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Question for the ladies that sell cards- I used to sell hairbows at craft shows. I always ended up with a few bows that just did not sell for whatever reason. Do you have the same thing happen with cards???
Do you then have to store cards, for example Easter cards that do not sell- till next year???
Let me clarify... can you make a card with SU! matching paper and inks and use TAC or some other company that allows it and sell them at a store? Is it just their images (would that include patterned paper?) that are under the policy or is it everything?
Ok- I'll preface this by admiting I'm not an SU demo, but my understanding is that you have to give SU credit for images of stamps but not for patterned paper. I wouldn't have even thought about giving credit for a patterned paper collection. As I am fairly confident that they don't copyright the paper patterns it's ok to not give SU credit for them- it's the copyright that you have to worry about. Being an angel is so much less complicated!
__________________ Amanda Allison - TAC angel #3779
Lovin every minute of it! www.amandaallison.ismyangel.net
I've sold 4x4 tile costers, A set of 4 had stamped and coloured tied with raffia, and a 4x4 card to match. I've sold these at craft sales and such, they're a big hit in the fall/winter ones as they are great gifts. Just another idea, not sure if it helps any
I sell alot of cards at the office...I do it when time allows... I know that halloween is coming so I will make alot of them and bring them in to show a few ladies, and then they show others and they place orders.. Last year I made 25 cards for halloween and I didn't end up with one for personal use...I sold them for $5 each as they were elaborate...Usually I get between 2.50-5 per card depending on how much work is involved....I will also make cards for ladies who order them for their family in advance...birthday, wedding, shower, new baby.. I have an order now for wedding shower invites... Just make sure you don't undersell yourself.... Also, don't show people cards that you don't want to reproduce alot of...I did that with a very detailed card, and the woman wanted 40 of them...so that was a project... Most of all, enjoy doing it!
I totally do not understand angel policies. Don't recopy it again, I read it, several times - I just do not get the theory behind it/them. I don't understand how/why a company you buy products from thinks they have the right to tell you what to do or not to do with them.
Isn't it kind of like buying regular coffee and decaf coffee but having the coffee manufacturer tell you - You can only use regular coffee in one pot, decaf in a separate pot and you may not at any time mix the regular and decaf together whether it be in bean form, ground form or liquid form. Underlying theory - We want you to either be loaded with caffeine or just pretending to be a coffee drinker if you use decaf - that is me by the way. Or like envelope manufactures stating that you may not add any embellishment to the envies. You may only place the recipient's address, your return address and a postage stamp on our envelopes. Any other adornment will not only aggravate your local post office but it will also violate our sticky envy policy.
Obviously I could go on and I promise you, I am still not saying this out of sassiness - I just don't get why someone can tell you how to use something you are paying for.
By the way ma'am, that card that I made, but you are *buying *from me says Happy Holidays - so please do not even think of writing "Merry Chirstmas" in it, lol ;-)
Blushing - Sorry Romancechick - I was so busy laughing about angels that I neglected to answer your original question.
I sell cards to immediate family (not mom or MIL) for $1 each b/c they are family. Or I tell them to just get me a gift card from local craft stores to support my obsession. Anyone else I tell $3/card unless it's a bulk order. But I do more gifts of cards than anything else. Lately I've sold a lot of the altered clipboards for $6 (too low?) and matching jumbo clips for $2. People at DH's work started buying them for teacher gifts. Those are just paper, ink, die cuts and ribbon - no stamped images, no angel policy worries.
I totally do not understand angel policies. Don't recopy it again, I read it, several times - I just do not get the theory behind it/them. I don't understand how/why a company you buy products from thinks they have the right to tell you what to do or not to do with them.
