Etsy

Barklessdog · January 04, 2012, 06:57:13 AM

Some of you might remember that my daughter started selling Zombie hats on Etsy awhile back. Well, things kind of took off with her hats, which have become a mother daughter adventure, my daughter designs them & my wife sews them.

They sold over 100 hats in the month of December & sales continue. They are having trouble keeping up with the demand. Funny it started out as a high school class economics project where my daughter was supposed to start a fictitious business.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunnyMomo
Skyrim inspired hat

Anyway, Etsy has turned out to be great resource for small handmade products. There are very few musical instrument builders on the site. Still their costs are less than Ebay & there is a lot less competition. Seems like it could be a good place for a lot of you guys to sell custom made bass products ?

Barklessdog · January 04, 2012, 06:58:46 AM

Etsy Bass Guitar Search-

http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?ref=auto&q=bass+guitar&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

chromium · January 04, 2012, 10:19:26 AM

They do nice work! Like the Skyrim hat

(must... resist.. Skyrim! I burned waaay too many hours on Oblivion....)

Thanks for the Etsy tip... hadn't visited there before, and will definitely try it.

Ebay is expensive, but still good for marketing. If they were to set up their own site and payment mechanism (via bluehost/paypal or whatever) they could throw a few hats up on Ebay and start making people, blogs, etc aware of their site. Before long, they will need the auction sites less and less. Ebay allows that as long as the auction copy phrased along the lines of "...for more info, please see the manufacturer's site at..." Won't help the supply issue, but maybe they could stand to raise the price a bit?

Great idea, and I wish them luck with it!

Barklessdog · January 05, 2012, 05:37:23 AM

Quote from: chromium on January 04, 2012, 10:19:26 AM
They do nice work! Like the Skyrim hat (must... resist.. Skyrim! I burned waaay too many hours on Oblivion....)

Thanks for the Etsy tip... hadn't visited there before, and will definitely try it.

Ebay is expensive, but still good for marketing. If they were to set up their own site and payment mechanism (via bluehost/paypal or whatever) they could throw a few hats up on Ebay and start making people, blogs, etc aware of their site. Before long, they will need the auction sites less and less. Ebay allows that as long as the auction copy phrased along the lines of "...for more info, please see the manufacturer's site at..." Won't help the supply issue, but maybe they could stand to raise the price a bit?

Great idea, and I wish them luck with it!

Yeah they might try Ebay, & thats a goos idea of getting more traffic to Etsy. Etsy has so much cool artwork, you can easily get lost there. My wife has been making Skyrim Helms non stop. She is having trouble keeping up with the demand. The Basenji hats are really popular too.
They are about an obsessive group as we are here. Not a lot of merchandise for Basenjis.

Denis · January 05, 2012, 06:04:34 AM

That Skyrim hat is awesome!

I've bought a few things on Etsy and lots of people I know in the Rockabilly scene (women, mostly) sell stuff on it.
I did a seach and found this Thunderbird!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/86320541/custom-handmade-bass-guitar?ref=sr_list_10&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=bass+guitar&ga_view_type=list&ga_ship_to=US&ga_order=price_desc&ga_page=0&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

Barklessdog · January 05, 2012, 07:56:58 AM

Quote from: Denis on January 05, 2012, 06:04:34 AM
That Skyrim hat is awesome!

I've bought a few things on Etsy and lots of people I know in the Rockabilly scene (women, mostly) sell stuff on it.
I did a seach and found this Thunderbird!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/86320541/custom-handmade-bass-guitar?ref=sr_list_10&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=bass+guitar&ga_view_type=list&ga_ship_to=US&ga_order=price_desc&ga_page=0&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

I love Cocobolo, really nice wood but toxic to work with. Nice bass.

Denis · January 05, 2012, 08:38:18 AM

Literally toxic?

Dave W · January 05, 2012, 09:34:24 AM

Quote from: Denis on January 05, 2012, 08:38:18 AM
Literally toxic?

Not quite. It's one of the rosewoods, which give some people problems when working them. A much higher percentage of people have severe reactions to cocobolo dust than with most other rosewoods. Severe respiratory problems and severe rashes. I haven't heard of anyone dying from it but it's possible. If you become sensitized to it, you need to stop working it for good. Even using gloves and a respirator, you're still taking a big risk.

uwe · January 05, 2012, 10:21:54 AM

Wenge is supposed to be like that too. Once the wood for nearly everything with Warwick, it is now relegated to fretboard use.

Barklessdog · January 05, 2012, 11:47:46 AM

Quote from: Dave W on January 05, 2012, 09:34:24 AM
Not quite. It's one of the rosewoods, which give some people problems when working them. A much higher percentage of people have severe reactions to cocobolo dust than with most other rosewoods. Severe respiratory problems and severe rashes. I haven't heard of anyone dying from it but its possible. If you become sensitized to it, you need to stop working it for good. Even using gloves and a respirator, you're still taking a big risk.

It's also a very oily wood & the resin can cause severe skin rashes-it should be a sealed wood if used on a bass (which is difficult due to its oily nature). It also has the tendency to bleed into other woods if combined. It is supposed to be a learned process that Alembic (comes to mind) has done great work with. Still a gorgeous wood, not too over the top like deceased lung burls.

Dave W · January 05, 2012, 09:08:40 PM

Quote from: Barklessdog on January 05, 2012, 11:47:46 AM
It's also a very oily wood & the resin can cause severe skin rashes-it should be a sealed wood if used on a bass (which is difficult due to its oily nature). It also has the tendency to bleed into other woods if combined. It is supposed to be a learned process that Alembic (comes to mind) has done great work with. Still a gorgeous wood, not too over the top like deceased lung burls.

All rosewoods are oily and resinous. AFAIK there are plenty of unsealed cocobolo fretboards out there. No doubt there are a few people who can't use them without getting a rash, but it's not a widespread problem. The real problems come when working it -- cutting, planing, sanding etc.

hieronymous · January 06, 2012, 12:25:51 AM

John, the hat business sounds very cool! My wife loves Etsy, in fact that's where she found my petrified mammoth tusk pick.

uwe · January 06, 2012, 10:41:42 AM

Quote from: Dave W on January 05, 2012, 09:08:40 PM
All rosewoods are oily and resinous. AFAIK there are plenty of unsealed cocobolo fretboards out there. No doubt there are a few people who can't use them without getting a rash, but it's not a widespread problem. The real problems come when working it -- cutting, planing, sanding etc.

I have a cocobolo fretboard, unsealed, on my LP Smartwood. No issues with it whatsoever though I do have other plant allergies. Looks nice too with all those swirls.