UKRay

I used to use eBay's services a lot - almost exclusively in fact. Then eBay put their charges up and made the rules harder to comply with and then - the final straw for me - they started siding with buyers who ripped me off. Originally I had more than 100 items listed on eBay at any time but instantly cut back when the hassle started. I now have my own website but still run an eBay shop that has around 10 items in it. All are what I would call 'regular stock' items that I carry all the time and all are easy sellers. Every eBay listing has a link to my own website and the name of my business is very clear on each listing. I sell consistently from the eBay shop, but don't take any chances as I always sell at a fixed price. I don't care if the listing runs for months as every time somebody looks at it they see the URL for my own site. Obviously, on my site, I don't pay any fees for selling although I do accept PayPal payments and have to accept their charges. I am thinking of changing this to Google's payment system because when you list your products with the Google system it also flags them up to the search engines at the same time. Every little helps! I should say, my own site is just a little cheaper than eBay too... I pass on the benefits. Ray

Congratulations on your new workspace, Josh. It'll look better with more junk everywhere and more stuff hanging from the walls but that is going to happen with time - along with more machines, more hassle and more bills... LOL I'm just delighted you got the workshop you deserve. Enjoy it! Ray

You might want to try tinfoil as a base to get the shapes and then use duct tape to hold it all in position as you remove the 'mold' . Then split the mold down into segments that can be reproduced in leather. Just an idea... ...and don't forget to make yourself that hat. Ray

http://freeonlinesurveys.com appears to do what it says on the tin. Free uncomplicated survey system and no spam according to the blurb. I just completed one of their surveys and it worked really well. Try it. Ray

Potdevins machines work with a range of glues including water-based glues, latex and resins. You don't say which model you have. I would be inclined to call them on: 201-288-1941 and ask which glue they recommend for your machine. They seem like nice people and very helpful. You might want to ask for James Byrnes, who is their Sales/Marketing Manager. He will know what glue you should use. Ray

My concern with corner booths is that I lose 1/3 of my table space as I only have two walls to display on. I know I can put a small table right on the corner but I still lose a heck of a lot of display space. How do people deal with this? Also - I was interested to read that racking to raise the height of the display seems to work. I saw a good idea at a show last year where the guy (a member of this forum) had used a kind of wickerwork garden style trellis on the back wall of his booth to display his products. It looked really great and worked well as he was able to put hooks on the trellis to hang belt pouches, bags and other smaller stuff. I'd like to find something similar myself as it was a very impressive display. He had also used the trellis to hang up his lighting set-up. Ray

The whole business of 'what makes people buy' is fascinating. My small contribution is more about the colours that get people buying as opposed to how the layout works. I had a booth at a Christmas Fair that I set up in a hurry. I got the layout wrong on the first day (I tried to demo at the front of the booth) and my takings suffered badly. I also had the goods displayed on a dark coloured cloth and this made it hard for buyers to see what I had on offer. The second day I moved to an 'open front and goods down three sides booth layout, used a white sheet as a tablecloth and tucked myself away at the back with some lacing work to do. Takings were eight times better. I can't claim credit for the improvement as a friend who spends most of her time people watching came up with the winning formulae (thanks Jayne!). All I can say is that it worked for me on the day - and I'm planning on sticking with this winning combination in the future. I took some of Daggrim's suggestions from a previous post (thanks Dag) and raised the height of my displays as well. This was very effective and I have now invested in a range of spinners to lift my goods off the table and display them at eye level. Corner booths are still a concern though. Any more thoughts? Ray

Welcome to the forum, Solo. There are lots of folk from the UK on here - where are you from? Ray

That kept you out of mischief for half an hour didn't it, Dave? I like the bag and admire the workmanship as always. Ray

I'm with Tim - Mad River Leatherworks is superb!

Very helpful, thanks, Amanda! Have you got any good tips for list cleaning? Mine is about two years old and I KNOW it needs doing... Also, are there any other on-line marketing resources you would recommend? Ray

I'm not suggesting anyone should do this stuff, just watch the video! The guy is extremely entertaining...

Apparently so... It worked okay for me, but...

