Etsy Alternatives Help

[Danne]

7 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

Email today stating that by middle of May, payments will no longer be run through PayPal on cutesy.  All cutesy sales will be run through cutesy payment system.  SOME sellers whinin' in the forums say 'last straw" and "they can't do that" and "I'm quitting cutesy".  In teh end, most of them will NOT leave, thus having to promote their own work.

I don't think I"ll QUIT them, but Im already in the process of NOT having any finished, ready to ship out goods. That alone will reduce sales volume ... many people these days "want it now".  Just refunded a guy.. asked if that item is ready to go, or if I 'really' meant it would be 3-4 weeks.  I didn't respond.  So he ordered it and payed ANYWAY, leaving a note "can I get it sooner".  But I don't care to work with them folk.. so I just send his money back and cancel.   Here's the thing... cutesy, my own site, some new place dont exist yet... whatever... MY stuff is MY way

 

"Of course it's ready to send, I deliver it in person in a couple of hours. I just wrote 3-4 weeks to boost sales" :D

[BattleAx]

Everything I sell is made to order 1 to 3 weeks. I am not going to put many items on etsy anymore just a couple of my canvas bags.  I have pretty good luck selling gun belts at the gun shows in IL when I have time to get a table. The problem is we live in a Amazon & Kmart world. No one appreciates quality handmade goods.  

[chrisash]

Quote "No one appreciates quality handmade goods."

Bespoke items that are handmade mean a lot to people and being handmade for them adds that special selling point, Unfortunatly just stating handmade does nothing apart from indicating it will be a higher price than a production run item that looks the same, the fact it took you 2 days to make does not matter

Handmade does not mean quality, quality is a judgement of the product not how it was made

[BattleAx]

4 hours ago, chrisash said:

Quote "No one appreciates quality handmade goods."

Bespoke items that are handmade mean a lot to people and being handmade for them adds that special selling point, Unfortunatly just stating handmade does nothing apart from indicating it will be a higher price than a production run item that looks the same, the fact it took you 2 days to make does not matter

Handmade does not mean quality, quality is a judgement of the product not how it was made

I take pride in my work. I use high quality materials that are made in America. All my leather and canvas work is custom made with the highest quality materials I can find. If people want to buy mass produced garbage from China and Amazon that is fine. 

[JLSleather]

I wouldn't say NOBODY "appreciates quality handmade goods".  I certainly do appreciate them.  Just to be clear, I appreciate QUALITY.

The method almost doesn't matter.  Like:

If someone spent 20 hours doing what could have been done just as well (or better) in 4 hours, then the other 16 hours was of no value to me.  If it's not somehow BETTER, then it wasn't worth the added time.  Now, that time COULD still be of value to the MAKER, if they just did it for the enjoyment.

That time WOULD matter to me if I'm getting some OTHER benefit from it.  Like, the product is virtually the same quality as the NOT hand made item, but it was made entirely without burning any fossil fuels.  That would be of interest to me.  But that would be tough to do.  Even the leather itself comes with hours of chemicals and electricity already involved ... skinning the hide, curing, transporting, tanning, transporting, storing, ordering, then transporting... and that's all before it got to us!

[chrisash]

I cannot ever remember getting garbage from the Far East, I have seen well made items produced at low cost due to large production runs and low cost labour and fit for the purpose for the low income people there intended for or short term use

I buy from around the world though live in the UK and find quality items can be made all over and seldon does one country provide all my needs as we are after all a trading nation

 

[mikesc]

iphones , and virtually all cellphones in fact, and almost all computers are made in the far east, as are all their parts, hard drives, RAM , mother boards etc, likewise TV's, Monitors, Game consoles..probably the computer and screen that we are each reading this thread, or using to post too the site, are made in the Far East..usually China..

It is a long way from being garbage..unlike a lot of software , which is mainly made in the west, with some subcontracted out to India..

Lot of very high grade leatherwork and especially leather apparel is made in the far east, China, Pakistan or India..But the importers to the west ( the western companies with their brand names ) want it marked made in the USA, or Made in the UK, or Made in France etc, before it even leaves the eastern factories..Other western companies sew the "Made in" labels in when the shipments arrive in the west..I've said it here before..most of the leather apparel that you buy..In the USA or Europe, the "bikerwear" vest, jackets, boots , pants. skirts, tops, luggage , saddlebags, tool rolls, etc etc..including the biggest, oldest ( and in some cases the most expensive ) brands, are made for "the brands" for less than 10 % of what you pay for them in the west..

