Crafters Needed

We are hand-picking American crafters (USA only please) who are willing and able to produce and ship their quality crafts in the USA. We are *not* looking for mass-production factories that crank out useless trinkets and widgets. If so, we'd just import from China and Taiwan. Instead we want only genuine, top-quality handcrafted items made right here in the USA. Here's how it works:

  • If you haven't already, make samples of your handcrafted items.
  • Take quality pictures of them.
  • Send us the pictures (mail, e-mail, or post online and e-mail the URL).
  • Send us a brief narrative about yourself, your crafts and your commitment to quality.

If we are interested in you and your crafts, we will follow up via e-mail and/or phone call so that we can get to know you better. If you are selected, then here's how it works:

  • We negotiate wholesale prices (what we'll pay you for your crafts).
  • We gather required information (turnaround time, photos, descriptions, dimensions, weight).
  • We add your crafts to our website(s) and promote sales.
  • We process secure retail orders from our customers.
  • We immediately forward a copy of the order to you including our official invoice to be shipped with the product.
  • You fulfill the orders (pack and ship with our invoice/label).
  • We pay you immediately (wire transfer) upon shipping confirmation.

The idea here is that you get to do what you do best -- quality crafts -- and we get to do what we do best -- online promotion, sales, order processing and related customer service. The only "business activities" you perform is checking for orders (daily) then packing and shipping. We can help you obtain the appropriate shipping materials. In some cases we may even provide them. There will be no paperwork to do except for printing our final invoice and the shipping label. Depending upon our relationship we may even decide to provide you with the resources required to generate the invoices and labels. We might even provide you with an entire PC, printer, and internet connection. We may even be willing to pre-pay for your crafts. These benefits are all negotiable once our relationship has been established. We'll do whatever it takes to ensure that 99% of your time is spent working on your crafts.

There's no catch. It's this simple. As long as you produce quality items and ship them in an acceptable time frame, we'll live happily ever after. You have absolutely nothing to lose. We both have everything to gain from doing what we are supposed to do and anything else we can think of to help each other. If either of us are less than satisfied for any reason, we simply terminate the relationship.

Please respond via e-mail and include your preferred e-mail address, phone number, best time to call you, and any information you are willing to provide about your crafts. Please reply to "Quality Crafts at MetroEast dot Net" (remove the quotes and spaces and replace words with the appropriate characters -- we've listed it this way to make it harder for spammers to pick up our address here in the newsgroups).

All aspects are open for discussion and therefore your thoughts and comments are always appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Kevin Sawyer, General Manager American Crafts Direct * Handcrafts Direct * USA Crafts Direct

PS - Feel free to forward this message to other crafters.

Reply to
Kevin Sawyer, General Manager
Loading thread data ...

When I saw this spam in the NG thought I would give the benefit of the doubt and see what you are all about, but couldnot get your businesses, listed under General manager, to pop up on the first page of any web search with Google. SO I wonder about "what you do best" as far as web sales and promotion? Wholesale price? That isusually reserved for wholesale buyers, not consignement. "Negotiate" a price to buy wholesale?

Because I doubt that old Kevin will check back, I also wonder if anyone that reads this has ever used a "service" like this and what was your experience? I am trying to push the attitude about what I "think" will happen and see what "has" happened.

Anyone?

Reply to
Javahut

appropriate

A while back there was a long thread on alt.crafts.professional about the same sort of service/scam. Numerous folks who have websites are contacted by the "shopping networks" , hardly a week goes by that I don't get spammed byone of the cable networks. Most recently it was from some yahoo in the UK wanting SG panels.

Reply to
Moonraker

wrote

Tony Blair?

Reply to
Javahut

Nah...I think his name was Charles Windsor or something like that.

Reply to
Moonraker

perhaps" CHUCKIE"?

h

-- snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com In the words of the IMMORTAL USED CAR DEALER: THERE IS AN ASS FOR EVERY SEAT!

