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How To Make Ebay Work For You - for beadmakers



 
 
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  #21  
Old February 13th 04, 10:38 PM
rainbow
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Makes sense to me ..... Rainbow

Ads
  #22  
Old February 13th 04, 10:40 PM
Dr. Sooz
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:-D

Yeah but hat might be a trunk load of work



~~
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
  #24  
Old February 13th 04, 10:49 PM
Dr. Sooz
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Here ya go dolling,

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167197


SMOOCHES.
~~
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
  #25  
Old February 14th 04, 04:15 AM
Kandice Seeber
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Thanks, sweetie. You wouldn't believe the number of emails I have received
over the last few months asking how I do well on ebay. It gets exhausting
answering everyone's questions. I think I will put this on the website and
refer people to it when they ask.

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

I think it is wonderful that you took this time out of your day to share

this
wealth of information with whomever should happen upon it.
It is a wonderful contribution to the bead community.
I think you should also include it on your website....tips for success.

I would also like to applaud your advice, it all sounds great!

Beki
http://www.whimbeads.com



  #26  
Old February 14th 04, 04:15 AM
Kandice Seeber
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Yes - sorry about that! I should clarify those stupid acronyms.

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

lots of curious, positive and qustioning PM's


What is a PM? Is it Private Mail/Message?
~~
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



  #27  
Old February 14th 04, 04:16 AM
Kandice Seeber
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Oh, you're FUNNY LOL

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

It took some teaking to get a layout
that worked for me.


But Kandice -- wooden that knot work for some? Perhaps they should branch

out
and root around elsewhere.







haw haw haw haw haw
~~
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



  #28  
Old February 16th 04, 06:13 AM
DreamBeadr
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Thanks, sweetie. You wouldn't believe the number of emails I have received
over the last few months asking how I do well on ebay. It gets exhausting
answering everyone's questions. I think I will put this on the website and
refer people to it when they ask.


Good, I am glad you are doing that Kandice. It will be helpful to others,
which is always a good thing, and will free up some of your time so you can
spend more time at the torch, which is a really good thing! =o)

And, I would totally believe how much time, and how many people. I made the
mistake of not keeping track, starting years ago, of how many people have asked
me how to thread a needle. ;o)

Beki....always patient and helpful, except when I'm not.
www.whimbeads.com

  #29  
Old February 16th 04, 02:24 PM
Kandice Seeber
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ROFL - I soooo know what you mean!!!

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

..... I made the
mistake of not keeping track, starting years ago, of how many people have

asked
me how to thread a needle. ;o)

Beki....always patient and helpful, except when I'm not.
www.whimbeads.com



  #30  
Old February 19th 04, 10:51 PM
Kalera Stratton
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It's GOOD. You don't have to read it, I read it for you! It's
chock-a-block with hardcore, sensible, shoot-from-the-hip advice, plus
all the things I think but am too afraid to say for fear of getting
lynched by the mob.

-Kalera

Christina Peterson wrote:

My brain is too full right now to take this in, so I'm saving it.

Having read your advise on marketting before, I will strongly recommend it
to everyone here, even before reading it.

Thank you. (Maybe you should sell this to a beading magazine).

Tina


"Kandice Seeber" wrote in message
...

I just posted this over on WetCanvas, due to the amount of email I have


had

asking for this advice. I thought I'd post it here as well, in case


anyone

would like to read it.

"Okay, now that I have vented on the Beaders' Liberation thread, and


gotten

lots of curious, positive and qustioning PM's, it's time for me to get
serious and answer some questions posed to me in the last couple of days.
What follows are my own personal tips for success as a beadmaker on ebay.
Please keep in mind that these are my own views, what works for me. They


are

not intended to be Ebay Gospel, nor are they intended to put down the way
anyone else does business. My intent here is just to let people know what
works for me, in case they need some help and want some advice. However, I
am not going to sugar coat anything. Comments and questions are certainly
welcome.

I have been making beads for a year and a half. I have been a member on


ebay

for something like 6 years - and before I sold beads on ebay, I sold
handmade jewelry. Those of you who sell jewelry on ebay now have a much
tougher road ahead than when I did. Also, selling beads on ebay is much
easier than selling jewelry in my opinion, so keep that in mind if selling
jewelry is your main intent. These tips may work well for beadmakers but


may

not work for anyone else. Okay, so now that the disclaimers have all been
posted, here goes.

