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Flying Fur Studioshey guys,
I am wondering how B4B is going for everybody. I have yet to list anything as I have yet to create anything! (I'm soo slow)
Are there alot of watchers for your auctions? Are you getting good prices for your work?
I've just been on ebay and it's sad to see soo many beautiful bears without any bids. If I was rich I'd take them all!
So that being said I'm really hoping B4B is taking off, but scared that if ebay sales are poor.............
Sorry if I've offended anyone, I'm just looking for some honest answers.
Bears by EdieHeather, I didn't join the artist campaign as I will be away for a while in May and wouldn't be able to list but I did put 3 bears up there on auction the first couple weeks of April. I got between 6 and 18 watchers on them and between 148 and 263 viewers but I think the viewers doesn't work the same as ebay - I believe it counts people again if they come back a different day but not if they come back the same day (or something like that!) so you really can't tell how many you get. I put reserves on all of them and started them low. All 3 sold to the same faithful collector of mine and without her only one of them would have met the reserve. Some people I have noticed seem to be doing really well on there so it will be interesting to see if it continues to attract attention once the campaign is finished. There are a lot of things that I like about the site better than ebay and it is certainly easy to figure out most of it - although I did have to ask a few questions! :redface:
Hi Heather, 
I've been wondering the same thing! I didn't sign up for the campaign either. (I know. Bad bear artist.) I knew I already had too much on my plate. Adding another commitment would have led to my commitment.....to a happy place with polka dot walls and floating flowers!!
Warmest bear hugs, :hug:
Aleta
Wild Thyme OriginalsI've done 1 of my 4 so far, and I felt she did quite well actually. My final "prices" on eBay tend to be all OVER the place... but I do sort of keep track of my average price... actually, I guess it's more of a "mean" price.... where you kind of thow out a couple at the bottom and a couple at the top and kind of average the mid-range ones... is that a "mean" maybe a "median?" I think I was asleep in 4th grade math and haven't had a child that age for a while... so no math review!!! 
Anyway.... enough math rambling... My Eliana ended at an amount that I was quite happy with and reflects my "normal" mid-range price on eBay.
Oh.... when I sent out the notice to my mailing list folks, I did get several OOOHHHs and AHHHs about the site and the whole idea behind it... so that's very encouraging! 
Kim Basta
Sunnie BearsI have listed 2 on B4B so far, but none have sold. I then listed them on ebay. Same story. I am beginning to get a complex. One that I just sold on ebay ended up less thaN COSTS. 
Quick aside here for Heather and others wondering--->
It's completely okay to ask this B4B question here at TT, but thanks for your sensitivity to potential rule violation -- It's really appreciated! I'm among those curious to hear whether Nancy's Artist Power campaign has proved successful for her, for B4B, and for the artists who joined her efforts there. And I'm among those hoping it's gone really well!
TT has always allowed -- even encouraged! -- people to discuss, praise, point our readers to, and/or rave about their affiliations, resources, recommendations, and experiences in the bear industry, so long as the commentary remains positive (meaning NO SLAMMING or BASHING of people or businesses.) It's certainly okay to talk about sales not going well, problems & issues, and so on, as well. When we ask people to avoid negative content we don't mean you have to think everything is rosy. We just mean, "Don't beat up on others. This isn't the place."
The line gets drawn, however, when people post images referencing their affiliations, resources, recommendations, and experiences in the posting/discussion areas of the TT site. That's because allowing users to plaster the discussion areas of the forum with avatars, signature banners, and post content that "looks like" banner advertising wouldn't be remotely fair to the advertisers who PAY for those kinds of images here.
Just wanted to clarify all that.
Continue on with your discussion!
Well, I also joined in with this campaign in the hope that I would do a little better than on Ebay but so far I haven't sold. I have people watching and visitors not too bad. I am not prepared to lower my price as I am just about covering my cost.
I think after this latest listing ends I will not be putting any more bears up - a little disappointed. I think it is a good site and easy to use but I just don't think it is getting the interest from all those bear collectors out there. I must admit that I am doing much better on Ebay, at the moment! 
Hugs Lyn
Posts: 1,836I haven't sold yet, but I'm not disappointed or worried about it at this point. The site is having a new and improved launch, it's going to take more than 2-3 weeks to gain good momentum. Being a newer seller I don't have the collectors base that many have, so I maybe I have to kick it up a notch to get noticed...and I'm ok with that...working away as we speak here. I've listed on eBay recently and didn't sell there either. A little bit of a bummer as I've sold pretty much ever time I've listed out there, but hey I'm still not discourage...my buyer wasn't there this time. I watch eBay regardless of whether I list or not and I can honestly say that I've noticed lots of non sales that surprised me and lots of final prices that have surprised me...it's not as hot right now. Maybe this is one of those typical slow points of the year, I don't know I haven't sold for long enough to say.