Isn't it kind of like buying regular coffee and decaf coffee but having the coffee manufacturer tell you - You can only use regular coffee in one pot, decaf in a separate pot and you may not at any time mix the regular and decaf together whether it be in bean form, ground form or liquid form. Underlying theory - We want you to either be loaded with caffeine or just pretending to be a coffee drinker if you use decaf - that is me by the way. Or like envelope manufactures stating that you may not add any embellishment to the envies. You may only place the recipient's address, your return address and a postage stamp on our envelopes. Any other adornment will not only aggravate your local post office but it will also violate our sticky envy policy.
Obviously I could go on and I promise you, I am still not saying this out of sassiness - I just don't get why someone can tell you how to use something you are paying for.
By the way ma'am, that card that I made, but you are *buying *from me says Happy Holidays - so please do not even think of writing "Merry Chirstmas" in it, lol ;-)
I don't think you're being sassy! Your point is very well taken with me. I love SU, but if I put out nearly $30 for a set of stamps, why should they be able to say when and where I can sell my hand stamped creations? Sure, I understand the legal aspect of the image copyright, but common sense just tells me there is something morally wrong with this policy.
This is one of my top reasons for becoming a demo for The Angel Company-TAC. They have what I consider to be a fair angel policy. My understanding is that the company was started by a woman who was a SU demo who felt the same way as us and did something about it--she started her own company!
When you purchase something like a stamp, you own the physical stamp - but the company who sold the stamp still "owns" the art. They paid the artist for developing the concept and creating the the art. They paid to convert that art into a stamp. You just bought the right to use the art in a manner for which it is intended when you purchased the stamp.
Since they "own" the art (its copyrighted) - they have the right to control how that art is used. For example, if you are selling stamps - you want to prohibit anyone from scanning your image and using or making it available electronically. Because then you would not sell so many stamps right?
The company that owns the art can set the restrictions in its use. Some have almost none as long as you actually stamp and don't mechanically reproduce, some require a credit on the back. SU! just has (IMHO) a somewhat more extreme vision of ownership - which frankly I never understood the marketing advantage of and prevents me personally from buying SU.
If you flip this over and look at the artist's side, if you draw art and sell it to a company you sell all rights to it. That means the artist can never again use that image for anything (blog banner, patterned paper, business card, book illustration, etc.) unless they get express permission from the company that bought it. Even though the artist created it - they sold all rights to use it and no long own the art they created.
I do understand that part. But reality says there is no real control on the artist's or manufacturer's part. They can like it, say it, print it, but once it's purchased, it's beyond their control. I would 'think' that people buying these products are doing so for the enjoyment of creation, not to scam those who put the work into creation and production. Then again, I'm a decaf person :-)
I understand the policy and follow it, but I hate it. When (if) SU ever joins the 21st century with an open angel policy, I'll have my demo paperwork in that very day. Until then, when people comment about my SU stamps, I say, I love their stamp quality, their images, BUT.......................
And I know other similar companies have open angel policies, I just don't like the stamps as much.
I understand the policy and follow it, but I hate it. When (if) SU ever joins the 21st century with an open angel policy, I'll have my demo paperwork in that very day. Until then, when people comment about my SU stamps, I say, I love their stamp quality, their images, BUT.......................
And I know other similar companies have open angel policies, I just don't like the stamps as much.
It really is a simple premise on SU part...if they allowed an OPEN angel policy and allowed thier stamp images anywhere, what would prevent people from setting up shop and selling cards everywhere- SU is in the home party business they want people to contact demos and stamp...if you could go to the corner store or log in and buy a bunch of cards with SU images then why bother learning to stamp...
They don't say you can't sell your cards - they simply put restrictions on them so they don't flood the market and "devalue" the items that people like to sell...by limiting where and when THIER copyrighted image can be sold they place a value on what people to with thier images...
Think about walking into a craft fair where people have spent a lot of time on their creations and looking at a handstamped card that the person has priced for $3 and saying "well i can get that card or something very similar for $1 on so and so's blog or on E-bay" - devaluation...