I sell only my best beads. I constantly work to improve my technique and
designs so that what I put up for sale is my best work. If I have beads


that

are not my best work ("seconds"), I label them as such, so my customers do
not get confused when they see something selling at a much lower price.


But

for the most part, all my beads are of the highest quality I can possibly
do. That means even dot placement, even shapes, smooth, puckered holes (no
jokes, now! ), matching sizes (as much as I can, anyway) and all that.

Art is of course subjective, but I find that the better my technique is,


the

more my beads will sell for, and the happier my customers are. Plus, I


feel

good and proud of the accomplishment. If you're new or haven't mastered
certain techniques, you cannot assume you are going to get high prices. If
you're okay with that, then great. However, I have seen some beads posted


on

ebay that have crooked bumps, pointy holes, lumpy shapes, etc, and then


the

seller will post complaints about how their beads are not selling. I've


seen

this in other forums and on newsgroups, not just here.

So basically, the very first thing you need to look at when sales are not
going well is your own quality and workmanship. Work to improve that while
working to improve other aspects such as auction layout. A good way to


check

quality is to do a search on ebay for the highest priced annealed


lampwork.

Look at these beads in terms of quality and workmanship. I am not talking
about design or artistic expression - purely about craftsmanship.

The second thing I think needs to be addressed here is auction


photography.

First off, do not use ebay's picture uploading as your sole picture host.
Their picture loading software SUCKS. It turns your decent pics into crap,
and I am not kidding here. Find another photo host and use HTML to


reference

the pics in your auction description. If you need something that's free, I
recommend PictureTrail.com. I use my web host - I get 50MB of space for my
website, and that is more than enough, so I use some of the space for
auction pics.

Learn to take decent pictures. If you use a scanner and that works for


you,

great. But by and large, most of the auctions I see that use digital


images

look much better in my opinion. I use a digital camera that I got a year


ago

for about $300. I know that seems like a lot, but it's so worth it. The


pics

are clear, crisp and detailed, and show true color. There are tips and
tricks on photography everywhere - use them. There are threads in tthis


very

forum - go look at them. Here's a link with some information as well:
http://airandearth.netfirms.com/soo...tml#Photography
Also, the ebay community web boards have tons of information on


photography

and other things. Use that as well. And stop taking pics with a regular
camera that has no macro - these are not close enough or true enough to


see

your artwork unless you are a professional.

Get picture enhancing software and use it. I use Paint Shop Pro 7. I have


no

idea what a lot of the features do, but what I do know works really well.


I

can get completely true color when I enhance a pic with PSP. No, I don't
make the beads look more colorful or better than they look in person. I


make

the pics look more realistic. For instance, Moretti amethyst photographs
much pinker/browner under normal lighting even with a digital camera. PSP
can make it look much more like it does in person by using the Hue Map,
Color Balance, and Levels features on the Color Menu. PSP is the only


image

software I have ever used, but there are more out there that are great as
well, so I have heard.

The next issue at hand is using ebay's features to your advantage. Always,
always use the gallery pic option. It's only 25 cents, and most people in
the Handmade Lampwork category use it, so if you don't you may be skipped
over. Many customers have posted everywhere that they only look at the
gallery view on auctions. If you don't use this option, you are missing


out

on a lot of customer traffic, and that means fewer bids and lower sales.
Sometimes, it may bring more traffic if you use the Featured Plus on one
auction and then have several other auctions going at the same time. Using
the subtitle feature on a couple of auctions, or the bold feature can also
help. Use sparingly, though, because those get pricey if you do them all


the

time.

If you haven't created your own auction layout, use one of ebay's. They
aren't bad, and having some sort of visual layout is a huge plus. Or,


learn

HTML to create your own layout. However, don't go overboard. The customer


is

there to see your beads, not all the bells and whistles of your auction
layout. Go easy on the images, and stay away from anything that blinks,
plays music (PLEASE!!!) or creates a trailing cursor. Some of that stuff


can

actually crash a customer's system, and then you can be sure they will


never

come back. Keep any images that are not your beads small and fast loading.
If you have a logo, make it small or short so that the customer does not
have to scroll a huge long way to get to your bead pics. This is what


works

for me, and what I am drawn to when looking at auctions.

