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Show HN: Craft.ly

craft.ly

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Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#11

Post by bitsm »

Getting paid up front is key for dealing with micro-businesses, so that's good. But I have a hard time believing that "crafty" and "high volume" mesh on any level.

Crafty businesses are homespun, bespoke businesses that rely on charm and a personal touch. Group buying single-handedly destroys that. Crafters are also very protective of their personal brands and would be very averse to doing anything that might lead to angry/disappointed customers.

So, I don't see this taking off. Have you talked to any crafters about this? Can you allay these types of concerns? And what types of handmade products lend themselves to being made in short timelines and high volumes?

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#12

Post by levirosol »

bitsm wrote: post #11

Getting paid up front is key for dealing with micro-businesses, so that's good. But I have a hard time believing that "crafty" and "high volume" mesh on any level. Crafty businesses are homespun, bespoke businesses that rely on charm and a personal touch. Group buying single-handedly destroys that. Crafters are also very protective of their personal brands and would be very averse to doing anything that might lead to…

Help me understand your definition of "high volume". Based on the conversations we've had with crafters (admittedly, few and people we know at this point) we're talking volume on the scale of 10-20 items. Not 100's or even 1000's.

We will be talking with more crafters before solidifying the model.

Further backing this is the ability that Etsy and other craft selling sites give to their users for indicating a quantity.

As for products, it absolutely depends on the crafter. Items made with a pattern will work great. Knitted items, quilted items, wooden crafts, metal crafts, etc are all good. Even photography. It ultimately boils down to the crafter being able to reproduce an item with consistent quality.

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#13

Post by d4ft »

Here's a problem I foresee: These groupon style sites do their business because these vendors make money due to the volume. Whether its return customers, or small margins adding together, or whatever, the whole reason vendors get involved is volume. So one question: will indy craftsfolk be able to handle the volume? If they get 1000 orders for their handmade leather wallet, seems like people will start to get pissed after month 2 of waiting.

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#14

Post by levirosol »

d4ft wrote: post #13

Here's a problem I foresee: These groupon style sites do their business because these vendors make money due to the volume. Whether its return customers, or small margins adding together, or whatever, the whole reason vendors get involved is volume. So one question: will indy craftsfolk be able to handle the volume? If they get 1000 orders for their handmade leather wallet, seems like people will start to get pissed…

absolutely agree. We not talking volumes of 1000's though. We're on the scale of 10-20. something your average crafter can accomplish (depending on the item of course) in a few days.

I don't know that we will put limits though. I mean, someone could print off 1000 paper bookmarks pretty easily.

In the end, our rating / award system should help drive sellers to not over commit. It's something we will have to deal with.

You're the 2nd or 3rd person to assume we're talking Groupon scale. I think we need to do a better job of indicating the scale we're targeting. :)

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#15

Post by justinxreese »

A lot of the charm with crafts is being hand made and individual. Even if a craft maker can make and sell 1,000 popsicle stick men, there is still the illusion that each is unique and painstakingly made. When you present up front that "we're going to make a bunch of popsicle stick men", it kind of kills that, even if the same amount is being produced.

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#16

Post by levirosol »

justinxreese wrote: post #15

A lot of the charm with crafts is being hand made and individual. Even if a craft maker can make and sell 1,000 popsicle stick men, there is still the illusion that each is unique and painstakingly made. When you present up front that "we're going to make a bunch of popsicle stick men", it kind of kills that, even if the same amount is being produced.

sure. We're not talking 1000's though. 10-20 is more realistic. Something your average crafter can create in a few days.

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#17

Post by slater »

levirosol wrote: post #6
slater wrote: post #4

4 pages with various e-mail forms does not a good "Show HN" make :/ edit to not be too snarky: I expected an actually working site, not a web 2.0-style "we're in beta, enter your e-mail address to be included in our private beta!" page

snarkyness aside :) what do you mean? I'm ultimately looking for feedback / questions on the idea based on the info provided in the site. Should i have named the HN post something different than Show HN? I read HN a lot and it seems there's no 100% right way to put your idea / product in front HN. but yeah, feedback is what I'm after. Not to show of a launched product.

I guess it comes down to what people expect from a "ShowHN" style post. I want to say that ShowHN posts have been, for the large part, requests for feedback on completed sites.

If you need responses on the validity of your idea, a simple AskHN with the outline of your idea would probably have yielded better results. I had a similar reaction to Joachim, eg "this looks more like an attempt to get signups"

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#18

Post by [deleted] »

levirosol wrote: post #16
justinxreese wrote: post #15

A lot of the charm with crafts is being hand made and individual. Even if a craft maker can make and sell 1,000 popsicle stick men, there is still the illusion that each is unique and painstakingly made. When you present up front that "we're going to make a bunch of popsicle stick men", it kind of kills that, even if the same amount is being produced.

sure. We're not talking 1000's though. 10-20 is more realistic. Something your average crafter can create in a few days.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#19

Post by viggity »

d4ft wrote: post #13

Here's a problem I foresee: These groupon style sites do their business because these vendors make money due to the volume. Whether its return customers, or small margins adding together, or whatever, the whole reason vendors get involved is volume. So one question: will indy craftsfolk be able to handle the volume? If they get 1000 orders for their handmade leather wallet, seems like people will start to get pissed…

seems more like a niche kickstarter than groupon (to me at least)

Re: Show HN: Craft.ly

#20

Post by levirosol »

slater wrote: post #17
levirosol wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

snarkyness aside :) what do you mean? I'm ultimately looking for feedback / questions on the idea based on the info provided in the site. Should i have named the HN post something different than Show HN? I read HN a lot and it seems there's no 100% right way to put your idea / product in front HN. but yeah, feedback is what I'm after. Not to show of a launched product.

I guess it comes down to what people expect from a "ShowHN" style post. I want to say that ShowHN posts have been, for the large part, requests for feedback on completed sites. If you need responses on the validity of your idea, a simple AskHN with the outline of your idea would probably have yielded better results. I had a similar reaction to Joachim, eg "this looks more like an attempt to get signups"

Thanks for that response, and I think you're right.

live and learn right? :)

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