Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Maddie - fancy finding you here!  You won't remember me from way back then, 'cos I was just finding my feet back in those days ... but I do remember you. ;)

Delighted to see that you've joined British Bears on the Net by the way.  Welcome aboard!

Get well soon Rita xxxx

We're all bursting over here!  Exciting times!  Great for the youngsters too ... gives them so much to aspire to.

Hi Dilu,  I designed him a couple of months ago and I'm using him as my avatar because he still makes me smile!  Glad you like him!

Hi Shelli,

I use fireworks (part of the Dreamweaver package I use for my website) for all my photo editing and I have a very reasonably priced digicam ... an Olympus Camedia C350 zoom, which is basic to use but gives lovely pics!  I also use my Canon EOS 500 for stills - that's a more expensive camera, but great for sending pics into magazines.

Hi Sue Ann,

I love Briscoe and the other 'all fours' bears!  The toes are cute, but it's the face that does it for me.   

It's so tricky to know what to advise.  In my experience, these days price is all important.  Customers will pay good money, but not crazy money and with that in mind, I am careful with the techniques I use nowadays because it's necessary to ensure a certain number of sales in a set time. 

I have found that new techniques, don't always guarantee sales at a greater price ... even when they should!  It's tough selling over here in the UK - I guess you know your own market and so putting a retail price on the extra work will reflect your own confidence in the market.

Offering greater detailing on your bears is terrific from a job satisfaction point of view and  great if you can translate that into revenue which reflects the extra time and effort.

Good luck!

It's hard to keep up with them all isn't it Laura?  I'm amazed at how much work is being produced on here!

I'm tucked away here in Maidstone, Kent UK, in my tiny corner of the globe ... let me know when your satellite next flies by and I'll dash out into my garden and give you a wave!

I'm way behind in my reading matter, so haven't a clue what's been written.  Just sticking my head up because the title of your posting caught me eye and I'm saddened to read that you've been made to feel uncomfortable here. 

Keep smiling!

I watch a little TV - always the news, but then it goes off for the afternoon and I play music LOUD while I work!  I play all kinds of things, but right now it's Jack Johnson, Joss Stone and I'm reliving my Eurythmics albums!

I've just popped back to catch up on this thread and found so many more of you!  It's lovely to put faces to your names - pleased to meet you all ladies!!!

Oooh, how frustrating - I'm still waiting for the May/June issue to arrive here in the UK!!!

Oooh, I don't know!  Spot the human below! :)

I get everything drawn out, cut out, trimmed up and stitched up and then I make my head.  That's my favourite bit!  Once that's done, the body is ready and waiting and I just need to stuff limbs and assemble and then do the final finishing touches.  I've found it to be the quickest method of working for me.

I always follow the same routine ... stuff head (!) add neck joint THEN get started on the good stuff ... first, I pin the ears in place, then I place pins for the eyes ... then, I needlesculpt.  After that, I scissor sculpt and when that's done I fix the eyes into their permanent position.  Then I reassess the ear situation - often the eye shaping means they could do with a slight move in position (the ears that is) ... are you following, or have I lost you yet?  So, once the eyes are in and I've reset the ears with pins, I haul out the compressor, paint pots etc and get going with the airbrush, if I'm using it on that bear.  When the paint's dry, I give the head a good brush, readjust the ears again (I have a thing about the ears ... they never go where I want them!) and stitch the nose and mouth.  Only then, does the head get a body!

Hi!

I've been selling for ages and always work to a strict pricing code:

Materials (every single teensy weensy item!) + Labour (10-12 hours per bear ... no you can't charge more if you're slow unless of course, the bear is super duper clever stuff!) + profit margin (that has to cover all the 'unseen' costs of running the business ie admin/marketing/a percentage for premises etc etc etc) 

To sell to trade, I always lose my profit margin - groan. :(

It's not an easy business to make a healthy overall profit in, that's for sure!

It's also important to keep accurate records and receipts/invoices for all your business expenditure so that when the tax man calls, all your information is accessible ... and please don't ever think he doesn't call on us teddy bear folk - I've just had a tax inspection!  Fortunately, I was given a gold star (so to speak!) I can't tell you what a relief it was to told everything was in order.  Phew!

Glad you like the avatar!  I fancied a change. :)

Laure .. using Ebay to sell is pretty easy once you've tackled it a couple of times!  You can do, you can!

Hi Laura, thanks for mentioned the 'e-check' thing - I didn't know about that!  In this particular case, it is a straight forward Paypal payment.  I will make sure I am aware in future of the 'e-check' situation!