__________________ Jenni -Happy SU Demo - MY GALLERY & MY CHAOTIC LIFE One kid makes you a Parent - Two makes you a Referee
How about tell everyone to e-mail Stampin' Up! about this open Angel policy and if they get enough response to it, they might change it to our favor. Its worth a try!
What I'm working on setting up is an online gallery of work I've done. And then I will have an email form that they can send in requests for handmade cards. The gallery will be there examples and I will still show 2 or 3 samples created specifically for their needs in person. I'm just wanting the online part to be a beginning step.
__________________ Amber Brady
SU Demonstrator
Aurora, CO
How about tell everyone to e-mail Stampin' Up! about this open Angel policy and if they get enough response to it, they might change it to our favor. Its worth a try!
not everyone wants an open angel policy...so why some people don't like it - others do
__________________ Jenni -Happy SU Demo - MY GALLERY & MY CHAOTIC LIFE One kid makes you a Parent - Two makes you a Referee
It really is a simple premise on SU part...if they allowed an OPEN angel policy and allowed thier stamp images anywhere, what would prevent people from setting up shop and selling cards everywhere- SU is in the home party business they want people to contact demos and stamp...if you could go to the corner store or log in and buy a bunch of cards with SU images then why bother learning to stamp...
They don't say you can't sell your cards - they simply put restrictions on them so they don't flood the market and "devalue" the items that people like to sell...by limiting where and when THIER copyrighted image can be sold they place a value on what people to with thier images...
Think about walking into a craft fair where people have spent a lot of time on their creations and looking at a handstamped card that the person has priced for $3 and saying "well i can get that card or something very similar for $1 on so and so's blog or on E-bay" - devaluation...
I just believe that theory totally underestimates the depth and variety of customers. I have worked in various parts of the craft industry for years and I have found that there are three types of women: some who like to make crafts, some who like to buy finished crafts, and some who don't like crafts either way.
The number of women who walk through a craft show each year is such a small percentage compared to those who don't, but would like to purchase cards at all times of the year--not just on the few days that there is a craft show going on.
I am the first type of woman--the only reason I ever buy a handmade card is because I like the design and want to keep it as a sample. Even if I could buy cards for $1, I would still stamp my own. The second type will buy cards at a craft show because she likes the way they look, but has no interest or time to make her own. IMHO, having more cards around that have the SU logo on the back would make many more people aware of the company. I know there would be a few drawbacks, but it seems mostly like a win, win situation to me.
I firmly believe that if SU would broaden their angel policy they would greatly increase their sales as well as their demos' sales.
I don't mean to open a can of worms, but given the angel policy, I don't understand why you don't have to give credit for the patterned paper. If you are using SU paper, isn't that their art work? In some cases, paper matches a stamp set. It seems like you should have to give the same credit when using the beautiful paper!
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If you look closely, you will see the SU copyright on the patterned papers as well. They are copyrighted images, covered under the same policy as the stamped images, I'm sure.
I just believe that theory totally underestimates the depth and variety of customers. I have worked in various parts of the craft industry for years and I have found that there are three types of women: some who like to make crafts, some who like to buy finished crafts, and some who don't like crafts either way.
The number of women who walk through a craft show each year is such a small percentage compared to those who don't, but would like to purchase cards at all times of the year--not just on the few days that there is a craft show going on.
I am the first type of woman--the only reason I ever buy a handmade card is because I like the design and want to keep it as a sample. Even if I could buy cards for $1, I would still stamp my own. The second type will buy cards at a craft show because she likes the way they look, but has no interest or time to make her own. IMHO, having more cards around that have the SU logo on the back would make many more people aware of the company. I know there would be a few drawbacks, but it seems mostly like a win, win situation to me.
I firmly believe that if SU would broaden their angel policy they would greatly increase their sales as well as their demos' sales.
I agree with you. Most of my friends will apprecaite handmade crafts nut not going to make them by themselves. So if SU open up the policy, then the current costumers (including demo) will most likely to buy more new stuff to make new stuff to sell, and that should increase the business.
