jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Apr 13, 2018 8:38:47 GMT -5
rockjunquie Drummond Island RocksMy favorite situation would be to sell to resellers that drills holes/wraps/sets at wholesale pricing. Sellers that sell a lot of wraps and bailed pendants with established markets. That will handle the 1 and 2 item retail type sales. Sellers that I could custom shape and size like girdles for instance. Contract work basically. Partnerships. I thought about sending samples to big Etsy sellers. Or any internet sellers with high volumes no matter the hosting site be it Etsy or whatever. Consigning at and selling thru local stores may not have the volume. Not sure about that. Gee, if these pieces are as nice as I think they are I would think they would want to deal with me. Thoughts ?
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Post by MrP on Apr 13, 2018 9:04:40 GMT -5
Well James I have been thinking about this for awhile and am not sure what the answer is. I really like the making of pendants and earrings sets, that I make, but hate the selling part. I have sold many sets to the ladies I worked with and some at a couple of other places my daughter set up but I have donated all the money to charities so have zero gain from anything I have sold. I started in this hobby because my wife loved the idea of rock jewelry and I really liked rocks so why not give it a try. At the start I was able to get a very good buy on a large amount of rough and great equipment. Between my wife and two daughter they have about 350-400 sets so that is where my 'return' comes in. I also have another 500-600 other sets I have made up. My wife really likes glass also so I have bought a fair amount of cullet glass and had just bought a couple of vases for making jewelry just before you started buying your glass. After you started I have ended up buying a large amount of blown glass because I plan on doing the same kind of thing you are doing except I have no real plan to sell for a profit. I wish I did enjoy the selling part but I just don't because I can always find flaws in what I make and think others may feel they didn't get the deal they thought they had. Years ago I did oil paintings and ended up giving most of them away also.
That being said I will be watching what others have to say because I don't have the answers. I sure hope you get it figured out because it sure is fun watching how this project is coming along......................MrP
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Post by aDave on Apr 13, 2018 9:12:08 GMT -5
jamesp , I'll have to stew over your situation, but I won't be able to address it until later on tonight. Getting ready to hit the road to go to Northern California. ETA: MsAli, I'll be waving as we drive by.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Apr 13, 2018 9:24:56 GMT -5
If I were you, I would set up several ways to buy these and see what works best. Make the larger "wholesale" buy more enticing and economical. For instance, 1 for 7.50, 2 for 14, 5 for 30, and 10 for 40.-- or something like that. See what sells best. Experiment to see what ppl will buy. Larger lots- call wholesale. Make sure you advertise these as unique one offs, handmade, handblown artglass artisan shards, repurposed, "green", OOAK, flat back cabochons, etc. Be prepared for ppl to ask you to drill holes. How much will you drill a hole for? Not a week passes that I don't get a request for a hole. Maybe set up ads for color families, random assortment, line patterns, round patterns, etc. Give lots of ways to purchase and see what works. That's what I would do. I agree with this. There are a ton of individuals buying cabs on Etsy for their jewelry making. Individual jewelers or just folks that make jewelry as a hobby are not going to purchase 50 or 100 at a time. They will be overwhelmed with the patterns and choices in lots that big and won't buy them period -- mostly because they won't be able to make up their minds! Although small lots is going to be a PITA, I think to start out that is the way to go until you see what gets the most traffic. Larger lots could be advertised at the end of your listings -- Larger, wholesale lots available. Contact me for pricing. There is a shop I buy from called TwistedSistersArt. She (Jill) makes steampunk style wire jewelry with hand painted glass eyes that she does herself. I wanted some of those eyes to play with, so I emailed her and asked if she sells them. She did, so I told her what color combos I wanted and sizes and she painted them up and had them to me in no time. A while after the first time I bought from her, she opened a second shop called the TheTwistedEye where she sells just the eyes and metal stampings for folks who make their own jewelry. She does a bang up business. She also started her own Facebook page after a lot of prodding from her customers and she gets a ton of traffic there, too and uses it to direct people to her Etsy store. Something you should think about. Marketing takes a lot of time, especially when you're creating art and first starting. I think the best way to deal with the pictures, etc. is to get yourself a lightbox or something like that, a tripod and the correct lights and permanently set up a spot and your camera to get the pictures almost perfect the first time you take them. Pop your cabs on the white background, snap your pic and be done with it. It should become pretty painless once you have it dialed in. Maybe your wife can help with that? Hope this helps some.