Very positive piece: Bid4bears has a half page artist power ad in the most recent TB&F...it's the Toby edition, so the ad is bound to catch eyes and draw in more watchers and buyers.
Just one other thought....Nancy's made it really clear that you don't have to be part of the "commitment" groups to list out there. The site is still open to all listings as it always has been. The more the merrier, right?! My thought is if every teddy bear artist out there, regardless if your part of the "campaign", used their mailing list just one time to notify collectors of this user friendly totally bear auction site...well maybe it will be something consistent for all of us to use.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Nioka BearsI love the idea of Bid4Bears BUT I am having sooo much trouble listing my bears....I don't know why, must be a problem my end as Nancy can't find any problems her end....anyway....the bears that I have managed to list have not done well at all and the one that did sell went to an old collector of mine. I had hoped that some interest might be shown by some new collectors BUT no such luck for me!
Having said all that I haven't done particularly great on ebay either! I haven't sold any bears there, only patterns and the fees are killing me! I thought I would try an ebay store BUT while there were quite a few patterns sales initially, there haven't been many lately so to me it appears that there are the same people looking on ebay regularly and once they have the patterns they want...then that is the end of the ebay sales....LOL! Maybe I am wrong BUT I had thought that sales from there would of been more consistant because I 'thought' there were lots more people shopping there....
As for my website.....there is a small trickle of sales from there BUT also mostly old collectors....makes me wonder if there are any new collectors out there????
Who knows....I can only say that the bear industry still seems mighty sluggish to me as I see sooooo many wonderful bears out there not selling at all or selling for peanuts! Such a shame that the work that is put into these creations just doesn't appear to be appreciated like it used to be! ......Speaking from experience here as to how vigorous the industry once was!!! I am sure there are some of you out there still who remember the days when your work was really appreciated and this was reflected in the prices people were willing to pay and the amont of bears that were adopted!
I just want to say to all those wonderful artists out there whom feel like their work isn't appreciated or perhaps is undesirable....you are not alone in feeling this ....Although it 'feels' like a personal rejection when your bears appear unwanted.......BUT please KNOW it isn't YOUR bears....I believe it is because there is an oversupply of bears to the ratio of collectors......Soooo MANY to choose from out there!!
In my Humble opinion! LOL! Sorry for rambling on here and getting a bit of the track BUT I see and hear of many great artists who feel so discouraged and end up giving up and that is such an awful shame....
ALL bears are gorgeous in their own unique ways, don't you think??
HUGS,
Christine
Kran-Beary'sI have to say that I watch all the boards with interest to see what comments are made about the B4B site.
Personally, I believe that in 3 weeks, the campaign has shown huge promise. There have been over 300 new registered users on the site. That alone is HUGE. It would be rediculous to think that in 3 weeks B4B would have as many viewers as eBay, but it IS getting viewers ... and bidders .... and buyers.
Does it mean that every bear will sell? No. Many factors have to be taken into account ... there is the price, the reserve, the quality of the photos, and the quality of the work, the type of fur used etc. Or maybe the right collector just didn't happen to be looking on that day. And let's not forget the economy. The overall sales in the collectibles industry in general has been cut in half since 911.
I believe that a 7 day auction attracts more attention than a 3 day auction...just by virtue of the fact that people have more time to look. And I know that people are visiting. My stats show that they are.
Our counters count unique hits every 24 hours. eBay regular counters count everything, including every time you refresh a page. Smart counters count unique hits every 24 hours...just like B4B.
The purpose of the campaign is to draw collectors over to the site. The only way that can happen is to list an item and email EVERYONE on your collectors list. Let them know the bears are there. Collectively as artists we then have MASS, MASS email power. If you don't let people know, and if we don't work as a group, the campaign can't work. As a group we have Artist Power!
The campaign has to continue over time....so that people get used to us being there. One or two listings is not enough. It needs TIME.
Having said that...I again say, that I believe it's been very successful so far. There have been some glitches, but that's to be expected, and I've been at my computer almost non-stop in my off time.
Also the ad in TB&F was published in this past issue, and although I haven't seen it, I understand that it looks great from what I've heard.
