Well, I'm about done

[Wichman]

I'm about done with trying to do scrolling as a business.

I attended 3 craft show today, wow, the amount of resell and laser cut ornament was over the top. I saw one booth the was selling trademarked copyrighted stickers! every other booth was jewelry and every fourth booth was ornaments, cheap, mass produced laser cut or engraved ornaments for far less money than I can buy material. It's a bitter pill to spend 4 decades honing a skill set that some yahoo with a laser and no skill can now beat me hands down.

I'll try the 4 craft shows next year, but my hearts just not in it any more. Add to that, dealing with health care seems to becoming a job all in itself ( I spent 20 minutes on hold, 2 minutes talking to a rep, 2 minutes on hold, then got hung up on; that's the VA for ya. Thank you for your service, my butt )

Dreck

[Joe W.]

Yeah, I know what you mean.
I went to 2 craft shows this past week [one today] and only saw a couple wood craft vendors that had hand made items.
A lot of vendor duplication when it came to items that can be mostly automated machine made.
For me, I'm going to try and make unique items that can't be found at "Hobby Lobby" type stores or other vendors. 
My theory is that if I what I have is different enough, enough people will buy what I'm selling.
Not that I'm expecting to get rich doing this.  Heck, if I can double my material/operating costs, I'm satisfied. 
I cut/finish items for the enjoyment and learning that comes from it. 
Plus, I've got enough other interests and honey-do things to keep me going.  
As to the VA, I'm holding my breath on that one.  Trying to get some hearing aids and just starting the paperwork process.
May things get better for you.

[Wichman]

As far as flat ornaments for selling, I'm done, I can't compete with the laser/3d printer crowd. ( it's not so much price as being overwhelmed by sheer numbers ). I might try more 3d ornaments but if the 3d printer crowd gets into them ...

 

Good luck on the hearing aids. They tried to blame my older phone on them not working ( through the phone ), but I had the same problem with the new phone. VA Dr was the one setting up the phone, she's as mad as I am with the hearing aids not working. And the hearing aids are four days out of warranty, and the hearing aids offices were closed for the day by the time my Dr called. Still waiting to hear the outcome on that mess

As for the issue with community care, it's complicated, the hospital in the community care is currently under a cyber attack and the staff can't fax or send e-mails (I hand carried the forms from the hospital to the local VA clinic so they could be verified and faxed to the regional VA center)

 

[Joe W.]

 Dang!
Sounds like the old saying "Bad things happen in 3's" has been affected with inflation, like everything else.
You're overdue for some good news - hope if happens soon. 

[kmmcrafts]

10 hours ago, Wichman said:

I'm about done with trying to do scrolling as a business.

I attended 3 craft show today, wow, the amount of resell and laser cut ornament was over the top. I saw one booth the was selling trademarked copyrighted stickers! every other booth was jewelry and every fourth booth was ornaments, cheap, mass produced laser cut or engraved ornaments for far less money than I can buy material. It's a bitter pill to spend 4 decades honing a skill set that some yahoo with a laser and no skill can now beat me hands down.

I'll try the 4 craft shows next year, but my hearts just not in it any more. Add to that, dealing with health care seems to becoming a job all in itself ( I spent 20 minutes on hold, 2 minutes talking to a rep, 2 minutes on hold, then got hung up on; that's the VA for ya. Thank you for your service, my butt )

Dreck

Sorry to hear you're throwing in the towel.  

Makes one wonder how those laser folks will stay in business... oh wait, they probably won't.. I see many many laser folks on the forums whining because their laser brokedown and is going to put them out of business.. Buying these cheap $100 - 6000 lasers and mass producing product trying to undercut the next booth with laser cut stuff.. They keep trying to undercut everyone.. however... these lasers wear out.. the bulb / tube loses its power punch and you have to start running them slower and slower.. until you buy another tube.. which by the way, cost nearly as much as the laser machine does.. soo.. many of these folk make a big go of it and try undercutting others only to find themselves out of business in a couple years, LOL.. I have seen scroll sawers doing the same thing and it happen in all sectors of business.. It's like a competition to see who can make the least amount of money to gain customers or who can sell the most product rather than earning a profit for the "company" so you can then pay yourself.. many of these are hobbyist and they blow the money from the profit and then whine because when equipment wears out they don't have money for the repairs.. then they also end up throwing in the towel, LOL

You can't compete with them because they are running themselves out of business.

The economy sucks right now so people also are not spending like they were a couple years back... so that doesn't help any either.  

 

 

[Bill WIlson]

I've never had any desire to make stuff to sell.  Several friends have suggested it to me over the years, but I always tell them, I already have a job.  I'm not interested in turning my hobby into a 2nd one. 

I've considered the possibility of giving the craft show thing a try, once I'm retired.  Not so much to make $$, but just for something to do.  My wife & I have always enjoyed browsing craft shows.  There is just something about the vibe of a nice local craft show.  I thought maybe it would be fun to try it some time, as a vendor.

