewelry of their own than they can ever wear
anyway.

Other buyers tend to try to get the most bang for their buck and
unfortunately there are a few jewelry makers who are content to sell
below
cost, not even counting their time and design expertise. So if you are
making pieces similar to theirs, they simply undercut you. Assuming
these
designers are trying to do this for a living, they soon price themselves
out
of the market too. However, many of them are hobbyists who have other
lucrative employment that supports their hobbys so they don't feel that
they
HAVE to make a profit.

That's why I'm working two other part time jobs (bookkeeping and child
care)
and consider money I make selling beads/jewelry to be icing on the cake.
I
don't try to sell it dirt cheap, but I don't charge as much as the
jewelry
pieces should be worth retail. And I don't even try to sell the pieces I
make that take hours and hours - I just do that for my own relaxation
and
enjoyment.

I've also noticed that sales of beads/jewelry is very uneven for almost
everyone. There seem to be "seasons" when people want to buy... and
"seasons" when they don't, no matter how wonderful your creations are. I
haven't been able to predict these with any degree of accuracy - except
my
sales seem to go down in the summer and on holidays. I guess people have
"better" things to do than shop online. But you have to keep posting
listings to sell anything at all. That's one reason I quit posting on
eBay... their fees are too high and you have to pay for every re-list.
To
keep my stuff on there to attract sales when customers felt like buying
was
too expensive. That's why I list on JustBeads... re-lists are free
(Thank
you BOB) until you sell the item - well at least for 90 days.

So should you stop making jewelry? NO... you wouldn't want to deprive
yourself of the joy of creativity and therapeutic properties of this
exercise... but I'd advise doing something else to generate your main
income. Just my opinion of course...

HTH

--
Karleen Page/Vibrant Jewels
http://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm
JustBead Auctions
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
PayPal Merchant Account
https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=7XJ98L86Z7S2C
"alia" wrote in message
om...
i am really feeling like a loser today.... i have so much sh*t going
on, i am moving, it is so expensive, i am so freaked out, and my stuff
is not selling, not even for $20! and i feel really hopeless.... you
guys have seen my stuff, and i know i am new at it, and i should just
keep at it, but i am just starting to feel really depressed. i need
support, please help me?

alia :S(crewed up)