Could use some feedback and help with selling...

[Emberfly]

I agree that the person who sent the message to you was rude. 

I would love to see the ornament with something for size comparison, such as a pony or your hand so that we can get a better sense of size.  The smaller things are the cuter they tend to be.

I think they're a super cute idea and are right up my alley for pony and Christmas all put together.  I do, however agree with everyone else that the price is too high.  It may be that I am also pretty crafty and could make one of these for myself if I wanted, though it is a lot of work with the patterns and such.  To make me get out my wallet and buy one it would need one or more of the following:

a) a much lower price, no more than $10 for me.  Sorry.

b) it would need to stand out a little more as something that I would be unable to do for myself.  Such as embroidered symbols and eyes.

c) finished on both sides in case it twists.

d) more decorative stitching on the horn, wings, ears etc to help distinguish the features.  And maybe a blanket stitch for the felt pieces instead of the running stitch.  A french knot for the nostril would be great.

As some of the previous people have suggested, things like great embriodery or more finished stitches around the pony edges would help.  I prefer not to see the seam stitching, but if I must, I'd like for them to be decorative as well as functional so it looks like it's supposed to be part of the design.  What about a blanket stitch or ladder stitch to sew up the body?

I don't mind the 2-d nature of the ornament and I like the materials used as well as the design of the ponies.  I do like the embriodered stitching on some of the ponies and the eyes are cute.

Unfortunately, all this means what others have been saying:  it'll take more time to make them.  It would be nice to find a way to create them that is faster.  I know that, for me, I make my crafts for the fun of it and sell to pay for materials to make new ones, as it's doubtful I'd make much or any money from them.  I have seen that things that look more professionally made tend to sell a bit better, again.

There are some really great idea on how to help market the items and I hope it all works out for you.  You put time an effort into the item and I hope that the right people who love your items will find them.

Good luck with your sales!

[kellyponyfeathers]

On a sort of related note, have you thought about consolidating your various online usernames?  I think being a well-known seller helps bring browsing potential buyers back to your listings a lot more frequently.  I've bought from you before, and I know you have good stuff in good condition, with reasonable prices.  And I really like your website too; very cute and easy to use.  But you're freeindeed here, valenshy on Ebay, and your website is Good Boy Toys; it's kind of confusing for buyers to realize that it's all the same person.  I think you're fairly well known on Ebay as valenshy, so that helps bring people to your listings.  But the name is also sort of restrictive, implying G3 ponies, and not everyone will recognize the reference.  If I were you, I would just start going by Good Boy Toys everywhere, so you can really build up a reputation as a seller of various toys, maybe with a pony specialty.  Buyers might be confused at first, but put a note in your Ebay sales that you were formerly known as valenshy; people will figure it out and switch over.  Besides, your Ebay pony listings have a unique close-up technique for the main photo; I think that will catch people's eyes and help them to realize quickly that you're valenshy.

Those are just my thoughts from a marketing perspective.  Personally, I like being kellyponyfeathers everywhere.  Whether I'm here or on Ebay or the TP, people recognize my username, so it's less confusing than having multiple identities.  I plan to start selling more too (when I get time), and I think having just one name will make it easier to build up a good reputation.

[WildBlue]

I really like these! If only I had some extra cash - one thing to keep in mind is that money is going to get tight for a lot of folks. 
The best suggestion I can think of is to have both sides decorated with eyes/symbols.
I'm not sure how that would effect your time/cost ratio... but I *think* it wouldn't put a hurtin on you too much...What do you think about that???

[svleonard]

Hmmmm .... these are really cute, but if you want my honest opinion, the price is perhaps a bit high.  I know that it takes a long time to make these, and your time is definitely valuable, but most people simply can't afford to pay that for an ornament.

Also, the eyes kind of bother me. This could just be me, but the eyes look kind of fluffy, and maybe that is what people meant by "cheap looking."

The ears and horns on the unicorns, too, are maybe a bit flat or perhaps too wide.  Again, this is my total unfiltered critique, so please don't be offended!  Your ornaments are very cute, and I'm sorry that you haven't sold any

[hathorcat]

There is some simply amazing advice in this thread.

First off that person who messaged you was very rude! Especially if all you got was that one sentence. Its not for them to police and give their opinions to unsuspecting sellers that way.

As others have said, part of the issue with hand made items like this in the pony community is that so many people are incredibly talented and occasionally that means that there are a lot of hand made items to choose from. With the advent of G4 as well as all the extra fans the scale and quality of things available has sky rocketed.

