Its Been Awhile

I've had some construction done on my little condo - actually had the adjoining wall soundproofed. I like quiet to the point of being fanatical about it. This will allow the neighbors to make noise and I can make some too and no hard feelings :-)

Ebay is running a 25 cent insertion fee for fixed price items (I believe it ends on 7/29) so I put up a couple of my larger paintings just to see how they would do. Oh my...the results so far are dismal to say the least. I would say the listings aren't worth 25 cents at this point and I feel certain neither painting will sell unless some miracle happens. The whole first 24 hours I only got one hit on one painting and nothing on the other. In the meantime I got plenty of views on my Etsy items and sold two small paintings off my website. This doesn't speak well for Ebay. They're blaming the slowdown in sales on the economy - yet Amazon is laughing all the way to the bank. No slowdown there. I know Ebay is headed in the wrong direction and like a derailed train it seems none of us can stop it. I'm sad to see it go like this, yet in getting rid of the big monopoly we may end up with many different sites instead of just the one. In that respect I feel kind of relieved that I no longer have to jump thru Ebay's hoops just to keep selling there. In effect, they forced some of us to leave the nest and venture out to new venues. I believe that will be very good, especially for small sellers. We'll build other sites the way we built Ebay...only several of them instead of just the one :-) The biggest task will be getting buyers to try other sites....but I think more and more of them are doing just that.

Some sunny sunflowers for everyone.

Rate My Drawings....Please

A little diversion from online selling. Rate My Drawings is a site that is truly addictive for most artists. If you have ever thought of dabbling in digital painting this is a good place to try your hand. You can use your mouse to paint with but the ultimate way is with a Wacom tablet and pen. I assure you it gets easier with each and every drawing....its only tough when your fellow artists come in and rate what you've done (just kidding).

The site is

http://www.ratemydrawings.com

and if you go there and look up Patty013 you will see over 65 drawings by yours truly :-) You also get to see just how I did each one. Go...try something new and most of all...ENJOY!

In Spite of Ebay, Things Are Looking Up :-)

The Pretty Pig
Available at
http://www.MissPat.etsy.com


Well, since the initial shock of January 29 and the announcement by John Donahoe that he was about to turn my world upside down...first, there is disbelief, then there is anger, then acceptance and finally you dig in, grit your teeth and prepare to pull yourself out of the mud and move forward. I'm very happy to say I have two shops on Etsy.com, one under the ID of tinypainter and the other under MissPat(come visit) I'm getting sales once again...AND my own website is making sales as well. I'm finally beginning to feel like a human being again instead of like some scourge that all buyers have to watch and have the right to rate me right out of business.

For any of you sellers out there who can't make it on ebay anymore, Etsy may not be your cup of tea but there are plenty of other venues that might do you. I suggest you go list and support them. Many are free to list - iOffer, eCrater to name just a couple and the radical new wigix.com. For you artists, Etsy.com (only 20 cents for 4 months) and Artbyus.com (free to list)are great! What do you have to lose? Don't become down-hearted because in the end of all of this I feel Ebay is going to be the ultimate loser.

Happy Independence Day - Life After Ebay!

What a wonderful day! Our country is 232 years old - we're in the midst of a presidential election year - the promise of new change for the better. Except for gas and food prices, the war and healthcare... things could be much worse.

I guess this is a year of change in most of our lives. Many of us are feeling the loss of Ebay. I know I am and several of my fellow artists are in that same boat. I am putting more and more effort into sites like my own website and Etsy. I think for an artist, Etsy seems to hold more promise than the other sites. In the past, I'd put a few things up, hope for the best and not visit Etsy again until the listings ended. Lately, I've been really checking out the site and found the chatrooms and they are WONDERFUL! You can chat with other "Etsians" and see their work pop up on the side of the screen and you can even flood the room with chocolate chip cookies (I don't know why but its fun). Its such a lighthearted site after the heavily restricting Ebay that I expect Etsy to be THE site for art and handmade items. For those who haven't scooped it out, please go and have a look - there IS life after Ebay and its looking pretty good!

Above - The Iris Bed - at a special price on Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/tinypainter
http://www.watercolorsbypatricia.com
http://www.ACEOart.net
http://www.tattingjustforyou.com

Gray Days - Is There Life After Ebay?

This time last year I was super busy. Had several commissions I was working on - plus trying to beef up my website plus trying to keep my store stocked on Ebay. I managed to save enough from my profits to get new windows put in the house, pay car insurance and other large bills as they came along plus squeezed in a much needed new bed and sofa and barely had to touch my social security or pension checks. Life was good. I didn't have much time to put my feet up and relax and reflect on my good fortune, but I was happy to be making the bills, putting something away and just being useful each and every day...again...Life was Good!

Then came the first of the year and things began to slowly grind to a halt. I decided to at least temporarily close my Ebay store. On January 28 - it became quite clear - the Ebay I knew was going to be killed off and what is emerging looks nothing like the site I had fun on and depended on to supplement my retirement, met new friends on. Well, multiply my story times thousands and that's how many sellers are walking around kind of dazed and depressed and not able to figure out the next step except to know deep down inside that the next step does not include their old friend Ebay. Other sites seem odd to me now and sales there are very grim. I figure its because buyers are also as used to Ebay as I was and so they just don't leave there. Most are aware that their favorite sellers are gone from the site, but do not realize why. The ones who find out how utterly callous and cruel Ebay is being to small sellers generally get mad about it. Eventually, buyers will leave when they can no longer find the unique and unusual. Let's face it - if you want something new and shiny you'll go to the nearest department store to touch, feel, smell and perhaps buy it. I'm positive this will eventually dawn on Ebay - I'm positive that its only a matter of time before they are forced to come to their senses due to failing revenue and listings. Unfortunately for small sellers like myself we will have either settled in somewhere else or given up on the idea of selling online.

We're witnessing the end of an era - it was fun and it was interesting and for some it became a way of life. Sad to see it dying like this. I'm sure there were other ways to spark interest in a site such as this but then it looks like nobody in authority has that kind of imagination or creative ability.

www.ACEOart.net
www.watercolorsbypatricia.com
www.tattingjustforyou.com