That Hobby Looks Like a Lot of Work - nytimes.com

December 17, 2009

By ALEX WILLIAMS

QUIT your day job?

To some craft enthusiasts that is just the name of a popular blog on Etsy, the fast-growing Web site that serves as a marketplace for crafts and vintage goods.

But to Yokoo Gibran, it was an epiphany.

Ms. Gibran, who is in her 30s, had been selling her hand-knit scarves and accessories on the site for less than a year when she decided last November to quit her day job at a copy center in Atlanta. Thirteen months later, she would seem to be living the Etsy dream: running a one-woman knitwear operation, Yokoo, from her home and earning more than $140,000 a year, more than many law associates.

Jealous? How could you not be? Her hobby is her job. But consider this before you quit your day job: at the pace she’s working, she might as well be a law associate.

“I have to wake up around 8, get coffee or tea, and knit for hours and hours and hours and hours,” said Ms. Gibran, who leveraged the exposure she got on the site to forge a deal with Urban Outfitters. “I’m like an old lady in a chair, catching up on podcasts, watching old Hitchcock shows. I will do it for 13 hours a day.” And even after all those hours knitting, she is constantly sketching new designs or trading e-mail messages with 50 or more customers a day.

“Etsy saved my life,” Ms. Gibran said. But, she added, “this is the hardest job I’ve ever had.”

These days, the fantasy of building a career on Etsy, an eBay of sorts of the do-it-yourself movement, is not just the stuff of dreams. Even before the recession, the site, which was founded in Brooklyn in 2005, was riding the “crafting” boom to prominence. When the job market collapsed, many hobbyists who already were selling jewelry or glassware as a sideline suddenly needed a real income.

While most people would find it impossible to meet a mortgage payment selling $8 crocheted mug cozies, some top-sellers on Etsy have moved beyond the stage of earning pocket money and are building careers — in some cases, earning six-figure incomes.

But even the successes add a note of “seller beware.” To build a profitable business on the site, they say — well, it’s a business. You need to build a brand identity, which often means courting design blogs or the news media. You need to manage distribution, which might mean standing in post office lines with a baby on your hip and a garbage bag filled with 30 self-packed boxes to ship. And as with any start-up, you need to maintain the morale of the labor force, which can be particularly challenging when you are the labor force, and the workday runs from “Good Morning America” to “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”

“Working from home, people think it’s so easy and great,” said Caroline Colom Vasquez, of Austin, Tex., who last year made $120,000 in sales from her Etsy shop, Paloma’s Nest, which specializes in ceramic and wood collectables for weddings and other special occasions. But “there’s nobody there to tell you to take a break, or take a vacation.”

This year, she expects her business to have $250,000 in sales, but she will have to divide that with the three employees she just hired because Ms. Vasquez, who has a young daughter, could no longer handle the strain.

“I physically could just not do it in 24 hours,” she said. “My husband and I used to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning before the baby, then stay up till 1 or 2, stamping boxes, making shipping labels.”

As sales heated up for the holidays, Angie Davis, a former project architect in Minneapolis who lost her job last year, said her Etsy shop, Byrd and Belle, which sells handmade handbags and cases for iPods, laptops and cellphones, has “easily matched a month of architecture salary in five days, but I’m also working 16 hours a day.” To deal with the holiday rush, Ms. Davis said, she had to produce 112 cases in 48 hours, which involved turning her loft into a mini assembly line, where she cut leather and stitched and sewed cotton and wool fabric until 10 p.m. “It’s surprising how physical it can be on my core muscles,” she said. To get the work processed in time, she had to call in her mother from Iowa to help make tags and press fabric.

The number of people turning to Etsy as a full-time career is unknown. The site does not track how many of its members try to make a living, and it does not disclose the sales figures for individual sellers, said Maria Thomas, chief executive of Etsy. But over the last year, the number of registered members has more than doubled to 3.75 million, and the Quit Your Day Job blog on Etsy now attracts 2 million page views a month.

Several shop owners interviewed for this article, including Morgan Peterson, who runs a fashion label — Eliza + Axel — on Etsy, view their layoffs from traditional jobs as an opportunity to build a more fulfilling career online. In Ms. Peterson’s case, she lost her job as an assistant designer for Dillard’s and decided to create and sell her own line, made from reclaimed fabrics.

“In fashion school, they tell you you can do anything, they push you to be creative, but as soon as you get a job in a corporate environment, you’re only able to do certain things and it has to make money,” said Ms. Peterson, who said that she supplements her income on Etsy by selling wholesale to several boutiques. “With Etsy, I have my styles that make a lot of money, but I can also put work out there that I do just for creative reasons.”

As with eBay, start-up costs are a lot lower for people opening a “shop” on Etsy than a shop on Main Street; the site charges sellers 20 cents for each item listed and 3.5 percent of each sale. Etsy, which has a user base consisting largely of women, also provides a support network, including several blogs and forums where sellers swap tips and words of encouragement.

A healthy income, however, is far from guaranteed. After Tara Scheuerman was laid off from her job as an office assistant at a college in Milwaukee, she started a company, Cracked Designs, that sells greeting cards and wedding invitations on Etsy. After a slow start, she said she is thrilled to be selling more than 50 cards a week and is optimistic about her long-term earnings, but said she now spends more than 40 hours a week on her line, not only designing and making her products, but tirelessly promoting them on design blogs like Poppytalk and Design*Sponge as well as in magazines (her cards were recently featured in House Beautiful). So far, she said, she is earning about $15,000 to $20,000 a year, which on the low end works out to about $7.25 an hour — the same as Wisconsin’s minimum wage.

“You have to be really realistic with your goals and know you’re probably not even going to make a profit the first couple of years,” said Ms. Scheuerman, 26, who relies primarily on her husband’s income.

Such experiences were the focus of an essay, much-circulated among so-called Etsians, that ran last June in DoubleX, an online lifestyle magazine. In it, the journalist Sara Mosle (also a contributor to The New York Times) argued that Etsy was profiting off unrealistic expectations held by many women. “What Etsy is really peddling isn’t only handicrafts,” Ms. Mosle wrote, “but also the feminist promise that you can have a family and create hip arts and crafts from home during flexible, reasonable hours while still having a respectable, fulfilling, and remunerative career.”

But the experiences of at least some of the site’s successes, like Ms. Vasquez, don’t support that view. Still, Ms. Vasquez said, there is an unforeseen psychic tax even when — or especially if — one’s profit outstrip initial expectations. As her business, once a sideline run from the kitchen table, grew into a six-figure powerhouse, her work not only swallowed more rooms of her house, but also her family life. At dinners, she and her husband talked only about business.

“I felt like I was being a bad mother, a bad wife, being all-consumed by business. That was the breaking point,” she said. Ms. Vasquez has found time to exhale, at least occasionally, since hiring a staff. The family even took a trip, the first since she started the business, to the nearby Texas Hill Country.

Still, the challenge is to find balance. “What’s the point of doing something you love,” she asked, “if you are too exhausted to do what you love?”

Super Bad : A Little Etsy Tribute to MJ

Whatever you think about Michael Jackson, despite all the craziness, scandals, and nicknaming a child blanket. MJ was undoubtedly a legend in his own time, an icon of the 80's, and a true talent. I was never an insane MJ fan as a 80's kid...owned a few of his records, never really learned to moonwalk, but I definitely couldn't ever flip the channel when he came on MTV.

In this time, it seems like anyone can rise to fame with the right PR stunt & marketing campaign without having any real talent, the tv & media tell everyone whats good and they tend to believe it. Ever since the Execs started to learn in the 50s that the youth could to be a mass consumer market with plenty of cash to cash in on they've rode the wave ever since, constantly looking for the next best thing to buy and sell.