Just popped back and found so many more emails!  Thanks to all of you for giving this matter some thought.

Unfortunately, we don't have the Paypal debit card available to us here in the UK, so that means our only choice is to transfer funds to our bank account and wait for them to clear before we can use them as REAL money!  By that, I mean for transactions in the High Street for example where we need to be able to use our bank accounts.  Naturally, this includes the cost of shipping at the post office.

Winney,  I have used Paypal for quite a while and find that it is especially popular with my overseas customers as it makes it so easy for them to pay.  Some still prefer to use their Visa or MasterCard direct with me which is fine, as I have a merchant account.  However, Paypal's financial charges are more favourable for me.  I offer both options to my customers and most opt for Paypal because it is so convenient and more secure than sending credit card details by fax or email.  I've never had any problems with Paypal and so can't really comment on the negative side of using their services.  I do know some people have run into issues with them as Hayley mentions above.

The cost of transferring money from Paypal to a UK bank account is minimal.  There is a £0.25 (approx $0.44) charge if transferring less than £50.00 (approx $88.00) and it's free to transfer larger sums.

I have listed on Ebay.com for the first time recently (usually use co.uk) and was wondering how the currency conversion would work when transferring funds from USD to GBP.  It seems Paypal sorts it out and it turns up in my account as GBP.  I assume there must be a fee somewhere along the line for this?  I expect I'll unravel it at some point!  The biggest confusion for me was making sure I set my minimum bid and 'buy it now' price at a reasonable rate in USD ... needless to say, I made a right mess of that first time!

Hi Ladies,

Thank you for your thoughts on this.  It's a tricky one.  Shelli, you've hit the nail spot on the head with your comments ...

I'm not at all concerned about the security of the payment as I am certain it will turn up (as all the others have!) in my bank account in a few days' time.  The thing I was curious about was the expectation regarding the seller's right to wait to ship the item until the funds have been received and are available to be used to pay for the shipping cost.  As Shelli says, there are times when the odd $70 isn't spare to cover the interim period.  The problem seems to be the transfer time between Paypal and the seller's bank account.  Very annoying for both seller and purchaser!

Well, you'll all be interested to hear that I have heard from Ebay!  They say that it is the seller's right to define their terms and conditions regarding shipping.  They suggest that it is best to detail these terms on the auction listing.  They also say that it is up to the bidder to make an enquiry before placing a bid, if they are uncertain of the seller's policy.

I hope that piece of info is helpful to those of you who are wondering, as I was, what is considered 'reasonable' in this instance!

Hi, I'm hoping someone out there might have a word or two of advice for me.

I have a small problem I haven't encountered before. :(

I recently sold a bear on Ebay.  He was purchased using 'buy it now' and the customer paid immediately using Paypal.  I wrote to say thank you for the prompt payment and said that I would ship the bear as soon as the Paypal funds cleared into my bank account.  My purchaser felt it was unfair of me to wait until the funds were in my bank account.  As the shipping on the bear is expensive (will probably cost me about £40.00 approx $70) and the post offices here in the UK insist on cash payments (no credit cards) it didn't occur to me that my purchaser would expect me to ship the bear before I have the transaction funds in my bank account.  We are talking a maximum of 4/5 days for the transfer of funds from Paypal to the bank.

Does anyone know of any Paypal or Ebay policy on this matter, or indeed, can anyone tell me if they think I am not being reasonable and should ship ahead of receiving cleared payment from Paypal? 

The delay from Paypal sure is a frustrating one for both seller and purchaser in this instance! :/

Thanks for your thoughts,
Paula.

Yeeeks!  Now in that case I'm starting to scare myself!

I go through the entire spectrum depending on my mood!  Some days, it just has to be solid, dependable, comforting colours ranging through golds, honeys and browns (I've even been known to make traditional type bears in traditional type colours from time to time!) and then there are the other days when I yearn to play with all the pretty rainbow colours! 

At the moment, I'm in a pink phase ... I wonder what that means?  Now and again, I have to break the mould and dabble with outrageous prints - I've made bears from leopard prints, tiger prints, lynx prints ... can't wait to find a lovely giraffe print to play with!

Sue Ann, surely it can't be so bad?????  

Go on, be a devil and share!!!

EEks, where's the blushing smiley?  Those furry chaps were made more than ten years ago ... I can't believe the time has gone by so fast!  The Orange Blob Bear was adopted by my son and haunted me for ages until he hit puberty and decided he was too old for such things (thank heavens!)  I really can't remember what became of Pomeroy.  I remember being very pleased with him at the time of finishing him, but can't for the life of me think where he went to!  Must be my age!!!