Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Oooh, they look lovely - well done to you both!!!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

What a relief!!!!  :dance:   

Sheila, I would strongly encourage you to keep on doing what you do! Your bears are lovely and totally deserve to sell well, but as many people have mentioned eBay is a fickle market. If you give it another go why not try different layouts, experiment with your photos, add some personal details....I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong already, but sometimes a simple change can make the difference!

Now, the ensuing discussion about marketing and the bear world has been going around in my head... and while I understand the advantages of marketing and selling bears in the many different ways mentioned (personally and for the bear-world as a whole), I simply don't see why there can't be room for everyone. Those who prefer to do shows and benefit from them, those who like to advertise in the various magazines, those who sell exclusively from the internet, those who sell successfully to retail outlets, and those are able to take advantage of all the various strategies.

Scott, I'm not sure I understand why you used the word 'selfish' in one your posts? The internet is a wonderful, positive marketing tool that when used correctly can bolster the bear collecting world in a way that no other medium can. It reaches out to those people who might not otherwise come across artist bears. It generates communities of like-minded people, not only for the artists but for the collectors too. Collectors who might previously have felt isolated in their hobby/passion now have a whole world of friends to discuss their favourite bears with. Bears can be viewed quickly and easily via artist sites and auction sites. I guess I agree with Penny, times have changed. And Penny should surely be praised for her support of the bear artists and collectors who use the web to further their businesses and collections (see the avatars she so generously gives? the time she has taken to master new computer skills to help the businesses of others? the support she gives to new bear makers? not to mention the pleasure her collectors get from her constantly changing and unique designs?)

Please tell me how Penny - and others (including myself) who use the internet as their sole marketing tool - are not supporting the promotion of artist bears?

Ok, I've had my say....sorry if it offends anyone  :redface:

Hi Anne,

I also list on eBay and Bearpile at the same time. I put the Bearpile listing up about a day after the auction goes live, hoping that I'll get some renewed interest in the bear that way. So far I'm not aware that anyone who has seen one of my bears on Bearpile has gone on the win the auction, although I know one or two have placed bids....but as Laura Lynn said, if that does happen then I'm more than happy to pay both sets of fees.

Hope this helps!  :hug:

Having sold on eBay for a while now, I've developed the habit of waiting for the package to arrive and to know that the buyer is happy before I leave feedback. As far as I'm aware, the transaction isn't over until the package has arrived. I should point out that I'm not waiting specifically for the buyer to leave feedback though, that's not my intention....plenty of times I've left feedback first.

Unfortunately, just as there are dishonest sellers there are also dishonest buyers who may try to deceive the seller over the condition of the item, for instance, or the delivery time etc. And once feedback is left there's no other way to warn future sellers. One time I sold a low cost item....the buyer complained the delivery was taking a long time, so I e-mailed the proof of postage to him...he kept e-mailing me 'where is this item???'. So I asked him to send me his address again. Guess what - the address he'd originally sent me had his house number wrong. He made a mistake. But I still refunded his money for non-delivery, partly cos I'm a softie and partly cos I was fed up of getting his e-mails!!!! Alls well that ends well, and no doubt it was a genuine mistake on his part, but it highlighted to me the potential pitfalls of leaving feedback immediately after payment.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts and opinions! It good to read how buyers might perceive this....and I'll be open about my feedback policy from now on, so everyone knows where they stand  :). The double-blind feedback idea is an excellent one.....

PS I think Gina's points are very valid. A regular seller who is likely to be running a business has a lot to lose if they accumulate negative feedback, and this can become a huge problem when neg feedback is not deserved and is simply the result of an over zealous buyer.

Tricky subject and great discussion as always! I can only talk from a personal prespective. I have come up with ideas for my bears that I've considered original (I wasn't knowingly influenced by other artist bears) only to later find that the idea(s) had been used aplenty....ho hum! However, the outcomes were a little different, and I guess we each had our own and slightly different interpretations.

But this raises a point - intention is key, to my mind. I didn't intend to copy anyone. But how to prove that???