Personally, I've listed 2 bears and a book. THe book was purchased 'buy it now.' One bear went for exaclty what I hoped it would go for, and for the same price it likely would have gotten on eBay. Bear 2 didn't sell in auction, but sold in the fixed price second chance offer for the reserver price.
Anyway, suggestions are always welcome, and there is also a support forum open at www.bid4bears.com/RoundTable for anyone who needs help with the site.
hugs,
nt
Burlison BearsI listed 3 bears on Bid4bears so far....with much lower prices than I normally sell for and none of them sold.....then I relisted them on ebay and they didn't sell there either. So I really can't blame Bid4bears. Apparently no one really wanted those bears I made. I will continue to try on Bid4bears as well as list regularly on ebay.
-Eliza
Back Road BearsHeather, I was wondering the same thing. I did win one auction on B4B as a bidder but I would have bid on her bear no matter where she had it listed as she'd posted it here on TT and I just had to have him.... eBay, website, B4B... wouldn't have mattered!
It sounds like many artists just have collectors who will go where ever they happen to be selling.... love those faithful collectors!
I'll continue to look and listen to what's going on at B4B!
Aleta..... I know that room well! :crackup:
Storytime BearsI have listed 3 auctions of a promised 10 , one is live now it is not one of mine it is a R. John Wright piece, I did a panda on all fours and Sonya had hers listed and I love her work so I didn't want to have them compete for that same panda money, I figured I would wait one week after hers then list it. But I must say I am really pleased with Bid4bears so far, I listed a mouse the first week and it did better then when I do them on ebay, since it went so well I surprised the buyer with a cheesebox mouse house, then I did a baby bear and he did as well as I have done on ebay , maybe just a tad lower but still good.
I love what Nancy is trying to do , ebay has gotten so big and they don't listen to their sellers much any more, I HATE the private bidder system and even though their sells have dropped, they continue to keep it. I love not listing my bears there for a while, it's been a nice extra venue to market my work on a new selling site. I think if more artists try it first and keep coming back and new artists keep joining , the collectors will start looking there too.
The artists that have said they haven't sold yet, don't give up or be hard on yourselves, your work is wonderful and I think Tax time is here and everyone is slow right now. The only reason I think I sold is because it was collectors who have followed me to Bid4bears, I don't list all the time so I think that somehow makes my collectors excited when I do list.
I would LOVE to see Bid4Bears take over the artists bear selling market, I think it is nice to have someone who actually makes bears, run the thing. I think it's nice too because there are so many bears on ebay that some artists get lost, unless you cough up the 20 for featured listing. I was with ebay when they were new and in the beginning it was exactly the same way, but gosh look how big they are now, I hope that will be Bid4bears one day.
Drea's BearsI have to say that as an artist I'm ashamed that I haven't gotten my act together to list on B4B as part of this campain, shame on me :redface: .
As a collector I have LOVED visiting B4B since the campaign began. I love that I can go there and not have to search through hundreds of sellers to find what I'm looking for I go to B4B and I know I'm going to see bears, just bears that's all I'm really interested in anyways, I like the way it's laid out and easy to follow.
I've mainly been there to keep my eyes on my TT friends and hope they are making lot's of sales, I would like to bid but am really strapped for 'play money' right now.
Nancy I really think you're doing a great thing here and I agree that time will make B4B into the ideal place for collectors and artist to come together. It's s1mple really, if you want to buy a bear go to a bear aucion site and forget all of the other hassles.
Good luck to all of the artists who are listed or will be listing during the 'Artists Power' campaign, I'll be watching and cheering you all on.
Big hugs,
AndreaM
BrisbaneI love listing on Bid 4 Bears. My sales are much the same as what they are on Ebay at the moment, which is a bit hit and miss......but I do feel that I am getting more looks and I love the fact that I don't feel that I get lost in among 100s of listings after the first day....I also really love it that if I have a problem with my listing I don't get one of those computer generated answers that doesn't address the problem at all.
I love what Nancy is trying to do , ebay has gotten so big and they don't listen to their sellers much any more, I HATE the private bidder system and even though their sells have dropped, they continue to keep it. I love not listing my bears there for a while, it's been a nice extra venue to market my work on a new selling site. I think if more artists try it first and keep coming back and new artists keep joining , the collectors will start looking there too.
Jodi I agree with this 100% I just hope that everyone is prepared to give it the time it will take to build up....after all Ebay built up to what it is over years not weeks or even months!!! If everyone keeps listing there even after the campaign finishes then slowly more and more collectors will find it an exciting place to visit!!
