Friday, March 12, 2010

How stupid are they?

Sorry but I have to laugh after checking out all the stores that were posted on here.  Blatantly marked handmade.  How do you make handmade beads ???

7 comments:

Almost Precious said...

Hate to burst your bubble but there are a lot of beads that are handmade. From lampwork glass beads, to sterling silver beads that are made by hand and not machine...for example the lovely Bali Beads and Hill Tribe sterling silver handmade beads. Also gemstone beads can be hand cut, carved, polished and drilled as can wood beads and shell. I've known people who have handmade beads from resin and polymer clay, also porcelain beads and PMC (precious metal clay) beads. Granted not all people that sell beads actually make the beads that they sell and to make it sound that way is definitely underhanded.

sleeping cat beads said...

I buy hand made beads from etsy/artfire sellers all the time. Hand made lampwork beads and handmade polymer clay beads. They're lovely, and I use them in my jewelry projects!

Melina and Denise said...

I'm just amazed at the ones that people try to pass off as handmade. In those numbers and at those prices, there is simply no way.

Stump said...

Of course you can make handmade beads. This blog is really a step backward for people trying to assist in eliminating resellers from etsy. Do your homework.

Beth Singleton said...

It is possible to make glass beads. I make my own glass or lampwork beads as they are called using a torch.

It is perfectly fine to sell lampwork beads or any other beads on etsy as a supply.

The problem comes when sellers buy these beads in mass quantities and then claim they make them. There is no way 1 person can make all of these beads they are selling. And how can they make so many of the same beads that all look alike? And how come all of their beads can be found on eBay or wholesale sites in Hong Kong where these "Pandora" style beads are sold.

If these sellers would play by the rules everything would be fine. Sell your mass produced beads on Etsy but tag them correctly as "Supplies" and "Commercial".

Life During Wartime said...

Almost all jewelry and many beads have always been handmade. The issue is: were they handmade by the shop owner as specified in the Etsy Terms of Use.

Beads handmade in a factory setting and purchased wholesale by the owner of an Etsy shop should be listed as supplies. Handmade should not be used as a tag IMO even if the beads are lampwork glass or Hill Tribe silver. You can always tell the customer about how supply beads are made in the description.

Beth Singleton said...

I totally agree with you. I've been fighting the battle in the forums about the Resellers in the Handmade category when searching for Pandora Beads, Silver Core Beads, etc.

Most of the comments I get back is that beads are a Supply so technically they aren't reselling they are just mistagging their listings.

It burns me up to see the few listings I have buried in the listings of these big sellers from Hong Kong that claim to make all of their beads.