Business Question For Ya All

[Deleted]

Since my DS has not been able to find a job, I decided to take a different approach and let him work with me. While he hates rock hounding, I finally got him to agree to go with me the other day with the promise of 1/2 of the cash for any rocks I can sell.  

After an hour, and finding some great rock, he was talking about our next trip!    And, it helps me because my dig area is up a large hill and having someone to help carry rock down is nice.

While I earn a living these days writing, it's pretty meager. But, I have access to an area with some amazing copper minerals just waiting for the digging and hounding. Since copper minerals are really colorful, I am selling some for lapidary work. But, I also have a different idea that I think will generate more income for less work.

I found an un-mined copper vein and have been unearthing large rocks that are covered in copper minerals. I decided that I am going to wash them, clear coat them, and sell them as decorator items.

My question to you all is two-fold:

If you were going to decorate a space and buy a large decorative stone, say to sit on a mantle or side table, would you want it on a wood base?

and

Where would you look online? Etsy? Ebay? Elsewhere?

[The Captain]

No wood slab - to me that would detract from the beauty of the stone.  I put little felt pads on my pieces to protect my furniture.

Honestly, the problem you will find with Etsy, EBAY etc is the shipping costs will be prohibitive.  That and if folks are like me, they actually want to see the item in person before buying.

I have a few lovely pieces and would love more, but I won't pay more for shipping than the item itself cost.

The items I do have I either found at Marshall's or the mineral show.  You may want to look into getting a table at one of these if they come close to your area.

www.mineralevents.com/

[Deleted]

I can ship up to 70#s in a Flat Rate box. So, as long as I ship domestically max shipping cost is about $20.

My examples I am currently working on listing are about 20 pounds and the size of a basketball.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Feb 15, 2015 12:52:56 GMT -5 The Captain said:

No wood slab - to me that would detract from the beauty of the stone.  I put little felt pads on my pieces to protect my furniture.

Honestly, the problem you will find with Etsy, EBAY etc is the shipping costs will be prohibitive.  That and if folks are like me, they actually want to see the item in person before buying.

I have a few lovely pieces and would love more, but I won't pay more for shipping than the item itself cost.

The items I do have I either found at Marshall's or the mineral show.  You may want to look into getting a table at one of these if they come close to your area.

www.mineralevents.com/

A wood base would protect a piece of furniture the rock sits on from scratches.  I think done nice would not detract and would enhance the beauty of the rock more than a felt pad.  It also provides a base so the rock can't tip over and scratch.

[The Captain]

Feb 15, 2015 13:46:09 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Feb 15, 2015 12:52:56 GMT -5 The Captain said:

No wood slab - to me that would detract from the beauty of the stone.  I put little felt pads on my pieces to protect my furniture.

A wood base would protect a piece of furniture the rock sits on from scratches.  I think done nice would not detract and would enhance the beauty of the rock more than a felt pad.  It also provides a base so the rock can't tip over and scratch.

Well so far our "scientific" survey is split 50-50 .  Glad to be of help.

[Deleted]

I'm with captain. Since we are voting.

[giramomma]

I think a base would look nice if done right.

But like others, I'm not going to pay $20 for shipping, alone, on something I've never seen before.

My first thought also would not be eBay or Etsy. It would be a craft show or  rock and mineral show.

But I'm a tactile person. I -heart-hand-turned wood. I love to pick up bowls, pet them, and turn them all around to see the beauty.

Now, if you sold smaller pieces, I could maybe see that going on etsy.

Would you consider setting up a facebook page? I'd almost start there if you want an online presence.

One thing you also need to consider is that people rarely pay well for your time in crafting. I follow quilting a little more. Folks sell bigger quilts for $400-$600. That's a reasonable price, given time and materials costs. But, they don't sell many. Most non-quilting folk would balk at the idea of paying that much for a "blanket." Smaller items, like placemats, table runners, eye glass cases, and even tissue covers (for travel size kleenex) are big sellers, and I've watched (albeit 1 person only-so small sample) completely sell out on the small stuff while selling minimal quilts. The small goods actually take less time to produce.

I think this is the summer for me to get some needlework on etsy. I'm looking at mostly Christmas ornaments. The $75-$100 items tend to just sit around.

Doing commissioned work seems to be a big thing. Have you thought about that aspect?

[bobosensei]

What happened to your job at the check cashing store or pay day loan place or whatever it was

I wouldn't want a decorative stone on a piece of wood.  I say smooth out the stone in the bottom if possible, if not the person can put something down to protect the furniture or floor.

[swamp]

Feb 15, 2015 12:56:06 GMT -5 @workingshasta said:

I can ship up to 70#s in a Flat Rate box. So, as long as I ship domestically max shipping cost is about $20.

My examples I am currently working on listing are about 20 pounds and the size of a basketball.

I don't have any answers for you for your actual question, but the fact you are humping rocks that size down a mountain:

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2015 10:06:25 GMT -5 swamp said:

Feb 15, 2015 12:56:06 GMT -5 @workingshasta said:

I can ship up to 70#s in a Flat Rate box. So, as long as I ship domestically max shipping cost is about $20.

My examples I am currently working on listing are about 20 pounds and the size of a basketball.