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Post by MsAli on Apr 13, 2018 9:25:38 GMT -5
You went balls to the walls on this and worked hard. I have to agree with Tela. Mix up the lots. Also you may want to think about ebay to sell in bigger lots or maybe calling up craft/jewerly stores and selling them wholesale. No matter which way you go marketing/advertising is the key.
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Fossilman
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Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,694
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Post by Fossilman on Apr 13, 2018 9:26:41 GMT -5
You should do great Jim, wishing you the best of luck!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Apr 13, 2018 9:41:29 GMT -5
rockjunquie Drummond Island Rocks My favorite situation would be to sell to resellers that drills holes/wraps/sets at wholesale pricing. Sellers that sell a lot of wraps and bailed pendants with established markets. That will handle the 1 and 2 item retail type sales. Sellers that I could custom shape and size like girdles for instance. Contract work basically. Partnerships. I thought about sending samples to big Etsy sellers. Or any internet sellers with high volumes no matter the hosting site be it Etsy or whatever. Consigning at and selling thru local stores may not have the volume. Not sure about that. Gee, if these pieces are as nice as I think they are I would think they would want to deal with me. Thoughts ? Email the large supply sellers on Etsy and introduce yourself. Offer to send them some cabs to evaluate. Attach a couple of pictures of your yummy cabs. Call Fire Mountain Gems and find out how to start the process to be a supplier. Heck, contact JTV.
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Post by MsAli on Apr 13, 2018 10:08:16 GMT -5
jamesp , I'll have to stew over your situation, but I won't be able to address it until later on tonight. Getting ready to hit the road to go to Northern California. ETA: MsAli , I'll be waving as we drive by. I'll be waving back. Hopefully you are heading somewhere fun. Bring a coat, its chilly up here
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Apr 13, 2018 10:21:44 GMT -5
jamesp - once again I start writing feeling like I'm probably not going to bring anything new to the discussion but my take on this has nothing to do with volume - it has more to do with figuring out who your consumer is. If I were in your shoes and unwearable glass cabochons are the product just like I now sell unwearable rock cabochons, I would pick out my very best of the best and fill up an Etsy page with 200 to 500 individualized listings. I would offer them for sale between $10 and $20 and just see how it goes for a while with no gimmicks, no volume discounts, nothing that cheapens the product - and nothing that even indicates mass production. I would also go heavy duty on the 'artsy' side and make damn sure everyone who found my page knows how special and different they are. That being said - and coming back to the figuring out who your consumer is - I showed your latest photo to Eva and asked her if these were something she would wear. Her immediate response was "wow those are so pretty" and then she had to think about it for a minute before stating that before she met me, and before we got so heavily into rocks, yes she would (and still does) find glass very intriguing and would wear a nice pendant if one caught her eye. It seem to me that for a brief moment she felt like she might be betraying our natural rock hobby to admit she would wear glass if that makes sense. This started me thinking more about if I were in your shoes who would I market these product to. Based on Eva's response and nothing else even resembling science, my primary consumer it would seem are folks who have NOT been immersed in the rock hobby. This is a question more than a statement but since the product right now is an unwearable cabochon are you essentially handcuffing yourself to the wire-wrappers and metalsmiths, or lapidary folks who can drill a hole in a stone (glass), most of whom ARE immersed in the natural rock hobby? What percentage of the wire-wrappers and metalsmiths who shop on Etsy for cabochons would embrace glass - 10%? 