Ideas needed for price tagging individual beads

bexrox · #1 2012-12-30, 10:47am

Hello fine glassy friends! I am asking for your input here... here is the situation:

A friend of mine owns a hair salon, and she would get a lot of my "seconds" and "thirds" beads to place in glass bowls near the front of her shop. She sells tons of them for me, at $3, $5, $7, based mostly on their size. She takes 30%. It's working out great, because otherwise, these beads just accumulate around my house, with no real purpose.

Now we are raising it up a notch, as I have ordered some neckwires onto which my beads can just be slid (we will price those at $5 each), and I am sending her many of my better beads, priced from $8-$20. The idea being that someone who just gets a nice haircut can also leave with a flattering piece of jewelry for a good price. She is very excited, and thinks they will do extremely well!

Unfortunately, the space is limited, and now it is more important that the prices of my beads be set, and not somewhat random like they have been to this point. My plan was to price tag each one of them by putting a little fishing line through the bead and tying it, then putting a barbell price sticker on the string. That way, they can sit in glass bowls, and get mixed up as people look at them, and not lose their prices. This is also convenient for some that I am offering that are pairs or small sets. Here are the problems with that...

1) It's very time consuming!!!!! I have done about two dozen and it seems to have taken forever!!! I have about 6 dozen still to do.
2) They don't look nearly as appealing sitting in a bowl together, with the tags sticking out all over the place.
3) The string reduces the size of the hole, so some of them can't be strung onto the wire for trying on, unless the price tag were to come out.

So, how can I set the price of the beads so they don't get muddled up, keep them looking attractive, and allow the customer to thread them onto the neckwire so she can try them on?

I'm hoping the mass brilliance of this group will help me find a solution!

steiconi · #2 2012-12-30, 11:41am

how about a small dot sticker on each bead, maybe color coded to price.
or offer only one price point on the beads so you could label the whole bowl $8 or whatever.
or equate size with price, so small is $5, medium $8, etc.
or use larger mandrels so the price tag and stringing cord both fit.

Rudy · #3 2012-12-30, 12:31pm

I use the colored dot sticker method for selling my beads and it works out well. I purchased the colored dots at staples and then in a small frame, listed price by color. I've tried other methods, and this one has worked out the best for me.

bexrox · #4 2012-12-30, 12:39pm

Thank you both, that sounds like a great idea! I'm heading out to Staples

Denielle · #5 2012-12-30, 1:12pm

You could put a small dot of white-out on a non-decorated area of the bead, let it dry & write the price with a felt pen. The white-out does not wipe off easily but can be scraped off (with no harm to the bead) by the customer. I saw this at the first "bead people gathering" I went to & thought it was very clever.

kbinkster · #6 2012-12-30, 1:13pm

I have seen people use a dot of White-out/Liquid Paper and write the price on that (I would think with a fine-tip felt marker) and then have the beads threaded on mandrels in a frame.

Oh, and since you have an "in" at the salon, you could make some pretty hair sticks (chopsticks with beads on the ends). I bet those would sell well in her shop.

artsyuno · #7 2012-12-30, 1:13pm

Return address labels work well, too. You can run them on your computer so that you have professional print and then cut them down to the size you want.

Karen Hardy · #8 2012-12-30, 2:05pm

I use a small dot of white-out on the bead, and write the price in with
a fine sharpie. Works great, no confusion (or "missing" dots).

gemsinbloom · #9 2012-12-30, 2:42pm

I just have a sign with the sizes of the beads and prices by the big bowl of beads. Works very well.

Btw, do those stickers actually stay on the glass beads? hmmmm

bexrox · #10 2012-12-30, 10:22pm

Hmmm, haven't made it to Staples yet, but I think I have some white out. That is also a great idea! I was wondering if those little stickers would stay on...

I do have sheet labels on hand, so maybe I will try Felicia's idea right away, and if I find any sticking issues, then I'll try the white out. I don't believe that Sheila's clientele would be the type to swap or remove stickers, so if they stay on independently, they would work.

Gems, I was thinking about just splitting them up into bowls of different prices, but I believe they would get mixed up... also I'm pricing them on the basis of complexity, extra handmade components like murrini and shards, etc., as well as size and overall technical quality and visual appeal. My beads are all very different from one another so there is a lot to consider!

Thanks to everyone for your input. I'll let you know how it goes.