On the flip side, I've put certain minis up for auction on eBay and a week later found several similar types of bear where there were none or very few beforehand. Again, how to prove it was intentional on the part of those artists? And was it copycatting at all? Hmm. On those occasions I've chosen to be flattered, and used it as a cue to raise my game further....push myself forward a bit more. (But I'm only human, and have also been mildly irritated by it. Not for long though!  ).

Geez, which reminds me....I haven't had a bear on eBay for a while.....must do something about that.... 

So sorry to hear that Daphne  :(. I know how you're feeling right now....and send you lots of virtual hugs. I'll be thinking of you all.

So sorry to hear your sad news, Jane. Little Holly was obviously cherished. Big, big hugs to you  :hug:

It's a 'who's the craziest' competition!!!! Can I join in?? Can I? Can I?!  Woop woop

There seems to have a network fault on NTL. This is a useful site: http://forums.ntlhell.co.uk/ . They usually report the problems quicker than NTL does!

None of the images are loading for me at the moment, Pen. I haven't even tried to sign in....it looks so strange. Are you on NTL? I'm having problems with other sites too.....

Oh dear, I'm one of the lazy ones I'm afraid. I'll hunt down a piccy soon, promise!!!

Glad to hear things are getting better, Daphne. That's exciting news about your potential trip to the movie set!!! Good thing come to good people  :hug:

Poor Sarah  . There's another e-mail on her way  :hug:

Aww, Daphne...here's a big hug, zooming across the Atlantic from the UK for you  :lol:

You sound overwhelmed. Life has a way of throwing everything at us, all at once. I really do hope that as each issue becomes clearer you'll feel less stress, and that hubby will be happier in his work and your dad's health will improve (or at least remain stable). Take care, and try to tackle one thing at a time....  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

I just loved reading this, Judi - thankyou for sharing! I can't imagine living on a farm, although I am used to living in the countryside and seeing fields full of cows, but actually running a farm is something else....

I feel like I know you even better now! Can't wait for the next instalment!

Judi, your story brought a huge smile to my face! Why is it that our children can do things we would normally be cross at, yet all we can do is smile??? I guess it's cos we love them! And as someone else said, your son will remember how much fun he had for the rest of his life....that's got to be worth a bag of pellets! 

Oooh, I never thought of using wire mesh, Judi. I have done pretty much what Ellen suggests, using a fairly stiff wire, but may have to give the mesh a go.... Thanks Judi!

I think you're right Penny - the worst thing to do is beat ourselves up about it, yes? I'm sure that if I just pushed myself to try some new designs (I have a few swimming around in my head) it might just do the trick...

Hmm...there's no time like the present....

Hugs,
Helena (logging off, and going for a dig round in the fabric pile!).

Penny, how did you find your mojo again??? I wanna know!!! My sewing has ground to a halt since Christmas, and apart from the occassional flurry of activity, and I'm finding it hard.... I know it'll come back though. Maybe when we get some better weather? I like to sit in the sunshine when I'm sewing.

So a huge well-done to you for finding your 'roll', lol. I bet it feels great! And if your new style bear is anything to go by, you must be brimming with fantastic new ideas too :). Moonlings....I love them!  :clap: 

Oh, now I understand what you did Anne (which answers the question I asked in my e-mail to you earlier!). Well, I still think he's adorable, and well done to you for deciding to make changes! I thought at first that maybe the 'scary eyed look' had just come about because of camera flash. Do the dolls eyes have fairly small pupils? Perhaps ones with bigger pupils would look 'cuter'? I've never tried using them, but i know there are others around here who succeed with them....maybe they could give us a few tips!

:hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Hehe, how wonderful!!! And how creative you are! They look so sweet (can aliens look sweet?!) and I'm looking forward to seeing more!  :clap: 

Some of you sound like you had a good time last night! (and why ever not!!!)

A chatroom would be a lot of fun, and I'd definitely enjoy chatting live to you all 

So cute!!!! And with their own little bananas to! They look like they could get up to a lot of mischief 

Gosh, Mimzy is just adorable!!!! I love her! And I don't think they will be able to find anything wrong...in fact, I can already see the Mimzy's stacked up in toy shops around the Country. She would sell like hot cakes, I'm sure! You must be SO excited Daphne - a huge great 'well done' to you!!!!  :clap: