A
Anonymous
Guest
Pessimism is a crap response telling someone to give it up before they've began.
Selling!
- Thread starter Melzy
- Start date
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mark270981":188izu54 said:
Well, if we are looking for rubbish responses, I think we need look no further than your own contribution.
If I had in fact told him to give up, then your point might have something to it, but I didn't, so it doesn't.
In fact, my responses have been carefully thought out, based on much experience (some of it painful) and given useful guidance to the OP should he wish to take it.. If the OP was to provide more information about what he has in mind, then my responses would be even more helpful. Your responses have not been helpful at all.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Lord Kitchener":3em3a4kg said:
Must we get into to this?
Your answer was very negative it was my way of saying don't listen to it, all other responses by the other members was more realistic, I don't see any point in reiterating the answers already given!!
jimi43
Established Member
Ok..I think we all know what reality is...those of us who have been out there and tried to earn a living with our hands.
If we focus on the photos for a moment...and assist the new member then we can slowly help them achieve their goal.
Melzy....the best free software for resizing I have ever used is Picasa...free from Google. It resizes, catalogues your images, displays them for you to adjust for all sorts of exposures, effects and text. Genius bit of freeware IMHO.
I tend to keep the hi-res shots...then save smaller versions for web publishing...works for me.
If you need more help with this PM me.
As for the box....anyone who makes boxes is skilled in my opinion...
Just making mitres accurately enough to go all the way around with no gaps takes care. There is some absolutely gorgeous box work on this forum from guys and gals who have spent hundreds of hours perfecting this skill....so if you stick around you will learn much and cannot fail to improve.
That being said...your work is none too shabby for the first attempt anyway...you should be very proud.
As to whether it is good enough to sell...the market will tell you my friend. If you take them to sell at a craft fair or if you put them up on eBay...you will soon see if they are commercial enough. You have some great ideas already...hone them and all of a sudden people will start buying them from you.
Whether the amount you can sell them for justifies the outlay to make them in both material and labour cost is another matter altogether. You aren't going to make a living from this alone without thinking it through first....cutting costs without lowering quality....finding a continuous market...and so on.
Whatever you choose to do...there are many here who have trodden this road and will help you. Never lose sight of your goal...the only thing you can't buy is enthusiasm.....never lose that!
Jim
If we focus on the photos for a moment...and assist the new member then we can slowly help them achieve their goal.
Melzy....the best free software for resizing I have ever used is Picasa...free from Google. It resizes, catalogues your images, displays them for you to adjust for all sorts of exposures, effects and text. Genius bit of freeware IMHO.
I tend to keep the hi-res shots...then save smaller versions for web publishing...works for me.
If you need more help with this PM me.
As for the box....anyone who makes boxes is skilled in my opinion...
Just making mitres accurately enough to go all the way around with no gaps takes care. There is some absolutely gorgeous box work on this forum from guys and gals who have spent hundreds of hours perfecting this skill....so if you stick around you will learn much and cannot fail to improve.
That being said...your work is none too shabby for the first attempt anyway...you should be very proud.
As to whether it is good enough to sell...the market will tell you my friend. If you take them to sell at a craft fair or if you put them up on eBay...you will soon see if they are commercial enough. You have some great ideas already...hone them and all of a sudden people will start buying them from you.
Whether the amount you can sell them for justifies the outlay to make them in both material and labour cost is another matter altogether. You aren't going to make a living from this alone without thinking it through first....cutting costs without lowering quality....finding a continuous market...and so on.
Whatever you choose to do...there are many here who have trodden this road and will help you. Never lose sight of your goal...the only thing you can't buy is enthusiasm.....never lose that!
Jim
mark270981":13hvq00c said:
Then why on earth did YOU start it then???????
You obviously have no idea about how to sell work, otherwise I should hope you would have posted some useful information about it instead of deciding to have a pop at me.
So, the starting poisition is that you are posting on a thread where you know nothing about the subject, and I am posting on a thread where I know a LOT about the subject, and yet you are criticising me!
You are the sort of person who, when hearing that someone is going to have a go at something that the vast majority of people find difficult/impossible says "yeah, go for it mate, you've only got to want it hard enough and you will be able to do it". In other words, no help at all.
On the other hand, I am pointing out to him the obstacles that he will have to overcome, and asking him for more information about what he has in mind so that further responses can be even better targetted. Now that kind of response is far more helpful than you simply criticising me and not adding word one of useful information about the thread.
I am sorry that the others here are having to read this extraneous material, but when I've gone to some trouble to provide helpful information on a thread just to have someone else make comments like this
mark270981":13hvq00c said:
I'll make you an offer though, because I, unlike you, am not here for an argument. Go back and delete all the remarks you made about me, and I will delete all the remarks I made in response.
monkeybiter
Established Member
Can we get back to the topic please, and the two with grievances could continue by pm rather than contaminate the thread for the rest of us.
monkeybiter":4yggs8nm said:
Are you a school teacher by any chance? Reason I ask is that standard teacher's technique when encountering a fight in the playground is to blame the participants equally, rather than to find out who actually started it.
Mike.C
Established Member
Lord Kitchener":4tazxld6 said:
Come on lads, 3 reports in one thread, lets act like the adults I know you are.
Cheers
Mike
Let's hope that when Melzy next visits he can provide us with some info on what he has in mind, whether he is looking for a way of defraying some of the costs of his hobby, or whether he wants/needs to actually make some profit.
I would suggest that if he needs to make some money from woodworking then he would do well to consider making, for instance, built-in furniture and that sort of thing, things which need to be made to fit specific spaces. As someone said earlier if it's something that can be made in a low-cost-labour country and brought over here and sold on ebay etc, then that's really not the sort of thing he wants to be competing with.
