is anyone familiar with

Kaytee "Simplexities" on

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from snipped-for-privacy@aol.comnospam (Kaytee) :

]They've SPAMed me a couple of times.... There's a thread on Eclectic Beadery ]about it.

ah - well, i did get a very polite answer when i replied to the e-mail. just wondered if for $28/month it would help bring traffic to the site [although when i look at the stat reports from my host server, i am getting referrals from places like Google.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

SCAM. I get an email from them at least twice per week.

Search engines are the best source of real traffic. Don't pay for traffic - you can get it for free!

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Kandice Seeber" :

]Search engines are the best source of real traffic. Don't pay for traffic - ]you can get it for free!

uhm, yes. but they're talking about marketing to stores - not individual consumers. that's the part i was wondering about.

i do get traffic from search engines and web rings. and for some of the strangest "matches". some from my links page!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Kandice Seeber" :

]SCAM. I get an email from them at least twice per week.

ah - okay - that's what i wanted to know.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

But they claim to market to places like Walmart and Target - who you have to know do not buy from individual artists - there just isn't enough volume. Those companies buy wholesale from mass manufacturers at really low prices. They also are known to try and get people to pay thousands of dollars to shoot infomercials. Therin lies the scam - this VenderPro wants you to pay them, and they can't possibly deliver you any real results. They are the same type of thing as Shop America Network. To their credit, both companies have records with the BBB, and complaints have been dealt with so that they have a satisfactory record. They used to be called Bulkworks and

4WholesaleUSA. However, there are people on other forums who have discussed this company, and it doesn't looks so favorable:

I also found a bunch of references on other newsgroups. Alt.crafts.professional and misc.entrepreneurs.moderated had the most references. We also talked about this last August according to Google, here in this newsgroup, but I had forgotten about that until I searched. :) Of course, YMMV - and if you feel comfortable with the company, then go for it. But in my view, people who make handmade items would do better marketing for themselves. Wholesale pricing is better for those companies who can produce high quantites of items at a low cost.

For what it's worth - in the emails I constantly get from both companies, they tell me they have spent a lot of time at my site, and that my handmade jewelry would be perfect for their stores. I don't make handmade jewelry anymore for sale - and haven't for over a year now. They've never mentioned beads. And the emails are always the same - word for word.

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Kandice Seeber" :

]But they claim to market to places like Walmart and Target - who you have to ]know do not buy from individual artists - there just isn't enough volume.

that's about exactly what i wrote: "that's nice. but if you had really LOOKED at my site, you would see that each piece is "one-of-a-kind" and not priced for those kinds of markets. i am not interested in mass marketing anything."

and got back: We have a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces on our site. In fact, our first testimonial is from Beth Owen, who produces one-of-a-kind products that she personalizes. She's landed several store, mail-order catalog, and internet shopping accounts. Retailers are always on the lookout for unique items. Its products likeyours that keep customers coming back to their shops. Your products would be ideal for specialty stores. And because you'll be able to pick and choose who you want to work with, you can grow with your business. There is certainly a larger market for what you have ... we're here to help you find it. If you do sign on send me an email and I'll enhance your account by adding $300 in free features. ___________________________________ and that pretty much confirmed that it was some kind of scam.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Kandice Seeber" :

]However, there are people on other forums who have discussed this company, ]and it doesn't looks so favorable:

thank you so much, Kandice. that's what i thought, but i needed to be sure.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

(Jewelry) newest creations: ----------- The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.-- Jeff Jordan

You'd do better investing in some postcards that showcase your work, and using the online yellow pages to cull addresses of galleries and boutiques for a marketing mailing.

This is EXACTLY what my assistant begins work on next week! I have my postcard design ready to go. I'll be doing two separate cards: One for shops and one for galleries. I'm struggling with the fact that I'll need to put my phone number on the cards. I *know* that adding that will increase the number of responses dramatically, but I also remember that when I was a fiber artist that both retail customers and shops would call me all the time and keep me from getting work done. I used to freak every time the phone rang. Finally just had my phone number changed. LOL!

Tinkster

I thought it was funny that I got the *SAME* email twice on the *SAME* day worded the exact same way, from 2 different people...

and I get it sometimes, with like "we like this item, and this item"...

Mary

can you invest in another phone line, or cell phone? One with a voice mail? Perhaps if you have a cell phone, your assistant can answer it on some days from her home, and save a little of that for you...

Mary

or an answering service? There are types that you can forward the phone when you need to...and the galleries still get a "human" voice, not an answering MACHINE!

Mary

I don't know how much a second line costs, but for business, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have another line in the house. That way, you can answer business (or personal), and not the other, if need be.

I would allow a certain time per day for "business". Return calls. Pack those "emergency" packages. Do paperwork. Answer the phone if it rings then. Put it on the message (I generally return calls during the hours of x and x, if you need me to call at another time, please tell me).

Now, I don't know if that would "scare" off a business, but it blocks you down. Then the rest of the day, you can answer the phone at leisure, if you wish.

if need be, don't get any special features on the second line. Put all of them on the first line. Make your calls from the first line/etc.

Or same thing with the cell phone. you can turn it off if need be (or I think mine comes with a "page" feature...).

just rambling...

Mary

or a "business" cell phone. She takes it when she's "on" and you take it when you are "on".

Mary