Pipeys: now in the Dealer's Den
I had moderate success in the Artists' Alley last year, selling my pipe-cleaner animals and such, so I'm going to try again this year. Please look for me in the Dealer's Den (table number pending), and if you'd like to place an order for one ahead of time, please send me a note! For samples of my work, look right in here. http://floppybelly.deviantart.com/gallery/#pipe-cleaner-stuff And if you think you can't afford one, just remember that prices start as low as a dollar!
Thanks for the props, Chiaroscuro! Your little ferret dude came out adorable.
I recently made two more thingies, thought they might catch y'all's interest. Especially the gryphon cub? He'd probably run somewhere between 5 and 10 dollars. Maybe 7.
http://floppybelly.deviantart.com/art/Colin-pipey-for-Kory-141485757
http://floppybelly.deviantart.com/art/Eleanor-pipey-for-Kory-141699266
The bandersnatch, on the other hand, due to her amount of detail, would probably run more at 15 or 20 dollars.
I really need to pin down a standard way of pricing these, some combination of materials used+time spent.
I'm thinking 10 cents per stem used, which includes partial stems spent. So if you've got a character who just has a tail tip that is a color that isn't used anywhere else on the character, I'll have to charge you for the whole stem, even if I just use a fifth of it.
Additionally, I'll also have to charge 50 cents for the rarer stems. These include extra-fluffy, striped, glittery, mini, and possibly colors that are rare or hard to find. Light blue, light purple, and gray might be included in that category.
And I think I'll charge 6 bucks an hour, which is less than minimum wage, and breaks down to 10 cents a minute. This takes detail into account, as detailing takes more time.
Take a look at my stock, to see what colors I have available. That way you can know what to order! :3
http://floppybelly.deviantart.com/art/pipe-cleaner-stock-9-3-03-135818313
Remember, you can order as soon as you want, and either wait until AC to receive it or give me an address to send it to.
my girlfriend got me a ferret and hyena from you which are totally sitting on my desk. they make me smile every day.
that's all. thank you \o/
Was it a blue hyena with red hair, or a normal-colored one? I did like how the hyenas turned out n.n
Oh, I guess I could put another purpose in this thread- I never got to take pictures of the Pipeys I did at my Artists' Alley table at AC last year, so if you got one from me and have a camera, could you please post it here? That way, others can see it, and I can post it on my DA/FA accounts. Thanks!
And remember, don't' hesitate to let me know if you possibly want one!
No, it was a normal-coloured one. I'm going to take pictures of them today to upload for you. :]
I'm considering adding a price special for requests that fit the Con Theme. For example, these two dinosaurs would probably go for 2 dollars each!
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs25/f/2008/102/a/1/Brontosaurus_by_floppybelly.jpg
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs28/f/2008/102/f/9/Tyrannosaurus_Rex_by_floppybelly.jpg
Any other such prehistoric animals would go for less than usual, what do you think?
oh wow XD thses are so cool!
Aw, thanks! Could I maybe interest you in one? (Or two?)
is there any chance of them being mailed to me? Due to monetary issues I may not be attending the con this year D8
Here's the collection of all the things I made at AC this year! There were a few 1-dollar ones that I didn't photograph, like the Fender and the panda-bunny.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074412 shiny Zangoose
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074400/ Aurora and Frost
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074385/ Kangaroo
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074380/ Tibilope
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074369/ Buizel
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074363/ Chinchilla
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074352/ Brown gryphon
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074334/ Winged wolf
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074316/ Blue gryphon
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074291/ Cthulu
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074286/ Wolf
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074278/ Lion-roo
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074272/ Bucktown Tiger and Leo Lovely
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074254/ Entei, Raikou, and Suicune
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4074204/ Mewtwo
Yay Zangoose!
Bad news: My netbook has a virus, and that was the only webcam I had. That's why I haven't been having a Ustream lately, and probably won't for quite some time.
Bad news: My bank account has about 10 dollars in it.
Good news: I have a new job at Walmart.
