So I brought my doll prices down when I had a little self-doubt melt-down and I sold some babies.
I underpriced this baby but the woman getting her is so nice and so excited, we emailed back and forth and she is a sweetie. Mama with empty arms is about to get Hazel to cuddle and all for the low price of 300 bucks.
I am new at this so I am grateful.
I owned a gift shop and the magic number was 35. What even I had for 35 or under in my store people would buy without a problem. Anything over was a purchase they thought about.
Is it me or is 300 the reborn magic number. I swear people search for babies 300 or under.
380, 360, 349, no bite, but 300 and it sold in 24 hours.
Interesting. If she re-sells it for more I may send her a box of dog poop.
Glad to be making way for some new babies.
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Congratulations ! Where was she listed?
Etsy…but Etsy calculated 7.00 from California to Florida. Ugh, had to ask for the other 13.00. It will cost 40.00 to ship but I pay for half.
It seems like luck more than anything, our babies are floating in a sea of other reborns and made in China dolls. I am totally grateful.
Oh well at least you sold one.Must be something wrong with that calculator.
No! I love your dolls. Are you really quitting, Sonja? I understand though, if this is a business for you, that it just isn’t cutting it. Nothing sells and when it does it’s always at less than the worth of the dolls. I just do it for fun, but if they stop selling, I will have to stop making them too because I’m not a collector and don’t want a house full of dolls. What will you do next, any idea?
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I hear ya about the sitting and gaining weight. I actually got sciatic pain from rooting, how do you explain that to the doctor? I wish I could reborn on a treadmill! I bet we could make a million inventing a reborn making station that fits over a treadmill!
I personally am trying to make it a side business. I freelance so I have gaps in my schedule that are unpredictable it is hard to get a job-job that lets you come to work when you don’t have anything else going on.
I don’t know how realistic this being any where near profitable is. I went into it thinking these dolls were in demand but finding out after investing and being on the “inside” for about five minutes that there are a lot more “artists” than demand. So my idea that I would be selling 500 dollar dolls that cost me 60.00 to make wasn’t a reality.
I can make my money back and a little more if I don’t consider web hosting, shipping supplies, clothing and gifts. After all that I am paying myself about 3 dollars an hour. The pricing model I created went out the window with the first baby.
I am not giving up, I think with a little more experience and some hard work I could make it worth it, if not, like you I will make my babies, sell off my supplies and clothing collection and move on to the next thing. I hope it doesn’t happen I really like this, it is so much fun. I feel like a kid.
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I Have worked in the arts a long time and people think because we enjoy what we do that it isn’t work and they don’t value it as such. When I had my store people would be shocked to pay 5.00 for a beautiful card but would have a 5.00 Starbucks.
I have had people want things for “free” in exchange they would “advertise” for me. Ironically they pay 350.00 for a Michael Kohrs bag that they advertise for by carrying it around with its logo on it. They didn’t ask for the handbag for free.
I also have friends and relatives who will call for a gift for a friend and say “I thought you could whip up one of your little…” It drives me crazy and why I don’t do custom anything.
There are good people who appreciate the arts and will be generous but there are a lot less of them than the other.
Art is art and I would never put down anyones effort or vision but there seem to be a lot of unskilled, newer, or makers who are a little over confident who are selling really low or a little too high, that kinda messes with the market a little.
People love these dolls, cream rises to the top, I guess you keep making, keep improving and earn your reputation, it seems to be the only ticket to a profit of any kind.
That woman was way out of line with you by the way. It is one thing to be disappointed but another to be abusive. Sorry you had to go through that.
Yeah, I can totally understand where you’re coming from. I don’t like it when my babies pile up and the nursery is full with no sales, either. And I am pretty tired of people asking me to lower my already rock bottom prices. I looked at all my kits just the other day and thought… hmm “needle-felting takes up a lot less space, LOL” I too only love the babies for a day or two…actually I love the pictures of them more than the dolls themselves, (accept for Isobel, my one keeper). I tried to keep Midori. I couldn’t take my eyes off her the first day. But then the passion faded and I moved on and she’s up for sale. So this is a long winded way of saying what I really said in the first line…“I totally understand…”
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