I'm a Horrible Procrastinator... :O ...

You know that sketch I blogged about a couple of posts back? Yeah, I haven't started that one yet... :) The main reason being is that I'm going to do it in oils, and I haven't worked in oils in years...I'm kind of a perfectionist, so I'm, uh...putting it off for a little while...(soon though, I swear)! :) ...

The painting shown here I am finally starting. I began this sketch a few years ago...(It's basically about losing your mind-- something many artists can relate to right?-- here's to you Van Gogh! :)...I think I'm going to call it "Pickle Head"... Get it? The head looks like a pickle, kinda...and also it's a refererence to your brain getting pickled :)...Yes, screwey but true :) It may look quite different by the time I finish it...I will most likely put a wallpaper background in it, like some of my other surreal paintings. I'm attempting to creat a "cohesive" body of work, or so they call it... :O (we'll see how it goes-- I have a bit of artistic ADD or something)...

In honor of my procrationation, and the many ideas I have in my head, I bring you this fun and quirky video by The Foo Fighters! :) I love this song/video. This song, called "Big Me," was big in my late teen years. I've decided to do a Mr. Chicken based on this video...Mr. Chicken Eat His Mentos (perhaps?)...I think Mr. Chicken might have to sport some Dave Grohl braids :)...(Remember those fun and dorky Mentos videos?) Of course though, since I procrastinate and am working on 10 differnt things at once, it may be a while :)
..sorry I had to post the link insted of the video-- I couldn't embed it for some reason! :O

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhfWzCPRPtg

To Have a Sale...or Not to Have a Sale...

Not to get all Shakespearian on ya or anything people! (Sorry, I couldn't resist, I'm kind of a dork :)...anyway, I am having a 2 week sale in my Snitterdog shop as part of the birthday bash for Etsy For Animals...(I'll get back to that later in the post).

Right now I would like to talk about the pro's and con's of having a sale on an ecommerce sight, in particular, Etsy. If anyone has anything to add, please feel free to comment! :)

I think some of the pro's (obviously) would be making some sales, particularly at a time when the economy is not in good shape, and sales are slow. I also wonder if it may draw in new buyers looking for a bargain....Once in a while I will do a search for "sale" to see what's out there...I wonder if others do this too :) Another benefit is the possibility of repeat business-- getting new buyers who maybe become repeat buyers, or previous buyers who may come back for more :)

Drawbacks-- will people just wait for "your next sale?"....This is something I wonder about...I had a new customer once tell me how much she liked my work and that she was happy it was on sale. This made me happy of course, I was thrilled she liked my work, and also happy with the purchase. It made me wonder though...do people wait to purchase sometimes, hoping for a sale?....particularly if you have sales a lot?...

I don't have sales a LOT...I do have a tendency to participate in group sales though...I did the Yart Sale (which was a great one)! and also a sale that a bunch of us in the ACEO Bounty Challenge participated in-- that was a good one too :)

Anyway, I thought I would do a post on the topic of "having a sale" because I'm trying to figure out the best way to do it-- how often, what kind of sale, etc...I was toying with having a sale at my other shop, The Greene Fairy, but I haven't decided yet...Will having sales too frequently reduce the value of my items?...I wish I would have taken some business classes in college :O...

As for the sale I am having: I'm part of the efa, also called Etsy for Animals. There are about 120 Etsy shops participating in this. We're animal loving types who often donate to animal charities :) The shops participating are doing a 20% off sale-- all you have to do is leave a message in "notes to seller" at checkout...my coupon code is SNITT (can ya guess where that comes from)? ... :) The code you can use at any of the participating shops is "MEOW"...The seller then refunds the 20% :) Here is a link to find all the participating shops! :)

http://efaartistshelpinganimals.org

Anyway, I may have to do some "research" about marketing and sales :)...I like to be informed...(I try anyway)! :)

Ah, Pricing Dilemmas...

You know what I'm talking about right, my fellow ecommerce people?...Etsy people in particular?....Pricing an item is tricky, particulary when the price point on your particular sight may be lower than out in "the real world."...and when I say the "real world," I'm referring to a store, or gallery-- a place you can physically go to :) ...

Over the last few months I have been S-LO-W-L-Y raising my prices on Etsy because I have really been lowballing them. Also, I know I can get more for them in my studio, and in stores and galleries if I pursue that route...I feel my prices in my studio need to be comparable to those on my Etsy sight...(I would feel kind of icky if people bought something for $40 at my studio, then logged onto my Etsy sight, only to find they could get it there for $20 )...

So how do we deal with these pricing issues?...I'm still trying to figure that out...One thing I've thought of doing is offering larger pieces in my studio, to sell at a higher price point...(many of the other artists who have studios near me have prints in the $40- $50 range-- they are shocked that I sell my prices for such a low price-- $20)....I've also had customers who were shocked at the low price of my prints...which makes me wonder if I should raise the price in my studio, and at Etsy...ah...but the price point there is lower...so what to do?...hhmm....

For now, I think I will continue my current price for prints on Etsy, but also offer some larger versions at my studio. I may also yank some or all of my originals from Etsy, but I'm kind of wavering on that-- not quite sure...most of my ACEO's take 5 or 6 hours, so I'm not even paying myself minimum wage on those little guys...I really like having a full shop though! :) ....Maybe I could list the print, and note that the original is also available-- (for example say something like, if you're interested in the original, contact the seller :)

These decisions are kind of tough and kind of screwey! We'll see what happens! :)