The next issue is a touchy subject for many of us. But one that really


needs

to be addressed, IMO. Market Research and understanding your target
audience. In this case, you are looking for people to buy your beads on
ebay. So you need to listen to what people want. There's a happy medium
between total artistic individuality and giving the customer what they


want.

Here's a trade secret for you. I make what I like. But I also pay a lot of
attention to what the customer likes. If pink is in (it is right now, in
case you haven't noticed), I incorporate the color into my work. I pair it
with colors I think look great with pink. I experiment with colors I might
not normally put with pink just to see what's cookin'.

Research, all the time!! If your market is the jewelry artist, check and


see

what people are wearing on TV. Check to see what your friends and family
like to wear. Look at bead - craft - art magazines, fashion ads, awards
shows. If your main market is the bead collector, check to see what shapes
and colors are hot right now for the collector. Then, incorporate that
knowledge into your own artistic expression. For instance, I don't like
making lentils. But they are hot hot hot right now. But I still am not


going

to make them. So I check to see what other shapes might be hot, and go


with

those. Shapes in general are doing well right now. So I love to make


cubes,

so I make cubes!

Hang out where your customers hang out. Get to know them. You'll gain
knowledge and comraderie at the same time. Here, artists hang out. Some of
them are customers, but most of them are your competition. That's good,


but

also go places online where your competition may not be but the customers
really are.

Here are a couple of examples:
The ebay commmunity Jewelry category board. I read there from time to


time,

to check the current "pulse". I have **never** seen another lampworker


post

there. So I post on occasion just to let them know I am around. We post
auctions in the Jewelry category - doesn't it make sense to see what


people

are up to there? There are a surprising number of potential customers who
read and post to that board. It's main discussions are about gemstones,


but

a lot of them seem to really like pretty sparkly things, and when they
notice what I do, they comment about it!

Also, the rec.crafts.beads newsgroup. Some of you already hang out there.
That group is **hugely** populated with people who adore beads. And they
will let you know what they like in a heartbeat (and what they don't


like!).

If ever you needed opinions from a customer's point of view, that's the
place to get them. Don't have a newsgroup reader? Go to groups.google.com
and enter rec.crafts.beads into the search. Who knows - you may make a few
more friends while you're at it.

I know a lot of people frown on making beads that other people want you to
make, and instead wish to make only what you like. This is fine. But


please

don't complain about sales if you aren't willing to consider your


customers'

desires. There is a happy medium. You can do what you want *and* do what
they want. You can take risks and still have high sales.

Another touchy subject is that of talent and design. These cannot be


taught,

IMO. They have to already be there. You can bring them out by observing


your

surroundings and finding beauty. But if you have no eye for color or


design,

you may not be able to make a whole lot of money in this business. Of
course, this art is not always about business or making money. You have to
really love what you're doing. If you're totally in love with glass, fire
and color, it will show in your work. And you will have higher sales. If


you

are just doing it for money, I don't believe you will really succeed. Move
on to something you love. Life is too short!

Be prepared to pay money for some of the things I have mentioned above. I
paid for premium glass colors, tools, equipment, web hosting, a decent
digital camera, lighting, photo software, gallery pics in the auctions,


etc.

You don't have to spend a fortune, but spending a little can be really


worth

it in the end. If you aren't willing or cannot spend a little money on


your

business, you will probably not do as well. If you can't afford the
necessary tools to do this art safely and properly, you shouldn't really


be

doing it, IMO.

One last and very important point - Ebay is not impossible. But be


prepared

to work your hiney off. You cannot go into this with the attitude that you
can make quick and easy money. It doesn't work that way, and if you look


at

ebay often, you will see tons of evidence of that. As a matter of fact,


you

*should* look at ebay often if you are trying to sell there. Look at your
competition. Of course, don't copy their beads (IMO!!!), but look at what
sells and more importantly, look at what does *not* sell. Think about why
some sellers continuously have a hard time. Think about why some sellers
seem to have unlimited success.

Does any of this make any sense? I hope so.
Am I giving you trade secrets? Well, no. This is all common sense, and


came

from reading everything I possibly could on the subject. I've searched out
threads on just about every board I could find on these subjects, and


taken

what worked for me and used it. My auctions do well. Almost every time.


The

above is why. I hope some of these things will work for you."
--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net






 




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