Selling on Facebook

Hi everyone,

I’m doing a small sale on Facebook at the moment, a dozen or so self
cut stones and some other stuff. It’s (only) my third time doing
this, and so far I’m really liking it as a small scale and low key
venue. (If you’re curious, just search on my name on Facebook).

I’ve never been particularly fond of selling through galleries.
First of all they aren’t a venue for stones, and I’m primarily a
cutter. Secondly, if you make a piece of jewelry and send it to a
gallery it goes on display, maybe, and you don’t know how it’s being
displayed and the person showing it doesn’t know nearly as much about
the piece as you do, who made it, and so can’t tell the story of the
making, why you did it this way and not another, what lied you to
choose this stone in lieu of something else. all that sort of
intimate detail gets largely lost; and finally the person who is
buying it is likely someone you don’t know and will never see or
talk to.

The internet options as I understand them are Etsy and similar, or
ebay, or a personal web site. In the first two it seems to me that
you’re one in a million, and again largely anonymous save for the
possibility of email contact. Personal website takes considerable
maintenance and again, it’s a bit at a remove from the person who may
be interested in your stuff. Plus there’s the issue of how do you
draw people to your web site in the first place.

Hence I’m exploring putting my stones and stuff out there via
Facebook precisely because it offers constant personal interaction
with real people who have real names, Sometimes the interaction is
immediate, live-and-direct, as you message back and forth. So far,
I’m liking it. I’m not only selling a few stones but making friends
and new contacts in the process.

So that being said, if anyone else in Orchidland is doing similar,
and has experiences and suggestions they’d like to share, I’d welcome
hearing those.

Cheers all,
Hans Durstling
cutting stone in Moncton Canada

Did you make sure you are on a “business” page not a “personal”
page?

Esta Jo Schifter
shiftingmetal.com

I’ve been friends with you on Facebook for a while now and saw you
posting your personal cut stones. If I had the funds I would have
purchased one. Youcut beautiful stuff. I enjoy the personal feel of
selling on Facebook to and sell rough lapidary material and some
jewelry I make on there to.

Donnie

I am selling a bit of jewelry through facebook too. I have a
website, but quite often I find it easier to post new photos on
Facebook. Sometimes I post a photo and a link to my website, where
people can se some of the other stuff I’ve made. It works for me.