Finished Object Dance

As of yesterday morning, I had sold 10 100 gr. skeins of laceweight to new homes, for people to do something with, rather than just sit on my shelf. It feels good. I have a few more skeins that I think I will keep (Lucy's hand-dyed), and some that haven't had offers, though there's still hope someone may want them.

The Baruffa Cashwool is still up from April 26th. Not sure if people just aren't familiar with the name, or do they not like very light yellow/off-cream? After this post I started building postage in to the price, so does the price of $11 not including shipping deter people?

On the other hand, the cranberry reds of the Merino Lace and the Grignasco Regina each went very quickly, while the dark gray and the brown of the Regina haven't had a bite. It might be that the colors just don't interest people, or is the name just unfamiliar enough that the market just isn't interested.

The Destash blog is an interesting exercise in economics. The two women who run it don't ask for anything other than that folks follow their rules about posting, which are pretty reasonable. They want you to already have a blog you post to regularly (i.e., show you're an active part of the fiber-interested reading and writing community you're selling to), you have to be a member to post (they want some idea who they're allowing to use the site), keep your posts simple and delete the ones that have sold (consistency keeps it easy for buyers to figure out what's being put in the market). There are formatting rules about posting, you can only post what's yours to offer (no shilling for your LYS), etc. It seems to work, though they have had issues with folks gaming the system by redating their posts to keep those posts at the top of the chain and, on the other end, not deleting their posts when sold, or after two weeks up (their max.). I've been happy with it.

There's an interesting dynamic with timing and posting. Like Kristin was posting about trying to sell lambs in the auction in the weeks before Easter, a lot does depend on what else has been brought to the marketplace that day. If there are a lot of people posting, your post doesn't stand out as much as when there are fewer. I'm coming to learn if there hasn't been an inquiry in the first day, it's not likely to sell. Personally, I have it on my bloglines and scan new posts as they come up, but if I was looking for something in particular, I've got a lot to go through to even see if it's up on offer. I should learn how to use the label system when I post.

I don't know how much price plays a role in what gets people interested. The Cherry Tree Hill skein is currently retailing online for $40. The price I paid was $31.50, so I'm asking $35 including shipping. Pay for 9 ounces of postage out of that and deduct the $0.30 per transaction, 2.9% take of total from Paypal, and I may actually see a slight profit (see prior commentary about the investing in yarn futures). On the other hand, in a bin (not on the shelf with the others) I found a different colorway of the same merino lace that I paid $38.00 for. I'm starting to wonder how much inflation hits yarn prices, or have I really been storing things that long?

It's been a good exercise, not only because the laceweight shelf was something easily identifiable and definable that I can try to empty before I move, but also that amount that I had was starting to weigh on me -- it was a lot of potential shawls I would have had to commit to.

The question is what do I move on to next? My rule of what gets offered is stuff in original condition (I'm not posting what I wouldn't buy if I was in the market), that I don't have specific plans for. The sock yarn is the next most easily identifiable class, but there I get in to decisions about what I really am willing to give up. Everything else in the bins is harder to get a grasp on (literally), but I've got a better sense of whether or not I'd actually do a particular project.

Between pictures and research it's been a bit of work, but I've netted slightly more than $100 since I first posted last Wednesday night. That's money back in for the investment fund, though I think I sold most skeins at about 15% less than what I paid, and then had to take postage out of that, so no capital gains. A friend at work was all excited that she has all kinds of extra skeins that I could sell for her.... and I had to tell her no. She has to do it for herself.