Reply to
Howard

Please forgive the mistype. The e-mail address is "Crafts Direct at Metro East dot Net" not "Quality Crafts at Metro East dot Net" as previously specified (although that address has now been created...so both are functional at this time).

We have been providing Internet services, hosting, and consulting since 1995 and presently host over 100 e-commerce sites. We are involved in several joint-ventures that help companies and individuals bring their products and services to the web. I would be happy to provide more details in a private forum (e-mail or phone would be fine).

I have a few friends and relatives who are craftspersons and who have tried to sell their crafts on the Internet with little success. They can not afford to pay someone to develop a site/store nor can they afford to pay someone to promote it. After much discussion it was my idea to leverage knowledge and experience to promote and sell their crafts online in a manner that is mutually beneficial in the purest sense (all parties have natural incentives to perform as expected and no one wins unless all participate as agreed). However, I'm not interested in selling junk or trying to sell crafts of inconsistent quality. I will dedicate the resources (servers, bandwidth, programming, merchant accounts, payment processing, customer service before/after the sale, etc.) only after I have found enough craftspersons who are willing and able to perform as expected. I intend to have close relationships with each craftsperson and help them in every way possible so that they can focus on their crafts. They are welcome to set their wholesale prices after which I will determine what I feel is a fair retail markup. If we don't both make money, we'll both lose. It's that simple.

Please e-mail me directly and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks, and sorry again for posting an incorrect e-mail address.

Kevin Sawyer, General Manager American Crafts Direct * Handcrafts Direct * USA Crafts Direct

PS - You won't find anything in Google until we are up and running. If you'd like to know a little more about me and one of my Internet-related companies, check out

formatting link

wrote

Reply to
Kevin Sawyer, General Manager

Hi. It's not consignment. We would pay your price and mark it up to sell it at retail. That is the basic definition of wholesale. Consignment means that we keep a set percentage and you set the retail price. I guess that might work, too, but I like the wholesale/retail model a little better. Remember, all of this is open to discussion. We're looking for the proverbial "win-win" here. Anything less is a waste of time.

We *could* just pay you to produce a number of units and ship them to us after which we could warehouse them until they are sold. Then we're really just another brick-and-mortar retailer (who happens to have an e-commerce storefront). Our costs would be significantly higher which we force us to charge more and be less competitive. It just makes more sense (to me, anyway) for the product to be made at (or shortly before) the time of order and only be shipped one time -- directly to the customer. Why pay UPS or FedEx to ship it to us, then pay to sit on it (warehousing), then pay UPS or FedEx again to ship it to the customer? If we get rid of some of those extra costs, then the customer gets it cheaper (making us more competitive) and/or we both get a better margin. I'm not interested in sitting on a warehouse full of products nor am I interested in making giving a bunch of money to the shipping companies when neither are necessary.

Let's say you make something and you agree to sell it to us (wholesale) at $40. We put it online and promote the site(s) and sell it at $49. A customer clicks "buy now" or "add to cart" then goes to the checkout where we automatically calculate their shipping charges based on the weight and dimensions of the product. We close the sale and authorize their credit card. Assuming the authorization is successful then you immediately get a notification via e-mail that you need to fulfill the order. If necessary to earn your trust, we pay you in advance (it would be pretty short-sighted for either of us to screw the other at this point and I'm certainly willing to take some risk to prove my trustworthiness). You fulfill the order and send us shipping confirmation (easily automated by FedEx, UPS, etc.). We notify the customer that the product has been shipped. Once we receive delivery confirmation (again, easily automated by FedEx, UPS, etc.) we e-mail a customer satisfaction survey to the customer, thank them for their business, and invite them to shop again.

I intend to provide a 30-day money-back guarantee even if I have to "eat" the products involved. The worst thing that can happen is that I decide to drop a craftsperson because they wouldn't stand behind their product at all and left me hanging. We don't want you to have to interact with the customers at all...unless you're just that nice and want to help out with that part. We're assuming that if you wanted those headaches that you'd already be doing it. I've already learned first-hand that every contact with a customer (or prospective customer) is an opportunity to earn their trust and their business. If I have to do it by giving their money back because they aren't satisfied, then I'll be glad to do it. I'd probably also send them a $20 gift coupon or something. In most cases they'll be back if I take care of them. Been there...done that.

