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April 28, 2006
Its was a dark and stormy night
More rain and storms here today...awesome!
The computer is back, but not for long...Brian did a good job talking to the Dell troubleshooting dudes (having done that same job at Dell for a year, he knows the secret handshake), they've come to the conclusion that the cooling fan is not working, and therefore is a fire hazard, and therefore will be sending me a brand new computer...rock on! But it won't be here for a few days, so to keep from burning down the house, I'll be on and off here sporadically, and let the thing cool down...
I'm in the middle of downloading yesterday's emails and responding accordingly...
I ended up doing yardwork yesterday, instead of making beads...got some pretty cool pics of creatures as well...will post those eventually...
And I have a question for ya'll...I was talking to a friend yesterday who took a class with lots of other beadmakers over the weekend and the subject of eBay came up...another beadmaker said that compared to this time last year, there were HALF of the bead auctions on eBay as there were last year...I don't follow eBay all that much, but would you agree with that? I assumed there are MORE folks out there making beads, are there less out there now? What's the pulse...those of ya'll who keep up with the trends and movers/shakers in the beadworld - what is your opinion? Are there less auctions? Is Austin Hamilton causing problems for the unestablished beadmakers? Are more folks just selling directly on their websites? I'm just curious, I'm not writing a book or anything...was just surprised...you?
Posted by Donner at April 28, 2006 08:20 AM
Comments
Hi Donna,
I am not sure I agree that there are half as many bead auctions on Ebay as a year ago but the scene is changing. Austin Hamilton does suck in the buyers who are just starting to buy but I would hope that the veteran bidders would see them for what they are. Then there are the listings of the Chinese beads..........basically you have to sort through a lot more chaf (sp?) to get to the wheat as the farmers say. I expend a lot of time and effort seeking out new beadmakers who produce quality work but the bottom line is it takes time. I do enjoy visiting the beadmakers websites and like to buy there when I can but that is tricky too with limited quantities and plenty of competition. On the other hand that's probably a good thing as the beadmaker will likely continue to make and sell beads.
While I am on this subject I have a question for you. Most of the time when you list a new crop of beads I am unable to get to the page by clicking from your homepage. When I do, I get the page for the previous group of beads. By the time I can get to the right page, usually hours later they are all sold. Clicking on the "Ready For Picking" icon doesn't work either nor does refreshing the page. I am on AOL is that the reason?
The Hipster Doofus beads arrived! What FUN they are going to be!
Best,
Mary
Posted by: Mary Hall at April 28, 2006 11:10 AM
Thanks for the feedback Mary...I'm always interested in what ya'll are seeing out there..!
As far as the updating of the new beads on the RfP page, although I do not have AOL, I used to work with it years ago at the computer game company I worked at...What we found is, due to the number of users on AOL, they have to do what they have to do in order to keep the info flowing..one way they do that is to not refresh each page that you visit automatically (there's a setting in IE that allows you to change that, i guess AOL doesn't allow it? I dunno)..What that means is, each time you visit a page you've visited previously, like my RfP page, its up to YOU to refresh the page...So, all you have to do is hit the 'refresh' button, or whatever AOL calls it...(on Netscape and Mozilla its called 'reload', on IE its 'refresh')...You might also have luck if you try 'F5' on the control menu...that clears your cache and uploads the page as new...I'm not sure why your refresh isn't working, in the past it always has...I typically do an F5 if I cannot see a page, tho...If I had as much traffic as AOL does, I'd do what I had to to make surfing as smooth as possible for everyone as well..I can't fault them for doing it, but it does cause confusion for ya'll who are trying to see the beads...I get this question a LOT and its always from my AOL customers...as long as ya'll know you have to refresh, you're good to go...I guess???
Posted by: donner at April 28, 2006 11:35 AM
Here's my two cents...I think E-bay is busier than ever. YES, Austin Hamilton makes it hard on new artists and BUYERS. BUT I believe that "the cream always rises to the top"! Websites are fun, however I agree with Mary, the competition is tough. AND YES MARY IT'S AOL, I LEFT THEM CAUSE IT BECAM SUCH A PAIN IN THE ASSS!!!
Posted by: Jaime at April 28, 2006 01:43 PM
LOL Jaime tell us how you feel about AOL, don't be shy, don't beat around the bush .... LOL ;)
Posted by: Coleen at April 28, 2006 06:51 PM
Donna, I rarely buy on eBay anymore. I do browse at what's out there from time-to-time for kicks. However, I much prefer to buy direct from my favorites' websites :)! I really like to buy the smaller bead sets that I can create one piece from and go on to something else, rather than having 20-25 in a bead set that you're forever trying to use up. Personally, I prefer having the one-of-a-kind piece! Keep making beads and putting them on your "Ready for Pickin" page, chickie poo!!
Vanda
Posted by: Vanda White at April 28, 2006 07:37 PM