Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I got one on this last auction (listed in the Artist OOAK category) asking if it was "new" and was there any "damage".  I don't think they read the descriptions at all - just look at the pictures and ask questions like this.  This person had a feedback of 229 and has purchased bears before.  Brilliant!!!

Hi Deb -

I got the email (exactly the same) Easter Sunday.  I think it's a fake and I just deleted it.

Ed

There are 14 Eric Daniels in Long Beach, there is no 55034 on E. Willow and 90815 zip is 100 Palms - not Long Beach.  I think you have someone trying to "pull the wool".  Take care and be very careful.

Eric Daniels
55034 E Willow St
Long Beach, CA 90815
USA.

Destination Address

Rev. John lartey
Hope For All Orphanage Home.
19th Osu street.
Accra -Ghana.
233

I've been getting tons of email that say "You haven't picked up your e-card" or "You have received and e-card".  These emails are somewhat dangerous and can contain viruses plus they are phishing for email addresses that are current and legitimate, then the spam really starts.  Be careful about opening these as the real e-cards will have the senders name in the subject line.  Happy bear makin' - es

What is upsetting me is there preferential treatment of the mega-sellers.
If you go to the Digital Camera category, 90% of these sellers use the
"Featured Items" listing.  They negotiate the listing fees and some pay as
little as $3.95 for a FEATURED PLUS listing.  You and I pay $19.95. 
The next problem is their "Final Values" - for the little guys like us -
this may go up to 75% of the selling price.  So if you sell a bear for say
$300, you would pay about $7.75 for the final value, you'll now be paying as
much as $15.00 for that same privilege.

Also, their new feedback sux, a buyer can blast a seller, but nothing for them if they want to negotiate the terms of the sale after the auction closes.

I have put a an "opinion" page on my website - www.t-eddie-bears.com

There is also one floating around that says there has been someone accessing Paypal accounts from a "foreign" IP address.  These are phoney and if you give them information they will access your account and have their way with the funds.  Everyone is right - forward these to "spoof@paypal.com".  Paypal will respond.   

Ed

  Hi Chris,

I've heard of ETSY before but haven't been to see the work.  Is this venue similar to The Bear Pile?  I've been using it over a year now and the results are fantastic.  I would be interested in Etsy too as the eBay "thing" is really grinding down.  Thanks - Ed

Hi Krista - it's real, just got off the phone with one of the DOTY winners and she had the listing from TOBY as well.   Ed

Thank you to whoever chose my bears - here are the ones listed. 

Krista,

I am NOT believin' that I actually made Mr. Snickers let me smell his feet.   The odor in no way resembles corn chips or any other foodstuff for that matter.  Because we are in a public thread, I will not go into what his paws do smell like but the experience was not pleasant, for either one of us.

Shelli  - I have emailed you privately about using my website to express my feelings about this radical muslim country.  I posted on here and rather than discuss it on TT,  I directed people to my opening webpage.  Those opposing my sentiments hacked into my website and destroyed it by deleting ever file in every directory.  I had to have Intercal delete the thread and warned them of the demise of my website.  These are not very nice people and since they have found that the hackers entered from a Saudi Arabian IP address, they could care less about 1st Ammendment rights.  Take care (for real)   Ed

Thanks to everyone that emailed with suggestions, here is an email that I received this afternoon, all seems to be well now.

"I am so happy. I have tears in my eyes as I write this. A beautiful home has been found for Crickett. It is with a woman with two older boys. Crickett will be the only pet and much loved and pampered.  God does truly answer our prayers, and with all the people sending love and caring for this dog she will have the happy life she deserves. Please thank everyone who cared enough to email and tried to help. I am touched and I am sure little Crickett can feel all that love also."

Please go to the index page on my website - the story is there - - - www.t-eddie-bears.com   Thanks to anyone who can help Crickett.

Hi Shelli - I wish you were staying for reasons we both understand - - - - e

I have a rescue poodle (large one) but my favorite is the Saint B.  Someone needs to do a dog with pink toenails.

Harvey erinnert mich an mich.

Most of you folks are old enough to remember good ole' Bill Clinton, he refused to dignify stupid accusations successfully for 8 years and under the worst of circumstances.  I will follow his lead and just consider the source.  I had a morbid curiousity about polling software - nothing more - nothing less.  I asked a computer geek, I got an answer and I posted a much edited version of his answer, probably not even getting it all right.  I am not a computer geek, I make little bears, I put them on different web venues and sell them.  I am retired, I just like to sell enough to make my medical insurance payments until I am 65, and it takes up what could be very boring hours here in the house.  If people like them, they can buy them, if they don't, I can't arm twist over the internet.  I knew that any contest would create a stir and hesitated until the very last minute to enter the URSA, I did, I won some nice prizes and since I am not nearly clever enough to tweek something on the internet, campaigning was my only resource.  I thought I was supposed to do that. 

I've read a lot of comparisons with the various contests.  They are basically all the same, just like the Primary and General Elections for our politicians.  A couple of the contests have juries that select a few entries for the public to see.  These jurors are humans and they have preferences just like the rest of us.  Does anyone think that these preferences don't influence their choices, of course they do, why wouldn't they.  In the contest I entered, the public chose the entries for the finals.  The public in the case of the URSA consisted of people that were either asked to vote, or wanted to vote, or who had a friend that made and entered a bear, or made a bear and voted for their own.  If you voted for my entries, thank you, if you didn't, then thanks for just voting, we all benefit. 

I can't take more time on this, I need to make a bear to sell and hopefully it will do as well as the one did last night on Ebay.

I did put one up on my website - www.t-eddie-bears.com - I couldn't get a larger one on Teddy Talk - thanks so much to all.

Congrats to you too - see you won too!

The URSA awards have been announed and I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of the voters who took their time to go to the online URSA contest and look at all the wonderful entries.  Having spent many hours sending emails, making phone calls and campaigning for votes plus actually making the bears, I owe a lot viewers a big thank you.  The best part of the URSA Award Contest is the way it is conducted,  there were lots of entrants that were not even members of the Bears and Buds, nor artists buying thousands of dollars in advertising like the other competitons seem to require.  I am new to the URSA and the bear industry in general and am surprised that I won anything with all the noteable artists that entered, but hope that any efforts I made in drawing viewers into the URSA pages will benefit everyone and get new people interested in collecting bears.  After all, this is the main reason for having these competitions.

I entered the Polar bear "Journey" but haven't heard so am assuming it was not nominated.