HK Bracelet & Earrings... and a little rant

 A few new Hello Kitty designs I made cuz I got new hello kitty charms in.. again these are dedicated & inspired to 4 special ladies :]

Look out for another jewelry post later tonight, of just regular, non hello kitty stuff :p
 DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY GIVEAWAAAAY, link is in the right sidebar!

Pirate Kitty Bracelet
All Swarovski Crystals rondelles, rounds and bicones. Hello Kitty Pirate charm :D 

Twirly Kitty Earrings
Hello Kitty charms with weird.. metal swirly connector things.. I dunno what to call them! On Sterling Silver Kidney Wire earrings 
In comments of your purchase, please tell me which color.

Iyah asked me to add on an angel HK charm to a bracelet she bought.

Sorry.. rant mode time......  
(some of you may find this pointless, but, if you are a creator of something and sells it..you'll understand)
If you don't make something & sell it.. I honestly suggest you might not want to read this.

Okay, so, I used to sell a lot, and still kind of do, but not as much cuz I've kind have been neglecting it, sell jewelry on this certain forum. 
Occasionally, there will be people asking for discounts on jewelry...I'm just sick of it now...

A. I already priced jewelry & shipping cheaper there by $1 or more, because I know there are a lot of teenagers on that forum. Even shipping is $2....

B. EVERYTHING becomes a factor when buying handmade jewelry. From gas to drive to the post office, down to the last sterling silver pin. The costs of every jewelry piece is based on the materials used & the time to make it, along with a few extra dollars (at least ONE extra $1 on this forum....) thrown in to at least make some profit off of the piece that the maker enjoyed creating. The point of selling the jewelry is to share it with the world and at least make a little money off of it... not lose money, might as well just give it away!

C. Most of the time, there is NO PROFIT made off of shipping! Shipping is based off of packaging supplies and the actual cost to ship what you ordered. 

D. The additional freebies are indeed, free to the buyers, bought by the seller with their own money.
E. Do not ask for some discount on STERLING SILVER jewelry, $5 shipped for a custom Sterling Silver jewelry piece... there's almost no profit in that when you factor in the materials used, packaging, time... and so on. I mean... Compare my prices to other jewelry makers? REALLY? get real... my prices are already dirt cheap prices! Tell me, when have you EVER seen a sterling silver jewelry piece priced at $3 from an actual store you walk into? I sure as heck haven't.

F. When you're purchasing handmade jewelry, one would only hope, you're purchasing the piece not just because you like it, but also because maybe, you would like to support the jewelry maker that created the piece.

I've actually been thinking about closing that shop down.... Sorry, I just REALLY needed to get that off my chest... Feel free to be a hater against what I said :/ but it's what I believe, if you don't like it, too bad, please go somewhere else.

Please.. at least just keep this in mind when purchasing handmade jewelry from me, or even another jewelry seller. Thanks for reading...I at least feel a little better...You know... it's best not to keep things in >.<

7 swarovski crystals:

m0chiii said...

<3 hello kitty !! so cute !!

Laura @ Sawan-Heaven said...

Do what you need to do. If those people are trying to squeeze you for all you've got then you should go with what satisfies your needs. $1.00 is not enough for anything. You could walk around a parking lot for half the time it takes to make something and for more money than that.

Trust me I park at the back of lots and find quite a bit of change just walking into a store. I've been to the coinstar quite a few times with what I've found.

Anonymous said...

Aww Juli, I can say for sure that a lot of people are going to be sad if you close down. But I would understand because if this is troubling you, you need to do what makes you happy.
Your jewelry this post is beautiful btw =)

Anonymous said...

Been a silent reader for a while now, but thought I'd comment because I can understand where you're coming from.

I think it's wonderful that you keep your prices so low, and that you genuinely enjoy the process of jewelry design and creation. I think it's sad that people always try to lowball artists. Artists work hard to produce their pieces!

I think your prices themselves are at their absolute lowest. I'm personally not even seeing how you even make profit at all! I know ladies who make jewelry for a living, and they would absolutely not be able to survive if they priced the way you do ($1 a piece?... no way. You can't even buy a bag of chips for that...). In fact, many of those women are angry at people who price so lowly because they think lower-pricers devalue the art of handmade (which is actually true..)... so woman, VALUE what you make, and make sure your prices reflect that!!

All in all, do what you gotta do. Decide for yourself if this is going to be a hobby or a business. If it's going to be a business, do some research on the jewelry market and make your prices match others on the market (Or at least be close, because you're so off right now) so that all the handmade artists can learn to support each other instead of stomping each other out.

Good luck, love!

Juli said...

thanks girls

Edna said...

Speaking as a blog an occasional blog sale person, I face the same thing you do with your creations. I can't believe people are asking for a lower price when I already had my barely used makeup at a good price and have the nerve to ask for cheaper shipping (my car eats premium gas and if I goto the post office just for that, what's the point?!)

You're right, people are so frugal out there and only thinks of themselves! *hugs*

Anonymous said...

Also a silent reader/buyer, but I've wanted to say that your prices absolutely do NOT to be any lower, especially given your hard work/time/etc. into all the pieces. Of course people want to get as a low of a price as possible, but your prices are low enough.

I'd really hate to see the shop close down. I hope, regardless those stingy buyers out there (I've felt the same pain too!), you will be happy with what you choose to do.(: