In an earlier post today I mentioned some fraud that I had been trying to deal with at The Teddy Patch.  As the owner of an internet auction site, I especially needed to know more about how to protect myself and my investment so I did some research and wrote a post about what I had learned.  I've dusted off that article and included it below as it contains some good information for everyone.    Hopefully, armed with more knowledge we can all be more vigilant and better protect ourselves from this type of fraud.  

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Internet auctions are one of the fastest growing commerce business segments ever.  As a result, on-line auction fraud ranks at the top of all cyber fraud complaints to the FTC.  Buyers and sellers are not the only victims, businesses are also victims.   

There are many types of fraud:  Non-delivery; misrepresentation of the item; stolen items placed at auction; non-payment; stolen identity and credit card fraud; multiple bidding (using different aliases and then withdrawing the high bid at the last minute to win with the low bid); and shill bidding (sham bidding by the seller to drive up the price of an item).

How do you protect yourself from these types of unscrupulous behaviors? 

1.  Be fully aware of auction site policies, fraud policies, or dispute resolution policies.

2.  As a seller, whenever possible do not accept checks or money orders as payment.  Such forms of payment represent 80% of all fraud reported.  Use a secure payment service such as PayPal. 

3.  If you are a buyer, pay with a credit card - consumer protection laws give you the right to dispute credit card charges for non-receipt or misrepresentation if necessary.

4.  Make sure that the auction site you are working with does not allow bid retraction or shill bidding.  

4.  Use common sense in assessing price of an item up for bid and ensure shipping charges appear reasonable.

5.  Ask questions of the seller if you are unsure of something or have a question about the item or terms of the auction.

6.  Pay attention to feedback ratings.  At The Teddy Patch we have a lot of new sellers and bidders with little or no feedback.  A majority of these folks have eBay feedback which they are willing to share.  Don't be afraid to ask for references and get to know a little about the other party and be sure to get accurate contact information from the person you're dealing with.  Who knows?  You may even find a new friend in the process!

So, go ahead - have fun searching for those treasures on line!  Enjoy yourself, but protect yourself as you do!

I haven't written a blog article for awhile and thought it was about time.  Way too many irons in the fire...I think I have a touch of ADD because I just can't stick to one project at a time and find myself constantly jumping from one thing to another.  I'm going to try and do better, starting here and now.

Today I want to vent about some very frustrating activities that have been occurring at The Teddy Patch lately as well as make an announcement about some changes I'm making to try and make The Teddy Patch a safer, more relevant venue for you and a much less frustrating place for me!

I have been in this business for 12 years in one form or another and have learned that overall, collectors and artists are an honest bunch.  Until 2007 I had not experienced any type of internet fraud on The Teddy Patch or in any of my dealings with collectors at shows, or any other venue for that matter.  In just the past year, the problems with fraudulent and unwelcome Teddy Patch members has greatly increased. 

I may or may not go into specific details in future posts, but for now I want all my members (and prospective members) to know that effective immediately, I will charge a $1.00 verification fee when a new member registers at The Teddy Patch or an existing member submits listings for the first time.  New members will be required to pay this fee through PayPal upon registration before their account will be activated.  I am also blocking several free email addresses beginning with:  gmail.com and hotmail.com.  If you are a prospective new member, please register using a "real" internet mail account such as comcast.net, cox.net, etc. For now, I'm still going to allow a couple of the free email services such as yahoo.com but reserve the right to block them at any time should the problems continue.  

Awhile back, when I experienced my first lesson in internet fraud, I did some research to educate myself.  As the owner of an internet auction site, I especially needed to know more about how to protect myself and my investment.  As an artist dealing with collectors from all over the world, it is also important to be armed with some information.  I'll dust that article off and put it in a new, separate post.  

In the meantime, I hope you'll bear with me as I make changes to keep The Teddy Patch a safer place for everyone!  Take care.

How is the economy affecting the sale prices of your bears?  Are you flexible with your auction and website pricing?  How should you price your bear?

We have noticed that many artists, despite the economy, are holding strong with their pricing both on their websites and at auction sites.  Because collectors are spooked and not making discretionary purchases as they did in the past, bear and other collectible sales have dropped off dramatically.  What we do see, however, is that collectors are still buying - they are just buying less expensive items.  How can you, as a bear artist, still make those sales without reducing your prices too much?  We all know the many hard hours that go into making a bear and, honestly, if we charged by the hour for our work we would have to charge lots more than we do! 