By the way, what do you make? Do you sell it? Do you have any photos available? Let's keep this discussion going...please!

Kevin Sawyer, General Manager

appropriate

Reply to
Kevin Sawyer, General Manager

I think you are displaying a total lack of understanding of "how-we-do-things" in the stained glass art/craft/industry, Kevin.

Your business model might work for the "crafter" (Gawd, I hate that word!) who makes crocheted toilet paper roll covers or repetitively hand paints little wooden geese wearing blue aprons or some other such tawdry "stuff".

Actually your business model isn't a wholesale one at all. It's more accurately described as a sales agent-dropship model. Your part is nothing more than sales commissions and a bit of handling. Wholesale pricing means to me that the wholesaler has a financial stake in the inventory, has posession of it, and can do with it as he chooses. Consignment means that the shop-keeper has permission to sell an item, but the right, title, and interest in the item belongs to the artist until the customer pays up.

Here's why I don't think your idea will work:

Personally (and I bet I'm speaking for the vast majority of folks around here), my work is custom. It's made to order. It's expensive, and it takes time to create. It's fragile, can be heavy, and I make wood shipping crates for the artwork. I'm not about to invest any time making something on speculation (no matter where it gets inventoried) when I have work to do that is already ordered and deposits paid. I think you'll find my situation is not an exception to the norm.

For less than $85 a year I have a website with a dedicated IP, all the search engines have the site at the top of the first page, and all the IT support I need. Explain to me why I would want to pay you (and discounting to sell at wholesale IS, in effect, paying you to distribute my work) when you can make no guarantees as to the volume of orders you'll place or the frequency thereof. I'm willing to spend the money promoting my own designs and custom work, but offering you a discount so that you have something to sell on your self-promoting website seems counter productive, especially when I have no say as to what other things or artists you may be offering and promoting.

I betcha you won't get many takers in the traditional leaded and stained glass arts, for the reasons I stated above. (Unless you think you can get rich selling $15 sailboat suncatchers for a $5 profit. And there's probably plenty of those folks out there with that to offer.) :>(

Any professional artisan I know already has outlets for their work either in websites, galleries, or at shows. Those that are good don't have the time to fill the orders they already have...so you'll be left with the secondary level "crafter" who doesn't have any special designs or techniques to differentiate themselves from 40 more wannabes doing the exact same sailboat suncatcher. And that's a recipe for failure. Or mediocrity.

You may find those who make beads and fused jewelry have a different perspective. They may be willing to have an inventory of ready to sell items, but when they sell something offline, are you gonna be ready to update their inventory levels on a 24-7 basis? Do you think they are willing to reserve a one-off item for your website when they have a face-to-face retail buyer? You do realize that this artwork isn't mass produced and is unique? If I can sell something right now for $100 or wait for you to "maybe" sell it and get paid $50...that choice is easy to make. And then you are left with an item on your website that no longer is available for sale.

If you search the archives of alt.professional.crafts you'll see much more about this topic. Yours isn't an original idea...I've seen this topic two dozen times in the last 5 years, and I guess you'll be the first to ever get it off the ground. Everyone else failed. But, hey, good luck.

Reply to
Moonraker

Hummmh. Located in East St. Louis, IL. Wonderful location. Makes downtown Baghdad look like Palm Springs.

Reply to
Moonraker

CHINA CHINA CHINA....MEXICO MEXICO MEXICO.... INDIA INDIA INDIA throw in a few more 3rd or 4th world countries and try to compete the crap they flood the US with. Go to ebay and type in TIFFANY LAMPS......BTB ain't none of them REAL or ORIGINAL, even if they be sold by "DALE TIFFANY"....POLK STREET TIFFANY and so on. note the prices (bids or BIN)........"nuff said!

