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#141
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Absolutely... and one of the things that gets me is how many people will
complain about others startig auctions at .99 or listing 40 auctions a week, because that is supposedly "hurting" prices. If you look at the past auctions of a seller who starts at .99, they will usually have closed for prices inline with other auctions of similar quality. As for someone who posts 40 or more auctions per week... is it fair to ask someone to stop making their living on eBay so that someone else's hobby will be more profitable? I just find that ridiculous, and borderline offensive. I stagger my auctions, because it works for me... that doesn't mean it works for others, and no one in their right mind is going to change a selling formula that works for *them* (especially if it pays their mortgage) just because it bugs *me*. Anyway, just had to throw in my "me too"! -Kalera KDK wrote: I think you are dead on. I have some of your beads -several in fact. And I think you are right that for some people it's just easier to complain than to actually DO anything. Kthy K |
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#142
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This is true. I think newbies should continue to sell (and I don't
consider the term "newbie" to be offensive, I mean PLEASE, it started out as an affectionate term!) for newbie prices. Newbie work has a charm you can't get elsewhere, and newbie work can become extremely valuable... can you imaging having one of Leah Fairbanks' first goddesses??? Some buyers prefer the beginner's hand, and I think it's tremendous incentive for a new lampworker to be able to sell their work, and even pay for glass and better equipment that way. Beginner work has a place inthe market. -Kalera Christina Peterson wrote: However, it is not undercutting to offer lesser beads for a lesser price. Tina "Dr. Sooz" wrote I don't agree with the organization, the "rules", etc. But I wholeheartedly support the feeling that undercutting is noxious and harmful to beaders and beadmakers everywhere. |
#143
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I have a hard time understanding their perspective... did they think
that being vocal would make you lower your prices to a point that was unprofitable for you? How would they benefit from you being unable to profit? You would eventually go out of business, and they wouldn't be able to get the merchandise they seem to have coveted. They don't sound like very good businesspeople. I had an inquiry a while back, from a shopkeeper who wanted my beads for wholesale prices. I've scoped out other US lampworkers, and am well aware that my beads are already priced at or below wholesale, so I priced out the beads she was interested in and told her that I would do a 30% discount on orders over $300 (seems to be a popular discount!) and I never heard back from her. That was before I raised my prices, about six months ago. I can respect never having heard back from her... artisan lampwork probably didn't fit into her budget. That was far more professional than if she had contacted me again to complain about my prices! -Kalera Karen_AZ wrote: "Christina Peterson" wrote in message news:1076469073.78773@prawn... Am I the only person who works with lampwork beads who faces this problem? Tina It's interesting, my show partner and I had a run-in with some small store owners over the weekend. We both had our beads priced for wholesale since it was primarily a wholesale show. I was willing to take a deeper discount for a reasonable quantity, and said so (30% off $300 purchase). These ladies were very unhappy with this and quite vocal about it, saying we were obviously unwilling to work with them. Well, yes, we were. I'm not cutthroating my own income to make their store sales easier. Nobody else complained, and I came home to 3 large orders, so obviously I'm doing something right. I do appreciate their position, but I think they had difficulty in even perceiving mine. I politely told them I had beads in several stores already, sold at the same prices. If their local market can't handle that, there's not much I can do about it. |
#144
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Blackberrybeads most certainly sells some... they're a pretty successful
story, beadmaking-wise! -Kalera AmazeR wrote: On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 06:37:55 +0000, Christina Peterson wrote: Here's jewelry offerred by a beadmaker. http://www.blackberrybeads.com/Finis...Necklaces.html Considering the prices for these items, I guess I should be charging $250 for wholesale. I'm not picking on anyone. I'm just trying to get a feel for this. Tina ROFL - Get their prices!! I wonder if they sell any.. It surely makes your point... Mavis :-)) |
#145
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As a lampworker, I'm a little unusual in that I'd never head of lampwork
before I learned how to make it, and didn't buy a single bead from another lampworker for a decade... until Tink! That was the catalyst that got me started collecting, and now that I have a fair assortment of beads (anyone who does not yet have any of Jennifer Geldard's beads, BUY SOME NOW!!!) I am absolutely floored, delighted, and amazed at how incredibly different the beads from each lampworker are. You would buy two seemingly identical styles from eBay, but when you got them, you would see the hand of each lampworker distinctly. That, to me, is what makes it addictive; the fact that when you start collecting, you realize that these beads are Art Glass is a tiny, affordable form; suddenly $10/bead sounds like a bargain! -Kalera Debbie B wrote: "This is where you have to educate your costumer about how they are made and that they are a work of art. Just show them the difference between a cheap Indian bead and good lampwork bead and they will learn to appreciate the art. Roxan" This is correct. I am learning about beads and now know the difference between cheap and quality. I am starting to collect the lampwork as I can afford it. And like some of the others, I don't want to resell them. I keep them and look at them (touch them) and some I'm making into stuff for me. They are too beautiful to part with. |
