The stupid, it burns! Help! My brain!

[spark]

OMG.

OMG.

I am not putting this in brain burps because it goes SO FAR BEYOND STUPID into some kind of quantum state of suckyness and idiocy. (With a little entitlement thrown in!) My brain is trying to escape out my ears to get away from it, it's so stupid!

Okay. Right. So I will try to muster my remaining IQ points and explain. I am selling one of my hand-made plushes on ebay right now. It is beyond huge and thusly really, really, really expensive. In fact currently it's barely reached the reserve price and is still not going to pay me even minimum wage for my time unless it gets higher.

Right. Okay. That's the background. Vital to the story is this: The auction text is ALMOST ENTIRELY about how I made it/what it's made of. It talks specifically about ME SEWING IT, and the supplies I bought, and all that. I could not possibly be made more clear that this is a hand made, one of a kind item. OOAK is the first thing in the auction title, even.

This is the question I just now got on it: "This is a silly question to ask you, but where did you come across that giant fluttershy toy, or can you tell me where i can get my hands on one without having to pay $600? Any help will be nice because that toy just looks amazing."

No. That is not a silly question. That goes BEYOND SILLY. I did not "come across" this I MADE IT!

And the real kicker, because we all know people don't read, so I practically expect people to ignore the auction text, is he's asking me WHERE TO GET ONE CHEAPER THAN MY AUCTION!!!!!!!!!!!! Good GODS you MORON, even if it was some kind of commercially produced toy that could be bought why the HELL would I tell you where I got it so you can buy it cheaper than it's going for on ebay? For frick's sake, I'm selling this to make money! That is what ebay is for! I list items, and people pay me for them! Telling people how to get those items without paying me for them would be completely defeating the point!

And what the HELL makes this guy think he is so special that I'm going to tell HIM how to get it for less? NO! He can bid on it like everybody else!

Gah! I just! Augh! I thought I knew how stupid people were, but people keep finding all new lows!

Edit: It gets better! My response was "Please read the auction, I did not 'come across' this."

And he replied! "I understand, what I meant to say is there any other way I can get one, like any website or company or does it have to be custom made? I just did not know how to word at the moment."

NO YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. READ THE FUCKING AUCTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *ahem* Anyhow, my reply was kind of snippy after that, but MAN was that stupid. So stupid!

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Not only stupid, but rude. "I don't want to pay your prices because I'm too much of a cheapskate, so please tell me who else I can give my money to for something far inferior." Some people have absolutely no class whatsoever.

[ShadowBall]

Unfortunately, that's one of the downsides to selling custom-made and/or one-of-a-kind pieces. Everyone thinks, "OMG I want it but it's too expensive." And it may be okay to think that because yes, handmade stuff is [rightfully] expensive, but not to say it to the artist for goodness sake.

This is why I am often so reluctant to put custom toys on eBay - I worry if I set the price at what I feel is fair, no one will buy it and instead will ask shit like, "Where can I get this cheaper?" or "Can you offer a Buy It Now price for (same as opening bid)?" People are uber fucking cheapskates - I'm on DeviantArt and I'm open to character commissions for a measly $3 each and not one person has wanted one. How cheap can you be?

I think some people feel that since they could get a doll that is vaguely similar to what you're selling (I've seen some plush dolls of Pinkie Pie before at Toys R' Us), they think they should be able to buy yours for the same retail store price as the mass-produced doll while still being able to reap the upsides of having a custom-made item. Yeah, doesn't work that way.

I hope someone buys your doll - I've seen My Little Pony custom stuff go for thousands of dollars. Can we have pictures, if it's okay? I love seeing other people's homemade dolls and I've seen yours before and know they're awesome.

[spark]

Click on my sig link, it goes to my lj where there are two posts on the front page just FULL of pics. There's also an auction link there.

It is going to sell, somebody has bid it up to the reserve. How high it goves above that, who knows? Might not be much, might be lots.