Well, I am so new to stamping, not a demo, so my words don't really count ;)
Wow this is all really confusing isn't it? I have "gone the way" of taking all my mounted stamps and making them unmounted. But, I did not keep track of all my stamps (the companies who made them) and some of my wooden stamps do NOT have a company printed on the sides. So, there is not way I could figure out where these stamps came from. I started unmounting them about 3 years ago, and will never go back to all wooden stamps, but I realize now that I made a mistake by NOT keeping track of the manufacturers. I've made 200 and GIVEN them to the nursing home where my Mom is, for the resident's birthdays. As far as selling.....too confusing. You might know it...just when you find something you LOVE to do, how can you make any money out of it with all the restrictions?
It really is a simple premise on SU part...if they allowed an OPEN angel policy and allowed thier stamp images anywhere, what would prevent people from setting up shop and selling cards everywhere- SU is in the home party business they want people to contact demos and stamp...if you could go to the corner store or log in and buy a bunch of cards with SU images then why bother learning to stamp...
They don't say you can't sell your cards - they simply put restrictions on them so they don't flood the market and "devalue" the items that people like to sell...by limiting where and when THIER copyrighted image can be sold they place a value on what people to with thier images...
Think about walking into a craft fair where people have spent a lot of time on their creations and looking at a handstamped card that the person has priced for $3 and saying "well i can get that card or something very similar for $1 on so and so's blog or on E-bay" - devaluation...
But there are people out there who buy handmade cards and have no intention of ever buying stamps..........and I would surely buy a LOT more of SU stamps if I could sell them where I wanted.
I just believe that theory totally underestimates the depth and variety of customers. I have worked in various parts of the craft industry for years and I have found that there are three types of women: some who like to make crafts, some who like to buy finished crafts, and some who don't like crafts either way.
The number of women who walk through a craft show each year is such a small percentage compared to those who don't, but would like to purchase cards at all times of the year--not just on the few days that there is a craft show going on.
I am the first type of woman--the only reason I ever buy a handmade card is because I like the design and want to keep it as a sample. Even if I could buy cards for $1, I would still stamp my own. The second type will buy cards at a craft show because she likes the way they look, but has no interest or time to make her own. IMHO, having more cards around that have the SU logo on the back would make many more people aware of the company. I know there would be a few drawbacks, but it seems mostly like a win, win situation to me.
I firmly believe that if SU would broaden their angel policy they would greatly increase their sales as well as their demos' sales.
I agree with you. Most of my friends will apprecaite handmade crafts nut not going to make them by themselves. So if SU open up the policy, then the current costumers (including demo) will most likely to buy more new stuff to make new stuff to sell, and that should increase the business.
Well, I am so new to stamping, not a demo, so my words don't really count ;)
Your words should count very much, especially since you are backing them with your spending dollars!;)
Just out of curiousity, if you buy something (say patern paper & stickers) from local craft stories such as Michael's, and decide to make a project and sell it, do you need to ask the permission from Michael's or the company who made the products?
More and more :confused: :confused:
Just out of curiousity, if you buy something (say patern paper & stickers) from local craft stories such as Michael's, and decide to make a project and sell it, do you need to ask the permission from Michael's or the company who made the products?
More and more :confused: :confused:
I just believe that theory totally underestimates the depth and variety of customers. I have worked in various parts of the craft industry for years and I have found that there are three types of women: some who like to make crafts, some who like to buy finished crafts, and some who don't like crafts either way.
I totally agree with you...
I have customers who buy stamps from me as a demo...
I have customers who come to my house and do Stamp-a-Stacks but have never bought a single item from me in regards to crafting supplies...
I have customers who buy or commission finished cards and other items from me...
I make MORE $$ from my customers who have never bought anything SU vs my SU customers...because they know my cards are special and they can't get them just anywhere...
I guess I see in my persective is that fact that people can't just hop on the internet and buy handmade cards with SU images make MY work a tad more valuable BECAUSE it isn't readily available.
