All-Star Sticking It To Bow Makers?

[allstarmama]

Anyone else kind of get the feeling that Yella is trying to "stick it to" all the bow makers left out there by offering up all her secrets? Not trying to start a huge debate here...it's just a feeling I get and maybe it's because I'm one of those bow makers. Everyone tries to be relatively tight lipped about their tried and true methods I think...as was she when she was selling bows. I've read a few of her posts on a different forum and she's basically saying that those of us that charge less aren't selling quality bows. Ha! I've seen her bows and mine are better and cost less! It always frustrated me that she was considered the end all be all bow maker. Sure she had unique bows that were pretty but her quality was not better than most of us that put an emphasis on it. Just kind of shaking my head as to her motives as of late.

 

[Lazydaisytoo]

So is she selling full tutorials now? Or just knocking others quality?

Pretty silly to knock other sellers' quality when she's now focusing on selling supplies to other sellers

On the flip side, the pricing rants have been going on Etsy since it started. I am a seller who looks at my shop as my job, and I price accordingly. I have calculated the cost of my materials, overhead, and time (so that I don't work in my own sweatshop). I have then set my store prices as RETAIL prices. That means that if a cool boutique contacts me and wants to place a wholesale order, I can do that without giving my product away. On the other side is the group who says, "I'm just doing this as a hobby, I only price to cover my materials." So, in the marketplace, I'm competing with people who sell similar items for half or even a quarter of my price. Therein lies the tension. I have to work harder to build my brand and plan my marketing to reach those customers who are looking for quality, not just the cheapest price.

 

[allstarmama]

She's not selling tutorials...she's offering all the info up for free. I don't know it just doesn't sit well with me. I am in the same boat as you as far as making and selling. I price my bows accordingly and they are still way cheaper than hers were. However, there is no quality sacrificed. In all honesty...I never thought her quality was superior. I had friends that spent tons of money on her bows only to have them fall apart. That's not to say it doesn't happen to all of us...we all have a bum bow here and there. But I looked at a lot of her bows and aside from being pretty they really weren't any better than most other real sellers (not the basement, crafty bow makers). Maybe I'm wrong but I just get the feeling she is trying to make it more difficult for those of us left and was curious if anyone else felt this way.

 

[DaniV]

Last time I checked she didn't have enough tutorials to build a more unique bow 100% (nothing on rhinestones except where to place decals) completely but it was pretty darn close and any crafty person could figure it out. Also, she uses glue instead of heat n bond which I where I personally think she loses some of the quality due to longevity, fraying and "stiffness" of the bow.

Lazydaisytoo whats your etsy shop?

 

[5-6-7-8]

Last time I checked she didn't have enough tutorials to build a more unique bow 100% (nothing on rhinestones except where to place decals) completely but it was pretty darn close and any crafty person could figure it out. Also, she uses glue instead of heat n bond which I where I personally think she loses some of the quality due to longevity, fraying and "stiffness" of the bow.

Lazydaisytoo whats your etsy shop?

Yes, the ones I have from her pulled apart. The ones I make with heat n bond are still going very strong.


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Lazydaisytoo]

Lazydaisytoo whats your etsy shop?

iPad Case Stands iPhone cases cell phone cases by sewingamity <<<< completely not bow related!

Ok, anyone who glues together a bow has no room to talk on quality. There are much more professional methods, as I'm sure other bow makers have figured out. Bonding fabrics used to be my least favorite part of production. A Craigslist heat press fixes that for me!

 

[Cheer-ful Mom]

I suspect there's a lot more to making quality bows than is in a simple tutorial. As a consumer (or the parent of a consumer), I am fairly crafty but I don't have the desire to make buy the necessary products and spend the time to make bows. I think most bowmakers charge a reasonable price for their product and I think only once have I seen a bow my CP had just fall apart. I'd rather pay you to make it than spend the time/money to figure it out myself. I think you're probably safe because most parents are busy and don't have time for this type of thing.

 

[DaniV]

iPad Case Stands iPhone cases cell phone cases by sewingamity <<<< completely not bow related!

OMG, I love the owls. I've never seen anything like those before.

 

[Lazydaisytoo]

I suspect there's a lot more to making quality bows than is in a simple tutorial. As a consumer (or the parent of a consumer), I am fairly crafty but I don't have the desire to make buy the necessary products and spend the time to make bows. I think most bowmakers charge a reasonable price for their product and I think only once have I seen a bow my CP had just fall apart. I'd rather pay you to make it than spend the time/money to figure it out myself. I think you're probably safe because most parents are busy and don't have time for this type of thing.

This 1000 times! I could make bows, but will I? Not likely! I will leave that to the pros.

 

[allstarmama]

This 1000 times! I could make bows, but will I? Not likely! I will leave that to the pros.

I don't really think every day moms are going to buy her kits. I just question her motive. The market is super saturated already and know it took me a lot of trial and error to come up with the way I do my bows now. There were no tutorials when I started out LOL.
It bothers me more that when asked why she gave it up she gave the answer about quality. Basically, she said she couldn't compete anymore because her bows are of such great quality that she has to charge those high prices. That people just care about finding the cheapest price. No, I think what happened was people realized they could get bows that were constructed better than hers at lower prices!

 

[Lazydaisytoo]

I don't really think every day moms are going to buy her kits. I just question her motive. The market is super saturated already and know it took me a lot of trial and error to come up with the way I do my bows now. There were no tutorials when I started out LOL.
It bothers me more that when asked why she gave it up she gave the answer about quality. Basically, she said she couldn't compete anymore because her bows are of such great quality that she has to charge those high prices. That people just care about finding the cheapest price. No, I think what happened was people realized they could get bows that were constructed better than hers at lower prices!

That's my point, I would not even buy a bow kit. I'd rather buy a bow from someone who knows what she's doing

As far as her pricing, (I won't touch on her quality) none of us can know her story. Maybe she runs this as a business, paying for liability insurance, CPSIA testing, large inventory of raw materials, etc.

When I first started my business, none of those things were on my radar. I used to make and sell adorable kids and baby clothes. Then CPSIA came along, and I dropped the kids stuff like a hot potato. You could not pay me to sell something with rhinestones on it to a kid. Even if I had the paperwork from the supplier, I would not want to tackle the labeling and tracking requirements. I would be willing to bet most bow makers are unaware or don't care about CPSIA.

 

[Nikaa]

Bashing other won't make you better.

 

[SamanthaFoor]

Bashing other won't make you better.

:kiss:

 

[Cheeranswers]

to me this thread kind of seems bitter. Im not trying to offend you, but its one thing to ask if people feel yella is doing this on purpose, its another to talk yourself up and them down, which im seeing a lot of. To me it kind of makes sense that yella's doing this because they are shutting down. They might as well share tutorials! I feel its probably more of a good deed to help others learn, than to try to sabotage other bow makers.

 

[cheernerd5678]

I don't make bows to sell, but I've made some at home just for fun... because my parents aren't going to pay $20 for bows haha, so I make them myself. I've watched her tutorials and they aren't anything I hadn't already figured out for myself, just through trial and error, other than the part about placing rhinestones. As for the glue thing, I use glue but I'm just making them for myself so it's fine if I have to reglue them hahaha. I guess they would be helpful to people just starting but I don't really think they're doing that much for people, they still have to go through trial and error to get it right. No video tutorial is going to make you able to physically get the tails right, shape right, etc. you just kind of have to mess with it... Bottom line I don't think they're really anything revolutionary...