Business Page: 5 |
Wholesale dealers: Remembering back when I started in business I had gotten some very useful tips from the lady I bought out (Fran Meehan) Carol, S P Miniatures |
Miniature Show Schedules: Here are some of our favorite sites for miniatureshow listings. Hope this helps you out!! http://miniatures.about.com/library/news/blshowmenu.htm?once=true& http://www.dhminiatures.com/Meetings/Meetings.html http://www.myminiatures.com/events.asp Kim Sutton |
Ebay and miniatures: I have made significant miniature purchases from e-bay and would like to offer some observations for potential sellers. 1. Describe each item in great detail. The dimensions, weight, materials used and a color description. (Monitors are all different and the color differences can be tremendous! That "mint green" blanket I see on the monitor may be a putrid lime color in reality.) 2. Provide exact shipping costs the buyer will be required to pay or provide enough information (weight, dimensions and location of seller) so that the buyer can find out what the shipping will be. If you tack on a "handling fee" make sure the buyer is aware of that also. If the handling fee is over a dollar or two, explain why. Good packing materials are expensive and I'm happy to pay to have them used in order to keep my purchase safe. If you are going to slap a label on the box that you picked up at the grocery store, I will probably really resent having to pay you $10.00 in "handling". 3. Provide a short, concise list of payment types you will accept. Don't go into laborious explanations as to why you will not accept certain payments because "too many buyers have not followed through with payment". It makes me feel that you don't trust me up front and makes me uncomfortable about buying from you. Simply state what you will accept and leave it at that. I take no offense with "I accept PayPal and US Postal Money Orders only." 4. Describe your item in as straightforward a manner as possible. If it was made from a kit, say so. If it was made from a kit with embellishments, I would like to know that also. Don't say something is "hand painted" when it is hand stenciled or a decal has been embellished. Be extremely precise in describing what you are offering as many buyers are being extremely precise in what they are purchasing! If the description is vague, I usually just move on to the next item. 5. Give a little "extra" with your item if possible and you will get repeat customers. I have received such things as a cute little tatted doily, a booklet on dollhouses, a photocopy of a simple little project and one nice lady tied a bow around the package and tucked in a little handwritten note telling me she hoped I enjoyed building the project. I keep track of these sellers and check out their auctions on a routine basis simply because they were pleasant about the whole process. 6. e-mail me when the item is shipped and let me know how you shipped it. Make sure you ship it using the method I paid for. I once paid for some magazines to be shipped Priority mail and they were shipped "book rate". It wasn't worth quibbling over but I will never again buy from that seller. I too will now step down from my soapbox! I just thought that some of you that are just getting into e-Bay selling might like to hear from a big e-Bay buyer! Reva |
Marketing: Most miniature artists probably do get a start by putting their work in shops on commission (which means you get paid after something sells, and the shop gets its percentage) I started that way too. But it's better money to sell retail by mail order. You have to do a little advertising to work up a mailing list. I went to your site and saw your lovely floral designs, and I'm sure they will sell. Paulette Stinson in IN |
List for Business Owners: You might want to check out this list of owners for valuable help and insights into owning a miniature business. GoldenSwanMinis-subscribe@onelist.com(for business owners) Marilyn, MI |
Wholesale Suppliers: Go http://www.miaa.com This is Miniature Industry Association of America. They will be glad to give you lots of information. You might even find it on their web site. Tom & Kari |
London shops: If you have time, you may want to take a side trip to Windsor to see Queen Mary's dh; truly a museum piece, but they hustle you past it pdq.. When the castle went up in flames a few yrs ago ( QE2 's "annus horribilus"- hope I spelled this right, or I'm for the Tower...) I must admit my first reaction was - I hope the dollshouse is OK...ETON DOLLSHOUSE SHOP is nearby. Back to London, years ago, went to the Bethnell Green Museum of Childhood; fascinating place. Hope it is still going; Pollock's Toy museum , alas, is now gone. You may want to surf the net or libraries (Yellow Pages) for more info; and travelers to UK are advised to consult TICs (Tourist info centres) Every town & city has one; goldmines of info & (usually free) maps. Donna from Devon |
Small Ziploc bags: Try eBay for those tiny baggies. There are TONS of listings and at very reasonable prices. You might also try PaperMart. Their site is: http://www.papermart.com/ and they carry different size baggies, both clear and ones with the white space/label on one side so that you can write on them. Use a sharpie, permanent ink pen for that, so the writing doesn't smear or rub off. Gerda |
Small Ziploc bags: The best place for plastic bags from mini to large is G.T.BAG Company.... http://www.GTBAG.com/index.html or phone for price list 1-800-735-3950. Mary (Eccher) "Pannikins" |
Small Ziploc bags: Look on my web site on the supplies page !!!!! I think there are a couple of dealers of these, listed there. Hundreds of mini links sorted into precise categories for "speedy" surfing. http://members.tripod.com/Kalron/ Karolyn (Plymouth Ma) |
MBS address is: Model Builders Supply, 40 Engelhard Drive, Unit 11, Aurora, Ontario, Canada Dawnsminis |
Model Builders Supply in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. Their website is: http://www.modelbuilderssupply.com Roz Weitzman in Toronto, CANADA |