Bad news: My paycheck doesn't come in for ten days, and that ten dollars isn't going to last that long because of my gas costs.
Good news: I'm opening up commissions with free shipping on orders of 10 dollars or more! (An order can consist of multiple pipeys in the same box.) I'm gonna try to take 5 commissions a week. Let's get a sign-up, shall we?
Done before July 19th:
1. Origami Gryphon
2. empty
3. empty
4. empty
5. empty
Tell your friends, 'cause everybody likes pipeys! Sign up for a slot either in a comment here, a private note, or an email if you want to... floppybellyoh[at]yahoo.com
I'm thinking of trying to get into the Dealer's Den. Thoughts?
It's a question of economics and time. A Dealer's Room table costs money and (realistically) it needs to be manned almost all of the day. Dealers miss out on most of the activities that happen at the con during the day and it usually requires getting up early. (Although that's a requirement for Artists Alley as well).
It's a toss-up and only you can make the decision. Will you get as much business, will you get more or will you get less? Nobody can really predict that. You're balancing money and time. One thing to consider: did you make enough this year in Artists Alley to cover the expenses of a Dealers Table, plus the cost of materials? If you didn't make that amount, then the Dealers Room could easily be a losing proposition for you.
In the artist's alley last year alone, I made a profit from the whole con! That includes gas, room cost, food, registration, and yeah, I had enough left over to cover 30 dollars.
Highly recommended you go for it. The difference between a Dealer's Membership and an Attending membership is fairly small (Around $30 last year), and the advantages of being at a Dealer's table are solid (Permanent location, no need for daily breakdown, wider array of merchandise you can sell, more foot traffic, etc.)
Thanks for your support! I'm well aware of the benefits from having a table, which is why I'm considering it in the first place. Here's why I'm considering not doing it. Copied from my FA journal, here's a list that I'm working on of all the things I would want to have.
*A binder full of printouts, pictures of pipeys I've made in the past. It would probably be arranged by either species or price. Probably price.
*I need another batch of business cards, I've run out of the first batch. It wasn't all that great anyway, so I was hoping my friend Cyrus would help me design a better one.
*I need floppybelly.com to be better-looking, so that people are more impressed when they actually pick up a business card for later use.
*I'm working on a nice collection of small to medium-sized boxes, so that people can take their pipeys home without fear of them being crushed. I would like to be able to have some stick-on labels to put on the boxes, to cover up the "Eggo" and "McCormick" ('cause the boxes come from Walmart.) Then the boxes could actually have my name on them!
*I would want a sign or banner to put on the table, to look snazzy and help people find me. I'm thinking I could be listed as "Custom Pipeys by floppybelly"
*Some display shelves would be nice, that way my collection of pre-made pipey examples could be displayed vertically instead of horizontally, thus leaving me more room on the back part of the table for working.
*I'm a wheresgeorge.com bill tracker, and as a dealer, I'd (hopefully) be having a lot of bills changing hands. It might get too busy to write it on each one, so it would be nice to have a wheresgeorge stamp... Especially if it had my screen name on it! Anyone know where custom stamps can be ordered?
*A lot of people travel with only their credit card, instead of cash, and I don't want to have to turn those people away! I've seen dealers who have a mobile system for swiping credit cards, but I don't know anything about it. I need one of those things.
*I would want to bring a postage scale, because I'm trying to pin down a more solid way of pricing pipeys. I'm thinking that if I priced them a certain amount per ounce, that could make it more standardized.
*Possibly a timer, that could also factor into price, if not make me more focused.
*I'd like to have a better camera maybe, so my pictures of the pipeys don't always come out half-out-of-focus.
*I need a good backdrop, maybe a light purple that would make the pipeys show up more professionally in their photographs.
*Sales sheets for my personal use, to keep track of who ordered what, how big, if they've paid, if they've picked up, if it was photographed, that sort of thing.
*Some people have requested How-To books, so if I were able to write those, I'd need to find someone to print them for me. I need estimates of what people would be willing to pay for them, so I know how long and picture-filled to make them.