90%? I don't know but if that truly is the consumer I don't see easy movement of the type of volume you are talking about. With the production volume you're talking about I think you would have to find a way to create a "thing" (think Pet rock). Maybe it's worth exploring a partnership with a retailer with a chain of stores already placed in malls across the country (world?) and see if you can catch lightning in a bottle with a hot product that teenage girls couldn't wait to open the next package that arrived, or see what new colorful piece has arrived at their favorite mall kiosk or retailer. Maybe they take them to school to show and compare (and trade) with friends etc. It's an approach that is short on 'artsy' and story but high on eyeballs and consumerism. But as you know, anything along these lines become a whole different conversation involving branding and packaging, graphics, etc. So what then is the value of drilling and selling wearables instead of unwearables? The market potential seems to increase exponentially with the addition of a simple hole. Maybe even a hole WITH a custom (patented) attachment along the lines of a earring fastener that consumers, teenage girls perhaps, could easily remove from one cabochon and securely attach to the one she feels like wearing today. Remember me when you're a rich man
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Post by MsAli on Apr 13, 2018 10:30:47 GMT -5
jamesp instead of drilling a hole can you "stretch" the glass over and make it flow into a bail? Does that even make sense?
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Apr 13, 2018 10:42:00 GMT -5
jamesp instead of drilling a hole can you "stretch" the glass over and make it flow into a bail? Does that even make sense? Maybe along these same lines - create a mold with a standing pin that creates the hole for you? ![](//storage.proboards.com/1258779/thumbnailer/WSMVyxcMardERyZEFSti.png) Not sure if this works with glass slumping though.
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Post by MsAli on Apr 13, 2018 10:43:32 GMT -5
jamesp instead of drilling a hole can you "stretch" the glass over and make it flow into a bail? Does that even make sense? Maybe along these same lines - create a mold with a standing pin that creates the hole for you? Not sure if this works with glass slumping though. Great idea!
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Don
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He wants you too, Malachi.
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Post by Don on Apr 13, 2018 12:21:31 GMT -5
White background for sure. Product photography is a real struggle for me.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Apr 13, 2018 13:02:20 GMT -5
This thing just fell in my lap. I have a thriving business, I sense this could be a thriving business. I am over here filling up roll-around tool boxes with vase after vase and melt after melt as they come out of the tumbler. Product seems desirable. I'll keep having fun making them. The product is improving, learned a lot and evolution is definitely part of the process. Easy to store away. Not going anywhere. I need wholesale outlets. Someway somehow. Can't mold metal bails into them as tumbling won't allow, can't melt glass to them as it is not borosilicate MsAli. Molds are slow, time consuming and expensive Tommy, I can free mold them oversize and grind to shape quickly before the tumble. These items have to be drilled/wrapped or set. Nature of this fast process method. I did buy a Dremel drill press yesterday for the Dremel 4000...bought in 10 each of 10 different styles of 925 pinch bails. Ordered 50 - 2.7mm 925 bead grommets that make a very neat hole set. I can make beads too. Some of the pendants will make fine focal beads too. Bead grommets: ![](https://img.etsystatic.com/il/04ebce/265315741/il_570xN.265315741.jpg?version=0) Anyway, time to start looking for a market. I appreciate the ideas. Jewelry not my bailiwick so I am certainly listening w/all ears. I do like the idea of getting them in the hands of those that have high volume jewelry sales. I will work hard to make what they need to their specifications. I think I will send samples out. Why not.