Regardless of the millions they might make, only true artists have that timeless quality, creativity, and lasting appeal to wow pop culture junkies & audiophiles for decades to come. Will anyone be studying Britney Spears or the lastest dirty south jam in music history class 50 or 100 years from now? Probably not. Will they know about the Jackson 5 and the sparkley glove? Probably.

*About two weeks ago, I was speeding on my favorite backroad on my way to Joann's for some supplies, it was about 9am, perfectly sunny, popped in my 80s mix cd and sang The Way You Make Me Feel really loudly with the windows down.

Michael Jackson Tribute Tee by JunkPrints

Michael Jackson Wall Decal by PaulasDecals

Missing a Star Michael Jackson Tribute Necklace by onelifejewelry

King of Pop Tote Bag by BluePlanetCreations

Happy Medium - NYtimes.com

By ROB WALKER

THE CRAFTY CHICA

Kathy Cano-Murillo — better known to fans as the Crafty Chica — has gradually expanded her audience for years, making objects with a glittery Latino aesthetic and offering instructions and tips to those who want to do the same. Her most recent venture is the creation of a line of branded craft supplies and packaged projects, and it is finding its way into mass retail. In a way, this is a natural transition: first, Martha Stewart told us what to do, then she sold the branded material we needed to do it. But this may be less a story of someone with a niche following going mainstream than an example of the evolution of the do-it-yourself business in general.

In 1990, Cano-Murillo and her husband, Patrick Murillo, began collaborating on paintings and other items, using what she calls a Mexican Pop Art style: bright colors, skulls, saints and campy-vintage imagery. While they had some success, they also had trouble turning it into a sustainable business, and Cano-Murillo, who lives in Phoenix, took a part-time job in the production department of The Arizona Republic newspaper. She became a news clerk and later an entertainment writer. She resisted an assignment to do an “arts and crafts” column for the paper until she discovered the Web site Getcrafty.com, where a new and more youthful version of the D.I.Y. idea was taking shape; that was 1999. By the following year she wasn’t simply writing about the craft scene; she was part of it, starting her own CraftyChica.com site.

Cano-Murillo, who in conversation projects astonishing positivity, calls her entrepreneurial style “enthusiastic desperation.” This translates to a range of tactics to convert creativity into a business: selling handmade jewelry and various arty objects; publishing several how-to books (her latest, “Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing,” is just out); and even offering a Crafty Chica cruise-ship package. Her product line — including Crafty Chica Glitter, Mojito Papers for use in scrapbooking or decoupage projects and the Love Shrine Workshop-in-a-Box — first appeared on the shelves of Michaels, the big-box craft-supplies chain, and a variety of independent shops last year. But the aesthetic of Crafty Chica and of much of the Web craft generation seems in some ways an odd fit for traditional craft retail. Cano-Murillo recalls searching a trade show for examples of “cool, Latino-centric” craft products just a few years ago and finding nothing more than jalapeño stickers and the like. (“Ooh, olé,” she says dryly.) But at the most recent Craft and Hobby Association convention and trade show in January, that decidedly mainstream organization made the “indie craft” movement a main focus, choosing Cano-Murillo as a success-story special guest on the subject. (Another featured guest was Jenny Hart, whose Sublime Stitching embroidery designs run more toward tattoo art than, say, floral patterns.)

Anecdotal reports have suggested that the business of crafting may not be suffering quite so much as the rest of the retail landscape in the current recession. But whatever the state of the economy, the Craft and Hobby Association is largely focused on expanding the sales of its mass-oriented member companies. (Alt-craft aside, the show also included a preview of craft products from, of all people, Paris Hilton.) And it’s fair to say that some indie crafters are skeptical about the attention. CraftyPod, an influential blog and podcast, noted with exasperation that the material at the show described new-wave crafters in the context of “the hippie generation.” Cano-Murillo is perhaps uniquely situated to bridge this craft gap. She’s widely known in the indie world and has built her own contact list of a few hundred indie stores. But last year she quit her newspaper job to work for Duncan Enterprises, maker of well-known craft products like Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue, and that move made it possible to approach big chains like Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft. (She still writes her syndicated craft column.)

What Cano-Murillo seems to get is that if the mainstream D.I.Y. business considers the growing indie craft scene as a way to expand its market, then any given indie crafter can seize that attention to do the same thing. For her the point isn’t to become another Martha Stewart — it’s more the opposite of that. “Martha has always been an inspiration to me, in a weird way, because I cannot do her type of crafts, no matter how hard I try,” Cano-Murillo says. “So my thing has been embracing that I can’t do it — and celebrating my own style.” And now, it happens, she can do so in a mainstream retail setting.

A Craft Revolution - Columbus Dispatch

New generation of do-it-yourselfers churns out goods

Thursday, March 5, 2009 3:39 AM

By Kevin Joy

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Embroidery instructor Amy Dalrymple Murphy, left, helps Jill Burton get started during an embroidery class at Wholly Craft!

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COURTNEY HERGESHEIMER | DISPATCH

Embroidery instructor Amy Dalrymple Murphy, left, helps Jill Burton get started during an embroidery class at Wholly Craft!

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COURTNEY HERGESHEIMER | DISPATCH

Crocheted anatomical heart Shannon Gerard (Toronto): $8

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LEONARDO CARRIZO | DISPATCH PHOTOS

Crocheted anatomical heart Shannon Gerard (Toronto): $8

Bottlecap pin Emily Kircher (Madison, Wis.): $5

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Bottlecap pin Emily Kircher (Madison, Wis.): $5

Ohio corn pin AmyD (Columbus): $5

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Ohio corn pin AmyD (Columbus): $5

Hand-sewn stationery Umbrella Girl Productions (Columbus): $7

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Hand-sewn stationery Umbrella Girl Productions (Columbus): $7

Olivera Bratich, owner of Wholly Craft! in the Clintonville neighborhood

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COURTNEY HERGESHEIMER | DISPATCH

Olivera Bratich, owner of Wholly Craft! in the Clintonville neighborhood

Inside a cotton-candy-colored shop, where crocheted cupcakes hang in the windows and indie-rock tunes float through the air, seven women sat with sewing needles.

Their teacher, 39-year-old Amy Dalrymple Murphy, sporting pink Converse sneakers and jeans with pinup-girl patches, struggled to perfect a difficult stitch.

"OK, this one makes you want to shoot someone in the face," she said. "But isn't it pretty?"

Hosting the kitschy klatsch: Wholly Craft!, a Clintonville neighborhood shop whose shelves hold jewelry made from recyclables, tote bags fashioned from T-shirts and body soap in the shape of grenades.

Patrons can buy washable cloth menstrual pads, aprons with a sewn-in pocket for beer bottles or embroidery patterns featuring geese and the phrase "Honk if you're horny."

"People think things are low-quality if they're goofy," said shop owner Olivera Bratich, 28. "But the best stuff can be offbeat and irreverent."

Although independent crafters have been doing business for years, their wares were typically relegated to infrequent bazaars or homespun Web sites.

A rise in the do-it-yourself culture, blog buzz and the desire to shop locally have helped old-school crafting make a comeback, fueled by new-wave aesthetics and an all-inclusive attitude.

"There's been a big resurgence," said Adam Brown, spokesman for www.etsy.com, a New York marketplace for crafts. "You're buying directly from the creator."

Founded in 2005, Etsy counts 200,000 active sellers and lists 3.2 million handmade items. It took in about $90 million in total sales last year.

Murphy was one of only a few Etsy sellers in Columbus when she joined four years ago. Now, Brown said, central Ohio counts more than 1,000 sellers on the site, with several locals among Etsy's overall top earners.