#146
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Harry, I have a small glass case a friend gave me for my bead
collection. I had been storing them in an antique Chinese basket (which is ornamented with ancient glass beads and rings!) but my friend knew I wanted to be able to see them... they're on display now, and probably will never be made into jewelry. I treasure them as miniature works of glass art. (There are three Tink beads, a Susan bead, and a Starlia bead in there... and I'm gonna have more.) Now I just need a case for my polyclay... I still think that stuff is magic. -Kalera Harry wrote: Thank you Tink.... Now I do not feel guilty one bit about all the lovely items I have just sitting here looking beautiful! I didn't want to make them into jewelry or sell them and now I know it's ok for me to just look at them and enjoy them. ) I am very happy now and my stress level went WAY down! Harry My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw |
#147
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Um, but I DO turn glass into beads for a profit... that's not my sole
motivation, but if I couldn't, I'd keep my work for myself and have a full-time job doing something else! I think Tink is just talking about the market reality of retail vs. wholesale. The jewelry making professional has to keep the bottom line in mind, otherwise he/she can't make a living selling jewelry. People who are buying beads *just to own them* will pay more money for them than the designer who needs to pay bills with what they earn creating finished pieces from the beads. That's why sometimes a single bead will sell for two and a half hundred dollars... that person is *not* going to resell that bead, I would guess! -Kalera Christina Peterson wrote: Excuse me, Tink. I'm a little offended at the comment about "and not to turn into jewelry to resell for a profit". What a beader does is not to turn beads into jewelry for a profit, any more than what a glassworker does is to turn glass into beads for a profit. Tina "Tinkster" wrote in message news This is a really important point. The vast majority of my customers buy my beads to collect and display, not to turn into jewelry. And not to turn into jewelry to resell for a profit. |
#148
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That's great to know. And I wasn't being sarcastic or disrespectful when I
mentioned upping my prices. I live in an area where high ticket jewelry is gold nuggets, jade and gems. I don't think I can get a fair price here in Fairbanks. And I don't see example of work similar to mine that is for sale. Tina "Kalera Stratton" wrote in message ... Blackberrybeads most certainly sells some... they're a pretty successful story, beadmaking-wise! -Kalera AmazeR wrote: On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 06:37:55 +0000, Christina Peterson wrote: Here's jewelry offerred by a beadmaker. http://www.blackberrybeads.com/Finis...Necklaces.html Considering the prices for these items, I guess I should be charging $250 for wholesale. I'm not picking on anyone. I'm just trying to get a feel for this. Tina ROFL - Get their prices!! I wonder if they sell any.. It surely makes your point... Mavis :-)) |
#149
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I feel the need to reiterate what I was saying here. (I never even saw
this post from Tina. Egads!). I grabbed Tina's text from Kalera's post. I was talking about my customers who buy my beads to collect them, not to make them into something to sell. This is as opposed to my customers who buy my beads to turn them into something to sell. I'm not understanding what's offensive about my description. And I'm also not understanding the other stuff... I think most glassworkers turn glass into beads for a profit. I'm sooooooooooooo confused. Tink Christina Peterson wrote: Excuse me, Tink. I'm a little offended at the comment about "and not to turn into jewelry to resell for a profit". What a beader does is not to turn beads into jewelry for a profit, any more than what a glassworker does is to turn glass into beads for a profit. Tina "Tinkster" wrote in message news This is a really important point. The vast majority of my customers buy my beads to collect and display, not to turn into jewelry. And not to turn into jewelry to resell for a profit. |
#150
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Ooooohhhhh, yum!!!
Kalera - thank you for all the kind responses. That thread has grown significantly with a lot of opinions and such, and it is a real eye opener to read it. I just hope people will leave that thread with the knowledge that a group of people cannot and should not tell you how to run your business. eBay is a capitalist enterprise with all the fluctuation, mind-bending psychologies, successes and failures that capitalism is known for. Competition is healthy for the market, even if it does mean trying to figure out whether you want to start your auctions at 99 cents. There is a whole huge layered issue underlying the thread, and there were some parts that I agreed with and some that I did not. But the gist of my view is that we all have the freedom to run our beadmaking operation as we see fit, and if it's unsuccessful, we need to look inward just as much as we look outward to find the reasons. Man, my typing fingers hurt now!! I have been working at the torch all evening and night, and this is, believe it or not, my break time. LOL I live for drama. -- Kandice Seeber Air & Earth Designs http://www.lampwork.net I want garden-fresh tomatoes, sliced, with a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper. Dr. Sooz wrote: Time to stop now before someone whacks me with a tomato!! Mmmmmmmmmm....tomatoes.... ~~ 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 |
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