However, the closer I get to retirement age, the less I think I really would ever want to do this.  I know this sort of thing is all in what you make it, but there are just too many opportunities for negative experiences.  I don't want that to spoil an otherwise enjoyable hobby.  Who knows?  These things being cyclical, as they are, perhaps the economy will pick up, crowds will come back, appreciation for genuine hand make items will re-surge and it will be worth while again.  I'm not holding my breath though.  I still think my time is better spent making stuff I like to make for people I want to give it to.

[JessL]

I too am competing with the laser cut ornament crowd.  Even my little small town holiday mercantile has several vendors with ornaments cut with lasers.  Not sure how there sales are going but my scroll saw by hand ornament sales are not doing as good as I had hoped.  Sold some the first two weeks, then nothing on the next two weeks.  We are open until Christmas so maybe sales will pick up this month.  

[BadBob]

If you make toys, you are competing with Hotwheels.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Well I started the craft show circuit run in late 80,s and even back then the laser was the nemeses of the scroller. Today with all these cheap Chinese lasers flooding the market it is now become even more of a problem. As Kevin here knows I hate laser and hate seeing them posted on a scrollsawn site unless posted in a designated forum. Friday I had to stop in Hobby Lobby to pick up some Testor's paint (do not get me stated on the price of those little bottles and how expensive they got) But as I am walking to the back of the store all I kept saying to myself, you wonder why craft shows are going in the dumper. Just look around this place. China made garbage but  people buy it and buy it cheap. Then you get those that buy the stuff and resell by adding glitter names on things and calling it a craft. After the pandemic hit and my shows never came back I gave up doing shows for awhile. I have also just about given up on scrolling and started turning pens. But as someone mentioned the cut throat attitude on all these ebay etsy and other sites is killing pen turning as well. One thing and still do is try to make things that you just do not see in either field and that is what helped me do a better sales business through my years. I stayed far away from ornaments for that simple reason they can be mass produced so easily. My ornaments are turned on a lathe. Today's other pain is the 3D printing machines. They can produce just about anything you can think of. I happened to see the height of craft shows and now the lows of them. I do not believe they will ever reach the same heights because people are just not into that stuff any more. Kids are into electronic games and not playing with wooden toys. It is a fine line we have to walk if we do want to make some extra cash. There is just so much stuff you can make for family members. Good luck for the rest of the show year.

[BadBob]

8 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I stayed far away from ornaments for that simple reason they can be mass produced so easily.

This seems true of anything flat and thin, and you can cut with a laser. Yesterday, I thought I needed to stick to things that can't easily be cut with a laser.

[Joe W.]

6 minutes ago, BadBob said:

Yesterday, I thought I needed to stick to things that can't easily be cut with a laser.

That's the direction I'm heading too.  
In early Spring this year, I decided to try my hand at 3/4 and  1 inch thick simple puzzles - animals {cats, frogs, dinosaurs and such}
Cutting was slower of course, [thin blade and tight turns] but they turned out good and I painted some of them them with a solution of acrylic paint and water.
People liked them enough to buy them, so I've made some more for the next event.
 

[BadBob]

28 minutes ago, Joe W. said:

That's the direction I'm heading too.  
In early Spring this year, I decided to try my hand at 3/4 and  1 inch thick simple puzzles - animals {cats, frogs, dinosaurs and such}
Cutting was slower of course, [thin blade and tight turns] but they turned out good and I painted some of them them with a solution of acrylic paint and water.
People liked them enough to buy them, so I've made some more for the next event.
 

I have made a lot of puzzles some sell well, and others not so well. I cut a puzzle from a piece of 1x12 southern yellow pine once. It sold quickly, but I could not make myself do it again.

[ChelCass]

On 12/2/2023 at 9:16 PM, Wichman said:

I'm about done with trying to do scrolling as a business.

I attended 3 craft show today, wow, the amount of resell and laser cut ornament was over the top. I saw one booth the was selling trademarked copyrighted stickers! every other booth was jewelry and every fourth booth was ornaments, cheap, mass produced laser cut or engraved ornaments for far less money than I can buy material. It's a bitter pill to spend 4 decades honing a skill set that some yahoo with a laser and no skill can now beat me hands down.

I'll try the 4 craft shows next year, but my hearts just not in it any more. Add to that, dealing with health care seems to becoming a job all in itself ( I spent 20 minutes on hold, 2 minutes talking to a rep, 2 minutes on hold, then got hung up on; that's the VA for ya. Thank you for your service, my butt )

Dreck

Let me try and address your issue with the VA.  My husband is covered by VA, he rarely has to call them as he can find most everything he needs on their website.  If you have a question you can ask it on their website and they will get back to you with a answer.  It may be a few days but they will call you.  Don't give up, there are so many benefits out there for you.  We are in Michigan and we seem to have a pretty good VA in our area.

