In a previous post, I provided a list of venues for artists, artistans and artisan crafters. This week I’m profiling another of those sites on my blog.
I asked Olga from YouCraft to tell us a bit more about her venue.
What is the site name and where can artisan sellers find you?
The site is at YouCraft.org
We also have a blog at youcraftblog.blogspot.com
Tell us a little about your site’s history. What are its origins?
We started YouCraft a little over a year ago, my sister and I. We’re big craftsters from way back, from when we were kids—in fact my sister is a full-fledged artist, she went to art school. We thought it would be nice to have a free site where people can showcase their crafts—we’re very big on free… 
I crocheted the item that’s the basis for the logo, and she built the design of the site around that. It turned out really cute I think.
Tell us about the site’s staff.
It’s my sister and I, she’s the more technical one and she’s also more well versed on internet practices and customs. I’m the one who selects the pictures for the front page, updates the various pages, answers emails and so on. We work well together, we bounce ideas off of each other and keep each other going—I don’ t think we could do it without the partnership.
What is your plan for the site? What are your goals?
I would like YouCraft to be a good resource for the crafting community into the future—I’m definitely in it to stay! Over time I would like to add some features—I do want it to remain fairly crisp.
Who is your target seller audience?
I think the site is good for both those that are starting out and want to start out with something simple, as well as for those who already have stores and are looking to promote them. Users can include a link to their other sites on each of their listings, which I think is a nice feature.
Who is your target buyer audience? How will you drive buyers to your venue?
I think that buyers will be those already interested in handmade items, so we focus on crafts venues—and I thank you for featuring us!
Is this an international, domestic US, Far East or European focused site?
It’s US-based, and it has more US members than members from other countries, but there are a number of international members too, and the site traffic also comes from all over.
What differentiates this venue from other online selling venues?Why should artisan sellers consider utilizing this site as a resource instead of other, older sites or their own sites?
YouCraft is wonderfully simple! It’s really easy to use, it takes a very short amount of time to post a listing–even the pictures load quickly.
Because we’re not very big, the postings have good visibility within the site. I also try to promote individual listings by featuring them on the front page and also recently I’ve added pages featuring items by seller and by color—with an emphasis on pink and orange…
Also, it does allow users to promote their other sites, which not all sites do.
How have your structured your seller pricing?
It’s totally free: no listing fees, no commission.
YouCraft is a classifieds format listing, it does not contain a checkout process.
It’s free and no-frills, that’s the model.
What else should we know?
We’re very open to input and suggestions. Very much of the way the site works is based on questions we’ve received.
Stay tuned over the next weeks as I will be profiling more artisan handmade selling venues with interviews and giveaways from the site owners. You can find this site’s traffic rank according to Alexa here
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How many threads titled “Someone is copying me” have you seen in the etsy forums this week? More than one? Probably. Copyright is a hot topic with designers these days. Nicole Campenella of Beadwright on etsy has published an informative article about ethics and copyright law, providing practical tips for artistans, crafters and artists. I thought it was well worth sharing with everyone here. Thanks Nicole!
Nicole’s article:
There are many publications discussing copyright and in the online forums opinions about this subject differ widely. The fact remains, abiding by applicable copyright is the law! Over the past 6 months I have discovered that some just don’t get it or don’t choose to abide by the law. However, for those of us who design we should be aware that this law is to protect us.
Copyright covers all art and designs. US Code Title 17 is a vast amount of text that covers every aspect of your original designs. It states that at the time of completion, published for the public or not your work is copyrighted. This must be an original design. With the millions of people now beading there are going to be ideas coming to more than one person.
There are two ways to handle this. Keep a journal just for your original designs. Date the start of the project, how you put it together, and when it was finished. Take photos during the making of the item and at it’s completion. Anyone can write this up at any time and put any date on it, right? Sure they can, however, photos are timed stamped and provide better proof.
The copyright codes also explain a “poor mans” copyright. When your project is completed write all the important information with photos and mail it to yourself. Do not open it. Keep a record and store it away. Filing for a copyright from the US government is an easy process that will cost about $15.00. However, the history of copyright protects you without having to file a thing.