*In order to be in the Den, I need a Pennsylvania tax license. Remind me to finish the application for that.
*I'm working on an Easter Egg advertising campaign, so I need some eggs to stuff.
*I had the idea of selling pipeys in the option of a themed mobile, for decoration. If I did that, I'd need some kind of frame to hang them by. And some kind of string, more professional than just yarn. Fishing line, perhaps?
*2 gryphon suggested that some people would rather have their pipey as a trophy, instead of as a poseable toy. If that's the case, they might need a jewel-case to put the pipey on their shelves. I'd need some kind of fixative, too, possibly.
I'd very much appreciate feedback on this. Is there anything on the list that I'm missing? Anything you have suggestions on?
*I would want a sign or banner to put on the table, to look snazzy and help people find me. I'm thinking I could be listed as "Custom Pipeys by floppybelly"
*I'm a wheresgeorge.com bill tracker, and as a dealer, I'd (hopefully) be having a lot of bills changing hands. It might get too busy to write it on each one, so it would be nice to have a wheresgeorge stamp... Especially if it had my screen name on it! Anyone know where custom stamps can be ordered?
Try http://www.rubberstampman.com -- very inexpensive for 4" x 1 line regular (non-self-inking) stamps. Free shipping with orders over $8.
*A lot of people travel with only their credit card, instead of cash, and I don't want to have to turn those people away! I've seen dealers who have a mobile system for swiping credit cards, but I don't know anything about it. I need one of those things.
That's what ATMs are for. If you have enough business to make a credit card merchant account worthwhile, go for it; you bank can tell you the fees involved. Some people handle it through PayPal, but keep in mind PayPal is not a bank and is not subject to the regulations that protect customers of banks. They can and have arbitrarily frozen the funds of their users based on complaints or unsubstantiated allegations of fraud, and it's up to you to prove yourself innocent -- which can pretty much torpedo your business in the meantime. See http://paypalsucks.com .
*In order to be in the Den, I need a Pennsylvania tax license. Remind me to finish the application for that.
Finish the application for that. No sense putting it off, and once it's done it's one less thing to worry about.
So I got my PA tax license all officially now, and I'm all motivated to try my hand at the Dealer's Den. Here's a few things I'm looking into. I even ordered that custom stamp! (I have to remember now to get an inkpad.)
Display shelves:
http://www.storesupply.com/popup.aspx?src=images/PRODUCT/large/68327.JPG If I had a mini version of this, it would work well, I think! This version, which is too large to be practical for the Den, is 55 dollars.
http://www.equippers.com/shop/ViewZoom.aspx?pid=HH0100_HH0200 This is a little more what I originally had in mind, and it's 80 bucks.
Mobile: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000HHXTFY/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new I could just offer these at the sale price of about 10 bucks, and then maybe cut a deal on the pipeys they order to fill them with. If they even do so! Maybe they buy just one or two pipeys to go on it, then select other works to go with them in a theme. (Like badges, maybe. I know I'm not the only one who has too many to put on a lanyard!) I just ordered 4 of them, hopefully they'll all sell.
Scale: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IC2Z/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller= I just ordered one of these.
Trophy cases: I didn't have much luck finding these online, any tips?
Today I went to the Container Store, and spent 40 dollars on some little display shelves, and a few trophy cases to send home with people. I'm feeling more and more like a proper dealer! Should I make a big flashy banner now?
Still no luck on a big flashy banner, but here's another question:
I've made some contacts with the Ringtail Cafe publications, who said they can help me make "Makin' Pipeys" booklets. I'm starting to draft up some ideas for what could go into them, but as I work, how about some feedback? Who here would be interested in buying a little how-to booklet on makin' pipeys? I think they'd be somewhere from 5 to 10 dollars, should have under 20 pages with color photos that would bring you up to about where I was after maybe a year or two of makin' pipeys.
Soooo... who wants one, so I know how many to make?
I will mention that I purchased one of these of Chiaroscuro, and he is sitting on my desk right now. An excellent deal for the price and a unique item indeed!
--Chi