Category: Selling

10/6/2021 0 Comments

Buying bobbins on eBay

Having just picked up some lovely bone bobbins on ebay, I thought it might be time to offers some advice about buying second hand modern bobbins.
So here are my top tips on buying second hand on eBay (and elsewhere)

1) Is this bobbin still available from the original turner / painter at a reasonable price?
Supporting our artisans is good karma, but obviously if it's a bargain then you are going to buy the pre-loved bobbin. Don't forget to check out 'find the maker' if you want to identify the maker is

2) Is the bobbin good value?
If you have a budget, then set your limit according when bidding. It's really easy to get carried away and bid way over the top

3) Is this a private seller or a dealer?
Always check out the other bobbins that the seller has on sale. There are starting to be a number of sellers who are effectively dealers, but pretending to be private sellers. They buy new bobbins from current artisans and then put them straight on to eBay with a markup. I don't believe in Caveat emptor - Buyer beware.

If you then unsure about a purchase talk with one of the most experience lacemakers in the lace Facebook groups.
You are more than welcome to message me.

4) Take a good look at the photos.
Fuzzy photos may be someone who isn't good at taking them or it may be an attempt to cover up a less than wonderful bobbin that has a fault.

There is nothing stopping you contacting the seller to ask for more photos, or information, if you are really interested

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22/3/2021 0 Comments

Why don't you sell some of your lace for our charity event?

This is a question that you are going to get asked as newbie lacemakers. Whenever I show of a piece of lace that I've made, someone outside of lacemaking is going to tell me how I should:

Sell it
Offer it as a prize
Go to a local craft fair and take a stall
Give it to them

For a newbie, even a Springett Snake is going to take you 4 hours of your time. When you ask people what they would pay for it, they will give you a price that is less than the plastic cover to the snake.
When I did 17th Century reenactment I would have members of the 'officer class' come up to me and say that they needed lace for their personae and would I make it for them. But when you ask them what they think would be a reason price for some lace that will take 100 hours work they won't pay you even a £1 an hour.

One group I'm in runs regular dips (raffles) where you put up something you have made and people buy a number for £2. To raffle off the bracelet below, I would need to allow for the 4 hours the bracelet takes to make along with the fittings and thread. If I take my hourly wage that I earn for my day job, this would mean that the bracelet is worth £105. If I only charge minimum wage it would be work £45. But I'm a better lacemaker than I am a digital marketing manager. What makes it worse is that this group is made up of people who knit, sew and crochet. They would not price this over £25. But the thread along and the fittings cost £13.

So why do so many lacemakers make Xmas decorations? Because these only take a few hours and if you are going to donate something to a charity drive, they are a good choice.

Value your work and only give it to those you deem to be laceworthy.

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The Lace Notes

Buying bobbins on eBay

Why don't you sell some of your lace for our charity event?

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