"(Etsy) changed what people's idea of crafting is," Murphy said. "I could relate to all this stuff I had never seen before."

Such business, however, isn't exclusive to the Web. Brick-and-mortar spaces for crafts are growing, and, in some cases, thriving.

Bratich opened Wholly Craft! in 2005, moving two years later to a larger neighboring storefront as her clientele grew. The goods, sold on consignment, are made by independent crafters throughout North America with cheeky product lines such as Damned Dollies and Get Felt Up. Many sellers are in central Ohio.

Murphy, who makes custom clothing from "found" materials, opened a shop nearby last summer.

Sew to Speak -- a store dealing in independent fabrics and sewing instruction, which last month celebrated its first year in business -- operates on High Street north of Henderson Road.

And, in December, Washington transplant Libby Bruce opened the high-end yarn store Wonder Knit next to Wholly Craft! along a retail strip the 27-year-old has dubbed the "Clintonville Crafts District."

Meanwhile, about 20 alt-crafters known as the Columbus Crafty Cotillion meet monthly to encourage one another while cultivating and promoting local crafts.

Most sellers still rely on day jobs to make a living. But the work, with its anti-corporate roots in punk-rock culture, is satisfying, said Emily-Kitturah Westenhouser, a 30-year-old Columbus art teacher who makes hand-sewn stationery from vintage paper.

"I think people are really excited to buy handmade things," she said.

Amy Neiwirth, an art teacher from the Short North who creates polymer-clay jewelry pieces that resemble food and sweets, said she's "lucky to break even" but has expanded to sell her crafts at Chicago and Boston stores.

Thanks to networking, Neiwirth's work last year caught the eye of Hollywood: Pieces from her Sweet Stella Designs label were included in the MTV Movie Awards gift bags.

"My time-management skills are getting a workout," said Neiwirth, 28. "It's a labor of love."

Her peers understand.

At a recent Columbus Crafty Cotillion gathering, an open get-together on the last Monday of each month at the Surly Girl Saloon, the ladies wind down by talking business, Bedazzlers and boyfriends over beers.

"I know I can come here and say, 'What are you working on?' " said Megan Green, a 31-year-old office manager and crafter from Merion Village who makes soap and plush monsters.

"They're an awesome source of inspiration."

kjoy@dispatch.com

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Gatherings

Some developments in the growing alt-craft scene:

• The addition of an indie-craft fair to the sixth Agora gathering, a twice-yearly art, music and performance show at Junctionview Studios in Grandview Heights

• The return of Artisan Sundays at the North Market -- a summer craft sale founded last year that will be staged twice monthly from May through October

• The continuation of the Craftin' Outlaws and Tiny Canary fairs in the fall (seller applications for both events are up, organizers say)

• The debut -- in the spring -- of three new craft-centered events: Kidzartz, the Columbus Torah Academy Craftstravaganza and the Etsy Team Columbus Eco-Chic Craftacular

• The Ohio State Fair's recent approval of Columbus Crafty Cotillion's indie-craft bazaar at this year's fair

Hey Ohio!!! You can now find Lova Revolutionary : Handmade + Art @ Wholly Craft! Stop by and check out my lovely Owl Brooches, Birdie Brooches, & Big Tweet Plush! (P.S. My fam hails from the Cleveland Area, Go Ohio! Get Crafty)

Lead law may sink small businesses - fosters.com

Lead law may sink small businesses

By JASON CLAFFEY jclaffeyfosters.com jclaffey@fosters.com

Sunday, January 25, 2009

John Huff/Staff photographer Durham resident Christina Buteau makes children's clothes for vendors across the country. She says she will be forced to go out of business on Feb. 10 due to a federal law requiring that children's toys be tested for lead.

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — When millions of children's toys imported from China were recalled in 2007 because they contained too much lead, Jen Houghton, owner of The Little Hat Company in South Berwick, said customers would come to her store, which features handmade goods, specifically to avoid buying contaminated toys.

The Little Hat Company carries a variety of children's items, from mittens made out of old sweaters to winter hats made by stay-at-home moms who work for the company — and people were comforted by the fact they didn't come from China, she said.

But now a federal law passed in response to the imported toys debacle could have the unintended consequence of putting small shop owners like Houghton out of business, along with independent crafters.

As of Feb. 10, any consumer product designed for children 12 and younger can't be sold if it contains more than 600 parts per million of lead. On Aug. 14, the limit will drop to 300 ppm, and the products will be required to be tested by a third party (other than the maker and seller) — which can cost $350 per item component.

The law was broadly worded to include not only imported toys, but items like children's books and clothing accessories.

While large toy makers like Mattel, which had millions of its toys imported from China recalled, can absorb those costs, small businesses like Houghton's can't.

"It's scary. We're hit already with the economy, and if we lose our children's hat market ...," Houghton said, trailing off.

She is currently selling hats for half price and turning away local crafters who want to sell their handmade goods in her store. She has been contacting lawmakers and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, pleading that changes be made to the law.

Patty Davis, a spokeswoman for the commission, the federal agency charged with enforcing the law, said store owners like Houghton "should be prepared to comply with the law."

The commission is aware of the effect the law could have on shop owners, Davis said, but may not be able make exceptions because of its strict wording. It applies to any "consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age and younger," according to the law's text.

The law, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, was revised by lawmakers in 2008 to require the testing of both imported and domestic children's items. It was overwhelmingly supported, passing by a vote of 407-0 in the House of Representatives and 79-13 in the Senate.

Christina Buteau, who runs the Cuddlebee's craft business out of her Durham home, said lawmakers had good intentions by putting safeguards in place to protect children, but overlooked the impact the law would have on small businesses.

"I don't think they intentionally meant to hurt the little people, but that's what they've done," she said.

Buteau, who sells baby blankets, bibs, and burp clothes to hundreds of customers and vendors across the country, including The Little Hat Company, is afraid she won't be able to continue her business.

"What are you going to do?" she said. "These are all handmade products made in the United States ... we're just sewing fabrics together. (The commission) is going to have to come to some middle ground."

Earlier this month, the commission issued a statement saying resellers and sellers of used children's products will not be required to test their products if they already meet safety standards, as the law states manufacturers are responsible for testing their products. But for crafters who make their own goods, even goods that are made from tested materials, would still be required to pay for testing, because they technically act as the manufacturer.

Lead is a neurotoxin that even in small doses can stunt growth in children and cause learning disabilities, hearing problems, anemia and brain-related developmental problems.

Houghton said she understands children should be protected from lead-tainted products, but finds it ironic owners like herself will be disproportionately affected when contaminated toys imported by large companies were the impetus for the law.

Adam Brown, a spokesman for Etsy.com, an online market for buying and selling handmade crafts, agreed the law unfairly affects small businesses.

"It's ironic and funny, if it wasn't tragic," he said. The law "is really intended for big companies who make thousands of toys."

Houghton said about 25 percent of her inventory is comprised of locally made craft items, which she will no longer be able to sell come August. She has been contemplating putting all children's items in storage in the hope the law will be revised, or selling them for adults and pets only.

"Whatever we have to do to stay in business," she said.

Kerry Wood, co-owner of the Noggin Factory in Dover, said she will be forced to no longer accept toys from local crafters because they can't afford the testing.

"It seems to me a bit of an overkill," Wood said of the law.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission currently has no plans to subsidize testing costs for small businesses. The penalty for violating the law is a fine of up to $100,000. Before the revisions to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act were ratified, the maximum fine was $5,000.

The commission has the authority to interpret how the law is enforced. Davis, the commission spokeswoman, said her organization has been receiving comments from small business owners and will issue another statement before February.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted for the law, said the commission hasn't given clear guidance to store owners.

