Doing the Numbers on Credit Card Processing

My contract with the oh-so-crappy credit card processor, TransFirst is expired! All I can say is "YAY!"  I had originally thought I would return to Costco Merchant Processing. They were exactly what they promised: fees clearly stated up front and never came up with "charges-charges" like TransFirst did! There were months where half my earnings went to that shyster company!

But in doing the math, I realize my business is not what it was when I started. And, I have more and more in-person sales at shows and classes than I did in the beginning. Yet, I cannot afford to have two "gateways" or merchant accounts.

I signed up for square and then realized that Paypal HERE is just a few pennies cheaper (and in my world, pennies MATTER!). Plus, I'm familiar with Paypal. The money is there immediately. But still, that 3.5% for my mail orders seems high!

I can pay a cheaper amount by diverting my web customers to paypal directly... 2.9% + .30 transaction fee... which on a $30 sale saves me 3 cents! Hardly worth paying a web-developer for!

But the fact that Costco "seemed" so much cheaper kept bugging me. When that happens there's nothing to do but sit down and do the math!

For comparison:

Costco  1.99% on keyed in transactions + 25 cents per transaction. Costco also has a monthly fee of $20.
Paypal Here 3.5% / keyed transaction + 15 cents per. No monthly fee.

I started with what I wish I made: 4K a month. I guestimated 80 transactions.  Using those numbers, Costco would cost 119.60 vs. Paypal Here's 152.00. But... I don't make anywhere near that!

So I put in 1750 and 70 transactions. Here the prices were close: Costco came out to 72.33  vs. Paypal's 71.25

I upped it a bit to 2000 a month and 70 transactions... and Paypal edges ahead to 80.50 vs. Costco's 77.30.

Now I know that somewhere between 1750 and 2K a month, I need to get a cheaper processor. While it's nice to have goals, I haven't seen that kind of dough in five years.  Anyone wanna buy a swiper??? ;-)

24/7 Availability

So sorry to write another rant on heals of my last one but, somedays, I feel like I'm going off the deep end. And this subject has come up several times in the last MONTH for me.

WHEN did our society come to expect 24/7 availability from everyone all the time?  I'm an artist for Pete's sake! I need down time / quiet time / create time!

I know I complained about this on one of my 87 blogs so forgive me if you heard this before. But just a few weeks ago, I lost a class that would have put around 450 bucks in my pocket (and when you live well below the poverty level, as I do, that's A LOT OF MONEY!)!! WHY did I lose the class opportunity? I was in the shop organizing for said class and away from my computer for just less than three hours! I was by both my cell and shop phone but heaven forbid the college CALL ME!

When you order custom work, you still have to WAIT for it to be MADE!

When I complained on my Friend Facebook page (as opposed to the Fan Page, an old colleague of mine joined in. She had gotten a number of her recent film production jobs from people posting on her wall or emailing her through Facebook! Even old / former employers who have her direct email AND her cell phone number!

Then this past Friday, I was in major prep mode for my weekend class and again, away from my computer for exactly three hours. Someone had popped into my etsy and requested I put together a custom order for her of my silicone rubber necklaces. Now, I sell these on Etsy and Artfire so that someone buying one of my hearts has an option for easy display. I sell them for a darn cheap price (and even cheaper on my glass bead website). If someone doesn't figure that out, I'm fine taking extra money cause, hey, I gotta pay the etsy piper, right?

Because I felt guilty being off line for SO LONG, I immediately created the listing and THEN contacted her. No reply. I worried about it a bit over the weekend and tried to remind myself... people don't need to be online all the time. People have lives. I sent her a friendly reminder last night. This morning I hear from her...she "got tired" of waiting and purchased them for a higher price elsewhere!

Gee lady, it would have been nice if you TOLD me before I listed the custom order like YOU ASKED FOR! So... my lesson is your win! Mention this special, TODAY ONLY and get free shipping!