I honestly almost never use ebay, but I also have never made a plush this big, so I figured it would be easier to just stick it up, advertise the heck out of it, and see what I get for it. The advertising part is important though, because you are completely right about ebay customers, they're cheapskates! But I'm basically using ebay as a place to send non-ebay people to in order to buy it, I'm doing most of my advertising in the pony/brony community, and in arts/crafts communities, where people seem to be at least *slightly* less cheap.

[fireheart]

Wow $600 at last count! Someone loves your awesomeness

OK reading through your website, dumb question/awesome comment time:

1) What is a loonakit?
2) I LOVE your Hypno plushie.
3) Also loving the pokemon stuff you do. So cute! ^_^ (on a subnote, have you ever tried doing them with Aquadots/Beados?)

[Beki710]

I wish I could afford something like that! Have you considered Etsy for selling your handmade things? It's a totally handmade community and it's where I sell my items (although I still get stupid emails about things)

[EricKei]

1) What is a loonakit?

From what I've seen on her site -- those little round plushies, she has a ton of Pokemon-based LK's.

[Aislin]

That is an amazingly beautiful plush.

[klhanson]

I saw the pictures of this thing on another site that we both belong too hehe.. freaking amazing

[taxguykarl]

So now we know where Dave's (vacation_rentals_suck) customers shop for gifts.

[rose_metal_nz]

*drools* oh man, I looove your stuffs! I wants your stuffs! (for my daughter, honest lol )
I had a look at the auction & honestly, *I* could tell you made it - but no offense I can kinda see how a tardfish/suctomer who will skim-read (if read at all) might not see it's handmade. Is OOAK a common acronym? I haven't seen it before... Maybe he genuinely didn't get it. Yes, he's still sucky as anything but if it's possible maybe add somewhere the literal wording 'handmade, one of a kind' ?? (just on the off-chance somebody READS )

[spark]

Wow $600 at last count! Someone loves your awesomeness

OK reading through your website, dumb question/awesome comment time:

1) What is a loonakit?
2) I LOVE your Hypno plushie.
3) Also loving the pokemon stuff you do. So cute! ^_^ (on a subnote, have you ever tried doing them with Aquadots/Beados?)

1) A Loonakit is my name for the round ball plushes I've been making for years.
2) Thanks!
3) Never use aquadots, no. I like the perler beads better.

I wish I could afford something like that! Have you considered Etsy for selling your handmade things? It's a totally handmade community and it's where I sell my items (although I still get stupid emails about things)

I have an etsy but I never use it. I nearly always do commissions to order, not pre-made stuff, this current plush is very much the exception.

Is OOAK a common acronym? I haven't seen it before... Maybe he genuinely didn't get it. Yes, he's still sucky as anything but if it's possible maybe add somewhere the literal wording 'handmade, one of a kind' ?? (just on the off-chance somebody READS )

OOAK is absolutely everywhere on ebay. I mean.... everywhere. Do a search for it! "23,502 results found for ooak" Anyhow, it already says "She is a one of a kind creation" in the text too. And also "there are no others like her" AND "I don't expect to make another for years, if ever." so I really don't think that the specific phrase "handmade, one of a kind" adds anything to that!

[LillFilly]

That is beautiful and about as accurate as you can get! Hmm, custom-made personalized ponies would be awesome. You're right, it does seem like a lot, but the cost of the materials, especially when you're buying them from a store, is crazy high. The price of faux fur is bad enough!

[MoonCat]

"Um, yeah, hi, is this Cartier's? Yeah, so could you tell me how I could get one of those 30 ct diamond rings for less than you sell them for?"

I mean, seriously....the stupid is just.....argh.

[ShadowBall]

Holy hell, that is a big pony! Very beautifully done - for some reason, pony heads seem to be bloody hard to figure out pattern-wise (or maybe that's just me) and I think this one turned out perfect. And I love the little ball-ponies too.

People will bitch and moan about an artist daring to price their work in such a way as to make up for money spent on material and a little profit, but they think it's so easy to make these things. There's always one douchebag out there who will look at any piece of art and say, "Pff, I could do that." When, in reality, they probably don't even know how to thread a needle.

Once I learn how to actually USE my sewing machine, I'd love to try my hand at a big plushie like this. I'm so used to hand-sewing - no wonder it takes me fucking forever to make something.