She added that she will work with the commission to "improve the clarity of these new regulations to prevent unintended consequences from negatively impacting our nation's businesses."

Maine's 1st District U.S. Representative, Democrat Chellie Pingree, urged the commission to exempt items that contain materials that "aren't risky" like wool or unfinished wood.

"I'm deeply concerned about child safety, but also sensitive to any unreasonable regulations that might drive small companies out of business," she said in a statement.

Buteau, the owner of Cuddlebee's, said she hoped an exception could be made for owners like herself.

"These are little people. Isn't that supposed to be the American dream, to own your own business?" she said. "I'm just really hopeful something will change."

John Huff/Staff photographer Marshwood High School Senior Emma Morrison holds a silk-screen T-shirt and a pair of knitted booties, both made by local artisans. For more info visit: http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/ Help Save Handmade!

Dressing For Recession - npr.org

Day to Day, November 26, 2008 · Retail spending is down — holiday sales are expected to be the worst in 20 years — but one writer and stay-at-home dad found a way to produce new children's clothes on the cheap. Well, at least they're new-looking clothes.

I was walking along a gritty, windswept thoroughfare in one of the outlying neighborhoods of San Francisco when my daughter, holding my hand, suddenly refused to move.

Emmeline pointed at the Salvation Army sign in front of us and protested, "No! I don't want to go to the fabric store!"

Because she is 2 years old and weighs as much as a Furby, I picked her up and went inside the thrift store anyway. Together we thumbed through vintage jackets and the kind of gaudy, sweat-stained blouses that were once high fashion for the Mad Men highball set and their cocktail-party wives.

Now, these oversized castoffs and floral relics are my toddler's clothes.

I call it Recession Wear.

As the economy takes a turn for the worse, our family has changed the way we shop for everyday necessities. Instead of shelling out $40 for the latest Janie and Jack dress or $30 for something from the Gap or Gymboree, we are treating thrift stores like fabric bazaars — buying ancient wool skirts or vibrant cotton sundresses and ripping them apart for the material.

Sure, there is the occasional embarrassing encounter with a worried clerk who wonders what a stumpy, stubble-faced man is doing in the women's section, holding up adult dresses to his daughter's chin — but it's worth it.

A few cuts here, a little elastic there — maybe some delicate pink piping along the hem — and we can produce children's clothes for a tiny fraction of store-bought prices.

My grandparents were raised during the Great Depression and spent the rest of their lives hoarding rubber bands, bacon grease and batteries. It used to fill me with empathy and embarrassment that they would actually rinse out Ziploc bags and reuse them. "Poor people," I thought. "Don't they know there's always more?"

I was raised in the Disposable Generation of Styrofoam boxes and plastic water bottles. If something ran out, you simply got a new one.

But this year, we are re-evaluating not just how we spend our money but also the lessons we pass on to a new generation.

I made Emmeline a skirt the other day out of a men's sport coat once sold exclusively at the Watergate Hotel. You can't buy that kind of fashion statement at Target.

On our most recent trip, Emmeline's glowery mood changed when she happened upon a shirt decorated with farm animals and said, "Ooh, now doesn't this look nice!"

I examined it and agreed, asking, "What do you want to do with it?"

Emmeline twirled her toe on the speckled Formica floor and thought it over for a moment.

A smile widened on her face: "Oh, I think that will make just the prettiest dress."

Her latest outfit cost $1.50.

The steady decline of eBay - guardian.co.uk blogs

Nielsen's traffic data shows a steady decline in US eBay user numbers going back to the start of last year, Silicon Alley Insider notes. Factoring seasonal trends, like growth in the long month of January (presumably when everyone tries to flog their unwanted Christmas presents) and a dip in the summer, there is still an decline in average unique user numbers in those 21 months. By October this year, unique users were down 10% year on year, page views down 33% and the average time spent on the site per user had dropped 19%.

What is the cause of eBay's problems? Henry Blodget blames eBay failing to turn the business around, as well as overpricing and competition. We'll need to be further into the recession to see if difficult economic times mean far less people spending money on luxury second-hand stuff on eBay, or of the site might actually see some evidence of people trying to make essential extra cash by selling stuff they don't need.

But even if that is the case, eBay users have been frustrated by various rule changes, and the introduction of bulk retail listings in August this year that reinforced a very different direction from the home-seller users that got the site going. And as eBay moves towards a larger-scale retail model, and alienates the 'amateur' sellers who one formed its core audience, so sites like Etsy.com will continue to thrive.

• Update: More data on eBay; this time, UK figures show the site actually continuing to increase its UK audience in the past year.

Nielsen recorded eBay with 14.447 million unique users during October 2007 which, with some more of that seasonal wobble, rose gradually to a record 15.841 million unique users last month. That's year-on-year growth of 9.6%, according to Nielsen.

So how can eBay in the US be losing 10% of users in a year, while the UK gains 9%? Analyst Jim Clark of Mintel said there's a definite credit crunch factor: "UK consumers are the most sophisticated in Europe and it makes sense that they would be trying to do more online to extend the value of the pound," he said.

Mintel research had shown that between July and October there was a 5% increase in visitor numbers to price comparison sites in the UK, and consumers are also spending more at supermarket sites. That means consumers are "removing the possibility of impulse buying," said Clark.

eBay's decision to stop allowing negative feedback was extremely controversial with that original audience of lone sellers, and users will also have been inspired to try rival sites with lower listing fees. "eBay is the main price point, so that is the price to beat. Generally, consumers are more aware of other sites [like Etsy]."

Clark also added that security is a factor; consumers will prefer established brands they know rather than web entities.

The UK has heavy broadband penetration, and may well be ahead of the US in trends. Further into the recession eBay will have a clearer idea if it is working in its favour, or against it.

Perhaps, as one Twitter suggested, eBay might end up trying to offload Skype, the well-respected VOIP service it acquired in 2005.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2008/nov/26/ebay-efinance/print

Black Friday shopping strategies - latimes.com

It takes a lot of stamina and a real hankering for a good deal to brave the local mall or electronics store on Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving. On what is traditionally the most crowded, frantic shopping day of the year, retail spots open at ungodly early hours and offer "doorbuster" bargains that last just a few hours or until supplies run out. Lines often stretch around the block.

Last year at a Fountain Valley Fry's Electronics, one group of shoppers landed the front position in line by showing up a full day early and holding their spot by switching off for food and bathroom breaks. Group members had done reconnaissance the week before -- they were all clutching index cards with product codes, aisle numbers and maps of the store. Considering joining the hordes? Here are some tips:

• If you're planning to hit some of the midnight or early-morning openings, bring Thanksgiving leftovers to nibble on or scope out nearby coffee and snack shops beforehand and find out when they open.
• Plan ahead, says Becky Whritenour, 50, a saleswoman from Long Beach and longtime Black Friday shopper. She spends Thanksgiving highlighting "attack points" -- products she's eyeing -- and clipping coupons for stores she intends to visit.
• Don't bother trying to sweet-talk your way into the store early -- in Whritenour's 30 years of shopping Black Friday sales, she has never encountered a lenient store guard.
• Dress in layers -- waiting outside can be cold at first, but you'll warm up soon from the sheer number of people. Whritenour keeps her wallet in a fanny pack and takes along a large backpack and collapsible dolly to stash her purchases.
• Get there early for a decent parking space -- crucial for when you're unloading your haul -- and to score a prime space in line. Last year, Whritenour was waiting with nearly 100 people when JCPenney opened at 4 a.m. but was told that people at the front had arrived at 1 a.m.

Read on to find out how one veteran shopper avoids lines entirely ...