Table Risers: And last but not least a hint for all those that take exhibits to shows and other places and need a riser for them. I found that the collapsible crates from the Miles Kimball catalog or IKEA store and catalog are FANTASTIC!! The crate folds up to transport to show. Pops open to be used for the riser for the exhibit. Prices run from $5.00 each [IKEA] to $9.00 each in the Miles Kimball catalog. They look very good with a fabric cover over them. Very Sturdy and you don't have to go looking for a cardboard box. Plan to have the tailor shop sew up six slipcovers soon for mine [neater than wrapping the fabric around and over the crate.] Patricia / Redwood City, CA |
Packing Tiny Items for Shows: I have a tip for those of you who do shows and bring small, delicate items. We have a lot of porcelain, pottery, glass etc. and it was taking forever to unwrap each piece individually to set up and rewrap unsold pieces at the end of the day. We went to a medical supply place and bought a foam rubber mattress pad with the deep indentations and cut them to fit plastic bins. We get 2 layers in each bin. I don't wrap anything, I just place a piece in each of the indentations. We have used these for a couple of years now and have had no breakage and have saved about 1 1/2 hours in set up and take down time at shows. Carol |
Custom Orders/Mail Fraud: To the person who is waiting for their doll. If this has been paid for, it is to be mailed within 30 days they advise you otherwise. I suggest that you check this site http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/GetWhatYouOrdered.htm. At this point, the person has broken the law and can be cited for mail fraud. If I were you, I would write her a letter stating that if you don't receive your merchandise or a refund within a certain period of time that you will file a complaint with the post office, which you can do online. Carol |
Custom Orders/Mail Fraud: If you pay for an item that will be mailed through our US Postal Service, the shipper/sender/manufacturer/artisan (whatever) MUST be able to deliver the item within 30 days of receiving your payment. If they cannot, they MUST inform you, in writing, that the item will be delayed, and MUST offer you the option to continue waiting, or offer you a refund. This applies to credit card orders too.....the shipper cannot charge your credit card, and then delay sending the item ....if your credit card bill arrives, with the charges, and you have not received the item, you are entitled to dispute the charge. Your credit card company will back you up on this. It may sound a bit 'tough' but if you do not stand up for yourself, no one else is going to. And in fairness to smaller business, many don't know what the regulations are regarding mail order...I sure didn't...until I stumbled across the postal regs myself. Laura in OKC |
Shipping/Customs Brokers: This is my experience: When I began importing viscose from England I started with fairly small orders, and they automatically came through the mail with no problems. Sometimes I'd get charged an import tax and sometimes not. It seemed to be at the discretion of whoever was overseeing mail coming in from England. Then I decided I might as well get a lot of viscose at one time, and ordered about 30 lbs. After waiting awhile to get my order, I was surprised to receive a note saying my order was stuck in customs and I needed to hire a broker to get it out! So I had to make a trip to downtown Louisville, Ky. (which I hate driving there) to meet with a broker and pay them $100. (Apparently that was the going rate no matter how much your package was worth - - it wouldn't have seemed so high if I'd been importing thousands of dollars worth of stuff.) Then after they did their job, I had to drive outside Louisville to the backside of the airport and hunt down some little office where I finally was able to pick up my order. After that, I learned to order only a certain amount at a time, and not go over that money amount or weight amount. I don't know what you can do to get around this. It is maddening. But that's what a broker does - gets your shipment through customs for you, at least that's what they do here in the US. Paulette in IN |
PayPal Customer Service: Buried in the site is a toll free number which I have used and got helpful live people. 1-888 221-1161 Carol |
Raised Tables: Just thought I would respond to your post regarding table risers. We have been raising our table almost since we got involved in miniatures. Not only does it relieve our pain :-), but we've had many compliments from customers regarding the ease of seeing everything at this elevated height. Mike (Georgia's husband) cut 4 PVC pieces of pipe about 2 feet long and we insert the table legs into these pipe pieces to raise our table about a foot. They are easy to carry, easy to attach to a table and easy to remove. It does require the dealer to stand most of the day to converse with the customers but we prefer doing that anyway. Wheelchair people manage just fine. They can't look down on our display but from their seated viewing spot, they are almost at eye level and we of course don't mind at all if people want to handle our trees so they are free to pick them up and look closely at them. A Big plus for us is that we are standing and we are interacting with our customers. That's important to us. Jean, GJ's Christmas Trees |
Raised Tables: Well I am glad you and some of your customers like the raised tables. But I think you are not quite right about the people in wheelchairs. Being at almost eyelevel with things is not at all nice , I for one '(tried it out at home) do not feel happy with it at all. If there are houses etc. I will only be able to see the basement. Well I can look the dolls under the skirts that is true, pity I am girl. And you seem to be about the only people who do not mind us handling your things, for here in Holland that is almost never allowed. By the way, how do your wheelchair customers pay for their purchases ? I can't think of any way of reaching people to hand over my money when they re behind a raised table. Or is the table very narrow ? And I can also imagine that lots of the standholders can't manage standing all day. Maybe we should meet each other half way up and go for a little raise which may be ok for everyone Marianne |
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