Sales and stuff

Baby Talk
1

For those of you who paint as a “business” how are you feeling about the holiday season? Hopeful?

Lordy I hope things pick up a little for everyone.

I think the holidays are when people feel ok splurging a little, especially on luxury items (knocking on wood).

I think most of us have kept prices the same or lowered our prices while the rest of the world has prices going through the ceiling.

I paid 7.00 for a loaf of bread yesterday! I also took my kid to Panera for after school lunch and treat and homework time. We use to do it before the pandemic shut down. We would split a lunch (he is always hungry after school) have a pastry and tea, do homework, play a card game. Our Panera is really cozy and they have a year round fire place that we like to sit at.

He is older now and too big to split a lunch so we each got our own but we split an ice tea, and a pastry. I bought a baguette to take home. $49.00!

I think we are going to need to make a sandwich and go do homework at the park from now on.

Sigh.

I have ten on my workbench, they are taking forever. When ever I work on a large group it feels like it actually takes longer, maybe it is just looking at the pile of limbs everyday that makes it feel like way too big a task.

I have stopped buying sculpts (this time for real) until I paint down my stash. I have a big box of uglies that I may sell, or maybe teach a class at the senior center?

I love painting these babies but I will only do it as long as it makes sense to. I am hoping this lull is just temporary. Kicking myself for hoarding babies over the shut down and paying double for them…buy high sell low, seems to be my strategy these days!

Tell me how you feel about all this… trust me I am not afraid of a political debate but I would like to keep it dolly-only on this thread, I don’t want to turn anyone off. PM privately if you want to have a stick fight about all the other stuff.

For those of you doing this purely for the love of it, you got in at a good time, we have new heat set paints showing up, silicone is coming down in price, BB has lots of good sales, and there are many artists thinning stash.

Lets paint some Christmas babies, and cross our fingers Santa has lots of reborn requests.

6 Likes
2

Nope. Not even a little bit. I mean, summer is traditionally a slow time for reborn sales, but in the past we could look forward to Fall and lots of holiday sales rolling in, keeping us so busy we couldn’t paint fast enough! Well, this is the worst year I’ve seen yet and I’m not expecting a big turn around any time soon. At the end of the holiday season last year, I had 2 babies left over. Never experienced that before. So, sales or the lack of sales being what they have been, I’m not expecting a big rush this year.

I am painting down my stash, listing for $200+ lower than I used to, and I will be bowing out. I have about a year’s ~ maybe 2, of kits on hand, depending on how ambitious I get about painting in the new year.

Supplies keep going up, but buyers expect to pay less. It’s hard to compete with China knock offs and people who’d rather spend $50 on a fake Walmart reborn than $500 on something that took me 3 weeks to paint.

Painting is one of the greatest joys of my life and I will miss it soooo, so much, but I am not complaining. I’ve enjoyed this hobby for 21 years and I’ve made dear friends that I’d have never known otherwise. Reborning has been good to me but sadly, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter every day.

8 Likes
3

I’ve never, not ever, sold a baby over the holidays so my expectations for that are low. I’d be thrilled to death if I sold one or two. More than 100 babies have sold in the last few days on reborns.com. I’m hoping this is a good sign for all of us.

8 Likes
4

I have been pretty discouraged. I have knocked my prices down to rock bottom I feel. I currently have the last of my BB kit babies up for sale. I find with all the massive sales on BB kits the babies just do not seem to sell for much for me any more. I have lots of LE and name brand kits in my stash, 2 kits on pre-order and I want to get Gracie when she goes up for sale. Other than that, I am trying hard to sit on my hands and not buy any more. 2024 is my 20 year anniversary of painting reborns. I was hoping not to have to end it there. The DOTW show was a huge success for me so I am crossing my fingers that it will be next year as well. I may just have to become a show only painter.

9 Likes
5

I am not optimistic at all…ebay looks DEAD…I am going to start painting these 2 on my table soon…at least…I hope so…:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Its supposed to turn cold next week…so that will be a good time to start…I have painting ( house stuff ) to do before I can, in good conscience, start painting a baby.

I don’t do FB or Insta…so may do a listing on Reborns and see what happens.

I feel for everyone’s pocketbooks these days…most times if we eat out…we share a meal…and I’m talking Wendy’s/McDonald’s type meal…we rarely eat at an actual restaurant.

We did eat at Texas roadhouse last week…met my brother halfway between our homes for a visit.

We actually ate for about $16…so it wasn’t too awful.

We have drained our funds building this stupid house and haven’t had to pinch pennies like this for quite a few years.

Reduced retirement income is not a good time to build a house…once we get past the next 6 months or so…hoping things will get back onto a better budget.