I can build an 8 panel, 8 piece lamp in ONE EASY HOUR, add the base to it, packing, shipping, and the rest of the time necessary to effect a "wholesale" price, and it is no longer competitive. Only 25 years of experience and about 1,100 units so far.

Howard

-- snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com In the words of the IMMORTAL USED CAR DEALER: THERE IS AN ASS FOR EVERY SEAT!

Reply to
Howard

Heh! No, not in East St. Louis. That's a wasteland that basically just needs a good fresh coat of fire. We're in civilization well past the wasteland.

Reply to
Kevin Sawyer, General Manager

The bottom line is that if you make a good quality product, I would like to sell it online. I will pay you a fair price for it and I will ask you to drop-ship for me so that we don't waste time and money on warehousing and added shipping.

It's funny how people *can* go to EBay and pay $25 for something (and the seller is lucky to turn a $1 profit) yet so many people continue to pay $50 for essentially the same item from other online sources. Consumers are funny that way. Why do people go to nice big malls to get things that they could easily have purchased at Wal-Mart or Target? For that matter, why do they go to Wal-Mart or Target to get things that they can pick up at auctions or garage sales?

I am not trying to all things to all people. That's absolute futile. With a nice site, nice products, good customer service before/after the sale and high visibility (lots of traffic to the site), products will sell at almost any price. That's a fact. I'm already watching it happen.

You've been doing this for 25 years. I'd love to see your work. I'd love an opportunity to help you profit from it. If you do, then I do. Do you have any photos available?

--Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Sawyer, General Manager

Perhaps I'm displaying a total lack of understanding of what YOU do. But now that you explained it to me it helps out a lot.

If I purchase from distributor (or manufacturer) then sell to the public at retail, then I'm probably purchasing from the distributor at wholesale. I'm already doing this for brick-and-mortar models and several online models. Even in the brick-and-mortar business we quite frequently have items drop-shipped directly to our customer. We're finding that our distributors (BIG ones) are trying more and more to have orders drop-shipped from the manufacturer. So, it isn't at all uncommon for us to have a new battery backup unit sold via our brick-and-mortar model and ordered via a distributor such as Tech Data or Ingram Micro drop-shipped directly to our customer from the manufacturer (APC or Tripp Lite). This is still a wholesale model and it even applies to custom goods. Once you get an order from me and a promise to pay, it is mine to do with as I will. I bought it from you, not my customer. My customer is NOT your customer and has no direct dealings with you at all regardless of the fact that I may give you their shipping address rather than mine. Charge me whatever you like. Don't give me a discount if you don't want to. Hell, mark it up over your normal retail price if you want to. Just keep in mind that doing so will make it less likely that I'll ever get to sell anything..

Ok, crafter is a bad word. I tried saying craftsperson. What works best here? :-)

Custom stained glass is clearly not a "hey, here's exactly what I make, so how many do you want?" type of business. Having not participated in alt.crafts.glass until now I have no idea what the majority of you do with glass. While some of you might make stained glass, others might blow glass into ornaments and yet others might make exotic glass adult toys. Some of these lend themselves well to the model I've proposed. Some would be a little harder. But even with custom stained glass, I'm sure there's a way to generate interest and sales over the Internet. Perhaps you are already doing it and therefore have no use for me. But, if I placed and order for your product would you not fill it? If I pay for it would you not ship it to the location I specify?

Here's what you all have to gain from this: I am willing to purchase your products for resale and assume all responsibility for whatever transactions occur after said purchase. It's that simple. Either you want to sell your stuff or you don't. It is in my best interest to always be honest and forthright with the market about your products. I am not interested in getting rich quick. I'm already doing just fine. I'm interested in using my knowledge and experience to do something new and filling a void and working with talented interesting people all over the country. In the end I think that people like you should spend as much time as possible doing exactly what you do best. I want to understand and appreciate what you do then apply what I do best.