I really just wish everyone had a little more patience. If you need to order something special, remember, artists NEED time to create. If you haven't heard from someone you know in real life, CALL them. They probably feel grateful for the sound of your voice.

Why I Dare a/k/a I Hate Holly Hughes

WARNING - R RATED POST.... My young friends should skip this!

I caused quite a flurry on Facebook a few weeks ago - setting off a whole mess of emails from confused family and friends because I changed my name on Facebook. I dropped my legal last name. (Re: yesterday's post - Does anyone find it odd that you can change your legal given name on Facebook but...you can't add ONE WORD to your business name???)

And since I still get questions about this change, I thought I would spell it out in one linkable place.

Mystery Focal - My name is a mystery and so is this bead!

 

Due to the circumstances of my birth, I grew up with a last name that has zero meaning to me. It is not who I am. It makes things convenient for my family...that's all. I'm not attached to it in any way. I had always planned to change it to my father's name when I was 18. But he was long since deceased and I didn't really care for the kind of people my siblings on his side of the family were... it was not a name I wanted to share with them. So I kept the one I had for convenience and the alliteration (always a writer!) despite hating it for years....

I hated my last name because... I've always had a Holly Hughes twin in every facet of my life. And I hate her! All of them! The one I knew in high school... didn't have a good reputation. I was a good girl and hated being associated with her but I knew I was leaving for college. Yet another another found me in college. She was two steps from prostitution in my book. It was then I started using D - my middle initial to set me apart. Luckily she got married my sophomore year and I had two blissful years of being the only Holly Hughes in my life.

I moved to Los Angeles in 1987 and found another. HER - I truly despise. She was a performance artist. She got naked on stage and used toys to satisfy herself! For money! In front of strangers!!! Good grief! I worked for directors who had seen her shows and would pick at me endlessly. I always pointed to my middle initial... No, I'm Holly D.

Then one cold winter night, I found myself on some desolate set of a commercial I was production managing. I had nothing more to do until wrap except keep warm. One of our police officers had me sit in his car. We were bored. He ran my name for warrants as a joke. To my dismay there were 30 some Holly Hugheses in California and six had warrants out for their arrest! I didn't like those odds. I didn't like having to show my co-worker my i.d. so that he could verify that I didn't need to be hauled off to jail that very second!

Finally, I accepted myself as an artist. I was writing a book. It was the first time I was putting ME out there in the world and I simply deleted the last name that caused me so much pain. (Would you believe...the other Holly Hughes wrote a porn book the same year???? I can't get away from her!) When I bought my first business, I had the license put in the name Holly Dare and that's how I've thought of myself as ever since.

But with the advent of Facebook... things got muddy. As customer's became repeat customers and then friends, I would see them talking about my work and list me as Holly Hughes. It was upsetting to me and confusing to them. So I performed a Hughes-ectomy - I lopped it off and it will never return.

Just Couldn't Resist

A few months ago, I had a snarky seller write to me and claim this picture of my friction clasp necklaces was "stolen" from her.

I knew it was not. But, I also don't save the large original files from my accessories products to cut down on file space. I will admit...I do steal photos from time to time of the accessories I sell... from the manufacturer I purchase them from. I ask before I do and the attitude is always... if you sell more, we sell more. But this picture was taken on my own back porch.

I told her over and over I had not stolen anything from her. They are rubber and come tightly coiled from the manufacturer...that's the way they lay. But nothing doing... she just insisted. Tired of dealing with this little pest after her emailing me ALL day long, I grabbed a necklace and some red background paper. As I was editing the photo, I looked around on Etsy. I must have a direct link to the manufacturer because my price is cheaper than any other there.

And since I love having a go at someone who tormented me by wasting a day of my life, I couldn't resist a little photoshopping! Here's my NEW photo:

I couldn't wait to send her my new picture! Kinda cheeky but hey, payback is a rude girl! 