The thing with marketing items that have to be judged on aesthetics alone is that it not really about how well made the item is, because the target buyers wouldn't know anyway, you need to know a bit about woodworking to appreciate a really finely made piece. No, it's all about marketing, you need an angle, and you need to get your stuff in front of buyers who are able to afford the sorts of prices that profit-making work needs to command.
It's worth anyone who figures to sell through a shop to bear in mind that if it sells for £100 then they will be looking to pay the maker maybe £40, if that.
Now before anyone else mis-intreprets what I am saying, let me make it clear that I am not saying that he, or anyone else, shouldn't try to sell fine woodworking. What I want is for them to be aware of the difficulties and to have a plan to overcome them. This is a subject that I am very interested in, and have a lot of experience with.
Years ago I used to make and sell electric guitar bodies and necks, and, though I say it myself, they were bloody good. The prices were good too, because I could turn them out surprising quickly. But could I make a living out of it? No, I couldn't. I wish someone had said to me before I set out down that road that I would have fun, make some nice guitars, even make a little bit of money, but that I would not be able to make enough to keep going, something that british guitar makers from the 1960's onwwards have all learned, some to their great cost.
I would suggest that if he needs to make some money from woodworking then he would do well to consider making, for instance, built-in furniture and that sort of thing, things which need to be made to fit specific spaces. As someone said earlier if it's something that can be made in a low-cost-labour country and brought over here and sold on ebay etc, then that's really not the sort of thing he wants to be competing with.
The thing with marketing items that have to be judged on aesthetics alone is that it not really about how well made the item is, because the target buyers wouldn't know anyway, you need to know a bit about woodworking to appreciate a really finely made piece. No, it's all about marketing, you need an angle, and you need to get your stuff in front of buyers who are able to afford the sorts of prices that profit-making work needs to command.
It's worth anyone who figures to sell through a shop to bear in mind that if it sells for £100 then they will be looking to pay the maker maybe £40, if that.
Now before anyone else mis-intreprets what I am saying, let me make it clear that I am not saying that he, or anyone else, shouldn't try to sell fine woodworking. What I want is for them to be aware of the difficulties and to have a plan to overcome them. This is a subject that I am very interested in, and have a lot of experience with.
Years ago I used to make and sell electric guitar bodies and necks, and, though I say it myself, they were bloody good. The prices were good too, because I could turn them out surprising quickly. But could I make a living out of it? No, I couldn't. I wish someone had said to me before I set out down that road that I would have fun, make some nice guitars, even make a little bit of money, but that I would not be able to make enough to keep going, something that british guitar makers from the 1960's onwwards have all learned, some to their great cost.
hahahahahaa!!! ooohhh how funny it was to read some of the above!! I cant quite understand how one must 'assume' that i am male!! I am not!! Melzy I think is quite a femanin name??!! No need to correct me if i am wrong!! Was more of a rhetorical! And i fear that i have done so wrong with puting the subject header as 'selling'... Although that may confuse people, it could also just mean that i wanted some advice!! I have only been on here for a very short time so am merely learning the ropes!!! Excuse my mistakes!! Now!...leeeets change the subject, oohh, maybe to 'selling'!! hahaha!!!
Melzy
Melzy
Melzy":kudlhlo7 said:
So, are you going to tell us whather you are hoping to make some actual money at this, or are you simply looking to reduce your costs?
jimi43
Established Member
Melzy":3a77q2b6 said:
Don't worry...many of us were stupid enough to think that ALF was male too...(
).....I think it is cheating when your initials spell a male name....totally unfair! :mrgreen: :wink: I guess that Mel is one of those unisex names...Mr Smith and Brooks would agree...but it is fair to assume male on here anyway given the odds.
Anyway....it's irrelevant....ALF proves that if proof was needed.
Jim
jimi43":3io3rznc said:Melzy":3io3rznc said:
Don't worry...many of us were stupid enough to think that ALF was male too...(
I guess that Mel is one of those unisex names...Mr Smith and Brooks would agree...but it is fair to assume male on here anyway given the odds.
haha!! Its an easy mistake to make!! not bothered in the slightest!! Was just funny to read 'he' when reading some of the texts!!! :lol:
Mel
Anyway....it's irrelevant....ALF proves that if proof was needed.
Jim
Lord Kitchener":rlwcgnvv said:
One day i would like to make some money from this. I know this will take time and i SHALL get there, when im ready!! But for now, i am going to change the subject and get a few otherquestions,etc under my belt first!! thanks for your input!
Mel
Anyone who is planning to make money from woodworking would be well advised to start at the end of the process and work backwards from there-
Q. Someone has just given you enough money to cover your costs and pay for your time, why did they do that?
A. Because you provided them with something that they sufficiently valued in return
Q. What was that thing, what do people want in the woodworking context?
A. (and this is where it starts to get a bit difficult, but if you can't answer it then you have at least identified the problem, and it's time to do some research)
The worst possible starting position is to start making things, and then struggle to sell them at a sufficiently high price to make the effort worthwhile.
Q. Someone has just given you enough money to cover your costs and pay for your time, why did they do that?
A. Because you provided them with something that they sufficiently valued in return
Q. What was that thing, what do people want in the woodworking context?
A. (and this is where it starts to get a bit difficult, but if you can't answer it then you have at least identified the problem, and it's time to do some research)
The worst possible starting position is to start making things, and then struggle to sell them at a sufficiently high price to make the effort worthwhile.
