Isn't he just too cute?!? I am so in love with this little guy, he's just looking up at me with those intense orange eyes, clutching his carnelian with all his newborn might and my heart just melts!
Remember Ruby? I blogged about her a while ago.. I love the tripod lightbox and macro setting on my camera.. look how much better these pictures are.. no flash or blur and you can see how sparkly she is!
Now this little guy has been hanging out with me on my computer for MONTHS now! Duer put him up there when moving stuff around and I've been tempted to not list him ever since... He's got a peculiar look about him.. but I've become quite fond of him.. he's quirky.. and has my wickedly odd sense of humor.... He just wants his own space I think.. he won't stop complaining to Batman about how crowded it is up on top of my computer.. (see this post)
Can you tell the sky was begining to cloud a bit by the time I made it to this guy? They don't look so dark when you veiw them full size, I think because of the shine and sheen on him it brightens it up. I tried to adjust the contrast and white balance in Paint.net but it messed with his coloring and sparkle so I used the undoctored photos here. He'll be the first to be rephotographed when I get the light thing fixed. To top it off for the life of me I can't remember what kind of stone that is he's holding.(if you would like to hazard a guess that would be helpful!)
On to the two devilishly cute computer companions.. Maybe I should think of a new name for them, just because my man and I have them hanging out on our comps doesn't mean thats the only place they can go! I just so love the alliteration...
So now for the plea for help.... I need advice on a few things,
First of the pictures... they are way better than anything I have taken so far.. I think you can pick up the mica powder shine, true color and detail with no blur or flash problems.. but are they still way too dark? Are they etsy worthy? I don't think they are treasury worthy but should I post them to my shop or go back to the camera?
Second.. price.. I'm having a terrible time figuring out what to price the critters and dragons... I was thinking $5 for the critters but I'm afraid it may be too much, but they take a few hours to make plus materials.. The dragons are the real stumper... they are tiny as you can see from the quarter, but they use a good chunk or clay to make, the mica powders weren't cheap.. and they take hours and hours upon even more hours to make... The one time I sat down and made a whole dragon start to finish in one day it took me 8 or so hours...probably closer to 9. It seems like a long time for something so small without oodles of detail.. but they really do take forever to make right... when I rush bad bad things happen.. My man says $20 but I have a hard time thinking that they are worht that much.. I said $10 and he told me I'm underselling myself and that I'm too critical.. But I think someone would be more willing to snatch a cutie up for 10 than 20 dollars...They'd stop and think and there would go the impulse... Should I split the diff so to speak at $15.. still seems high to me.. taking into account my candle holders are $6 large barrettes are 3.50 small barrettes ae 2.50 they'd be much higher priced than anything else....
Can you tell I'm agonizing about this I could really use the advice!
Last plea for help then I'll show you a pretty picture and end this long windedness....
There will be an etsynj-wide sale begining of March and I need to post what promotion I'll be doing asap! I'm stuck between.. Barrettes.. buy one get one free (of equal or lesser value). OR Store wide sale everything buy one get one half off (any item of equal or lesser value). This sale is going to be the kick in the bum than I need to get my dragons and critters posted.. and a few more things I have in the wings...
What do you think? Please please any comment on anything is appreciated.. I need the input!
Now a tranquil thank you picture for reading all of that! my birthday flowers bloomed, here they are hanging out in my bay window brightening up my day and hopefully yours too!
I think your dragons are really cute! If you post before and after photos to the etsy shop makeovers flickr group, that will help you get noticed. Take a look there and you may get ideas for including some props with your dragons - something other than a quarter to help indicate scale and add interest at the same time. Hope that helps a little.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your man, don't undersell yourself. I think 5.00 is too cheap, try 7 or 8 and see how you do. Also, I don't do alot of micro pictures but is there a shadow because of the light box? have you tried taking the pics without it? Maybe against a wall with a piece of paper against it? I use journal paper for some of my smaller shots. Your items are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYour dragons are cute, don't undervalue your work. (and polymer clay isn't cheap) It's easier to lower prices than raise them, especially since you are planing a sale.
ReplyDeleteFor scale you might try a standard size pencil,since it might be more universal than a US coin for international sales
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate the tips (and compliments!)
ReplyDeleteWhat I've learned from this post is that my photos are still no good.. but better than they were (trust me on that) and they all need to be retaken... I will definatly try some different backgrounds and scale items...
And I'll be pricing my devil critters at $8 and the dragons at $15...
Thank you again!
(and if anyone else still has an input please post it here.. I'm open to all suggestions and tips)
Really adorable!! and i love your '+18 charisma" on your profile, heeee!
ReplyDeletewww.alexladydesigns.etsy.com