Dee's Adornments » Commentary

Why I often order supplies online

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:38 +0000

Subtitle: Or why supply shops should do better with labeling and receipts.

Typically I’m a fan of instant gratification. I’d rather buy things in person so I can have them right now. However, when it comes to jewelry-making materials I’ve discovered that I much prefer to buy online.

It’s not that I’m content to wait for my supplies to arrive in the mail. I hate that part. The reason I prefer buying online is that I often get much more information about the product from an online source, and not just before making my purchase. I get a nicely detailed accounting of exactly what I got, and can easily cross-reference it later back to the site if I’m not sure on something.

And there’s a lot to be unsure of when buying in person. I’ve come to realize that I need to take extensive notes when buying in local shops, as the receipts have hardly any information on them, making it hard to price out my work as I’m not sure what I made for each individual component. I’m sure they’d really love me if I took pictures to shore up my awful memory. There’s also the issue of materials. When I buy online, often I’m told, for example, if a stone was dyed, heated, or received some other kind of color-enhancing treatment. I’d have to ask at a local place. Mind you, in this example both places could be completely lying, which is a whole other kettle of fish. There are times that the more I learn about buying stones, the less I wish I knew!

I honestly wish there were more local shops to buy supplies from. But they’re all in serious danger outside of last minute “need” purchases if they don’t start labeling their products and their customers’ purchases better, at least when dealing with those of us who are making jewelry as a business. Don’t make me spend 30 minutes having to interrogate someone at the store about what various items are made from. (Is it plated or sterling? Plated? What’s it plated on top of? Brass? Does the brass have lead in it?) Those sessions aren’t fun for me or for your employees. Don’t give me a random bag of supplies I bought there with a receipt that just lists how many items I bought at what prices with no other information. I’ll be cursing you for an hour while I try to reverse engineer what I paid for what so I can price my products.

Ultimately it comes down to customer service. Don’t let the online vendors win. Make sure yours is better.

Because right now, for many brick and mortar supply stores, it just isn’t.

It's Not Nice to Steal

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:26:59 +0000

On most days, I believe that most people want to do something good in the world, whatever they consider that to be. One way of doing that, to some, is to buy their gifts and whatnot from artisans. Handmade treasures bought from a person rather than a corporation (which is not a person, despite recent US Supreme Court rulings).

Finding individual artisans can be haphazard and time-consuming. Sites like Etsy, where the artisans themselves can set up storefronts are popular in that it’s easier to sort through a lot of people’s work in one place. But there are other sites that claim to be gatekeepers, “partnering” with artisans to bring you the finest in handmade goods.

Unfortunately, some of these sellers are (alleged) frauds. They can be hard to detect since you can’t talk directly to the artisans, and a lot of the glowing user feedback on their pages could be completely fake. In some cases a look-up on the Better Business Bureau can reveal the ugly truth. At other times, you can search on the vendor’s name in your favorite search engine to see if you find anything alarming. Of course, even there, you have to be careful, as sometimes people say nasty things about a person or site just to be nasty.

Even on sites dedicated to handmade goods, “resellers” come in with mass-produced, designer items and poison the pool.

It’s enough to make anyone’s head hurt. As one exasperated person put it today, “Why do people have to suck?”

Largest Crystals Ever Found

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:52:32 +0000

Miners accidentally entered the Giant Crystal Cave – Cueva de los Cristales of Mexico, revealing giant gypsym crystals up to 12 meters (39 feet) long. Hopefully the cave can be preserved rather than ransacked! How sad to have a tiny piece of one of those rather than being able to see them in their whole glory.

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