Adam Bell, 41, a freelance Web designer from Santa Clarita, likes his Black Fridays a little more leisurely. "I've done the line thing, but it's not worth it to sit there for hours to save $100, and then only if you're the first two people," he said. "It's not like you're camping out for a Grateful Dead concert." In 25 years of hitting stores during the shopping blitz, he's picked up a few pointers:

• Websites like bfads.net and blackfriday.info post ads in advance, so Hall checks them out to figure out what's worth looking for in stores. He tries to get some shopping out of the way while he's online, or waits until the next week, when many stores offer discounts on Cyber Monday (Dec. 1 this year).
• If a store is in a highly trafficked area, he tends to skip it. For example, the Staples in Valencia tends to draw huge crowds, he said, but the branch close to his house usually has a small line.
• He scopes out areas where multiple stores on his list are only a short drive apart. He then creates a schedule, as he did last year, when he decided to go to Mervyns first because he knew the $99 vacuum he wanted at Kohl's was probably going to survive the initial rush. "You've got to pick and choose," Hall said. "Go to places where you know the stuff you want won't go away in 10 seconds."

Finally, the frenzy of the day may leave you a grumpy, sleep-deprived wreck, but don't forget to give and get some holiday spirit. Whritenour experienced it firsthand one Black Friday when she was navigating narrow aisles on crutches after a recent foot surgery, narrowly avoiding unruly children. While she was waiting at the end of a long checkout line in a Robinsons-May store, trying to maintain her balance while holding on to her purchases, a clerk opened a new register and let Whritenour go to the front of the line. And no one complained.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Shop like a pro: Some tips for saving on everything - canadianpress.google.com

NEW YORK — Paying full price for something? Not in these tough economic times.

Here are some tips to finding the best bargains, whether it's groceries, clothes or a pair of boots:

FOR THE MALL RAT:

-Buy off-season.

Purchase things like swimsuits and air conditioners in winter, and skis and winter coats in the summer, Helen Malani, online shopping expert for Shopzilla, said in an email.

-Limit errand running.

Not only does it save gas, by making fewer stops you're less likely to be tempted by impulse purchases, said Kim Danger, family savings expert for Coupons.com.

-Ask about discounts.

Many retailers have special discounts for working professionals, seniors and people who belong to certain organizations, said Ellen Davis, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. Ask at the register.

-Keep the receipt.

If you go back and see an item you recently purchased on sale, you may be able to get a price adjustment, said Danger.

-Consider layaway.

It's a great way to shop early and avoid charging purchases, said Davis.

-Sign up for rebates and rewards programs.

For free or at a minimal cost, you can get things like special discounts and cash back after spending a certain amount, said Danger.

FOR THE CLOTHES HORSE:

-Clean out the closet.

There's nothing like purchasing something and realizing three months later you have the same item, said shopping expert Amy Blankenship Sewell.

-Shop full price, but buy on sale.

When you're considering purchasing something on sale, ask yourself if you would buy the item if it was full price, said Sewell. If the answer is no, consider passing.

-Negotiate.

In upscale stores, a sale means the store wants to get rid of the item, said Jim Camp, author of "NO: The Only Negotiation System You Need for Work and Home." See if you can negotiate another markdown, said Camp.

-Give clearance a chance.

You may have to dig, but some items the store is practically giving away, said Karen Hoxmeier, founder and owner of MyBargainBuddy.com.

-Beware of the plastic.

You may save 10 per cent when you sign up, but Sewell warns that studies show people buy more from a store when they have the retailer's credit card.

-Shop secondhand.

You can find items for up to 90 per cent off the original retail price.

FOR THE HUNGRY FAMILY

-Check the web.

Go to store websites to see in-store specials. Online coupons tend to have a higher value than those you find in the paper, said Danger.

-Consider the little guy.

Some of the best deals are at smaller markets, such as local vegetable stores and farmers markets, said Camp.

-Ask the butcher.

Large supermarkets need to move their highly perishable meat and fish and will generally give you large quantities at a deep discount, said Camp. Freeze what you don't need immediately.

-Clip coupons.

Coupon companies issue more coupons at this time of year, so it may even pay to buy two copies of the Sunday paper, said Danger. Combine coupons with in-store sales to maximize savings, she said.

-Keep a price book.

Keep track of the price of the products you buy regularly in a notebook, said Danger. You'll begin to notice that sometimes advertised sales aren't the best bargains and that some stores' everyday prices are lower than sales prices at other stores.

-Consider the drug store.

Sometimes the drug store has cheaper cereal, milk and soda than the larger supermarket, said Sewell.

-Buy fruit that's in season.

Hint: It's the fruit that's on sale.

-Leave the kids at home.

Besides sneaking things into the basket, they can distract you from being patient and figuring out what's the best deal, Sewell said.

-Larger doesn't mean better.

Read the price per kilogram or price per gram, said Danger. A larger quantity may not be the better deal.

FOR THE WEB SURFER:

-Compare prices.

Comparison shopping engines show you the range of prices for what you are purchasing and where to get the item for that price. Some even add shipping and sales tax, so you know the best deal.

-Consider shipping costs.

Some online stores offer free shipping and free returns. If there's a minimum you need to purchase to get free shipping, ask a friend if he or she needs anything, said Malani.

-Look for coupons.

If you have found what you want, type in the name of the store and "online coupons" or "promotion codes" into a search engine, said Malani.

-Try an auction site.

EBay has new items and the option to buy the product now, so you can avoid the bidding process.

-Make sure it's the best deal.

Malani suggests signing up for a price protector site to safeguard you from buying something one day and finding out that it went on sale the next.

- Set a price alert.

PriceGrabber.com will monitor the price of an item for you and send you an email when it hits your target price.

-Read reviews.

Take a look at the merchant's ratings and reviews, said Greg Hintz, general manager of Yahoo! Shopping. You can avert a disaster, such as a retailer that ships the wrong items or is unresponsive.

-Trust your instincts.

"If it sounds like too good of a deal to be true," Hintz said, "it probably is."

In Ailing Economy, America Gets Thrifty - cbsnews.com

NEW YORK, Oct. 25, 2008

---

(CBS) Out of the recent economic chaos, a quiet virtue is taking shape - thrift.

As the old saying goes, one person's trash is another's treasure. These days, there are more treasure hunters than ever before. As the economy tumbles, Americans are looking for ways to cut costs - and thrift stores fit the bill, reports CBS News correspondent Priya David.

"During this past year, the numbers have increased by 330,000," said Major Dennis Gensler of the Salvation Army. "That's a significant increase in the number of customers that are actually in our stores."

Maria Aiello is one of those thrift shoppers.

"I find all the bargains I can - second-hand clothes, second-hand anything," she said.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans now find themselves needing to live frugally. Here in the northeast, bargain hunters can pick up a garment at the Salvation Army for an average cost of $2.58.

The Salvation Army told CBS News that in many stores, sales have increased up to 20 percent in the past year.

And Winmark Corporation, the parent company to four thrift franchises including clothing store Plato's Closet, reported a jump in income of almost 50 percent.

At Manhattan's Memorial Sloane Kettering Thrift Ship in New York City, which caters to a well-heeled clientele. They've got thousand-dollar Chanel suits on sale, so business is brisk.

"This year has actually been excellent," said Anita Askienazy. "One of the better years since I've been here."

These earnings come in stark contrast to national retail sales, which were down 1.4 percent in September compared to last year as consumers shunned the malls.

One thrift shopper told CBS News she doesn't miss retail shopping.

"I bought a David Meister dress here that was from this year and it was $398 online and I got it for $8 and I wore it to a wedding on Sunday," she said.

But even busy thrift stores are finding it tough to stay in the black.

