Oops, forgot to add that the reasoning for this in the techie industry is that there have been cases where an employee will play double agent-working for two companies at the same time-which causes a lot of problems. Some will learn something or a new way to use something, at one company, and turn around and use that knowledge to benefit the other company. Now THAT'S unethical!
Interesting Sales Arrangement
Nov 15, 2003
35 Replies
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I would never sell anything to anyone lower than wholesale, unless the beads were seconds. I might "work" for someone for a day, but the price would at least be wholesale, if not more. Of course, if this arrangemet works for you, and you feel good about it, Tink, then that's good. I don't question others' way of doing things, but it is not something I would do. I really value my time these days, and offering beads at a price less than wholesale when I could be getting at least wholesale or even retail just seems unfair to me, and to any other customers I might have. And now that you've posted it, you might have many more people asking you to do this, which might drive down your regular prices and wear you out. (((((((((Tink)))))))))
Yep, same with my husband who is a software developer. He had to sign an agreement as well. He doesn't mind because he works for a great company that pays him well, and the software he develops there isn't anything he'd want for himself.
The problem is that I don't have the time to sell everything I can make. Eventually, I will have someone (Donna, perhaps) handling my merchandising. Also, I have upcoming ads in Bead and Button. I suspect (read: hope) that will help me expand the range of the galleries and retailers I sell to.
On a good night, I can make 25 beads. Now, if they all coordinate and look nice as a set, I can put it up on eBay and keep my fingers crossed. Or, I can sell the set of 25 outright for $150 - $200. I don't have a problem with that at all. eBay is a crapshoot, as I'm sure you know.
"Wholesale" is a subjective term: I suspect that my wholesale prices are a lot higher than those of many lampworkers because I *do* greatly value my time. So how much do most lampworkers sell 25 beads for, on average?
Oh, definitely, which is why this type of thing works for you. :) I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't a good thing for you - it sounds like it is. I was just replying to the part where you asked whether other lampworkers did this. :)
25 lampwork beads for me is a medium size set of all rounds that are small in nature. I sell those on ebay from $80-$200 depending. Retail for a set of 25 beads for me is about $150-$300 depending. But my beads are smaller and usually round or cubed, whereas yours seem to be larger and shaped. I can also make about 50 per day. So since there's such a difference in the way we each work, and in our beads themselves, different things work for us. Wholesale for me is half of retail. Ebay is usually somewhere between wholesale and retail, and once in awhile, it goes above what I would retail the beads for on my site. Selling at a show would be higher, I am guessing, but I haven't done one yet, so I am not sure.I just went back and checked: I've done this six times, so far, and it ends up averaging out to just over $10 a bead. Which is just above my wholesale price for this type of bead. So I guess the "below wholesale" aspect is moot. So I'm getting essentially what I consider to be wholesale, which is also what I set my starting bids at on eBay, but without the eBay fees.
Oh, well, in that case, more power to you!! :) That sounds like a great deal. And you don't even have to work on advertising or go out and try and sell the beads because they are already sold.
sounds like a deal all around! Sarajane
Sarajane's Polymer Clay Gallery
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I'm sure it wouldn't work for everyone, but it's a great solution for me. Gives me more time at the torch, which rocks!
Oh definitely - my response was to Tink when she said that sometimes her prices were below wholesale. But then she did some math and came to the conclusion that her prices weren't below wholesale. I think it's wonderful if the deals work out for both parties involved. I was just responding to Tink's inquiry of what other lampworkers do. :)
And of course, I can only say for myself what *I* personally do. I didn't mean to imply that I spoke for all lampworkers. Sheesh - I am stumbling all around with my words, lately. I apologize.
I usually expect for $25-40 per matching six or seven, depending on complexity. I don't remember the last time I posted a focal.
Also without all the work. You're definitely getting paid well once you factor in guaranteed sales without having to photograph, describe, or list the beads, or deal with individual payments and shipping.
All in all, a win/win situation.
I stand by my statement of "unethical", and when I said "technically illegal" I meant in a Constitution-violating way, not in a way that would be upheld in a court of this NON-CONSTITUTION-ABIDING land.
If I work for IBM and I write a poem at my house in the evening on a Saturday, and it belongs to them as their "intellectual property", then my intellect has become their chattel and it is absolutely unethical and counter to the rights of freedom we should be able to expect. A simple non-competition clause protects them from your unethical use of
*relevant* ideas you came up with in their employ, but claiming copyright to your *unrelated* creative output in your own time is *WRONG*. IMHO. It stifles the human soul.Sorry, hot spot.
vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Kalera Stratton :
]IMHO. It stifles the human soul. ]Sorry, hot spot.
ditto. legal doesn't always equal morally right.
----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)
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's not what you take, when you leave this world behind you;it's what you leave behind you when you go. -- Randy Travis
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