More on the demo......

Hi Catherine,

First, I think the more labor intensive something is, the less likely we are to get a fair price.

Second, it really does matter what the market will bear. And usually beadmakers sell to people who want wholesale prices, so that they can get their own fair profit on their own labor intensive work, which will only sell at what the market will bear.

Third, I'd better get more of your work before you raise your prices!

If you can, check out what other people sell their poly work at. Usually they will charge retail on their sites, and have some arrangement available for wholesale or for quantity discount. That should give a good idea of some retail prices for you.

Tina

I'll check it out, thank you!

"Meeting New People or Being Nice In Public"....Oh, I so know what you mean here!

Water...GREAT idea. I wouldn't have thought of that and I have a tendancy to forget to drink and I get a nasty headache later. So, thanks for that tip.

I agree with your first sentence completely. I first starting doing tiles because my tumbler was full and it was something different...and I like them. But man, those are time consuming. They almost aways sell, so I make them. Some money is better then no money. Market is tough right now!

I've looked at other beads in polymer clay and I am so blessed to sell as much as I do. I think my prices are alright for the current online market. I can mak $200 - $400 a week on my clay and to stay at home with my kids and do something I love (most of the time), this is GOOD money. I can wear sweats and be home and eat when I want, and not tell the manager I gotta take a bathroom break and look outside and see what the weather is like and hear birds and lots of other stuff, so I don't mind the "minimum wage". It ain't that bad!! I know many of my buyers can't spend a ton of money on my beads because they are making something to sell to the final customer.

I have seen some retail polymer clay beads for sale on some artists sites and it's like $4 or $6 or more a BEAD . I can completely understand those prices, because I make beads and I know how much work goes into beads. However, when I see these artists try to sell their beads on JustBeads at those prices, they don't usually sell. I would rather sell some then wait and wait for the right buyer to pay a high price. Of course, I'm only selling online. I haven't really thought about going public yet...as in real-life selling.

I have also seen some artists sell from their site and then they have post on JustBeads at a much lower price. Now to me, that means they aren't getting enough business on their site or in other retail sales that they go to JustBeads to sell something/anything.

I don't want to get too arrogant in my talent where I price myself out of the market. I will at least double my prices for the demo though!

Catherine

-- Some of my beads on auction!

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

]I can mak $200 - $400 a week on my clay and to stay at home with my kids and ]do something I love (most of the time), this is GOOD money.

it's about what i make, working for the "boss from hell" and at a job i despise more every day. GOOD FOR YOU!

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

's not what you take, when you leave this world behind you;it's what you leave behind you when you go. -- Randy Travis

you are welcome--I have to keep reminding myself, too. I read somewhere you exhale as much as a quart of water if you talk a lot for a long while---like at shows, classes and so on. Sarajane

Sarajane's Polymer Clay Gallery

When people sell on their sites that's usually a price that's retail or close to it. Partly because they can't undersell the people they sell to at wholesale (which they reprice at "key" mark up -- or at double the price). Though the artists on their sites often also have discounts for quantity or for re-sale. Usually auctions are closer to wholesale, and they hope to get bid up to retail. EBay doesn't allow people to undersell them on their own sites either.

Again back to the wholesale retail thing. If you are getting an adequate price for your beads at, let's say, $15 for 6 beads (about what I paid), they would wholesale for that, and would sell in the store for $5. I've got them in hand as I speak. And yes, I would expect to pay $5 or $6 each in a bead store. This is the correct price to ask for at retail pricing. This is the price the store owner would sell them for if she bought them from you at your bottom price of $2 to $3 @. Wholesale. Like the store owner, you would be getting $2.50 for retailing, as well as the $2.50 you would be getting for your beads.

Tina

Sorry, I don't have one. I'm not that computer literate. I'm one of the unhappy AOL'ers and I was used to being able to show my work on the library.

Barbara G.

That's a good source. Thanks.

Barbara G.

Do you have anyplace I can see the beads? Your link to just beads keeps telling me that you don't have anything for sale... (which is good, I guess, if you've sold them all, but with all this conversation, I'm dying to see one!)

Thanks! Kar>

Yeah, I don't have any auctions up at the moment, so here are some that have already ended.

Hi Barbara, I don't understand if you don't have a site, or just a sig. A sig is a very easy thing to create. Just go to keyword "newsgroups", click on "set preferences", go to the "posting" tab and you'll see a big box that you can use to place a link, or quote, or whatever you'd like your sig to be. Remember to click on the "save" button afterwards. HTH

Valerie Website:

Member Links: your site! E-mail me for details! *Remove* spam block to reply.

Oh my goodness gracious.... that's GORGEOUS stuff!!!!!

You are going to let us know when you have more up for sale, right? PLEASE?? :-)

Kar>

It really depends on how you feel.

I think it sounds like a great opportunity.

Based on this new letter, do you really really feel like you don't WANT to do it, or are you SCARED of doing it? If the later... are you interested in learning to not feel that way anymore? I try to push myself into doing things I am uncomfortable with, although sometimes I have trouble and regress. (I used to be terrified to talk on the telephone and basically talked to noone all through high school).

Actually something like this demo might be easier then other social situations. You'll have your work on hand and the nature of the conversations will be pretty set; people will come to YOU with questions about something in which YOU are expert.

My mom's botanical artist guild always has people demoing at their shows. They basically sit there and do their work, and people come over and have fairly casual conversations. Of course, some people are more interested (and more prepared) in having detailed technical conversations then others. But these conversations are about at the tone of a conversation with an interested friend. The interest is in "meeting the artist", getting a view of the artist's work, and getting a flavor for what that type of art is about. They are not prepared lectures, and certainly don't really teach how to make anything (although they are enough to spurn interest in some of the onlookers, who then might inquire about where to go to learn more).

From what I have seen, it is relatively low stress and fun for all involved.

If you could view your demo that way, maybe it wouldn't be too hard... and you might feel really good afterwards.

marisa2

csteele wrote:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I remember back in high school I HATED ordering food anywhere. It was just too much for me (now how pathetic is that...). I got a job in finacial aid and was forced to answer phones all day, and that job cured me of the ordering problem! I became a lot better about a lot of things after that. I was just inexperienced and had no confidence but I was thrown out there I adventually it was old hat.

I think I'm more nervous/scared then anything. I haven't said yes yet, but I'm working hard like I will do this thing. All I have to do is give the store owner the "ok" and it will be final. I WILL at least try this one time. I am just thinking about making speaches in college and that really sucked! I would never want to do that again...EVER. I would love it if others thought what I do is very interesting. That would help me relax. It will probably be great and I know I should at least try it.

I just need to send that email. Maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for the info on your mom's experiences.

I get nervous before every class I teach. But once I'm standing up there talking about something that I LOVE SO MUCH.... Well, it's super easy. It just happens...

Well, one good thing about this situation is that it is almost guarenteed that anyone who is there is interested in what you are doing!

I think this will be very different from college speaches. You'll be sitting at a table, doing something you know how to do and love to do, and people (hopefully a few at a time) will come up and talk to you about it.

marisa2

csteele wrote:

As a former speachifier, debater, and bad actor,please let me say that demoing is NOTHING like those things. The focus is nowhere the same--they will be looking at your hands and what is coming out of them--its far more like puppeteering and you have something wonderful and catchy to hide behind. They will not be paying attention to *YOU*, but focusing on your clay, if that helps! Sarajane

Sarajane's Polymer Clay Gallery

How did your demo go last weekend?

Third Wolf