I’m looking into building a site for all of us artists to use. I can’t make dolls right now but I can build a website.
So far I’m collecting things I know people want on a site.
I have. So far.
An affordable flat fee to list and sell.
The ability to watermark photos.
And only artists be able to list and sell their babies.
Anything else a must have for you ladies?
I started doing that a while back. I just printed my logo and stuck it in a frame that I put in the background of all my pictures. I love how some people do the blackboard letter thing, I just didn’t have the patience to change out the letters and everything 
I think it’s a great way to get around the watermark rule though, especially if you can place the frame in a place that would be more difficult for someone to crop out. I’m sure mine can usually easily be cropped, but it’s a small extra assurance.
Edited to add: ugh I just saw what @katieperry said about the the pillow! I guess it’s not a good alternative!
That looks really nice!!
Let’s just keep positive and hope the slow sales are just what’s going on right now. I’m almost out of thinning medium though and I need it!!
I am still curious to collect statistics.
I am not trying to prove anything to anyone, I am doing it for myself and sharing what I see.
Yes, numbers might be slightly distorted because dolls might be sold somewhere else, but it was like this before (2 years ago), so the margin of inaccuracy is minimal.
If my stats annoy people, I’ll keep them to myself
Maybe the day and time for posting is a key here? If most artists post on weekends (just an example here), this is what might move your baby off the main page so fast.
But I am sure if a large number of artists will bother David with not giving exposure for pre-loved dolls, he might consider changing it. I am not active right now, so I have no reason to write, but imagine him getting 100 emails with the same request - he will do it! 
I’d like to know the statistics if you’re taking the time to do the calculations. 18% is not nothing.
This is great!
I think the most complicated part is not for posting, but figuring out the payment part.
Can’t wait to have a new site! Thank you!
That is a great idea! I’ll do it as a frame photo and see how it goes.
I think D. have software that indicates logos/ text embedded on top the pictures, but if it’s a pillow or a frame, etc, it’s part of the picture. That software will not detect that no matter what he says.
Ita gonna take some time to get up and running since I want to make it look nice. But my brother does web design and development and he’s going to help me get it going.
What is his reasoning for this?
To make sure people can’t find artists elsewhere thus reducing the “value” that is currently offered.
Not what he said, my guess based on the fact that not only can we not use watermarks, but no nursery name even in the background. That disproves his statement that the banning of logos was due to how it would make the site look.
That makes no sense! If they know your nursery name they can look you up elsewhere.
Thats true, but a lot of times dolls come up on Google searches. Maybe the customer can research the nursery name and find them on Facebook or somewhere else.
I have been found in these searches when people were looking for a particular doll and they tracked me down on Instagram.
You never annoy me. I love you. 
When the payment part is addressed, the biggest hurdle is traffic. Dave is REALLY good at SEO and he has spent a considerable amount of time building it for his sites. Artists would love it, but would customers find it? The ones we tell would in order to buy a specific doll, but others who don’t know where to look stumble on his page because he is either on page 1 or 2 with the major search engines for specific search terms.
He knows this, which is why he said before that he’s not worried about competition. He will wait until they fizzle out and disappear like they all have in the past. 
That said, if someone knows how to set up an attractive, user-friendly site, who also has SEO experience or the budget to hire someone who does, they may be sitting on a really good opportunity here.
My experience lies in physical retail stores, but if I were to attack this, I would probably start blogging, youtubing and whatever else to build a big following, providing valuable content for buyers and new artists, align myself with the distributors, as in some kind of business deal where they would advertise as well, gather the support of all the established artists possible, then launch with dolls listed and a strong marketing plan. I’d probably allow artists to list for free for a while to give them extra incentive to jump on board, only beginning to charge when the dolls started moving.
Nobody asked me all of this, but I can’t help myself. After flipping physical businesses for 17 years, this is just a topic that I love. 
I agree 100% I found it incredibly odd when the reasoning he said was that he wanted the site to look cohesive, but didn’t care about anything but logos. Not something like everyone needs to have white backgrounds or something that would make the listings look truly cohesive.
I didn’t meant just You, I meant in general
I know you love me and I love you more!
That’s great news!
I had hoped with all the supply shortages, it would have slowed down all the overnight, new artists and congestion on the site.