Copyright began as the Licensing Act of 1662 by Charles II of England. By 1787 the United States added The Copyright Clause to the Constitution, mainly for science and useful arts. This clause guaranteed authors and inventors a period of time to profit from the work they were doing. In 1886 the Bern Convention was established. This enabled recognition of copyright among sovereign nations. Under the Bern Convention all works of art are copyrighted and do not have to be registered in other countries that signed into the convention. The US and Latin American countries, in 1910, entered into the Buenos Aires Convention. This required a copyright notice, such as “All Rights Reserved” stamped clearly on the works.
In 1952, the Universal Copyright Convention was drafted and ratified by nations such as the Soviet Union. In 1995 the strict regulations of the Bern Convention were Incorporated into the World Trade Organizations. This gave the Bern Convention nearly world wide application. 2002 brought about the WIPO Copyright Treaty that placed wider restrictions on use of technology and copy works to the countries that ratified it.
Copyright Law is pretty much standardized world wide so when I design a new piece, photograph it and post it on my blog or website it is mine! It is against the law to copy it in any way, shape, or form. For how long you ask? For the duration of my life and 70 years past my death. It is a violation of Copyright Law to create, teach, sell, reproduce in any manner or form through old or new technologies works other than your own, without the expressed written permission of the author.
You can not legally reproduce a piece from a magazine, book, Internet, or from a class and sell it! You must have the written permission from the artist. It doesn’t matter that you informed the buyer who the designer is. A violation of Copyright Law. You can not take a class and then turn around and teach that piece in your own class. You must have written permission from the instructor. A violation of Copyright Law. You can not buy a piece of art, reproduce it and sell it in your B&M or online store with out the permission from the artists. A violation of Copyright Law. It only takes a minute to write an email to ask permission. It is the right thing to do, it is the ethical thing to do and it is the Law!
If you question whether what you are creating may be a copyright violation, it probably is. Don’t do it!
Be considerate, Bead with Honor and Integrity.
Nicole is offering a Bead With Honor and Integrity tote bag to proclaim your ethical stance to all. All proceeds from the purchase of this tote are directed toward art and copyright eduction. To purchase this tote, click on the image listed below to be taken to Nicole’s etsy shop.
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In a previous post, I provided a list of venues for artists, artisans and artisan crafters. This week I’m profiling some of those sites on my blog.
I asked Samantha from WinkElf to tell us a bit more about her venue.
What is the site name?
WinkElf
“Handmade by Thems-Elves”
It’s a combination of winkel which is dutch for shop and elf… a magical little helper.
That’s us!Where can artisan sellers find you?
Our main entry is http://www.winkelf.com
There are also several SEO domain names which all lead to WinkElf… buy-handmade.com, shop-handmade.com (we came first), sell-handmade.com, handmade-shops.com, handmade-stores.com, handmade-things.com, handmadestores.com and many more.
Other networks and stomping grounds…
Blog – http://www.winkelf.com/blog
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/winkelf
IndiePublic – http://www.indiepublic.com/profile/winkelf
PlumDrop – http://www.plumdrop.com/members/winkelf
TwitterMoms – http://www.twittermoms.com/profile/winkelf
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/WiNKELFcom/18858833814
Tell us a little about your site’s history. What are its origins?
WinkElf is handmade… by me.
It all began back in 2005 when, like many other artisans and sellers, I grew tired and wary of wasting my time on eBay with their charging rules and ever increasing fees. At that time, there were really no other alternatives and development began.
WinkElf was created and developed by someone just like you… artisan, mother, seller and buyer. I am also a web designer and developer. These multiple hats give me first hand understanding of the tools needed by sellers and buyers. And how to provide them at the lowest cost.
While still in development, Etsy was launched by two giants in the crafting market – craftster.org and getcrafty.com. But development continued having found that Etsy had lots of flash but really lacked in some of the vital tools sellers (and buyers) needed. These same issues continue even today. In the summer of 2006, what is now WinkElf was originally launched as Boutique Village.
There are no boards, committees or sponsors to answer to or make decisions for us. There are no developers or programmers to wait on when something goes wrong. It’s just us elves… winkelves.
WinkElf in not about big business, the focus is the individual arts and crafts seller… our craftisans.
Ironically, the acronym for WinkElf is WE.
Tell us about the site’s staff.
It’s just me, myself and I.
A handmade venture of my very own.
;o)
What is your plan for the site? What are your goals?
Aaah… some things you just need to keep to yourself.
