Oh this is just so not cool.
~sigh~
This "artist" on Esty is using other artists' photo's to advertise for custom orders.
There may be two of the dolls in the large offering that are hers but the rest are definately not hers as I recognize many from Tinkerbell Nursery, Golden Giggles, Babies from Heaven's Garden and Melissa George Dolls.
Not cool!
I have not contacted this seller yet but I am about to.
I know that some of the gals from Doll Fan have written to her and get pretty vague answers.
I'll let you know what happens.
By the way, there is a place to report Etsy shops on the left side of the page at the bottom.
I will be doing that soon but I want to communicate with her first.
Posts
I sell on Etsy, my shop is a Nostalgia Shop & Fabric House but I do use Etsy and Ebay if I want to buy a reborn baby for my collection. I actually had this seller you mentioned in my favorites, so thank you for the heads up on her dolls! I removed her as a favorite. That is scary. It makes it hard to know who to buy from. I just started reborning myself, ( as I'm sure you know since I've asked you questions in another thread) and someday hope to try and sell one when I feel like it's good enough too. I am really working hard at getting my babies to look nice and do them right and have put a lot of time and work into them. So I can't imagine how frustrating it would be for well established Artists to have to deal with people claiming to have made dolls they didn't! I would be really upset if that happened to me. Also, I have another blog I started too, to talk about my reborning ( for fun and to look back at progress) and I try very hard to list all the names of the kits and artists if I use stock photos. As for this gal, she should be talked to about her Etsy advertising for sure. That's false advertising! As a shop owner myself, that really bothers me. :( Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteHello again Rhonda!
DeleteIt is frustrating for artists but more so for collectors. I don't want to see WHAT the doll could look like (done by another artist) I want to see what the doll LOOKS LIKE right now when I consider an adoption. Remember, I am a big collector myself so from my collector side, I feel this is very wrong.
She says she's been reborning for 10 years so she MUST have pictures of her own work. I see she had a couple of dolls listed that are her own work. That is a step forward :) And I see that she has added credit to the artists but I still feel it is wrong business practices. In this case, it's comparing apples to oranges. Mercedes to Toyota.
The BEST way to sell is to create your doll, take good pictures and do a listing for that doll and state that you are open to custom orders (if you are). It's as simple as that.
Hugs!
I agree that when it comes to the actual ad, there really is no place for the prototype pictures to be in said ad for a doll that has been completed by a new artisit. The ad is for "that" doll, and at that stage, stock photos have nothing to do with the baby being put up for adoption.
DeleteI have used stock photos on my blog to show comparisons as I work or to show what a kit looks like finished and I also use naked kits too, but I think after reading this, in the future when using the stock photo for comparisons I will make sure and state what my purpose is for using them, just to be clear.
However, for "selling" I wouldn't use any photos that weren't mine. I would think that if an artist is wanting to do custom orders that it would make sense to make a few babies to have for stock, then place a few ads using the babies made as the examples of what your work is going to be for the custom request. That is the best representation of what the custom baby will look like. I hope that made sense. Anyway, I agree with what your are saying here. And yes, it is like comparing Mercedes to Toyota, and to be honest, some babies on ebay look like Yugo! I've found you have to REALLY read the ads and ask questions.
The first baby I bought is really cute but now that I am making them it is lacking some details and it's weighted all wrong. She doesn't flop at all, she's like a brick. This really is an ART and each artist is on their own plain of expertise. It's a case where time served making them really shows in the babies.
I love your work and your tutorials! Thanks for sharing your tips!! Your an awesome mentor and I "aspire" to "someday" be half as good. :)
I do have one question, would it be a good idea to list in an ad that I am a new artist or beginning artist? Would that just shoot myself in the foot? And, what guidelines would you recommend using for pricing a baby? I don't want to go high and look like a fool, yet I don't want to price it low and set a early on standard for being a low priced artist. I'm struggling with figuring out pricing as I get to a place where I want to try and put a baby up for adoption. I really want to feel confident in my pricing. Any tips or advice on that?
I have received messages back from Anna, the owner of the Etsy Shop. She's been making dolls for a lot of years but had an actual walk-in-store and did not use the internet at all. She was poorly advised when setting up her shop.
DeleteI do believe that she wants to do the right thing and will eventually, but it may take her some time to get it all sorted as the person on her team (there are a few ladies involved in this) who does the computer work is not very available.
Time will tell. I do see a couple of her own dolls there so that is a start.
Indeed, time well spent is time well spent!
Thanks for the compliments~I'm beaming a smile and confidant that you will arrive :)
Of course, list as a new artist. I've purchased more than one doll from new artists knowing that later, I may not be able to afford their work! You won't shoot yourself in the foot. Just be real. Be honest. Be transparent. It will all work for good, I promise.
The best thing for the new artist is to list the doll for the least amount that you can accept for it. Figure in the cost of the doll and what you feel you should get for you labor. If you are on eBay, the buyer will then determine what they think the price for the doll is through a live auction. If on Etsy, well, you will just get what you set the price as.
I sold my first reborn for $87.50 but that was a LONG time ago! LOL It was amazing to me though how quickly the prices went up from there. We all have to start somewhere.
Hugs!
Hi Debbie! I just wanted to say I love your babies! Your work is amazing! I am a beginner reborn artist and I would like to open my own shop on etsy as well as possibly selling on ebay. I watched all of your tutorials and found your blog interesting also. I actually ran across this seller on etsy while looking at how other artists have set up their shops and have some questions about her listings. In the listings she gives credit to the artist and nursery shown and clearly states that each baby is OOAK and will not be the baby in the pictures. So is what shes doing against policy? I mean I have very few pictures of babies I have done and I would like to try and sell custom babies too. Would I not be allowed to use other artists photos even though I give them credit? I just want to know what to do to have a productive store and not upset other artists as we are all trying to achieve the same goal. Any tips would be greatly appreciate. Im not going to be able to open a store anytime soon but I would like to know for future reference from such a successful artist as yourself.
ReplyDeleteThank you
Bianca
Thank you Bianca, I appreciate that.
DeleteI believe she is getting enough attention from other artists that she has added the credit to the other artists as I did not see those statements when I first examined her site. Even so, what is wrong about it is that it misleads the buyer to believe that her work is on the same level and that they will be receiving a doll with similar artwork. There is a clear difference between her work and the artists work whom she has used pictures.
The BEST way to gain your place in the reborn world is to complete a doll, list that doll and express that you accept custom orders.
Another way is to have the blank kit, put eyes in it, put an outfit on it and state that it is available for a custom order where the customer chooses the hair and eye color. If you need to show samples, direct the buyer to the site where the kit is available. (This way can be somewhat misleading to the new buyer as they might expect to receive a prototype quality reborn from an artist who is not yet on that level so it's not the preferred way to sell.)
You will be surprised how many requests you can gain from one listing of a doll that you completed. There are so many people who like custom orders that you really don't have to work at all to get them.
Another tip that I like to give to the new artist who will be listing reborns. Do not use the term OOAK for reborns. Unless that vinyl kit is the ONLY one ever produced, it will never be an OOAK. It is unique, but not OOAK. A true OOAK is when there is only one of that face/sculpt available. It generally refers to clay One of a Kind sculpted babies but there have been some OOAK silicone babies and on occasions, just a prototype or two of a vinyl kit. Collectors who do searches for OOAK babies are looking for the One of a Kind clay dolls, not reborns and it really affects their searches and makes is frustrating for them. :)
I hope this helps.
Hugs
Debbie