"Like everyone else, we're feeling the pinch of the economy," said Gensler. "Wages are continuing to rise and we try to be fair with our people and benefits costs are going up. So our expenses are actually growing faster than our store sales income."

"The donation flow becomes a barometer for tough economic times and what we're experiencing now is sales are up, donations are down," said Jim Gibbons, the CEO of Goodwill Industry International.

The trickle down effect - bad times, second hand.

Thrift Is the New Fashion - newsweek.com

Time was, national crises stimulated saving. But thrift today has a negative, miserly connotation.

Daniel Gross

NEWSWEEK

From the magazine issue dated Nov 3, 2008

Thrift, like the repossession business, is one of those classic countercyclical industries. When the gross domestic product shrinks and bulls grow mute, Americans are called to rouse themselves from a consumption-induced daze and start saving and investing rather than borrowing and splurging. At about this time in the economic cycle, we hear a lot more from Warren Buffett and a lot less from Donald Trump. Coupon clippers are exalted and high fliers are laid low. Of course, once the good times begin to roll again, the calls for thrift subside. Back in 1994—I know I'm dating myself here—I wrote a piece of juvenilia on the hot new cheapskate trend that grew up in the wake of widespread corporate restructuring. (Among the key data points: the popularity of "The Tightwad Gazette"and a decline in charitable donations.) But penny-pinching went out of style once the dotcom boom started.

During the last recession, which coincided with the 9/11 attacks, we didn't even try. President Bush went on television and urged people to go take a trip. For New Yorkers, patronizing a restaurant in the afflicted downtown area became something akin to civic duty. "Our leaders in recent years seem increasingly determined to insist, as a response to such challenges, on the importance of high and continued consumer spending," writes historian Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, in the newly released "For a New Thrift,"a report sponsored by an array of think tanks, left, right and center.

Whitehead writes eloquently about the powerful array of anti-thrift institutions that have made it difficult for middle- and lower-income Americans to save: credit-card solicitations, ubiquitous casinos, state lotteries and payday lenders, which "outnumber McDonald's franchises in four out of five of the nation's most populous states." The nation's biggest banks dole out loans with abandon, but many won't issue passbook savings accounts to kids.

More powerful still may be the macroeconomic barriers to saving. The income of a typical family hasn't risen in real terms since 1999, while the cost of basics like health insurance, energy, food and housing have soared. "Surveys show that much of the rising credit-card debt is related to job loss, home repair or health care," says Tamara Draut, vice president of policy and programs at the New York think tank Demos, and author of "Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead."

In addition, during asset bubbles and booms, we tend to let buoyant markets do the saving for us. According to the Federal Reserve, the net worth of households and nonprofit organizations soared from $39.2 trillion at the end of 2002 to $58.7 trillion in the third quarter of 2007, a 50 percent increase. This at a time when personal savings were minuscule: $174.9 billion in 2003 and just $57.4 billion last year. But those who live by paper gains also die by them. Between September 2007 and June 2008, according to the Fed, the nation's net worth fell by $2.7 trillion. And it has likely fallen much further.

Clearly, we need to save more. But as John Maynard Keynes taught us, thrift can be counterproductive in times of weak demand. Consumer activity accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity. Spending money heedlessly—traveling, redecorating, eating out—keeps our friends and neighbors employed. The great concern about the stimulus package was that Americans would squirrel away those $300 checks for a rainy day rather than put them into circulation immediately. Self-described global citizens have also had reason to eschew thrift. The prodigious appetites of U.S. consumers for imported goods enabled tens of millions of peasants in China to escape subsistence living and find factory work each year.

Time was, national crises stimulated saving. Whitehead notes that during World War II, the savings rate soared to 25 percent, as the government, "partnering with the leaders of civil society, actively stressed the importance of saving for the war effort while also providing a specific new savings tool, in the form of war bonds."

But thrift today has a negative connotation—miserly, penny-pinching, no fun. Here, too, we need to go back to the future. "The goal of thrift is not to cut back or scrimp and save, but rather to enjoy the good things in life," says David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, and author of "Thrift: A Cyclopedia," a charming compendium of musings and quotes on the many virtues of thrift, going back to Benjamin Franklin's "The Road to Wealth."

Is there any reason to think we'll recover our lost sense of thrift in this economic crisis? Perhaps. The baby boomers, champion consumers who had counted on appreciation of their homes and 401(k)s to ensure a golden retirement, will have to start saving more. Policy changes—government matches for low-income savers, lottery offices where people can purchase savings tickets—might help. But profligacy and spendthriftness have also been part of our cultural inheritance. The most compelling character in the greatest American novel, "The Great Gatsby," makes a pile of money and then squanders it spectacularly. For every Warren Buffett, patiently building a down-to-earth fortune by purchasing stocks with hard-earned money, there's a Donald Trump, impatiently building glitzy over-the-top towers with cash borrowed from others.

URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/165641

Layaway Is Making a Comeback - online.wsj.com

Retailers Say Demand for Old Payment Plan Is Strong Amid Continuing Credit Crisis

By MIGUEL BUSTILLO

• Article
• Comments

Layaway, a payment practice that was made popular during the Great Depression but nearly became extinct due to the instant gratification of credit cards, is back in fashion thanks to the credit crunch.

Only a handful of national retailers still let consumers put purchases aside until they have paid for them in full. Many of those companies -- which include TJX Cos., parent of TJ Maxx and Marshalls; Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp.; and Kmart, part of Sears Holdings Corp. -- report that demand for layaway is stronger than it has been in years.

Getty Images

A shopper at a Sears Essentials store.

With credit-card companies tightening limits and offering fewer specialty card promotions amid the continuing credit crisis, many consumers may not be able to tap credit cards as much this holiday season, experts predict. Meanwhile, retailers report that many customers spooked by the slumping economy are either already saddled with debt or determined not to be, all of which is making layaway are more enticing option.

Demand has surged so much at Kmart, in fact, that the discount retailer decided to tout its commitment to layaway as the centerpiece of a national advertising campaign.

The ads, which feature an animated Kmart light bulb known as Mr. Bluelight, began on radio and television this month and promote layaway as an affordable way for families to finance the holiday season.

"While not sexy, layaway became the big idea for Kmart these holidays," said Mark Snyder, Kmart's chief marketing officer. "It is all about our shopper being able to put the hottest gifts that their family wants on layaway. They can get them early and still get them out for Christmas."

Kmart also has been using a celebrity pitchwoman to promote the virtues of layaway: Kate Gosselin of "Jon & Kate Plus 8," the TLC reality-TV show about a couple raising sextuplets and twins. Ms. Gosselin recently told the TV program "Showcase Minnesota" that layaway allows her to hide presents at the store, "so that my 16 searching little eyes don't find them."

Layaway plans aren't free -- most stores charge a fee for setting aside the merchandise, and ask for a down payment. Kmart requires customers to pay a $5 service fee and a $10 cancellation fee upfront, or put down 10% of the item's cost, whichever is greater. Customers must make biweekly payments over eight weeks to pay the balance. In case of default, the item goes back into stock and the customer receives a refund, minus the $15.

Several layaway Web sites sprung up earlier this decade to fill the void left after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other major retailers discontinued the seemingly outmoded service -- and they are also reporting a big bump in business. ELayaway.com, which offers iPods, Hewlett-Packard laptops and clothes from the Gap on virtual layaway for a 1.9% fee of the cost of the item plus taxes, said traffic has increased 91% over last year. Customers can choose eLayaway as a payment option on affiliated Web sites or can shop at www.eLayaway.com, and receive the item in the mail once the payments are made in full.