I'm not asking anyone to make any of the compromises you mentioned below. Don't necessarily sell to me any cheaper than you would to someone face-to-face. I don't expect you to have a huge inventory or necessarily any inventory at all. I can easily control what shows up on the site and how many can be ordered in what period of time. It's my job to worry about all of that. Your job is to make quality products in a reasonably timely fashion, ship them appropriately, and get paid.

Your product may not be the perfect candidate for this. Nevertheless I'm still very interested and appreciated all of your communication here. Would you be willing to share some photos? I'd love to see your work.

--Kevin

discounting

Reply to
Kevin Sawyer, General Manager

For years us oldtimers have been trying to figure out ways to mass market our products to actually turn a profit. We've all found our niche, but not via mass marking. Our products are for the most part too time consuming to create, and thus there is little room for another "partner" that takes a slice, or boosts the price over the moon. China and Mexico are only the latest intruders to try this. They have choked the market on lamp shades. (Good... I hated making them anyway.) Granted their labor cost is about $10 for a 6 day 16 hour week, but the quality has been awful. . Now they are attempting to cover this up by using 1000 pieces of glass in a 12" x 18" panel that sells for $99 bucks. Lots of pretty colors and art glass, but I don't see them flying out of the stores even for those prices. My customers love to pay me to make them a custom designed panel with their choice of colors, my design, and seem to be happy about it. As for selling crafty, arty, stuff.... I leave that to my students. They have lots of time on their hands, and no idea how to price it.

Reply to
jk

I appreciated the feedback. If you have a product that generally does not sell to the masses, there are two good places to market it: at specialty trade shows, and on the Internet. So, while there is somewhat of a "mass marketing" aspect to what I have envisioned, what I am really trying to do is make it easy for the scattered few who are interested in such quality crafts to find a centralized source. There are probably people in Oregon who would love to buy your crafts. However, they have no idea that you exist. The more specialized and customized the craft, the more this becomes a problem...and it's because conventional geography-based marketing (usually within an hour or so of your location) does not have enough interested or otherwise qualified buyers.

I have no desire to boost the price over the moon. A fair profit is just that. You should get paid what you deserve and no more. The same applies to me. I do not presume to deserve a 100% markup in any case (unless you're selling me $2 trinkets perhaps, but I probably won't consider them to be "quality crafts").

--Kevin

PS - Enter "stained glass kits" into Google and look at the top five. Perhaps the first two are worth something. After that, while the art/craft may be worth something, the sites are almost useless in my opinion. Of course "kits" are just one application of stained glass. But this is a pretty good example of the void that exists. Even if you made the worst stained glass kits in on the planet, I'm willing to wager that I could have the nicest site to sell it with the highest visibility and therefore the most traffic and crank out some serious sales. However, I'm not at all interested in schlepping crud. Quality only!

Reply to
Kevin Sawyer, General Manager

I'm an occasional lurker here, and I must say that whoever you are and whatever you do, you're remarkably patient with skeptics and people who've been burned by others in the past. That's kind of refreshing to see in a newsgroup these days.

- Steve Richardson St Louis MO (NOT East St Louis IL -- a friend's car cracked a piston just as we were entering ESL on our way to a junkyard outside town, and we never even thought about slowing down, much less stopping....)

distributors

transactions

wrote

Reply to
Steve Richardson

Steve - why'd you put that in your sig? Just curious.

- Bev, stained glass, fused glass, glass, glass, glass and lives in U-City

Reply to
Bev Brandt

Bev - Somewhere way back near the beginning of this thread, somebody made a crack about East St Louis and I was keying off that in an idle moment. I haven't had time to check back since then, so I missed your question. I've been busy making, or trying to make, the first of four identical panels for someone I've known too long to say "no" to, even though there's no money in it and I'll be lucky to cover the cost of materials. After a week of after-hours work I'm not at all satisfied with the workmanship and normally I'd start over, but there's a deadline looming and I need to start panel number two. This is literally the first spare moment I've had to check the group since your question. It'll probably be a long time before I look in again!

- Steve R

Reply to
Steve Richardson

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.