Then there is the fashion leather apparel..even the "designer" labels..made in the East and the Far East too..

Oh ..and Nike and all the other sportswear brands..and the footballs, basketballs, softballs, baseball etc ..made in Pakistan, or India, or China, or another far eastern country, for way less than you pay..the "brand" doesn't even pay 10% of what you pay for "the brand"..

Edited April 12, 2019 by mikesc

[NVLeatherWorx]

@mikesc You nailed it on this one and the reason that we are all purchasing this stuff that has been made abroad is because all of our Countries have sold out to the lower wage nations which has killed the true artisan and our trades.  I have seen some good quality products come out of the East and I have seen some serious garbage come out of there as well and it is safe to say that it is about a 50/50 mix in all honesty.  Quality and consistency is what separates a great brand and product from a not so great brand and product and even the big names have trouble keeping these two point in line because they don't control what comes off the line in those low wage piece work factories; they get what is in the container when it hits your ports and that is what makes it to the shelf of your local foreign nation support store.

I am also one who wants quality over anything else and when it comes to leather items I have a very high standard and know what to look out for.  In fact, one of my biggest and most consistent requests is from all of those women who have spent thousands of dollars on a Louis Vuitton handbag that has garbage straps/handles that fall apart after a few months.  I actually replace these on such a consistent basis that it has caused me to purchase extra lightweight sides and to stock them just so I can have enough leather on hand for that line of work alone.  I even get phone calls from people who received my name from a friend who had their purse repaired by me.  I don't even advertise that I do this type of work yet it alone keeps the lights on.  Just because it has a big name doesn't mean that it is quality and we all know that the LV line is just as mass produced as anything on the bargain market shelf.  Hell, they even sell of their branded (logoed) leather now to anyone who wants to buy it and there are a couple of sellers on Etsy who are selling LV handbags even though it is in clear violation of the Etsy policies and Etsy won't do a damn thing about it because they don't care as long as they are getting their cut of each sale.

[JLSleather]

I spent YEARS trying to find others willing to adhere to a strict standard of quality.  I didn't find them.  And I was looking IN THE US.

But that's another topic, nothing to do with Cutesy.

[mikesc]

Richard..I couldn't agree more with you about LV :)..My wife has some of the LV bags ( and some Hérmes ) she bought when we lived in Cannes back in the 90s, and from ( before we met ) when she was there in the late 80s.that was from before they"sold out"..new ones from LV are nowhere near as good..and the price of the Hérmes ones , you could buy a house ( or even a small château* ) with what they want..

I don't think it is so much that it is "because all of our Countries have sold out to the lower wage nations", so much as ..
The people at the top of the retail "food chains" and the "brands" got really greedy, they don't care how poor most people have become relative to them, or how many small businesses they crowd out , or how many people they exploit in any country, just as long as they keep getting richer..it isn't like they are working to get rich, they are just getting their friends to create "legal loopholes" for them, and then exploiting both the producers of the goods and the end buyers of the goods..and frequently lying , or being vague about the origins of the goods..

Case in point..Last week I received a "trade catalogue" from a German company..They call themselves a "German Toy Manufacturer" , right there on the cover..100 plus page catalogue of children's toys all made in wood, all eco friendly no toxic paints etc etc etc ..So..I phone them , and I say "Your toys are very interestingly priced, where in Germany are they made ? ..The sales rep ( for France ) tells me.."Oh..We don't make them in Germany, that would be too expensive, they are made for us in China"..

Someone must have changed the meaning and definition of the word "manufacturer"..

*Some parts of France you can still get a small château ( needs some work, but liveable ) for less than the price of a Hérmes bag..

btw..to keep on topic :)..the German company I mentioned above, has some people selling their "Handmade" wooden toys on Etsy..I know a French guy who makes wooden children's toys, he can't compete with their prices, he makes them in his workshop in a little town about 25kms from me..His are beautiful work , excellent, superb quality..

Edited April 13, 2019 by mikesc