Your price point is clearly a little high for what you are selling. It is not in any way that the item is "cheap" - they are adorable and you of course have to factor in your own costs as well as some extra for selling the item. However, perception of what someone is getting does not match the price of the item. So unfortunately that leaves only 2 options: 1) you find a way to manufacture cheaper [be that materials or your own time] or 2) you add value to the item in order to reach that purchase point [be that in finish, embellishment or in gift box/decorated wrapping].

Also has others have said, you could also offer a discount - equal to your ebay fees - to those who buy from you through the Arena/TP etc. That may help you out.

Good luck with your sales!

[CupidStrikes]

Sadly, as is the case for everyone who sells hand-crafted items, you will very, very rarely be able to make the minimum wage for your country selling your items. I know it's frustrating, but that's just how it is, I'm afraid I sell (or try to) hand-knitted items like arm warmers and try to charge enough to cover the materials and the complexity of the design, mainly as I see knitting as a hobby more than a job and I'm not looking to make a living off it, just a few extra £££ here and there as I enjoy the process more than the end garments (I can only wear one pair of arm warmers at a time, too!). Even the people whom sell plushes for hundreds of pounds often don't cut minimum wage after they've accounted for materials and all. It can also take a long time to get any interest; I've had arm warmers for sale on Tumblr for months and have only made one sale *hug* don't let it get you down, as people have said, there is a market for your ponies!

Not to belittle your craft in any way, but $22 is a lot of money to some people. For context, that's about what I spend on food in a week. People tend to be tighter around holiday stuff, too, as you only use 'em for a few weeks of the year. I definitely think $10-$15 would get you some more interest, and maybe sell "packs" of them? I don't usually see ornaments sold individually so I think a set might be more attractive to potential customers. And if they have a specific holiday in mind, maybe make them more tailored to that holiday? Ponies in santa hats!

I must ask - how did you make the eye on the yellow pony? It has so much depth to it! Is it a safety eye or is it 2D like the others?

[Tiffymh1fan]

Im going to say your ponys are cute. But like some others have said, I like to make things on my own. I may buy craft kits to help me make my own. For example a do it your self package with everything included for me to do my self, with instructions included.
Since there are so many products made like this that are home made, there are a lot of options to buy from. It does not seem like there is a market for these. My advice may seem harsh, and Im sorry if it does sound that way.

Some things I would like to see made are not ornaments but stuff that can be used year round.
Like something to put my Grails on that would be pretty with their names on them so I could display them and make them stand out. Ive used cloth on top of blocks to give height to some ponys, but the cloth takes up too much space! I hope this makes sense  sorry Im rambling. Or making decorated pony shelfs for blind packs would be neat... Those are things I would buy

[Freeindeed]

Thank you all for all of the feedback you have given me! I am so glad to be a part of such a great and helpful community. I will definitely take all of your suggestions to heart and try to improve my product as much as possible.

I do agree that the horns and ears on the unicorns could be defined a little bit better... maybe I can push the ear back a bit so it looks more like the earth/pegasus ornament style, and then there will be a little space between the ear and the horn for a forelock. And I also like the idea of playing around with different stitching techniques... I agree that a blanket stitch might look nice around the edges of the pony. I will also try to do a size comparison picture, because that's a great idea and something I hadn't really thought of! I do have the size listed in the description, but a visual might be good as well. And mentioning other uses for them and maybe marketing them to family members/friends of pony collectors is another fabulous idea! And thank you for all the rest of the fantastic suggestions as well.

I have reduced the prices on Etsy to $15 each. I did have some success selling a few of these several years ago at that price, so maybe they'll catch on again.

Also, thanks for your feedback about consolidating my user names, kellyponyfeathers! I do recognize you as one of my eBay buyers. Truth be told I've been Freeindeed here on the MLPArena and valenshy on eBay long before Good Boy Toys came about... so that's why my user names are all different. I don't think I want to change my user name here (since I do have links to Good Boy Toys in my siggy) but maybe an eBay user name change would be a good thing, at least!

Thank you again, everyone! 

[Skitterbug]

I would say for the horn/ear issue, definitely pushing the ear back to look like the earth and pegasus ponies would help, and maybe making the horn longer and thinner would help? I think aside from that, everyone's got good advice!

[Anitas_Mom]

I make these ornaments as well (machine sewn) and I charge only $7.  Even that is a hard sell.

[Mirnyj]

It's nice to hear that you decided to cut down the price a little. What I'm thinking is that these kinds of items are often impulse-bought rather than sought after. And to be honest, I couldn't afford to use $25 for an ornament by impulse.

Other thing that came into my mind is that perhaps you could try and design a G4 type ornament in addition to your G1 ones. Even if it would be a design of just the pony's head, those would attract a different kind of audience than G1 type ornaments. Because let's face it, as much as we love G1 there are far more people who are into G4 stuff.