I sell these rubber necklaces to go with my off mandrel hearts: 

And as always... the price is much better on MY glass beads website!

+++++++++++++
I'm going to be crazed with taxes over the weekend but... the big customer appreciation sale goes on. Coupon code ThanksFans gets the maximum discount on my Artfire and my website: 25% off!

Still Too Hot

I really don't get me... Princess Redlocks who likes everything just right. Not too hot, not too cold. But why is it I'm filled with inspiration when the temperatures soar in one direction or the other???

I've been out in the shop for two days now...dripping puddles of sweat. And the pupster, a/k/a my supervisor, refuses to stay home where the temps are a good 20 degrees cooler! It's so hot, she never goes to sleep. She just rests in front of the fan I run for her, breathing like it's her last breath!

And I'm just happy as a lamb watching little (and not so little) lampwork glass beads being born!  Ideas and glass flowing with the sweat! But I finally had to give in and come in for a summertime heat remedy:

Orangesicle Ice Cream Glass Bead

Hope you are finding a way to stay cool!

The Desire for Junk

I was all a flutter yesterday when the most well known importer of Chinese crap lampwork glass beads decided to follow me on twitter. HUH??? WTH? As usual, I over analyze EVERYTHING!

Why are they following me? I don't sell enough to be considered a well-known beadmaker and I don't make enough to be considered prolific. Hmmm... Maybe they just want to steal ideas!!!!!! How DARE THEY! Well of course they dare...that's how they became the giant monolith of a vendor they are! (For those of you who are wondering, I'm referring to "that Texas sounding place;" First name is the capitol of Texas, last name Hamilton).

As I went to their twitter site to block them from reading my tweets, my heart sank as I realized they have twice as many followers as I do. It would seem there is an endless supply of people who want to buy cheap crappy beads instead of tasteful, well-made, properly cleaned and annealed art glass beads.  And I wonder why I can't make a living a this!  It's like educating the ocean, one drop at a time.

It's so odd that we all want lower prices, but we all want to be well paid for our time. I have always supported artists and hope and pray that one day, I find customers who feel the same way about me and my work.

Last Minute Lucy - FOILED!

Well, it appears there was some kind of Flickr glitch... The kind folks at ABS are adding me to the pool! Yay! And I SWEAR, I will try to get my entries in sooner!!!

Isle of Calypso Pendant
Originally uploaded by HollysFollyGlass

Well, maybe I've FINALLY learned my lesson about getting my entries into the Art Bead Scene's monthly contest on the last day. Even though I uploaded and sent them by 8 p.m. Pacific Time on the 30th, they were rejected! Most upsetting to work that hard on something and have them rejected.

I wasn't concerned when they didn't appear in the pool. I've uploaded late at night even and since it was a weekend... I waited. But then Monday, the post went up announcing the winner! I checked the pool, no pictures. I checked my photos and they were not showing as being part of the ABS pool. So... wah! That'll teach me. But, it also really annoys me! As I uploaded well before midnight and there is NO cutoff time publicized anywhere. Humph! Whatever...

On to the beads! Or the painting... I must admit, I HATED the inspiration painting and didn't get the beads made as early as I would have liked.... It's really hard when you are not inspired and, honestly, I really dislike abstract art. And this painting was so abstract.

But in the end, it was the colors that spoke to me. I used Alabastro glasses in beige and green and for the first time EVER, successfully worked copper into a bead! The center of the focal is oxidized copper.

About the Pendant: The black lines in the piece really spoke to me and so, instead of resorting to my usual sterling, I made the pendant with anodized steel.

The focal and two spacers were wire wrapped with generous loops to be able to slide onto any chain. The lines and squiggles at the bottom resemble the ones in the painting with the ends tucked to prevent them from poking into clothing or skin.

More spacers were added to the center wire for another pop of color.

Let's just see if I can catch the early train this month!

Oh and this necklace is available at Holly's Folly.