Update June 2, 2014- On 8/26/2013 I
blogged about a great new website market place for handcrafted arts and crafts
items. The site was called Craftinest.
Unfortunately
Craftinest is now no longer online. No one knows what happened.
Though Craftinest did post on their facebook page that a fire had
destroyed much of their sites equipment and they held out a promise to us that
they would repair the damage and get the site back up and running . . . that
promise is yet to materialize. As I update this post is has been
about 9 months since anyone has heard from Craftinest. Craftinest has not
bothered to update their facebook page nor notify any of their many shop owners
as to what is going on. All our emails are returned as
undeliverable. We have pretty much given up hope that Craftinest will
repair the fire damage and reestablish their website.
Personally
I believe that they grew too quickly and the inundation of so many artists and
crafters overwhelmed them and their sites capacity to handle such an influx of
shops and traffic. The loss of Craftinest is sad as it held forth so much
potential . . . but sometimes things are simply not meant to be.
Below is my
old blog post of 8/15/2013 -
***********
No doubt you've heard me mention Craftinest and may recall
how I begged and pleaded for your votes.
In order to qualify for an online storefront on Craftinest's marketplace site each applicant has to go through a jurying process that requires no less than 100 votes. These votes had to come from public polls but applicants are encouraged to actively solicit votes from family, friends and their social media sites. I am very grateful that so many of you and my family and friends complied and in less than a week I was able to accumulate 154 positive votes.
In order to qualify for an online storefront on Craftinest's marketplace site each applicant has to go through a jurying process that requires no less than 100 votes. These votes had to come from public polls but applicants are encouraged to actively solicit votes from family, friends and their social media sites. I am very grateful that so many of you and my family and friends complied and in less than a week I was able to accumulate 154 positive votes.
Recently I was
asked how had I heard about Craftinest and the answer is
that I saw one of their ads on a site called; "It's Better Handmade" http://itsbetterhandmade.com/ . Their
ad merely stated that sellers are
wanted.
Out of curiosity I clicked on their ad and found myself interested in the prospect of getting in on the ground floor of a new site. Also I liked that Craftinest would be a site strictly for handmade. In the near future they will be opening 2 separate marketplaces 1 for supplies sellers and the other for shops dealing in vintage items.
Out of curiosity I clicked on their ad and found myself interested in the prospect of getting in on the ground floor of a new site. Also I liked that Craftinest would be a site strictly for handmade. In the near future they will be opening 2 separate marketplaces 1 for supplies sellers and the other for shops dealing in vintage items.
True, I was intimidated
by their jury system. Getting a 100 votes
seemed like an awful lot. I even contacted them via their email and
expressed my concerns over a jury system done by the public rather than a
designated panel of qualified artists and crafters. Craftinest
sent me a courteous reply, explaining that even with a panel of peers there
would be the problem of biased voting, what one person may consider gorgeous and wonderful, another might find hideous and useless, so there is really no way of getting
around that. They explained that what they were really trying to
achieve with the juryed entry was to weed out those who would not be committed to
their business, those hobbyists who aren't interested in making a profitable business
out of their craft or those who would
open a shop and then do nothing to build it up or promote it.
Craftinest confidentially admitted that some crafters had applied and
then did not bother to campaign for votes.
These applicants didn't request
votes from family or friends, or send
out emails, or employ any other means of
acquiring votes, such as posting on
facebook, or twitter etc. It was apparent that these individuals would
probably not be very dedicated to their enterprise.
Yes, I could see and understand their logic to this . . . but still 100 votes is an intimidating number. Also there's the possibility that many in the public would not realize they were voting on whether or not the applicant should or should not be allowed a shop webpage on the Craftinest marketplace.
It would be all too easy for someone to misconstrue the voting and think; "Are the items this applicant makes something I would or would not buy?" This changes the whole aspect of the voting. Many who would normally have voted to allow an artist or crafter to have a shop webpage would vote differently about whether they would actually purchase what that artist makes, so votes of "Maybe", "Not Likely" or even "Definitely Not" would be more prolific.
I recall one applicant, in a previous voting session, that was into healing crystals, Chakra stones, and aroma therapy (oils and fragrances that either relax, invigorate or, inspire us etc.) They had received 320 votes but unfortunately 91 voted "Not Likely" and 29 voted "Definitely Not!" with 69 voting "Maybe". This leads me to believe that probably 120 people did not know what they were voting for.
The last I heard from Craftinest is that they were considering changes to their voting system. Hopefully whatever they decide upon will be less intimidating and will encourage more artists and crafters to submit applications to the Craftinest marketplace.
Okay so now the confession - though I was intimated by the jury procedure, I do not regret having gone through it. I figure I had nothing to lose and there was a slight chance of gaining some very valuable online exposure for the things that I create to sell. I think with the proper marketing Craftinest holds a lot of potential.
If any of you have visited Craftinest's markplace website, I would love to hear your opinions of the site. What do you feel is its advantages, its disadvantages or what suggestions would you make that may improve the site?
Yes, I could see and understand their logic to this . . . but still 100 votes is an intimidating number. Also there's the possibility that many in the public would not realize they were voting on whether or not the applicant should or should not be allowed a shop webpage on the Craftinest marketplace.
It would be all too easy for someone to misconstrue the voting and think; "Are the items this applicant makes something I would or would not buy?" This changes the whole aspect of the voting. Many who would normally have voted to allow an artist or crafter to have a shop webpage would vote differently about whether they would actually purchase what that artist makes, so votes of "Maybe", "Not Likely" or even "Definitely Not" would be more prolific.
I recall one applicant, in a previous voting session, that was into healing crystals, Chakra stones, and aroma therapy (oils and fragrances that either relax, invigorate or, inspire us etc.) They had received 320 votes but unfortunately 91 voted "Not Likely" and 29 voted "Definitely Not!" with 69 voting "Maybe". This leads me to believe that probably 120 people did not know what they were voting for.
The last I heard from Craftinest is that they were considering changes to their voting system. Hopefully whatever they decide upon will be less intimidating and will encourage more artists and crafters to submit applications to the Craftinest marketplace.
Okay so now the confession - though I was intimated by the jury procedure, I do not regret having gone through it. I figure I had nothing to lose and there was a slight chance of gaining some very valuable online exposure for the things that I create to sell. I think with the proper marketing Craftinest holds a lot of potential.
If any of you have visited Craftinest's markplace website, I would love to hear your opinions of the site. What do you feel is its advantages, its disadvantages or what suggestions would you make that may improve the site?
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