I like your work, Ulf. You'll fit in very nicely here. Welcome! Ray

A great set of suggestions, Amanda. I have used online surveys successfully a couple of times. I like the idea of using membership lists but here in the UK organisations are not legally allowed to sell their membership lists (or even rent them out) without the express permission of each and every member. Is this different in the US or wherever you are based? IMHO, the biggest drawback to on-line questionnaires is the need to have an appropriate target list of email addresses before you start. This is fine if you are an established concern but I suspect many of the people here are either just starting up or don't have a massive client base yet. Money is always tight so we tend to look for ideas that don't cost too much. Can you think of any other ways they might be able to get or build a list of target email addresses? My own thoughts are to run a locally based raffle or prize draw perhaps in a place that is frequented by your best customers (feed store etc). Entrants just have to provide a working email address to enter. The prize is entirely up to the guy running the show but if it were a fine piece of leatherwork as Amanda suggests, then you will attract potential customers I have a couple of questions: What sort of success rate do you expect with online surveys? Which of the online survey websites offers the best service and why? Ray

At this point in time, rivets are purely functional for me, LOL Thanks to Terry's mental database of where things might be found (thank you, sir!), I have now ordered a set of three different sized rivet setters from Le Prevo here in the UK. Hopefully my rivet setting will improve dramatically sometime soon. One last question though - how do you line up the anvil with the underside of the rivet when you can't see it? Is there a trick to this? Ray

Have you been hanging around outside my workroom again, Mike? To be honest, I was taught that a cap and stem rivet was a poor, cheap thing (the only good rivet was a properly set copper rivet) and they should only be used where nobody could see them, hence we didn't take a lot of time setting the things as they were just an ugly necessity. Having seen how good they can look (when set by the right hands!) I started to change my opinion, but I have only just got around to sorting out a suitable technique. Like most things to do with leatherwork it seems that there is a knack to cap and stem rivet setting and providing you have the right tools it isn't too difficult. Does anyone know where a well made set of rivet setters can be purchased as Tandy only seem to sell one size.

I have always set cap and stem rivets by womping them with a hammer, but since my eyes have been opened by the good folk of this forum I've mended my ways. I even purchased a rivet setter from Tandy Leather Factory. LOL Now, instead of a dead flat rivet I get a domed top rivet. It looks great but for one thing, I seem to get a little depressed ring around the outside edge of the rivet dome as if the tool were too small for the rivet. Is this normal? Is there more than one size tool for these things? I have attached a picture so you can see for yourself what I'm talking about. What am I doing wrong and how can I fix it?

Thanks for all the advice folks. I have just watched the Weaver DVD a few times and saw how they set rivets and spots. I think I can work it out from here. I already have a very similar foot press riveting machine for 'star' type tubular rivets but would like to use it for a few more purposes. One of the things I'd like to set is stem and cap rivets and that may need some engineering! I'm going to give Weaver's a call. If they can't help I'll be back! Ray

Some very interesting observations. Thanks, people. I was also looking at VistaPrint (I was ahead of you Johanna!) and have now had my cards delivered. My first impression is that they provide an exceptional service at a very reasonable price, not inspired but perfectly adequate. However, I'm still interested to know how people look at cheap business cards. For example, when I worked in Japan the whole business card thing was seen as very important. If someone gives you a business card it is seen as impolite to stuff the thing in your pocket without taking time to look at it and appreciate the thought that went into the design. I kinda hold with this myself. A very nice idea and one that makes you take a bit of time with your 'business identity'. Somehow, I can't see a well respected Japanese business person ordering from Vistaprint - although I could be wrong... Is this relevant? I don't know. How do you folks feel about it? Ray

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17093/17093-h/17093-h.htm It makes fascinating reading - check out the index at the back. Ray

I just found this: http://www.wimp.com/bullwhipcracking/ I don't work for the guy and I'm not getting paid - but hey, I wish I was on a percentage! He deserves to make a fortune cracking that whip so close to his ..... LOL Are there any more videos like this one? Ray

Just wondered what the feeling was about cheap business cards - you know the sort of thing, the ones that get offered to you in junk e-mail three times a week. Cheap template deals from digital print companies. The reason I ask is that I'm concerned about the impression I give about my business but don't have money to splash around. These cards look (on the surface) to be a great way of getting a lot for a little (cash!). But do people recognise them as cheap and do they care? I don't want to 'cheapen' my business in the eyes of potential customers. Does anyone else use them and if so, what do you think should be included on them other than contact details? I was wondering about putting a range of products on the back... All thoughts welcome. Ray

Had you thought of screwing the base of the pedal onto a larger (possibly weighted) base board? That ought to sort you out. The tops come off those things quite easily - you may need to drill three or four holes through the base and use some washers to stop it cracking when you screw it down tight, but I would imagine the job is relatively quick and easy. Ray