Monday, January 11, 2016

4,905 Sales

Good Morning All,

It finally dawned on me last night that we have a pretty big number approaching, at least in our world.  I can assure you that the actual number of sticks that I've made is far greater than what's represented in the total number of sales.  I'd venture to guess that the number is likely closer to 7,000 actual sticks that I've made between those that have sold, been given away or simply didn't make the cut and ended up in the trash can. 

So we're approaching 5,000 actual ETSY sales, and we're kind of proud of that number.  Each even thousand that we've hit along the way, we've celebrated in some fashion or another, but 5,000 is a milestone for us, and we're going to do it up right.

At our current rate of sales, I'd guess that we'll hit 5,000 sometime toward the end of February 2016, so I've got some lead time.  I'm tentatively planning (remember it just occurred to me last night so it's a fluid plan at best right now) to put together a "5,000 Sales Commemorative Collection".  There will only be one collection made, and it's going to be a variety of the best that TT has had to offer over the years.  While that actual 5,000th sale will register on ETSY, that sale will technically be number 5,001 from our perspective.  When we hit number 4,999 on ETSY, the Commemorative Collection will be posted here, on Facebook and on EBAY.  Each item in the collection will have "5,000" subtly incorporated into the design in some fashion, so there is no confusion whether the item was included in the collection or not. 

Why EBAY you ask?  While I suspect the reason is self evident, it's because for this one time out of 5,000, we're going to allow the market to set the price as opposed to us setting the price.  With little or no reserve, this might be a huge loss on our part, and I'm OK with that because but it's part of  the TT story and history.  Alternatively, if it exceeds expectations (which are pretty low), then that would be a good thing for us. 

I'll be providing updates along the way, with maybe a sneak peek or two of items in the collection.  The challenge for me is guessing the length of sticks to make, as we've taken orders from 4.75" to 10" in length over the years.  I'm guessing I'll be making them in the 6.25" - 6.75" neighborhood, which is actually the most popular lengths requested.  At the end of the day however, the length's may be a moot point, as this is going to be a Commemorative Collection that might actually be worth something someday when we're no longer around, or simply a dust collector, who knows.

Have a great week!

Doug

10 comments:

  1. If you make another resin/abalone stick and put that on eBay... Wooo man! That would sky rocket!

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  2. That just might be part of the collection if I can find some abalone, our source went out of business well over a year ago.

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  3. How fun! Can't wait to see it. And congrats on the upcoming milestone! That's definitely a lot of time and work.

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  4. ... and my fingers feel each and every one of them )

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  5. Exciting stuff! That should be quite a collection as you have done so many different styles over the years. Lord knows I've combed through the sales list many a time!

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  6. I know, I think I've probably forgotten half of the styles I've done over the years. I think it will be a fun project, it's all I've been thinking about all day. I've been designing the presentation case in my head for the past 2 hours... there are just so many different directions I could go with it.

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  7. That is very exciting. Oh, I hope I'm not on vacation overseas when this unfolds. Congrats to both of you on the milestone!!!

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  8. Thank you DweamGoil, it's been a fun ride. We're not giving out high 5's quite yet, we still have 90 some odd to go.

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  9. When I realized that you intended this to be a group to be sold all together, my jaw dropped! It would be amazing to see. At the same time, I wondered if you might consider also having a more accessible commemoration for those with limited budgets and/or limits on sizes of TTs they can wear - perhaps some individual limited edition commemorative TTs with something on them like a "5K" hidden in the design. Just a thought - cause I can't help myself. But either way, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. It will indeed be EPIC!

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  10. Love that you are so close to a milestone, and have many technical details worked out.
    I'm a huge advocate of working smarter, not harder. It keeps us doing what we love longer.

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