THE TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGING....

I have been poking around the Internet and trying to decide where I want to be. More is better, from what I've heard. But it is also time consuming, and stressful.

Etsy was enough for me when I was first starting out. It kept me busy and happy. But as it grew so did the amount of sellers, and so did the egos and tempers and attitude. Chatting in the forums brought a lot of visitors to my shop. But the volume of people joining Etsy also brought with it a huge attitude that was far from friendly. Also, it's hard to keep your items on top unless you have the ability to list an item every 2-3 hours. Which I don't.

A once restful place to chat and ask questions became a playground for bullies and queen bees. Snobbery and snipping was (is) everywhere. People became afraid to ask a question or make a comment. It was like high school all over again! I kept out of the forums, and that, along with my inability to make and list beads during the winter months, brought on a sort of withdrawal and depression as my shop sat lonely with few visitors and buyers.

To fill the void I started a web search for new homes for my goodies. I've found a couple, and have some new favorites. Now I have to decide what it is that I'd like to do. So far, my plan is to sell my completed jewelry pieces and pendants on www.glasstastictreasures.1000marktes.com.

My beads and A la Carte pendants/necklaces are still on Etsy. I've tried to switch over to Handmade Fuzion, but they just don't have the traffic they did when they first started. And the economy isn't helping at all. I also have a shop on Shophandmade.com, sold one item and was ecstatic, but I don't see that venue as being the place for me, so I will close that one down as well.

Coming soon: Artfire? Still thinking about this one.

So, in short, I am on the hunt for a new home to share my bead and A la Carte goodies with everyone. I'd love to hear all comments and suggestions!

:)

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Summer craft/art sale season is here!!

I had to make a difficult decission today: to sale or not to sale? (I know, SALE was spelled that way intentionally, lol)

I had to take into account the gas prices (boo to every oil company that is making billions of dollars at the expense of the poor Americans), the distance I have to travel, the booth fees and the energy I have to expend.

So let's see, gas is now $3.89/gal. I have to drive 2.5 hours. I have to get up at 4 a.m, and I have no energy or inclination to travel that distance at those prices to be let down and lose money because everyone else is in the same boat as me. CAN'T AFFORD GAS!

So, I've decided that I will only be entering into juried art sales this year. I will most like only be doing about 2-4 sales.

I know this may seem drastic to some. And although I usually do fairly well at these sales, I have yet to meet the percentage of sales that is required by the professionals to make the events worth while.

So, I will be taking those gas funds and trying my hand at some sort of advertising. I know, I know... these sales ARE advertising. However, I don't feel that I have many return customers from these sales. So to me, at least, I don't feel they have much of an impact except to make a couple extra dollars on short notice. And now, with gas prices what they are, I don't want to take any chances.

Please, feel free to leave a comment and let me know how your craft sales have done, if you have attendend any!

Good luck, I hope you all do well this summer! :)

Edited on 6/1/08 to add:

I just spoke to my sister, who I do the craft sales with, and she also has decided not to do many shows this year. For her knit items, she gets a ton of repeat customers who call her directly. And for my beads, I do pretty well online. So I feel a whole lot better! SMILES :)

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