Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

What a gorgeous baby! There's nothing like snuggling up to a newborn - they have a 'newness' smell to them... well, most of the time, lol!!!

Congratulations  :dance:

Thanks for your kind comments! I found a gorgeous little box made of glass with mirrors on it - very bling! And he fitted into it as snug as a bug. My sister-in-law loves him I'm happy to report 

Kerrilyn, the fabric is a sassy long-pile (www.sassybearsandfabrics.com) but I don't see this colour on there at the moment. It's a lovely soft fabric and easy to work with - highly recommended!

I just love 'old fashioned' bears and have had a go at making this style myself, with very mixed results haha! All three in the photo are just perfect - I especially love the largest bear, but really it's so hard to choose between them. If I had the funds, I'd give them all a home! 

What a character! He has a wonderful expression - love him!!!

It's a been a while, but here's my latest beary  :). I've named him Bradley, he stands about 3.25" tall,  and he's a birthday gift for my sister-in-law. I'm going into town today to find a special little box to put him in! Hope you like him! x

Hi Amanda,

I've develop quite a lot of patterns while I've been making bears, but generally come back to just two or three of them.... they have become my favourite patterns to use because I know how they work, exactly how they fit together and have a pretty good idea of how they'll turn out. Every now and then I'll tweak something and you can guarentee it'll end in tears! LOL. Of course the patterns themselves evolved from a lot of 'playing'.

I really enjoyed my brief encounter with anime bears, but they weren't as popular with collectors. Perhaps I just didn't give it enough time or effort, because I soon turned back to my trusted favourites! I find it's the finishing of the bear that matters most and gives it the personality - even when I try to make them look the same, they turn out different!

I haven't been able to follow the boycott news this week because of computer problems (groan), so I'm just catching up now. And out of interest I've also been working out what the new fees will mean to me, selling a bear on eBay:

I listed my last bear on ebay.com with starting price of $40 and a gallery photo. He sold around $140 (about £70, very pleased!). This cost me $5.50 (£2.80) in total eBay fees.

If I listed him again on ebay.com, with the new fees, it would cost me $6.10 (£3.60).

If I listed him on ebay.co.uk with the new fees, it would be $9.25 (£4.70)!

This doesn't include the $5.00 or so that paypal took off me.

So a) the US site is cheaper for me to list on, and b) I'm torn between disliking eBay for these changes (especially feedback) and wanting the exposure that the site can give. Sigh.

Not that I have bears to sell at the moment, so it's academic really!!!! LOL

Here's something I just came across - an example of the auction format eBay is currently testing. This was an actual auction, and as you can see potential buyers are being warned about the shipping time (in red type) because this seller has a rating of 4/5 in that area.... but don't eBay tell buyer's that 4/5 is 'good'?! And because of this (?) there are other goods from other sellers being advertised above the seller's own auction!!!! Grr. It's hard to believe that eBay could go this far, but it looks like they are going to:
http://ngvi.ebay.com/vi?ngvi&backtoid=1 … QwpVHQs%3D

ciderantiques, thanks for the links. I've been watching some of those!

Well....I read that eBay DID canvas opinion - of about 100 powersellers! LOL. Maybe I'm too cynical but I don't imagine that eBay took a representative sample either.

I think (hope) the boycott will help, at least to get eBay's attention. The new CEO at eBay hasn't helped himself by saying the protest was just 'noise'! I bet you read about that....it's unbelievable he would be so tactless! But then I don't think he's worried about losing the small sellers, which is why it's so surprising that so many powersellers are affected by these changes too.

I'm going to try selling somewhere else I think, when I eventually finish another bear  :P, at least until eBay has got it's act together.

Glad to know I'm not the only one feeling strongly about this!

Daphne, I've been backing up my files just this morning!!! I had a computer die on me a few years ago, and like you I lost a lot of stuff. Some could be retrieved from the web, but some was gone forever. And while the loss of photos is heartbreaking, it's also the hassle of sorting everything out that is such a pain.

So your reminder to backup is one I fully endorse!

I really do hope you manage to get your files back and get organised again with too much trouble. One of those little pen drives is always handy, and backing up to discs of course. I also have some webspace I back up too. Can you tell I'm paranoid now?!!!

:hug:

Hi Brenda, I've been following this strike on the eBay messages boards. Since I don't sell/buy much on eBay these days it's not hard for me to take a week off, lol, but what has surprised me are the number of powersellers who are joining the boycott, even though they probably stand to lose the most. You're right about the stength of feeling there - but I'm guessing that most people using eBay still aren't aware of the changes that are coming into play and will continue to trade as normal.

While the general feeling on the US message boards is in support of the boycott, the feeling on the UK boards seems different - less in favour, more philosophical, less involved. I think it's because the US eBay site has felt the full brunt of the changes, while they are being phased in more slowly in the UK. Maybe the UK traders will get angrier as the time comes.

LOL, love the comments you collected.... 

Thanks Bren 

I can only see etsy growing. Actually, all the other auction sites on Penny's link seem to be growing at the moment too! I agree that eBay may just have become too big - pity, because the thrill of the auction can be addictive!