Consider auction pricing:  Collectors don't like bidding against a reserve price.  A very low starting bid with a reserve might attract some attention and a bid or two, but most collectors won't bid against a reserve.  But to list your bears without a reserve at a very low starting price is truly frightening!  It could possibly turn out that you only get one bid!  Can you possibly risk giving your bear away after all that work?  I don't know about you dear reader, but my heart can't stand the absolute terror of watching the auction close with only a minimum bid!   But sometimes the risk is worth it, and if you can find a middle ground beginning price where you are more comfortable you may still come out with a reasonable price for your bear.
 
Try this:  List your bear with no reserve, using a starting price that is acceptable to you if the bear is sold.  Make sure it is low enough to entice collectors to bid but not so low that you would be devastated if it sold at that price.  Very often collectors watch an auction on an item they want and wait until just before it closes to place a bid - the final price usually goes up way beyond your minimum in the heat of the last minute bidding.  It also pays to do some research before you start listing so you know what similar bears are bringing at auction so that you don't price your listings so high that they won't sell at all. 

If your heart is weak and you must list with a reserve, we recommend setting as low a reserve as possible to protect your investment while at the same time enticing collectors to bid.  Be sure to keep in mind when setting your reserve that a large percentage of merchandise sold in internet auctions typically sells for less than so-called book value - especially in todays' market. 

Have you heard about the upcoming Teddy Bear Banquet and Auction for the Ronald McDonald House?  This event has been held for over 18 years and is an integral part of the fund raising program of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region, Inc.

This year it will be held on Sunday, October 25, 2009.  Thanks to bear artists from all over the world, hand-crafted teddy bears will be up for adoption, with all proceeds benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Donating to this event is a wonderful way to share your talents in support of a worthy cause.  

For more information, or to donate - here are points of contact:

Jan Kurposka at jkurposka@nycap.rr.com

Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region, Inc.
139 S. Lake Avenue
Albany NY 12208
(518)438-2655
www.rmhcofalbany.org

Credits:  Cheryl Hutchinson, Friday, September 4, 2009, www.binglebears.com

The following article was submitted by Michelle Nunnery for our September 2009 Newsletter.  It is included here in its entirety.  Michelle's little bears are lovely and can be viewed at her website: http://www.littlebittiebears.com/

Have you ever looked at a teddy bear and swore it was alive?  You see it looking back at you with that little puppy dog stare wanting to be adopted?  That's the soul of a teddy bear!!

The teddy bear industry is alive and booming mainly because, in the past decade, artists have been very victorious in creating "soul" in teddies.

How have these artists achieved creating a "soul" in the teddy bear?  What is it about the teddy bear that captures us and makes us want to adopt them no matter what the cost?

Its in the eyes.  The eyes of a teddy bear are very important when it comes to soul.

Its very impressive these days to see what artists are going with teddy bear eyes.  You can find eyes with eyelashes, eyelids, unique hand painted colors, highlighting and shading around the eyes, sculpting, needle felting and even eyelids that open and close.  With these new techniques, artists have a new world of opportunity open for creativity.

For the collector, this is very important.  Not only do they look for quality in materials, stuffing, jointing, stitching on the noses and stitching of the body, but eye quality is very high on the list.

First and most important is the quality of the actual eye.  The use of glass eyes is imperative, no plastic please.  Glass brings about a reflection similar to that of an animal with "wet" eyes.  Good quality glass eyes are just as important.  If you buy cheap glass eyes, they will break in half, they don't have good shine, they pop off the wires, or have scratches.  A good artist never goes cheap when making their teddy.  They want the collector to have a bear that will last a lifetime.

Placement of eyes is critical.  There is nothing worse than a teddy bear with crooked eyes.  One technique used is to shine a light on the eyes and see of the light reflection is in the place same on both eyes.  I have to tell you that even after making bears for 17 years, I still have to take eyes out and put them back in about 5-6 times before getting them just right.  You have to make sure your eyes are not too far apart, or too close together.