[rjweb]

I am in the south Texas VA system, it is great care, as they say I can email my Dr. and they get back to me within a few hours, don't give up on VA, RJ

[Hawk]

11 hours ago, ChelCass said:

Let me try and address your issue with the VA.  My husband is covered by VA, he rarely has to call them as he can find most everything he needs on their website.  If you have a question you can ask it on their website and they will get back to you with a answer.  It may be a few days but they will call you.  Don't give up, there are so many benefits out there for you.  We are in Michigan and we seem to have a pretty good VA in our area.

I would also echo what ChelCass said, here in Michigan VA has done a tremendous improvement in the past 10 years or so. And the website is a game changer. No more waiting on hold, just dash off an email and I always have a quick answer.  The Nurses are real good on monitoring the emails. 

[Jim Finn]

On 12/3/2023 at 5:54 AM, Joe W. said:

 Dang!
Sounds like the old saying "Bad things happen in 3's" has been affected with inflation, like everything else.
You're overdue for some good news - hope if happens soon. 

I have been doing about 25 sales a year for 15 years and I just now have given up and decided to just do one more in Sept.  Sales are way down for all the vendors. Inflation is hitting everyone it seems. Lifting  1300 pounds loading and unloading every Saturday is just getting too much for this 81 year old man. I am now  staying busy making toys to donate to local charities for children.

[BadBob]

I lost money selling online last year. This year, it is worse, down 40% from last year.

[Joe W.]

Updates - it took 9 months, but the VA approved the hearing aids for me.

Slowly starting to replenish my scroll saw item inventory.

And taking a sideways trip into power wood carving. 
Thought I'd make some things different enough that might even sell. 

Time will tell 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

One thing I hate doing is hitting the love (like) button when reading posts like this because I do not love it but i recognize it as a problem. Love to see a different symbol available.  I am not sure the economy is really the problem because I constantly keep reading how people complain about inflation and yet we are setting record numbers of travellers both on the roads and in the air. So that has not slowed down and in fact picked up and it cost money to travel. More so than any other time in our lives. I have said this before here and just believe the art of scrolling and crafts in general do not appeal to the masses any more. many people do not appreciate the hand made items when there is so much junk being imported from China and other countries that we can not compete. Maybe if you offer that very unique item it may still hold an audience but now you run into the sales factor and how to get the word out. craft shows sort of dried up during the pandemic and it really never came back. some areas and states have gained traction again but they are few and far between. I lost 3 shows I did for so many years and never returned after the Pandemic. They were good shows too. Sorry to read the down stories of our hobby like this. It is one reason I turned to turning and mostly pens. Even though less and less people actually put pen or pencil to paper any more there is still that IT factor to own a nice writing instrument. It is like owning that expensive watch. Not for everyone but the market is still there. Not sure about the scrolling market. But those still cutting, good luck and continue to enjoy the hobby. 

[kmmcrafts]

My sales have been down some but I have been making enough profits to keep the lights and heat on.  I also haven't been promoting or running ads because life has been busy in our family the last couple years with the kids moving out and buying houses of their own and me helping them do remodel and repair stuff because they're new young homeowners and just helping guide them along. Especially difficult for helping my daughter because she lives over 2 hour drive each way so going there to help or give advice is mostly a full day gone..

I think a big part of the issue is if you're not offering some sort of personalization you are losing out. Seems to me that is where all my business is.. I'm not selling much of my inventory but I am getting a lot of questions asking if I can make it this way or add a name or date etc. etc. and probably about 90% of my sales are coming through as a custom request for engraving or carving onto existing products.. Most of what I'm selling is also being purchased as a gift for a occasion for someone else.. 

Inflation I believe playing a factor but maybe not as much as many think it is.. however I've cut back on spending as many have.. I'm still taking vacations but if I'm buying gifts for people instead of spending $50+ I'm looking at gifts that are lower cost so I still can go on that vacation etc.. people aren't going to skip their vacation.. they'll pinch money from elsewhere. Funny this topic came up because just on the radio this morning to drop off my orders to the post office they did a survey and said that people are saying they'll use their credit card to fund that vacation since money is tight if they have to as they are not missing out on summer travels. If this is true then those bills will affect the 4th quarter sales during the holidays possibly.. 

If you are selling on Etsy then they have changed and are no longer promoting etsy has a handmade site.. they've changed their promoting to "gift mode" the place to find unique & personalized gifts.. maybe why I'm getting a lot of personalization request? Anyway, might be good time to change up titles or tags to make it as a gift.. I know they are saying the way people are searching has changed because of the gift mode push.. 

[JimNC]

 My wife and I have been doing craft shows for some 20+ years, now and we believe this may be our last year. When we first started doing shows many times we had problems finding a show. Now we get text's, or emails inviting us to shows. There are just too many shows now and attendance is down. Throw in the" trademarked copy righted stickers", jewelry, cheap mass produced laser cut outs, plus the Mary Kay, Tupperware, and other non "CRAFTED" items. Add in the higher price of materials, and tight economy, we can't made any money.