Wow!!! Congratulations! It's well deserved  :dance:  :dance:  :dance:

I'm doing fine, Penny, thanks for asking! How are you? I'm still around, and still sewing albeit it very slowllllyyyy....  :lol:

After I posted, I remembered there's bid4bears (I'm registered there, but it slipped my mind!). I do think it's wise to hunt around for new and better venues to sell our bears - eBay's going through a lot changes right not and not all for the better imo.

Thanks for the link - I'm going to keep my beady eyes on them all! And check the auction sites out too 

Sorry to harp on about this, but I've been reading some more about the changes coming up at eBay and am feeling pretty annoyed about it.... the hike in fees, restricted feedback for sellers, possible paypal money freezes depending on whether EBay thinks you're a good seller or not....

There's a growing movement to boycott eBay for a week, as I mentioned in a previous post. This youtube video explains more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23TomS5--nQ

I notice that some people here are listing on etsy, and wondered what their experience was like? I love the site itself, and it looks nice and simple. Are there any other trading websites that anyone recommends? I don't sell much these days but would like to know for future reference!     

Edie, I'm intrigued about you sewing your little ones by machine... I hand sew mine, and can't imagine how I could machine them. But then I do have a cumbersome old machine that I've had forever and refuses to die! So as well as something more modern that might cope better, I guess I'd also need to leave more of a margin than I do at the moment (about 2mm)???

The handsewing does really add the time on. All mine are back-stitched, and while I don't have a break down of exact timings I do know it takes me about 6-7 hours for a 3" bear. Not including pattern design, photos etc. Next time I start a bear I'll time each step and see what I get....

I just read that many buyers/sellers are planning to boycott eBay next week, 18-25 Feb, as a protest against the changes. It's been reported on CNN apparently!

Just seen this thread (I've been away from the computer lately!) and coincidentally timed my bear making a while ago.... so I know it takes me between 6-7 hours to make a 3" bear, undressed. That's from drawing out the pattern to tying the bow around the bear's neck, but not including all the work that goes into an eBay listing too. My little ones have wired arms and I spend a lot of time on the faces.

I tend to do an hour here and there tho', so it might take me a week to complete one in reality 

I had totally forgotten it was pancake day till I read this thread! So I just told my daughter we might have to have 'pancake Wednesday' instead, and she remembered a pancake mix sitting in the cupboard....now I just need to rustle up an egg and we're all set :)

Edie, we just squeeze the lemon over the pancake (not too much) and then sprinkle with sugar. Roll the pancake up and eat - yum!

SueAnn - no food for 24 hours?! Sounds errr.... difficult! I'm trying to cut down on bread, not specifically for Lent but because I eat so much of the stuff and I just know it can't be good for me   :D.

So..... basically these changes mean that only sellers will now be rated according to the feedback system?

Buyers on the other hand can only receive positive feedback, so their rating will always be 100%.

Hmm. Doesn't make sense to me. I guess sellers who have a problem with a particular buyer will have to leave +ve feedback but a relevant comment - eg slow to pay. Thankfully I've never had a problem as a seller that wasn't resolved, and 99% of buyers I've found to be honest and prompt. But I can see trouble ahead following these changes, and have a feeling eBay will meet a lot of resistance to them.

Feather Heart Creations - yes, I like it!!! It still conjures up a sense of magic but is broader than your previous name. Good Luck with the change-over, I'm sure you won't look back!

Google has a complicated way of working out which sites appear first and so on, apparently. I believe it's a combination of number of hits (ie how many visitors there are) and wording. I'm not sure how important the metatags are - I've read advice both for & against - but I do know that it's important to have the correct wording on the very first page of the site, because that's the one the google 'bots' generally visit in their trawl around the web.

So if your first page contains the word 'needlefelted', as opposed to 'needle felted', then that could be a reason. It's a good idea to put as many relevant words as possible in the introduction as possible, for this very reason.

It's been a while since I set my website up so I've forgotten a lot of what I read (and no doubt the rules have changed!) but I'm pretty sure this is the gist of it! Hopefully someone else can help you more!

Can't help with beanie babies, I'm afraid, but LOVE this picture!

Now what's the one on the left-hand-side (in stars and stripes I think) trying to do??? Escape? Trample the others?!   

Good luck to your sister, Jenny. Remember, the hospital staff know what they are doing... although it's natural to worry of course.  :hug:

And hugs to anyone else worried about something, or suffering illness, or just plain fed up of the weather! Make bears, and forget your troubles for a while!   

Aww Clare, I'm feeling annoyed for you :mad:. If I ever found out my daughter did/said something like that to someone she'd get the biggest telling off ever... but then she knows what's right and wrong (I hope  :|).

I really don't know what the answer is as far as the question of disrepect goes, but I do know you should pay no attention whatsoever to their opinion about your weight. Let's face it, they are barely old enough to even HOLD an opinion!!! And I'm pretty sure you're a normal, healthy weight anyway. Put it down to the ignorance of youth....