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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Mar 25, 2014 14:17:12 GMT
I am stumped by people who refuse to buy from overseas! When I decide whether or not to purchase items from places other than the USA, I factor in the shipping and cost of goods, comparing it with similar deals in the US, and then purchase on that basis. I have bought lace from Belgium, silk kimono panels from Japan, vintage linen fabric from France. Overseas customers also buy vintage collectibles from my Etsy shop. There are a few countries notorious for poor postal services (and I avoid them)--but other than that, I cannot think of a reason NOT to buy overseas.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 25, 2014 15:38:01 GMT
They are good questions Zed. I'm sure there are studies that have been done with some assumptions as explanations.
Lately, here in the US there has been a big push to buy American. It is really geared to try to bring back industries to the US for production especially from countries like China. Now, I don't believe that would stop someone from seeing a beautiful handmade item and not buying it on Etsy just because it's from England or anywhere else. But that's just me. Perhaps people aren't aware of the differences because they don't understand the currency or think it would take a longer time to get there. Wish I had an answer.
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 25, 2014 21:46:53 GMT
It is definitely marketing that has people buying small amounts of firestar instead of nylon. most people don't know they are the same thing or that can dye nylon. I get my silk form dharma in California and as far as I know they are the cheapest. There is a buy local and support small business. Some of the comments people make are just because people feel they need an excuse not to buy. The strange killing sheep for their fleece one is just bizarre.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 25, 2014 22:15:26 GMT
I believe you're right Ann about Dharma being cheapest and that people don't know fire star is nylon and can be dyed. I agree the killing sheep for wool is totally bizarre! The amazing thing is that they have no clue how stupid they sound. Some people don't know when to zip it.
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Post by Teri Berry on Mar 25, 2014 22:58:30 GMT
I do go out of my way to support local (i.e. Surrey) businesses, and even pay a little extra as I want to see our community thrive but that does not stop me purchasing overseas, especially for something novel that I can't get closer to home. On a related note, when I looked into purchasing product liability insurance last year I discovered it would cost double to include the US, I could sell to anywhere else in the world but a lot of insurers refused to consider covering sales to the US So maybe it's just as well some Americans are refusing to purchase beyond their shores...?
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Post by MTRuth on Mar 25, 2014 23:21:25 GMT
That's because Americans sue at the drop of a hat!
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Post by zara on Mar 25, 2014 23:59:08 GMT
So, European felters are aiming for non-American women over 25 with disposable incomes...? ;-)
But, seriosly, something that just struck me is the potential language barrier. At least for us Europeans. I started a blog just over a year ago and initially wrote only in Swedish thinking that Swedes would be my primary audience. However, the blog statistics showed that many viewers were from outside Sweden (probably finding their way there via pinterest) and I have now started adding at least an English summary to my posts. So, I guess our choice of marketing strategy also has to take into account if we are primarily aiming for the domestic or international market, especially when we venture onto the internet. Worldwide Etsy or national versions of Etsy (there are a few to choose from in Scandinavia at least), Facebook posts written in English or not, webbpage translated to how many languages... etc. Just a thought.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 26, 2014 0:04:30 GMT
A very poignant thought Zara. We do live in a global economy!
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 26, 2014 0:44:57 GMT
I have a translator in my google tool bar because I go to several non English blogs and sites. I noticed that facebook is offers translation with many non English posts. Sometimes it take a little work to figure out the translation but it works pretty well. On the Canadian fiber sellers page they translate all the posts to either French or English.
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Post by zed on Mar 26, 2014 10:31:01 GMT
I did wonder if the 'buying locally' thing was a consideration, which makes perfect sense for buying wool, supporting local breeders will benefit everyone. I wish there was more info on buying wool, locks etc from local breeders here.
But silk and processed fibres have probably already come from halfway around the world, and the 'local' sellers probably bought it cheap from World of Wool anyway.
One thing that always influences me when listing things, is postage prices. I do try to explain this, keeping under 100g total means the package is around £3 to US, but for £1.50 more, it can be upto 250g, which economically makes far more sense. How do you get this kind of message across, Marilyn?
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 26, 2014 12:59:14 GMT
All you can do is list your shipping prices. List the fist price and then put something like Save on postage up to 250g for 4.50. I don't have the pound symbol on my key board. The other thing to do for Americans is to convert the grams to ounces. Many fiber people in the USA still work in ounces. I notice it more with spinners than felters. Non fiber people all seem to work in ounces in the States as far as I can tell.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 26, 2014 15:14:34 GMT
Zed, I think Ann's suggestion is a good one. No long explanations needed. The simpler the better. People here do think in terms of ounces and pounds and shipping is shipping. You could offer free shipping on purchases over a specific amount or faster shipping for a higher price. Of course, if you offer free shipping you'll have to calculate a percentage of that into the cost of the product. But free shipping is a big incentive for a lot of people.
I'm sure people appreciate that you are trying to keep shipping costs down and are earth friendly. But in the end, they just want their items ASAP. It's unfortunate but we live in n immediate gratification society.
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Post by felicity on Mar 26, 2014 16:19:53 GMT
As the most of my Etsy customers are from US or Canada I give sizes in "inch" (and "cm"). But being a very "metrical" person it's a complete mystery for me: what is correct 5 2/7" or 5.3"? Any advice please!
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Post by MTRuth on Mar 26, 2014 16:38:43 GMT
Felcity - there shouldn't be 5 2/7 in inches. I would either go with 5 1/4" or 5.25. I would say that the normal US person looks at it and says a little bigger than 5". I would keep to measurements such as even whole numbers, or add 1/4", 1/2", or 3/4". People aren't going to quibble over the difference of a 1/4" of an inch. So just round up or round down depending on what the conversion from metric is.
I agree that people in the US are turned off by using grams. They don't know what it means or how much it represents.
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Post by felicity on Mar 26, 2014 17:15:04 GMT
Thank you Ruth! I will stick to quarters then...
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