Bears by EdieI just got my Teddy Bear and Friends magazine today and saw the B4B ad - it looks great and I am sure will draw more attention to the site. Even though I wasn't able to "officially" be part of the campaign I was happy to be able to join in for some of it and sent notices of it to all my collectors. I am planning to try some more bears on there the last part of May.
Terries BearsI have listed 4 bears so far and have been very pleased with how the listings have gone. The first 3 sold and the 4th is off listing tomorrow......with no bids so far but there is still hope I am getting more lookers but less watchers than ebay. The final price on the first one went higher than average and the other 2 were average. It is hard to know if any of the bidders were new because so many of them have different names but in the end they have all gone to collectors on my mailing list.
I love Bid 4 Bears....and have to say I have done my fair share of bidding, and actually managed to win an auction on B4B!!!! I have also listed but my little skunky didn't sell, but he didn't sell when rel listed on eBay either...he will be joining me to the Calgary Bear Show. I am curious though as to why when they campaign started there were over 50 bears and friends listed and now just over 30? Unless people were listing two at a time, which would make sense....but either way I have listed on B4B in the past with pretty good succes, and eBay is really slow right now, people who usually sell for mega bucks aren't even making their reserves so I believe it is just the time of year and I hope nobody takes the lack of sales personally.
Hugs,
Krista
LuxembearsI think if more artists try it first and keep coming back and new artists keep joining , the collectors will start looking there too.
I would LOVE to see Bid4Bears take over the artists bear selling market, I think it is nice to have someone who actually makes bears, run the thing. I think it's nice too because there are so many bears on ebay that some artists get lost, unless you cough up the 20 for featured listing. I was with ebay when they were new and in the beginning it was exactly the same way, but gosh look how big they are now, I hope that will be Bid4bears one day.
AMEN to this Jodi :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
I think with perseverience (sp?) and time it will do well. Slow and steady will build a stronger site....tortoise and the hare type of thing.
As others have said, don't let an unsuccessful auction get you down. You are NOT defined by auctions. I have had my share of bum auction results but I try to be the energizer rabbit...I keep going and going......when one door slams shut another one opens. Smooth sailing does not a skilled sailor make.
Don't give up on Bid 4 Bears. It's time to give ebay some competition. Why should they have the lion's share all the time?
sewing starsmaybe it is because it is tax time? i am sad to see some people aren't selling either place, but in part relieved because i was starting to wonder if my bears aren't any good since they haven't sold on ebay in months...
Flying Fur Studioswow, thanks for the honest imput. I really get mad at ebay and I would be soo happy if B4B takes off. Nancy's right and we do need to give it time. I just wish I could make more bears to list one there but I need every bear I can make so I can have a Table at the Calgary Bear Show.
Sounds like we need all venues to sell our bears, ebay, B4B and Bear shows. I'm starting to think the era of bear shows is coming back, we need to find the new collectors and it's much easier to peek into a bear show than browse ebay and set up an account.
A few have mentioned lackluster sales on eBay so I thought I'd give you something to think about. Today alone, within the past 24 hours (and at the time of this post), there were 315 bears listed on Ebay under the heading Artist, One-of-a-Kind. Seven pages of listings just today!! 
In my humble opinion, unless you are listing in the Featured Plus section, your listings are getting lost.
Your chances of getting your bear noticed would appear to be better on B4B.....providing the collectors are there.
Warmest bear hugs, :hug:
Aleta
Storytime BearsEvery one of us have had auctions not do well, the artists that seem to rise to the top of the bear world, are those that keep trying and trying and trying, always creating something new and different until you hit on that winning design. Judi is completely right about keep plugging away and not letting bad auctions define you.
Don't get down, if you are like me, I would have to make bears (and mice) even if I never sold one, it kind of feels like breathing to me , I just have to do it. I have had some bears I love do horrible, not one bite, but I just keep at it and between the bad and good it seems to balance out.
Aleta posted while I was typing, I agree completely with what she said, Bid4bears really allows the artists to be noticed more, if we just keep with it , it will grow and get more attention from collectors, but it will take time, just don't give up.
Flying Fur StudiosOh my gosh Aleta, that's soo the reason. It it tough to get noticed with #'s like that. WOW!
Storytime BearsYou can also create blog at a website called Xanga, it's like an online journal that you can post pictures on and text, it's at xanga.com