I don't have any answers for you for your actual question, but the fact you are humping rocks that size down a mountain:

Sadly, I had to hide some neat examples yesterday because I already had as much rock as I could possibly carry without falling over.  LOL

Here is an idea of what I am collecting and how it looks, if that is any help with the stand/no stand voting...


www.ebay.com/sch/shastavalleyrockgirl/m.html?_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1

[milee]

Those are really interesting. I vote "no stand". Because some people will like it, but some will dislike it and that cuts down on your potential customer base.

[aprilleigh]

If you go with Etsy, you can give the customer the option of "stand" or "no stand". Just make sure you set the shipping time period long enough that you'd have to time to make and attach the stand, if they choose. Or,  you could just list some with and some without. Good luck! I think that's a really interesting idea! 

[Deleted]

I do some sales to other rock folks and on Facebook, but I like the idea of getting into the decorative market, since copper minerals are very colorful and would look nice on a mantel. 

I also like the process of unearthing them, chipping off anything I don't want, lugging them off the mountain, and then cleaning them up.  I have been doing so for the last year, for my own garden.

I have been learning about this type of copper deposit and found a buried, un-mined vein a couple weeks ago.  As I am breaking out the rock, it is producing this amazing dark blue/green material that is unique to this area. 

While I am happy to pass along small cabinet specimens to other rock nerds, I think the larger hunks have some decorative potential, and selling 1 large rock is a lot less work than selling 25 small ones.  

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2015 2:22:51 GMT -5 bobosensei said:

What happened to your job at the check cashing store or pay day loan place or whatever it was

I wouldn't want a decorative stone on a piece of wood.  I say smooth out the stone in the bottom if possible, if not the person can put something down to protect the furniture or floor.

I see that some decorative stones have some very small felt pads on the bottom. I guess that might be an option. 

In great Dark fashion I quit working for the payday store after having a customer explain to me in great detail how he killed someone in prison by cutting their throat and watching the hot blood run down his arm. He suggested that I should be armed at all times due to my danger from clients like him....

I asked for outdoor lighting since I got off work at 7pm at night and there were NO lights in the area.  And, they said it wasn't necessary...

And, they fired my boss and the new one wasn't someone I chose to work for.

It was a combination of issues, obviously, but I didn't feel safe and it was causing me to have serious anxiety and mental health issues. So, I left.

[tskeeter]

Shasta, I also vote "no stand"

You don't know how and where a customer might want to display a sample.  Having a sample attached to a base limits where it can be displayed.  You never know, someone might even want to do something unusual, such as display a sample so that it is viewed from below, through a glass shelf.

Just a thought, you might want to try to hook up with someone who can cut some of your samples so that they can be made into interesting, but utilitarian devices, such as bookends.  We've looked for items like that made with minerals from our area, but had to settle for non-native materials or go without.
 

[Tiny]

Not sure how I feel about buying a decorative stone...  as it's not something I would buy.  Not because I think it's silly - but becuase it wouldn't go with the rest of my 'collectables' or decorative items. 


If I was going to put something heavy with a potential to mar the finish of what I'm setting it on - I'd want ta base of some sort  to protect my furniture/mantel/whatever.


Just brain storming here...

Could you sell the base separately?   Or do bases need to be customized to the size of the stone?  

If you sell them separately - you could have a variety of 'finishes' for the base - or just finish the base when you get an order. 

[Tennesseer]

What kind of rock are the copper specimens attached/matrixed(?) to?  Can the attached rock bases be smoothed out so they would sit on a mantle?  Stone should stand on stone and preferably the stone found with the specimens if at all possible.  

[Deleted]

To me this is a natural object, and I like natural objects laying around... Adding felt or a stand takes it out of natural object land and I myslef wouldn't be interested. 

I notice there aren't many bids for the examples you linked... Is there a market for these? Maybe locally or targeted would be better than a general etsy/ebay approach.

[Tennesseer]

Depending upon the size of the specimen, lucite stands would not be too bad.  You get the full color affect.

[milee]

Feb 16, 2015 13:46:34 GMT -5 oped said:

Maybe locally or targeted would be better than a general etsy/ebay approach.

Stores that cater to home decorators and tourists would be a good place to start.  Might be worth saving up a collection and then taking around the samples since I know those stores won't be close to you.

[finnime]

Maybe you have two markets - the all natural one, which includes other rock hounds and others, and the "added value" group, which includes interior designers, sculptors, regular people who like pretty things. For the latter I think making an arrangement with a rock cutter, or if you yourself buy a rock saw and stone polisher, would make the real profits to be had.

It is beautiful rock, Sasha.

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2015 14:09:27 GMT -5 finnime said:

Maybe you have two markets - the all natural one, which includes other rock hounds and others, and the "added value" group, which includes interior designers, sculptors, regular people who like pretty things. For the latter I think making an arrangement with a rock cutter, or if you yourself buy a rock saw and stone polisher, would make the real profits to be had.

It is beautiful rock, Sasha.

Thanks. Yes, the material is amazing.

I eventually will buy a saw and already have access to someone who will do some slabs for me.

My goal at the moment is to sell smaller stuff to rock nerds and sell decorator items online.

I have two large examples that I am currently clear coating for decorator use.