Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Ellen, I was very interested in what you said, I am new to selling bears and I am grateful for your imput on what I said, maybe different catogories have different ways, I thought you had a very valid point about established artists having reserves, where people know their work and I have also seen bears relisted with no reserve and then sell, I actually find reserves annoying and would prefer to start at what I wanted, I am not sure that I will ever understand how people/bidders work

I am glad that you are fellow last minuter, but I had wondered if that was why I find it so difficult to sell anything as bidding with 4 or 5 days to go is alien to me??

I was so glad to see that you think that it was good advertising because this idea (advertising) suddenly stopped me being fed up if something did not sell or had no bids, I also take on board that marketing /advertising is crucial, just wish I could stop the clock/not go to work as at the moment it feels like I will never have time to make bears at all

I am holiday next week (daughter doing GCSE's) so I plan to do alot including having a good look at bid4bears

Photography is not my strong point and it seems that it does not matter what I do with my camera it has a slight blur most of the time!! possible wobbley hand syndrome I think :crackup:

thanks for replying and someone who does such stunning bears could never offend, maybe if we all said how it works for us then maybe we could crack ebay but some how I don't think so :hug:

Ps don't you just hate typing a long reply and losing it

Hi Cat, its Honeysuckle furs, she makes stunning wedding accessories with fur and silk her ebay name is bobmobella and she sells bits left over, they are all rectangles with no bits out of them, mostly fat quaters and on a buy it now so you don't have to wait. postage is good too, if you buy more than one item just ask for an invoice and she will possibly give you a discount on post as well. I recieved mine within 3 days even though it was second class
:hug:

Hi, chloe, just noticed that you mentioned interfacing

I was a bit surprised, so I looked at mine and thought I would let you and everyone know my backings, as they are such fab fabrics, others may want some.

Soft pink frosted
Burgandy (note this fabric has very long nylon type strands amongst soft dense slightly shorter hair, not sure what this will come out like but it could look great as it catches the light)
Plum frost
all these have only tiny give on them, no need for lining

Ivory crushed mink has quite a bit of give, so will need backing

I did let Mo know that the backing to bear maker was important and like you I bought some interfacing just in case but I think only the crushed mink would need it :hug:

Oh dear, have I killed this topic???????????

I would love to now what everyone else thinks, if you agree or disagree

PLEASE

A badgloth or slobad!!!

I have 4 pieces of fabric to make up yet (hidden in the house) so you will be ok for a bit

What seam allowance ,mine just end up a bit smaller in the end  :crackup:  :crackup:

Hi Chloe,

Yes

it was Mo at Honeysuckle Furs, they are just stunning fabrics, so I wiil have to duel you for them  :crackup:  :crackup:
On the pattern front I always make a paper cut out and tape together the sides to see what it would look like, then you can always take apart draw around it and then make it fatter, bigger nose etc
Stripes are difficult, if the strips head to toe and it goes wrong just say its a badger
Good Luck

Thanks what a great link :dance:  :dance:  :dance:

Hi Chloe, my first bear was a stripey one , the old saying measure twice cut once, I tried positioning my stripes so thay would match but had to cut several of the same pieces out twice!!

I think that I have bought from the same lady, her pale pink and burgandy are stunning and I did notice that she had added to her silver the fact that it was striped, so I kept away due to the cursing I had with the first bear, I would love to see the finished bear

Hi great price, never really thought of food dye, thanks for offering to send but I am sure we have lots over here. It makes you think about natural dyes, I am sure you can use beetroot as a dye (have some growing in the garden-he likes it) and other things like that??? do they need fixing I wonder?
:hug:

Hi everyone just thought I would add my pennies worth on ebay, although I am new to making bears, I have used ebay quite a quite awhile as a buyer and sometimes as a seller

1 when I buy I bid in the last few seconds (bargain queen)

2 I don't care if there are no bidders on that item, I prefer it if there is non (no competition)

3 I do my homework, viewing all lists for the thing I want, I look at postage costs, feedback and what I am getting for my money

4 I make sure they accept paypal (can't wait to get item and the only time I paid by cheque the seller did not send or cash cheque!!)

5 Once short listed I view items on and off for awhile before deciding which one I really want

6 If no postage given I do not bid

In conclusion I have decided that I am not the normal ebay buyer

As a seller of various things in the past (car parts-shed clearout, jewellry etc) I have been frustrated, angered and upset with my efforts so far but have observed the following

1 Pay day has a great effect on ebay, at pay time alot bid on a few items (normally from the same sellers) giving great prices for a few but non for others, the week after payday when the great have been sold then the the bids are more evenly given to other items, half way between payday then very little bidders.