Trade secrets and all. ;o)
But you can be sure that WinkElf will always continue to offer free stores and listings for online craftisans… it’s not a gimmick just to lure you in. And the continued developement of the tools and services needed to do business online effectively and efficiently.
Starving artists no more.
Who is your target seller audience?
Our target sellers are self-representing artisans, work at home moms and crafters of handmade goodies from around the world… a melting pot of variety in culture and talent.
We do allow sellers to list other items in their store only… not site wide. By separating the site into two distinct sections – handmade and not handmade – we can allow our sellers to sell other stuff in their stores without losing the handmade focus and flavor of the site. Afterall, what’s the point of an online store if you can’t use it or it’s restrictive. Craft suppliers and vintage are most welcome.
Of course, we certainly don’t want to become a free flea market for every reseller of unrelated products. A system that requires sellers to be approved before they can start selling is already in place if needed.
Who is your target buyer audience? How will you drive buyers to your venue?
Our target buyer is anyone with an appreciation for quality and craftsmanship… a love for treasures that are made by a person and not by a machine. Remember that joy of making gifts for friends and family as children? Receiving something that is made by hand is special, it has a meaning and a story behind it.
Finding buyers who love handmade is multi-faceted and involves several different strategies that all work together. From optimizing the site to take best advantage of search engines, marketing to relevant directories and social networks, online ad programs on search engines, related websites and crafty blogs that attract like audiences… and my favorite word of mouth.
Just tell ten friends… unlike other methods, it can be viral.
;o)
WinkElf is not just a listing venue, but a mini-website solution for craftisans who don’t have the time, money or expertise to build and manage a full website. Here they can easily start up their own store at virtually no cost. By aggregating artisans into a community, we all benefit from the exposure and traffic that each seller brings with them.
Together we can accomplish more than we can as individuals.
Is this an international, domestic US, Far East or European focused site?
No matter where you may focus your site, fact is that all websites are international… and so is WinkElf.
Prices will always be in US dollars for the sake of simplicity as exchange rates vary daily, but we’ll be adding an online currency converter to both the selling form and listings shortly to accomodate international buyers and sellers.
We’ve also linked up with Google Translate to provide multi-language translations of all pages.
What differentiates this venue from other online selling venues?Why should artisan sellers consider utilizing this site as a resource instead of other, older sites or their own sites?
Gosh… there’s so much!
First and foremost, there’s no commitment other than your time… and positive energy. ;o) There are no selling limits and no fees to list on WinkElf so you have nothing to lose.
We were also the first to offer a flat fee all-inclusive package… It’s only $5.00 per month which amounts to less than 17¢ per day to list as many items as you want… and have them (and your store banner) rotated on the main page and throughout the site.
Our prices are not just promotional or limited time offers.
Guest Shopping Cart…
We offer a guest shopping cart so that no account is needed to make purchases. We don’t want buyers to turn away from a purchase because they have to sign up with another site. A guest shopping cart is available for 7 days so that the buyer can take their time, make multiple purchases and communicate with the seller.
Two Buy Out Methods…
In addition to the traditional fixed price Buy It Now purchase method, sellers can choose to allow buyers to Make an Offer on an item… or Wink Me.
Sometimes buyers just want to know that they got a deal and a few pennies can be the difference between making a sale or not… Sometimes a seller can be unsure of their price structure… especially for those higher ticket items. Make an Offer allows the buyer and seller to negotiate a price that both are happy to accept.
Once the offer is submitted, the seller can choose to either accept or deny the offer, just as the buyer can revoke the offer. Only once an active offer is accepted is the item added to the buyers cart and no longer available.
A third option has just been released… Trade It.
Views & Sorting…
Buyers can browse and sort our categories and search results in Gallery View or the traditional listing view where they can sort listings by price (lowest or highest), by listing date (new or ending soon) and by title.
And a list of related stores is found in the sidebar.Store Directory…
Finding a specific store on WinkElf is easy. Buyers can Shop by Store from any page using a drop down menu that lists those stores with items for sale. And our store directory showcases all stores alphabetically with search available by seller name (partial) and product keywords.
Branded and Unbranded Storefronts…
In addition to having your own personlaized url to directs shoppers to your WinkElf storefront, sellers can also send their shoppers and marketing effort to their own unbranded storefront.
Each store has it’s own independant search engine so that buyers can shop and search your store without being led away to the stores and listings of your competition.