I am not buying any new kits until I sell the ones I already have…:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

9 Likes
6

Well I just got notice that my Spencer baby sold on reborns! I am in shock but grateful! I had marked her down to a mere $399 plus $38 shipping. She is the Spencer head with Ruby limbs. I hope this is a sign things are picking up!

11 Likes
7

I’m in a major down in the dumps mood today, so I’m having a tough time being optimistic. Reality today is that everything feels like such an uphill battle. I have precious customers, I LOVE doing this, but DANG. It’s an expensive business to be in from an overhead expense perspective. It’s easy to go in the hole. I was too optimistic and went overboard buying kits - at one time, I was selling as I was making them, but it’s dead now. As we depend on this for some income, it’s dire straights right now. :frowning:

7 Likes
8

Yay! Congratulations!

4 Likes
9

Congratulations on your sale :tada:

3 Likes
10

WOOT… congrats on his sale!!! Awesome lil bump in this tough market!!!

2 Likes
11

Nope for me too. I have tried to sell my stash down selling them for practically nothing 5 or 6 kits with shipping and bodies for $130. No one is buying RB’s or the older kits. I am going to be backing out also. I am not buying any kits at all myself. I have too many sitting and a bunch of LE and SOLE, RB’s and BB regulars. I am practically giving them away and no takers.
I am having some health issues currently and will be 77 soon and just need to paint for enjoyment right now. My gran daughter and her family will be moving to my house mid October too much going on to paint much. Surgery at the end of Oct. and another later on so Needing to purge my kits and those listed sit and sit. I love painting and will miss it but I will be keeping busy I am sure.
I have been painting since 2011 and enjoying it , it supplements my social security as a rule but sales are flat for sure.
I will be following Karens lead and paint down my stash or selling what I can of my kits.
I will hope we can all get some sales for the holidays.

8 Likes
12

Hard to supplement income when they aren’t selling…selling for pennies…and supplies more expensive…
Also…the new anti-hobbyist IRS rule with the $600 limit…:tired_face:

4 Likes
13

Karen this bites for you, I know how much you love doing it, how good you are at it and how you are one of the reborn pioneers… I hope you never have to stop (unless you are over it) and can continue.

The world needs your sweet babies.

6 Likes
14

I noticed that too, it did make me feel hopeful. I didn’t check to see how many more artists there were and look at the ratio but just the fact that people are still buying must be a good sign.

2 Likes
15

That is awesome, maybe going forward shows will be the thing, people can’t resist once they hold one. That is also something the knock off companies can’t do…

3 Likes
16

That is a very cool house though…I would totally go on a money diet to build it. I think you just have your priorities straight. House, budget, then babies. However you do make high quality babies that could get you your own happy meal (smile).

I am going to visualize things getting better, what else can you do.

Damn we have seen some crazy things in this lifetime, but I think we will both agree that we have seen some pretty awesome things too.

4 Likes
17

I hear ya.

No matter how good sales were I NEVER depended on it, I always told myself, “This could be Bernie Babies, or this could be Barbie, no way of knowing, people have such short attention spans now, just do it because you love it, if it starts costing money, time to move on”.

I didn’t expect to make a ton of money but I always told myself it is a hobby that has to pay its own bills or it has to go. I can’t justify throwing money away on a hobby, especially since I took time away from paying projects to do it.

I am lucky, I do sell, but honestly not as fast as I use to. Remember back in the day when people had two year waiting lists for customs? (I don’t do customs but I remember it). I think there still are artists who have waiting lists, so that is promising?

Slumps… maybe that is all it is, I mean how long has BB been selling supplies?

Maybe we need to ride this out?

2 Likes
18

Damn woman you got a whole lot going on. PM me, I want to know you are ok.

You have an awesome stash, maybe ride it out and let people fight over your SOLE’s later when things get better?

2 Likes
19

For all of you who are going to be affected by that 600.00 dollar rule, turn this into a business on paper. Get a business lic. (not expensive) save all your receipts, write of a room in you house, your internet bill, cell phone bill, part of your electric bill, you dues and fees, every diaper, hat, baby sock, camera, computer repair… all of it. If you only sell a couple babies you can take the rest as a loss and it may help you pay less in taxes come April. It’s a pain in the arse but worth it depending what your tax liability is. It’s worth looking into. BTW, you can write off a bad baby that melts, paint that goes bad, a give away baby, and the babies you donate to Non profit organizations.

6 Likes
20

I need to learn how to do that for 2024 as I am retired now. Plus all those rules that you can’t make over certain amounts or they will cut your benefits (beside 1099-R rules) :frowning:

I would like to attend all dolls shows and write them off, as people told me they are doing.

3 Likes