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Post by drocknut on Apr 13, 2018 13:57:14 GMT -5
I agree with Chuck about selling in small lots and the impression it gives rather than in bulk. Sure you can make a lot of them but if you flood the market like the Chinese do with cabs doesn't that "cheapen" the whole lot? I would think it would be better to sell bulk to stores outside of Etsy. I'm no marketing person, heck I'm not even a good jewelry or Etsy salesperson but just giving you my perspective. Sure, you can make hundreds of them and they are excellent quality but should you? All of the jewelry I sell is one of a kind so when I buy cabs I prefer to buy ones that are unique or unusual and I have never bought in bulk. That's just me and I'm sure I'll be told I'm a horrible business person and will never get rich but I'm ok with that...lol. Sure I wouldn't mind making more money however I just am not wired for being great at business or living a fast paced money making lifestyle.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Apr 13, 2018 19:04:55 GMT -5
I agree with Chuck about selling in small lots and the impression it gives rather than in bulk. Sure you can make a lot of them but if you flood the market like the Chinese do with cabs doesn't that "cheapen" the whole lot? I would think it would be better to sell bulk to stores outside of Etsy. I'm no marketing person, heck I'm not even a good jewelry or Etsy salesperson but just giving you my perspective. Sure, you can make hundreds of them and they are excellent quality but should you? All of the jewelry I sell is one of a kind so when I buy cabs I prefer to buy ones that are unique or unusual and I have never bought in bulk. That's just me and I'm sure I'll be told I'm a horrible business person and will never get rich but I'm ok with that...lol. Sure I wouldn't mind making more money however I just am not wired for being great at business or living a fast paced money making lifestyle. There is actually not much of a way I can sell them myself on a hosting site Diane and make much money without looking like a mass production person. I think I pretty much have to find high volume jewelry sellers that buy a lot of cab stock and negotiate prices with them. I will have to find them as it is doubtful they will find me in this lifetime. Dang near impossible to find anyone on mega-jewelry Etsy any more. Find big Etsy sellers and send them convos with photos, pricing and an offer to send them samples. Down the list, pick a number say 250 select volume sellers. Numbers game. Maybe join an Etsy suppliers group ? Not sure how those guys work. I do get constant Etsy convo requests from retail sellers to sell my fire pits at their road side stores. About one offer every 2 weeks. So Etsy sellers do get approached in business partnerships... I too don't want to go high production and roll in big dollars, prefer to sell at a higher retail price and have way less sells and the most valuable thing - time. Now I love making this glass and tumbling it. Just plain fun. Glass is not cheap though, I would like compensation to pay for best of materials. I would really like to be the most famous glass pendant artist in the world Lol, Id take a high artist rating over big money income any day. A cool accomplishment. Nothing I ever came close to. Fire pits ain't art, that's repetitive sweaty redneck welding. Now I sold a crap load of fire pits last year. I thought they would slow down a bit - not. Looking at Etsy statistics for this year as compared to last year, looks like I am going to be too too busy when fire pit seasons come. ![](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/880/39631192490_42f94dde41_n.jpg) The dark teal is this year, up 75 friggin %, that means it is going to be a busy year. My wife spends all the money, I don't need it. Why do I have to do all this work ?
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Post by rockjunquie on Apr 13, 2018 19:14:16 GMT -5
Isn't it against etsy rules to spam people? I imagine if you are going to contact a lot of sellers, someone is bound to report you. I get spammed, too. Goes straight to the trash.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Apr 13, 2018 19:19:55 GMT -5
White background for sure. Product photography is a real struggle for me. Dead white background sure sounds like struggle reduction Don. I will suggest to borrow a friend's iPad and give it a try. They have that thing dialed in for some fine product photos.
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by NRG on Apr 13, 2018 19:20:29 GMT -5
I'd use a Lifesaver candy for size AND color balance.
Everybody knows what they look like.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Apr 13, 2018 19:26:30 GMT -5
Isn't it against etsy rules to spam people? I imagine if you are going to contact a lot of sellers, someone is bound to report you. I get spammed, too. Goes straight to the trash. Ah hah, the plot thickens. I don't need to be crossing the Etsy rule book line Tela. I wonder if a lot of those big Etsy sellers have their own websites ? That would be fair game. Or contacting jewelry sellers found on google search. Either way it is soliciting. But that's what it takes in many situations.
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