I would rather have the rappaport with someone buying my cards directly from me - in the long run chances are they would buy more and more vs...just buying one in a store somewhere...
Women who are into crafty things are the most likely to attend craft fairs and realize the value of work it takes to make something...likewise if they are looking at buying handmade cards they probably couldn't care less what the image was as long as they liked it...
Another thing to realize is that while SU could get their name out more by allowing an Open Angel policy - they have NO CONTROL as to the quality of the cards with their images being sold...I don't consider myself a top quailty dirty dozen stamper but I do decent work...I have participated in lots of swaps and while most cards I have received are great there always seems to be a few that leave me "puzzled" - by limiting the scope of where and when people can sell card with the images also limits the impact on their name...say someone decided to sell cards that were of poor quality (crappy cardstock, crooked layers, horrible coloring with regular crayons - I have seen all of this and more) in a public retail establishment where you do have a greater array of people walking through - people that don't know of the SU name could infer that the card they see is indicitive of all SU work because of the image used - KWIM...
There are lots and lots of other stamp companies that are more restrictive then SU and even some of those that are less restrictive in general may have stamps designed by certain designers or are licensed and you can't sell those images at all...
__________________ Jenni -Happy SU Demo - MY GALLERY & MY CHAOTIC LIFE One kid makes you a Parent - Two makes you a Referee
Just out of curiousity, if you buy something (say patern paper & stickers) from local craft stories such as Michael's, and decide to make a project and sell it, do you need to ask the permission from Michael's or the company who made the products?
More and more :confused: :confused:
Depends on the company that makes said item...some companies have a full OPEN angel policy which basically is once you buy it from us we dont' care what you do with it...to a limited policy of you can use it and sell it but you can't sell it on the 'net or in a retail environment AND if you do want to sell items made with thier products you need permission (EK Success is one such company)
Other larger companies that have different designers or licensing may have restrictions on certain items and not on other items.
If in doubt check out a companies full Angel policy...while there are lists out there for "angel" companies some do not provide the FULL extent to thier angel policy - they just say the company is an Angel company - which allows you to profit from using their products BUT MANY companies have cavets about selling items made with thier products in a retail or internet fashion
__________________ Jenni -Happy SU Demo - MY GALLERY & MY CHAOTIC LIFE One kid makes you a Parent - Two makes you a Referee
Another thing to realize is that while SU could get their name out more by allowing an Open Angel policy - they have NO CONTROL as to the quality of the cards with their images being sold...I don't consider myself a top quailty dirty dozen stamper but I do decent work...I have participated in lots of swaps and while most cards I have received are great there always seems to be a few that leave me "puzzled" - by limiting the scope of where and when people can sell card with the images also limits the impact on their name...say someone decided to sell cards that were of poor quality (crappy cardstock, crooked layers, horrible coloring with regular crayons - I have seen all of this and more) in a public retail establishment where you do have a greater array of people walking through - people that don't know of the SU name could infer that the card they see is indicitive of all SU work because of the image used - KWIM...
I am not trying to start a fight about this, but is it possible that people sell "poor quality (crappy cardstock, crooked layers, horrible coloring with regular crayons - I have seen all of this and more) in a public retail establishment" are not intened to do that, but just because they have not reach the "master" level of making cards/stamping? I am so new to stamping (but love it), so I don't think my skill is anywhere near you guys, but I do want other people to like my work (thought they are just "Level 1" work). I also think people like to do crafts are really into this, making a little money here & there just a good bonus....
Just my 2 cents.
I think we are all at different levels of ability. Of the swaps I have been in I recieved cards that were 10 times better than mine and was certainly hoping that there was not a person who "judged" my cards that way! I stamp because I love it, it does not mean I am an artist by no means. But it saddens me when people think "poor quality (crappy cardstock, crooked layers, horrible coloring with regular crayons - I have seen all of this and more) in a public retail establishment" this way.
selling cards