Many of the site's customers are victims of the subprime-mortgage mess or simply have bad credit, said Michael Bilello, eLayaway's senior vice president of business development. He said that five major big-box retailers had contacted the company in recent weeks about adding an eLayaway payment option to their Web sites or putting eLayaway kiosks in stores.

"Business is booming," said Mr. Bilello, adding that the company noticed a surge in interest this summer during a promotion called "Christmas in July."

"It's the consumer credit crunch that's driving this," said Mr. Bilello. "Merchants are finally figuring out that when you tap people out on their credit cards, they can't consume the way they did. That's all coming home to roost right now."

John Pace, a Connecticut audio-equipment salesman, purchased a diamond engagement ring he plans to give to his girlfriend later this year from a jewelry site that featured eLayaway.com as a payment method. He also used the service to buy some Callaway golf clubs to send as Christmas presents, as well as a few clubs for himself.

"I remember growing up with layaway, and it seemed like the fee was reasonable," said 41-year-old Mr. Pace. "Being in sales, I have good months and bad months, and this way I don't max out a credit card."

Old fashion and new function live side by side at the secondhand store - www.citizen-times.com

By Jean Greeson and Richard Fast
He Said, She Said

Dear Jean and Richard: These days, every time I visit an antique store, I see things I actually remember buying new. Am I really getting that old or is time speeding up? — Darlene, Atlanta
Richard: Hi, Darlene. It's a safe bet your age has little to do with it. My dog Izzy can remember some of the things I see in antique malls. The fact is, antique stores themselves have become somewhat antiquated, thanks to the Internet and inexpensive imports. In many cases, the more valuable items are auctioned on eBay to ensure the highest profit. Left over are usually more commonplace things or items too large to easily ship.

Jean: You have a point, but nothing a tall hat won't cover. There's more to shopping for antiques than finding “valuable” items. For me, nostalgia and whimsy appeal to my sense of adventure. I look for certain children's books and unusual carvings. My husband recently searched for a wooden ladder — not worth much on the market but hard to find new. When you discover a gem among all the rocks, it's exciting. In a real sense, antiquing is modern-day treasure hunting.
Richard: OK, what you're describing is more like Dumpster diving than serious shopping. Or rummaging through someone's attic to see what they can't quite bear to throw away. I maintain that a great many antique stores are really just secondhand stores, and even more supplement their inventory with new, often imported reproductions.
Jean: You'll have to admit we find some nice pieces of furniture in antique stores.
Richard: Yes, and those are the items too bulky to ship.
Jean: Yet we buy them for our clients and ship them ourselves. I admit there are some junk stores that use the term “antique” a little too casually. But it really depends on what you're looking for. I recently bought some Smurf glasses to give my adult children for Christmas because they loved the Smurfs when they were kids.
Richard: Wow, Christmas is really going to be special at your house. Imagine, antique Smurfs! I think the trick is to be discriminating about your antiques source. If you're looking for Smurf glasses, roadside malls — or even flea markets — might be just the ticket. If you're looking for furniture, I would check the higher-rent district, usually in a downtown area. With the Internet, even a novice dealer knows what a piece is worth. Don't expect any steals.
Jean: Darlene, when you're considering vintage furniture, I would encourage you to think about alternate uses, especially if their original functions may no longer be needed. Corner telephone tables are long obsolete but could be used as laptop stations. Sewing cabinets, iceboxes, early record players, pie safes and steamer trunks can find new life as storage for all sorts of household items.
Richard: Yes, but be sure to consider these items “novel” and work them into your décor primarily for interest. Upscale antique dealers rarely hold iceboxes in the same regard as a French Regency étagère.
Jean: Maybe, but either one could store my set of Smurf glasses. I'm giving you a Grumpy Smurf glass this year.

These are the opinions of nationally recognized interior designers Jean Greeson and Richard Fast, with offices in Asheville, Fort Lauderdale and Kansas City. Contact them with your question by visiting www.GreesonAndFast.com.

Stores sell vintage clothing, materials - www.lsureveille.com

Local stores offer wallet-friendly shopping that is easy on the environment

Lauren Walck

Entertainment Writer

Published: Sunday, August 24, 2008

As students are faced with the blank slate of new dorms and new apartments this week, many will run to Target or Wal-Mart to fill their rooms with colorful and affordable items.

But before purchasing the same green chair or pink rug owned by five other people on your floor, consider the local alternatives.

On Government Street — a few miles north of campus — sits Honeymoon Bungalow and Time Warp Boutique.

At these vintage stores, they sell only dateable items, not new imitation products termed “retro.” The store’s stock is selected by quality and decade, unlike bulk donations at thrift stores.

From a ’50s table lamp to photographs of campus from the ’20s, the Bungalow focuses on mid-century housewares, and its stock is divided into rooms of a house. For instance, couches and chairs are in the living room area, china and cookbooks in the kitchen.

The Time Warp is mainly a clothing boutique that sells apparel and accessories from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Marsha Rish, owner of both stores, said she fell in love with the history of used items.

“It has a soul. It has a story to tell,” she said. “We’re like a foster home. We take [an item] in, clean it and take care of it until someone else comes in, buys it and loves it.”

Rish said now that retro is in style, she has more competition from corporations like Old Navy and Urban Outfitters.

“Everybody wants to get on the vintage bandwagon,” said Joshua Holder, Time Warp Boutique manager and University alumnus. “At the mall, it’s all the same styles in six different color schemes. Here, no two pieces are alike.”

Both Rish and Holder emphasized that vintage items tend to be higher quality and better design.

“People buy vintage because it fits better,” Holder said. “You don’t have to fit this box that the store says is a size 4.”

Holder said when many of the clothes he sells were made, women did not walk out of a store until the outfit was tailored to their body.

“A seamstress made your dress, not a small child in Cambodia,” said Holder.

Holder and Rish also encourage customers to customize and alter their purchases to fit their tastes. From cutting the sleeves off a dress to re-upholstering a couch, just because it is old does not mean it cannot be updated.

But vintage is not the only way to go when looking for affordable, used items. Baton Rouge is teaming up with thrift stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army and St. Vincent De Paul’s.

One local thrift store —The Purple Cow — supports the Christian Outreach Center, a combined ministry of several downtown churches. Money from sales goes to help local, low-income families.

Founder Lin Loghran helped start the store five years ago. She said she sees a lot of college students in the store.

“It just makes so much sense,” she said. “It’s obviously better to keep re-using things than to throw them away.”

Loghran said with the declining economy, she is seeing more new people in the store.

“Right now thrift stores are really having a resurgence of popularity,” she said.

The Purple Cow sells mostly clothing, but it also sells housewares, books and records.

“It’s a kind of an inexpensive way to decorate your room,” she said.

Rachel Clark, music education sophomore, decorated most of her apartment with thrift store purchases.

“You spend so much money during college that there’s no reason to spend more than you have to on things you could get for a lot cheaper,” Clark said.

Clark said she was raised to appreciate bargain-hunting.

“Part of it is the thrill of the hunt,” she said. “I enjoy digging through the trash to find the treasure.”

Clark warned that thrift store shopping is not for those that need instant gratification. She said part of it is waiting for items to come in that fit her taste.

Rish has two pieces of advice for vintage and thrift store shoppers.

“No. 1, don’t be in a hurry. Take your time,” she said. “No. 2, if you see something that makes your heart pound, buy it because it might not be there tomorrow.”

----
Contact Lauren Walck at lwalck@lsureveille.com


http://www.lsureveille.com/1.612250

Irked by eBay, Some Sellers Trade Elsewhere - Wall Street Journal Small Business

RUNNING A BUSINESS

Irked by eBay,
Some Sellers
Trade Elsewhere

Niche Sites Tout Lower Fees,
Tutorials, More Photos;
Buyers Still Face Fraud Risks

By MYLENE MANGALINDAN

Some online retailers are moving away from eBay.

