Selling on Facebook. Yes, no, maybe? Okay, I'll give it a try.

I have to say that I've tried selling items from my Facebook fan page and it doesn't work for me. But recently I noticed one of my lampwork friends posting about a private Facebook page for auctioning lampwork beads. I was skeptical, so I messaged her and asked a ton of questions.

When she told me her sales were better then anywhere else online and that she was closing down her selling Etsy and Artfire shops I knew I had to give it a try, and am I glad I did!

My auctions usually run for 24-48 hrs.  And within the first 24 hrs I had already made a sale.  And again the next day.  I have to say I'm pretty happy. I haven't sold everything I've listed, but that's okay!

I love the idea of being able to interact with the buyers, and I'm available to answer questions if needed.  What buyer wouldn't want that?

This group is called Artisan Lampwork Beads For Sale .  This is a closed group, but you can easily join by clicking one button.  They monitor it very strictly to make sure only artisan beads are listed.  And that's really good.  So if you make lampwork or like to buy it head on over there and sign up.  You won't be sorry!

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I'm Just Saying...

So, this morning I was trudging around Etsy, my least favorite place, looking for assorted Picasso flower beads. I found a shop with lots of great stuff I wanted. But then I saw this: $10 minimum purchase required.

What?

So I went into her policies and sure enough! $10 minimum purchase. Well, after all, she has kids and pets to feed, don't you know! What? Seriously? Maybe she needs to hock some of her hamsters. What a turn off. I immediately removed her from my favorites.

People of Earth! Do not "demand" a minimum purchase! It's a turn off. Come on, use your brains. That's like saying: "Hey, will you go out with me? And if you do, I demand sex afterwords." Again...what??

If you want to get on my good side try rubbing me the right way. A little, "hey baby, you rub my back and I'll rub yours" will get you a lot farther!

Do you want higher sales? How about you offer a small and affordable free gift to get that minimum up there! I would have been a lot happier to see that, and I wouldn't have really cared what it was, because it was free, and it was offered to me as a courtesy. It wasn't a demand. I much prefer to hand out my hard earned money to those who do not have their hand in my face.

I'm just saying.

Edited to add: Althought I have been told this is against Etsy's TOU to require a minimum purchase, I have yet to find it in the labyrinth of blather on their site. And no, I do not know if blather is a real word or not.

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Great News: The ArtFire Pro Deal Is On!

Yep, it's true.  With all the changes that have happened in such a short time concerning online selling, AftFire admin crunched the numbers and decided they were going to go ahead with the Pro Deal.  So now instead of having to have 20k sign ups they're going to go with the Pro Deal October 1st!!

So if you sell online and have been on the fence about whether or not you want to try ArtFire now is you chance.  At just $5.95 per month you can list and sell unlimited creations!! No other hidden fees.  How cool is that?

So click the picture above.  What are you waiting for?

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Want To Go Pro For Only $5.95? I Sure Do!

 

Sorry for the copy/paste.  But what more can I say? lol  ArtFire is my favorite venue, I've been very happy there.  You will be too.  So click here to find out more!

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LicaLee rides the Crazy Train!

Woowoo, all aboard! LicaLee is the next featured artisan on the Crazy Train. Please visit her shop, has wonderful items. Just look!

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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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Happy New Year!!

Wow, another year. Can you believe it? 2009. I hope everyone had a wonderful and successful 2008. And I hope that success carries over into 2009.

The new year will definitely be filled with anticipation as well as concerns. Will the economy get better or worse? Will this effect online shopping more then it has? I know I have been buying less. And financial concerns are always at the forefront of our daily decisions.

Now is the perfect time to take a good hard look at what you are doing and how you are doing it. And a great time to decide how you can make yourself stand out in the crowd.

It's easy to look at what others are doing, and how well they are doing it. And it's easy to try to do that. But I think the best course is to do what no one else is doing. And that will be a good choice. So get busy, and get noticed!!

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