28676bhe · #11 2012-12-30, 10:47pm

I found some sp necklaces on ebay for about $1.00 each. Why not just string yours on necklaces and sell your higher priced ones that way?

Nolly · #12 2012-12-31, 6:08am

Here's the best solution I've found for making pricing beads.

Go to the arts & crafts store and find Glue Dots. Get the 3/16" size. Grab a 1/4" hole punch if you don't have one. Look at the scrapbook paper, too, and choose a color that you like.

Cut your sheet of scrapbook paper into 8ths. Punch out lots of circles. Roll out some of your glue dots and stick the circles to them. You can make a bunch at one time because you can roll them up for future use.

The glue dots/paper circles hold really well unless you leave them in a freezing car for a week. You'll get some popage if the glue dots get really cold.

Try it ... it's fast, easy, and semi-permanent.

Nolly

Pickledkitty · #13 2012-12-31, 3:59pm

All of these methods for pricing individual beads are really ingenious, I like the white out and glue dots the best, mostly because you can pick the "color" of your sticker with the glue dots. I was thinking nail polish colors, but these work out even better. thanks for starting this thread on something I didn't know I should be thinking about;p

bexrox · #14 2013-01-01, 4:46pm

I love the glue dots idea too! I had never even heard of these awesome things until now.

So I printed out prices on a sheet of sticker paper, and cut out the tiny numbers. I burnished them on really well with my finger, and so far today, they all seem really well stuck.. I did find one bead without its tag, but may have just forgotten it. It went waaay quicker than my original idea! I also do have white out on hand now, if I need it.

missp_32 · #15 2013-01-03, 2:48pm

After 10 years of not labeling glass as I purchased it I have a huge mess of unmarked rods so last year a made a resolution to label every rod as it came in. I used address labels cut down to size and stuck to the end of every rod. I don't heat my shop unless I'm in it so now about 1/2 of my labels are coming off ... grrrr!

I'm going to get some white out and sharpies and try that method next. Thanks for the tip!

Jody Lee · #16 2013-01-06, 6:17pm

I have used different colored embroidery floss with success. Blue=$A, Red=$B, etc. Thread a bunch of beads on a separated strand of floss, and then time them up, cutting them loose from the main strand as you go. Make up a nice sign with the various prices, and bob's yer uncle.

tilegoddess · #17 2013-01-06, 6:48pm

I use fuzzy pipe-cleaners in different colors (color coded with pricing) that run through the mandrel hole and is curled on the ends so they don't fall out of the bead. I have signs at each of the baskets with my beads stating the price of the beads (as per color of pipe-cleaner). It works pretty well for me at shows... although one customer asked me why I used "fuzzy headpins" for my pendants

jaci · #18 2013-01-08, 5:34pm

paint pens also work well for the "white out method" of you want to go by color pricing. Its simple and fast, and comes right off with a finger nail (or cuticle stick) when you need it to.

MistyCherie · #19 2013-01-09, 12:14pm

I think this sounds like a great idea, because if you ever wanted to change the pricing - it's easily done. Also no sticky mess, no scraping off of stuff, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jody Lee

I have used different colored embroidery floss with success. Blue=$A, Red=$B, etc. Thread a bunch of beads on a separated strand of floss, and then time them up, cutting them loose from the main strand as you go. Make up a nice sign with the various prices, and bob's yer uncle.

steiconi · #20 2013-01-09, 2:28pm

Does white-out still come in different colors? you could use color coding that way, no need to write on it. or use the white, and put some color on it with a felt pen. The paint pens would work too,

Lyssa · #21 2013-01-09, 4:24pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by MistyCherie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jody Lee

I have used different colored embroidery floss with success. Blue=$A, Red=$B, etc. Thread a bunch of beads on a separated strand of floss, and then time them up, cutting them loose from the main strand as you go. Make up a nice sign with the various prices, and bob's yer uncle.

I think this sounds like a great idea, because if you ever wanted to change the pricing - it's easily done. Also no sticky mess, no scraping off of stuff, etc.

LOVE!

This also solves the problem of having to buy new supplies (white out, labels, tags, etc) and of never using the HUGE embroidery floss supply I have. I never got into yarn (like most of us), but I DID get into embroidery floss. And craft equipment and supplies in general. And now glass. *sigh* I seriously wonder what's wrong with us.

Trish915 · #22 2013-09-26, 1:56pm

just curious, now that time has passed, what ended up working best for you on the pricing ideas?