Irked by February's changes in fees and the feedback-rating system, merchants who once sold wares exclusively at the online-auction site can now be found on a number of smaller alternative sites that have sprung up. With names like Wigix, Silkfair, Etsy and Oodle, these sites aim to offer more hand-holding for sellers -- and charge lower fees -- than the behemoth eBay.

Cathleen McLain

Web retailer Cristinajewelry sells a jewelry-making tutorial on Silkfair, a Web site with specialty items.

Some of these new sites target niche markets, such as Etsy, which focuses on handmade crafts, where small sellers say their products can stand out better than they do at a soup-to-nuts-to-carburetors site like eBay. And many offer free features, such as how-to videos and blogs designed to improve communication between merchants and shoppers. Some sites are even tapping into the social-networking trend -- where items for sale can show up on sites like MySpace or Facebook.

"I don't need a million people to see my things, just the right people who have hopefully good taste to buy my things," says Cathleen McLain, a 58-year-old jewelry maker who began selling her handmade necklaces on Silkfair earlier this year.

Shoppers must beware when buying on newer Web sites. It's hard to know the merchants' track record, whereas eBay displays sellers' positive and negative feedback ratings. And some of these sites don't offer buyer protections, such as Amazon's "A-to-Z" guarantee, which covers buyers for up to $2,500 each should their purchases be defective or incorrect. Shoppers who use PayPal on eBay are covered for up to 100% of purchase price.

"You're always taking a risk with sellers from sites like these," says Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Forrester Research. "Unless there are guarantees or some seller ratings like the ones eBay has accumulated over time, there will always be some bad experiences."

Alternatives for eBay Inc. sellers have existed for some time. One of the best known is Amazon.com Inc., which offers several services for merchants. But sellers are increasingly gravitating to these newer and smaller e-commerce sites. Ms. McLain switched to Silkfair in part because she found it increasingly hard to compete with cheap overseas merchandise. She says it didn't help that eBay instituted a policy that allows only buyers to rate sellers -- a change from its traditional system of letting buyers and sellers mutually rate each other. Also, when a buyer searches for an item, the results are weighted to show the highest-rated sellers first, a system that smaller merchants argue hurts mom-and-pop operations. Finally, sellers who use PayPal, the online-payment service owned by eBay, may not get their funds for as long as 21 days. It's an effort to protect buyers from transactions eBay considers "risky" or "suspicious" -- mostly big-ticket items or transactions with low-rated sellers.

INDEPENDENT STREET BLOG

¹

Changes that eBay sellers would like to see made to the site.² Read Kelly Spors's latest post and share your thoughts.

These recent changes have made the use of eBay "questionable" for small retailers like herself, says Ms. McLain. She says she hears about Silkfair on eBay-seller online-discussion boards. The site, which started operating in March, showcases her handmade jewelry with large images -- larger than those on eBay. Still, fewer people will view her merchandise. "It's never going to be as big as eBay," says the Hartford, Conn., resident.

An eBay spokeswoman says that the company is no stranger to competition from other Web sites, and that it expects many of its savvy users to sell on multiple sites. The company says its recent changes are designed to offer competitive pricing and the best overall value for merchants. For now, though, only eBay offers the volume of auction-style and fixed-price listings, which generated second-quarter transactions valued at $15.7 billion, and audience of users, with 84.5 million in the second quarter.

Entrepreneurs have been trying to displace eBay for years and haven't managed to do so, says Ms. Mulpuru of Forrester Research. She estimates that nearly one in every five dollars spent online goes to either eBay or Amazon.

Besides Silkfair, there's Etsy, another site that attracts artists who want to display and sell handmade goods. Here, shoppers can see large images updated every few minutes with the most recent products listed for sale -- eBay doesn't offer promo slideshows on its home page of newly listed products. The site also offers online workshops for crafters and instructional articles on topics like woodcarving and crocheting.

A mustang named Spider is listed on Oodle.com.

Another site drawing sellers is Oodle, a classified-ad site started in 2005 by former executives of eBay and Excite. Oodle aggregates classified ads from more than 80,000 Web sites and publishes listings on its Web site network. Merchants can advertise their listings on Oodle's network and choose different payment options, mostly commission-based. Some sellers say they prefer to list items on classified-ad sites because their items, like secondhand mattresses or strollers, can be picked up in person by local buyers.

Wigix targets shoppers who like fixed-price transactions, not auction-style trading. Co-founded March 2007 by James Chong, who helped develop Charles Schwab's original Web-trading application, Wigix is trying to offer easier navigation. On eBay, for example, prospective buyers looking for an iPhone must scroll through individual listings that might run over several pages to see the prices offered for various models of the phone. Wigix designates one page for a specific iPhone model where all individual offers to buy and sell the device are posted in one place. The site also allows sellers' items to appear on social-networking sites.

Wigix's system appeals to online merchant Jerod Husvar, a seller of used-car parts for sport-compacts. He's moving his e-commerce operations from eBay, partly because of the customer service he got.

Mr. Husvar says eBay only recently started offering phone support. Before, he was such a small seller he didn't qualify for personalized attention through an eBay account manager. He often searched to find an eBay person to call and would be put on hold 30 minutes or longer just to speak to someone.

"We built our business around eBay," says Mr. Husvar. "They lost focus. All their money comes from sellers. Buyers are what drive the market, but you need quality and protection for the sellers or else they don't even want to deal with the buyers."

An eBay spokeswoman declined to comment specifically about his complaint but said that the company tries to balance the needs of buyers and sellers for the overall good of the entire community.

Write to Mylene Mangalindan at mylene.mangalindan@wsj.com³

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Chad Dickerson leaves Yahoo for Etsy - PDA: Digital Content Blog - Guardian UK

July 23, 2008 1:40 PM

Another one bites the dust: Chad Dickerson, head of Yahoo's Brickhouse project and one of the forces behind Hack Day, is leaving. And he's staked out a fantastic new job as chief technology officer for one of my favourite websites - Etsy.com, the auction site for crafts.

Photo by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Dickerson is just one more departure in a steady flow from Yahoo. Yep, it's a big company but the turmoil over potential acquisition (not to mention the prospect of being owned by Microsoft) has turned that trickle into something more worrying. Yahoo's brainpower, and many senior, well-regarded executives, is being soaked up by Google, Facebook and the rest of the Valley. So Dickerson is being a tad more original, and we like that. He also gets to go back home to the east coast.

He'll look after Etsy's technical infrastructure, application development and network infrastructure... more on Etsy's announcement last night. Dickerson doesn't reveal anything about the state of Yahoo:

"In leaving, I'm confident that Brickhouse is in good shape. The product teams (Fire Eagle and Yahoo! Live) are focused and cranking. Brickhouse continues to attract new talent and strong support from Yahoo management."

The Guardian's own Matt McAlister, formerly of Yahoo's parish, said Etsy should be ranked high on the to-watch list, but said Dickerson departure was unfortunate for Yahoo.

"Yahoo needs forward-thinking leaders like Chad who can make things happen. Retention must be top of mind at Yahoo before key institutional knowledge slips out the door and forces people to rethink things that have already been thought through," McAlister blogged last night.

"There are lots of great reasons to participate in the future of Yahoo where the Open Strategy stuff is unfolding. The Flickr Era set the stage for a lot of these smart ideas at Yahoo. I only worry that the pace of release at the company will fail to create the impact that will make those changes matter. It's not uncommon for great technology to lose due to bad timing."

I do love Etsy, but the duct tape laptop bag takes it a bit far...

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2008/07/chad_dickerson_leaves_yahoo_fo.html