Listing, Relisting & Scheduling…
Spend more time creating and less time listing with features like sell similar, one click relisting, auto-relisting and scheduled listings.
HTML Listings & Store Pages…
When selling online, it’s important to convey your product through design and pictures. At WinkElf, sellers can express their individuality and creativity in their listings, extra store pages and profiles using a built in html editor. Add backgrounds, pictures… add a touch of your own style.
Go ahead… Express yourself!
Add Video…
Personalize the shopping experience by adding a video to listings. Let shoppers meet you, watch you at work or promote a new product or special event.
Stat Counters…
In just one step, sellers can add an independent stat counter to all their store pages and begin tracking their visits. Why an independant stats instead of built in stats? It’s easy enough for any site to skew stats in their favor. Using an independent stat counter means you know you are getting accurate and unbiased stats. And you can choose the service you want so that you get the information you need.
Sell Handmade and More…
While the focus of WinkElf is on handmade arts and crafts, sellers can also list non-handmade items in their store only… not site wide. Sometimes as sellers, we have other stuff we’d like to sell in our stores. But these items are only showcased in the individual store so that buyers have to be looking for these non-handmade items to find them.
Referral Bonus Program…
When a member refers a new member (sellers and buyers) they are rewarded with selling credit. And the new member receives selling credit too should they wish to try our services themselves. With our super low fees, those referral credits can keep you in the green for quite some time.
It’s win-win.
Editable Shopping Carts / Coupon Discounts…
Sellers can revise and edit a buyers invoice at any time prior to payment making it easy to combine shipping charges, make last minute changes and redeem special offers and discounts.
Multiple Payment Gateways…
Sellers can accept immediate online payment for their goods via any of our built in gateways including PayPal, Google Checkout, 2CheckOut, Authorize.net, Nochex, WorldPay, Protx and Ikobo. Hopefully Revolution Money Exchange will offer a direct payment gateway soon.
Sellers can also indicate other payment methods are accepted, like credit cards or money orders. In such cases, the seller would contact the buyer with payment instructions.
Shops on the Go…
With our Shop & Go widget, you can bring your store with you everywhere so that buyers can browse and search your store right from the widget.
Not just a showcase, this fully functional shopping cart allows shoppers to shop and checkout their purchases right from the widget… on your web pages.
This is so exciting because it means you can add your store to your website, put it on your blog, add it to Facebook and all the other social networks… anywhere and everywhere.
That’s a lot of free exposure!
Take a peek…
http://www.winkelf.com/shops2go.php
And there’s so much more…
Global seller message – add a note to all listings instantaneously… like discounts, specials and contests;
Store vacation feature;
Digital downloads available for immediate and private delivery of digital goods;
Buyer feedback with comments only… item details are kept private;
Add store to favorites and be advised of new items for sale.
Most importantly, when you have a suggestion or a need… I listen.
So there’s more on the way!
How have your structured your seller pricing?
We believe in offering the same tools to all members.
Whether you choose the free basic package or decide to upgrade, you can list as many items as you wish for free, participate in all community forums and groups, be elligible for the editors pick showcaseor the weekly featured store on the home page.
Our basic store and basic listing is free… always will be. There is no limit to the number of items and the basic listing includes all the basics: gallery picture, Buy Me & Make an Offer, choice of two listing categories, subtitle, digital downloads, scheduled listings and auto-relisting. Items can run from one week up to 30 days to keep them fresh and visible in categories and searches. All items are submitted to GoogleBase daily. A small 2.5% selling fee applies only to sold items.
Listing upgrades are available for under 25¢ for sellers desiring more visibility and exposure: bold, category featured and home page plus featured. The upgrade is for the term of the listing… whether it’s just one week or the whole month.
An all inclusive featured store is available for just $5.00 a month… no add-on or hidden fees. All upgrades and selling fees are included. That’s less than 17¢ a day for all the frills.
You can view our fee chart online at…
http://www.winkelf.com/sitefees.php
What else should we know?
My name… it’s Samantha.
Pleased to meet you.
Stay tuned over the next weeks as I will be profiling more artisan handmade selling venues with interviews and giveaways from the site owners. You can find this site’s traffic rank according to Alexa here
Don’t miss a single post.
Follow this blog: Click
here
Follow via email: Click
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