Shading of eyes is very important.  Blacks, greys and browns can really bring out the eyes of a teddy.  Shading the eyes gives them depth.  Many artists venture out into other colors like, greens, purples and blues to match their mohair and apparel.  It sounds strange, but it really comes out very beautiful.

Sculpting the eyes adds character.  Many artists needle sculpt around the eyes to give more expression.  Sculpting the eyebrows, eye sockets and around the nose gives the teddy more depth.  This is a practice that takes much time and lots of redo's to get just the right expression from the teddy.

Collectors can rest assured that if they see a bear with "soul" in their eyes, the techniques to making that teddy bear come "alive" are very extensive.  Many artists have practiced these techniques for countless hours and it has taken years to achieve their own individual style.

Happy "soul" hunting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you seen the Discovery Channels new TV series "Bear Feeding Frenzy?"  This new show is filmed on location at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  It depicts what happens to hikers and campers who are attacked by bears in the wild.  It is narrated by Chris Douglas who provides his commentary from the safety of a thick walled Plexiglas box and the attacks are staged using mannequins dressed like campers.  Anybody watching would think that wild bears would just walk right up to them while they were sleeping and grab them by the foot and drag them off, which is not the case at all. Bear attacks are extremely rare and usually only occur when a bear feels it or its cub is threatened.  Animal rights advocates are outraged and claim the show sheds a bad light on bears.  As a bear lover, I wholeheartedly agree!

Source:  MSNBC.com/Today/Pets/1/6/2009

Promote yourself and your auctions at The Teddy Patch.  Here are a few tips that should prove helpful:

1. Upgrade your basic listings using our Home Page Featured option as well as the Category Featured option.  Use Highlight and Bold options to draw more attention.
2. Open an Artist Studio Store and stock it for increased visibility.  List your items in both places - your store and the regular auction listings.  New Stores are still free for a limited time only.
3. If you already have a Store - stock it with your work and advertise yourself and your website there!
4. Display a link to your Teddy Patch store on your website.
5. Email your customers and your friends and let them know where your listings are.
6. Consider offering free shipping or at least guarantee proof of delivery with insured postage.
7. Charge a reasonable postage or shipping charge.  Don't inflate your shipping charge to include a handling charge - more buyers will be attracted if you are reasonable and only charge what's necessary.
8. Offer multiple payment options as well as safe payment methods such as PayPal.  More buyers will be attracted and tempted to purchase if they can use a credit card or PayPal.  The small fee you will pay is worth the increased business.
9. Use good descriptive titles with key words that people are likely to search for.
10. Be sure you post good, quality photographs.  Regardless of how great your product is, people are turned off by fuzzy, dark or poor photographs.  Include several - you can post up to 5 for no charge.
11. Include good, detailed descriptions of your items.
12. Increase the number of your listings - the more items you have listed, the more you will sell.

Do you own a Teddy Patch Store?  (aka Teddy Patch Artist Studio Store)?  If you do own one, do you use it?  If you owned a teddy bear shop (on the web or a brick and mortar store) and you opened another one, you're going to tell everyone about your new shop, right? 

Selling your bears and collectibles in your Teddy Patch store will save you cash in overhead costs, so it makes sense to stock your store and tell your buyers to shop there first, doesn't it?

Build your shop, stock it, and they will come!  Tell your buyers where you are!

We specialize in Teddy Bears and other collectibles.  The Teddy Patch no longer charges any listing fees and only a small final value fee if your items sell.  We are also currently offering free Artist Studio/Stores!  I've been noticing all the complaints about eBay not only about their high fees but also their weird new rating system.  Personally, I have not used eBay for quite some time.  When you own your own auction site, it doesn't make much sense to the competitor's service - and frankly based on what I'm hearing I don't plan to list there anytime soon.

Yes, The Teddy Patch is one of the "little guys" but what is so bad about that?  I firmly believe if folks would tear themselves away from the hype, they'd find that The Teddy Patch would fill the bill without bleeding you dry in fees.  Let's face it, times are tough and getting tougher.  Collectibles prices are falling and customers are getting harder and harder to find, as artists we all have to cut back somewhere. 

The Teddy Patch offers free listings; free stores (for a limited time); free, worldwide advertising; free membership; no hassle, and less exposure to fraud.  What other auction site offers you all that?

Why not bring your work and your customers to our site for a try? 

Hope to see you at The Teddy Patch soon!