2 Sheep follow each other, I have often wondered and seen a sudden rise in a price days before bidding has ended, this I can only think is "they must know something I don't" mentality, I have seen prices driven up on purpose (not on artist bears but other manufactured ones) just one bid encourages the unsuspecting to bid

3 Reserve! I have seen identical items from the same seller sell for totally different prices, if you start low then people tend to bid even if there is a reserve, if the starting price is higher they will leave well alone and often the low starter will overtake the higher original priced item, even if they are next to each other on the listing, I have come to the conclusion that the thrill of the chase appeals to a large amount of people and for a few days they are the potential owner, the next person who bids then feels that they are stealing it form the original bidder, as I said before I am the ruthless one who says HA!! got u at the end. The only problem with reserves is that the odd one or two people will bid til they reach the reserve then retract their bid and the number of times that I have sold something that has just reached its reserve if often, alot asume (phsycologically)that the reserve is the value of the item and its not worth more

4 Listing twice, I tend to find that an item will sell second time around, this is often after the poor seller has lowered the start price, quite a bit, I have done this! Not anymore I realised that buyers would catch onto this quickly and hold of bidding til the item was relisted, I had thought like many that it was because I had priced the item too high.

5 Buyers who view an item or ask questions very rarely buy

6 Photos, obviously the better they are, the more chance an item has but I have seen the most out of focus bears sell, I think this must be "it could be a Leonardo!!" in disguise

I hope you lot can make sense of this because I can't even after looking and looking I still can't. The idea of it as adverting I thought was a great one but now I am not so sure, I do think that having a bear featured in a magazine is the best way to sell (my aim) and to do shows is something I would like also

On another point ebay Uk still in its help pages says to give your item more listing (ie in other countries) to offer  postage worldwide !!!???

Sorry if this is a bit to the point but I am typing like mad before I go to earn to pay the mortgage!!

I have decided that I am going to be true to myself (can't you tell I am new) for as long as I can!!

Iva, what a fab explanation, my mind is all a buzz with different ideas for dyes now, what is the make of dye you use? as it sounds environmentally ok as well

gee, that sounds to complex to me, I have not gone down the dye road yet, not sure I will for awhile
:hug:  :hug:

Hi Iva, what a lovely bear and he is such a wonderful colour
It looks really good and I adore the nose
 

Thanks

Chloe- I thought that you might use combo but was not sure how, have loads of old thights etc at least it won't make the feet too heavy

Anita-Great minds think alike, when I made the knitted bears their pawpads bulged so much that I knew there must be a secret to it and card was the only thing I could think off.

Hi, emergency!!!!

Feet filling to make my bear stand

I have some steel shot and understand that her ankles (think she is a her) have to be very very firm but do I fill all the foot with shot or fibre fill and then steel shot at ankle point???

the foot is about 2 inches long and ankle is about 1 inch above foot

Help

Not sure, worth a try, just tell them it is essential for life, to be independent, works every time!!! :crackup:

washing ups a good one too!!!

So are mine, its a so & so when you want to repeat the pattern again. I hope that everyone will be able to understand but I suppose that if its not clear in any places then people will ask questions and I will be able to adjust it

Thank you, thank you

I knew it was the right thing to do to sign up for this site

You guys are just fantastic

:hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Gee, we have it easy in the UK

You just start, as long as you let the tax man know within a certain time that you are trading

Hi, I actually did the same and had to sit and unpick it all, was well cheesed off, thought that it was maybe a bad sign, maybe it was a good sign instead

Thanks Lisa, I have been so encouraged that this afternoon, I have hand sewn 2 legs and a body, and am heading for the arms right now. I had not realised that talking to you guys would make me so much more productive,

SO SEW-TALK-SEW-TALK-SEW-TALK (16 years old daughters make excellent tea suppliers!!) :crackup:

Many FenHugs Sue

Website - was going to just bombard mine with pics as well but not got enough bears yet

As for lawyers this seems expensive, in UK you can get 1/2 hour free with most lawyers and accountants so this may be worth a try where you are, you have nothing to lose so ask, if they do then have all your questions ready and go for it, they won't mind, to them you are a potential life long customer and possibly will recommend them to others, I still recommend our house solicitor and that was 6 years ago!!!

Hope you strike lucky let me know how you get on

FenHugs Sue

Brenda, I am also interested in this, I am new and someone has used a version of my name. As far as I know copyright applies to the pattern, so to sell a bear it has to be your own pattern unless you have permission from the original pattern maker/designer, this can be from buying a commercial pattern (most patterns will say for personal use only if you can't use them to then sell). Trademark means that the name belongs to you and no-one can use it, to sell or advertise etc, ie Disney, Steiff and Boyds unless they have permission again, like a retailer who has steiff stock they enter a contract to purchase and stock the bears and in return the steiff company says they can advertise their name on their logo/advert in mags etc.
Not sure about the business licence, in the Uk we can trade as long as you declare income on a tax return to inland revenue, one way to semi own your name here is to start a limited company, this is done by buying a company number (there are many on the specialists on the internet who will sell a company number) then you change the name with companies house to the one that you want (as long as no-one else has used it) This has different tax rules than being self-employed.
As for everything else my head is full of bear designs plus websites, domain names, search engines and I still have not got a clue what to put on my website, it is blank at the mo. Roman was not built in a day

Many FenHugs Sue

Judi -thank you for your comments, your bears are just wonderful

Veronica- Maybe that what makes an artist having that feeling every time gives you the edge to try harder

   
FenHugs Sue

Thanks Sabine, I will write an easy to use guide and post as soon as I can

FenHugs Sue