So I’ve been on folksy for about 5 years and never got a feature allthough I’m one of the only alternative steampunk jewellery makers on here… I’ve been very loyal and advertised like crazy for the site , yet they feature people who put one charm on one peice of chain / cord made in China… I read another ladies post about it not being fair , then it was a hot pick on the item feed and I think it’s really unfair …
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If it’s the shop I can also see, it’s not been featured by Folksy. It’s appearing on the front page by virtue of being a new shop. It’s automatic, the shop hasn’t been chosen to appear there.
Folksy cannot be expected to monitor everything that gets listed. If you feel that something is being sold here that shouldn’t be the best thing to do is report it. Folksy do look at the reports and they will remove infringing listings.
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I don’t know what difference it makes that they are using chain or cord from China. There are a lot of manufacturers who produce this type of cord or chain around the world. I find it disappointing when people intimate negativity against one race or country.
I honestly don’t see the difference between putting a chain and charm together or adding an earwire to a charm. It is a very fine line.
As I always said to my kids, be careful what you wish for as it can come back to bite you,
I also noticed that at least at the listings that I looked at of yours, Natalie, you have titles with commas but no spaces and no tags. Both of these oversights will not help you in search.
It hanki you joy for understanding , it is in no way a snipe at a country . My point is a mass produced charm on a bit of cord is now hand made . Maybe one thrown in now and again even but that was not the case. I have tags on my jewellery although I agree I find it awkward to write about the item in the main box at the top without it looking shoddy with tags
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Joy, there is nothing nasty in what I said.
I am sorry if you don’t like it but I don’t think it is necessary for me to remove my comment based on your opinion. I have only stated the truth and some well meant advice. I find it odd that you say you like kindness.as I have seen your posts in the past. This is not the first time I have seen negative comments that I would deem prejudicial.to others. It is wrong to me but if you don’t agree then that is your prerogative. I too prefer kindness but it seems in short supply.
Again, nothing nasty said nor intended. If you don’t understand why I would be dismayed to see certain comments in the fora, you don’t have the same values as I…
If you feel you must report me, do so. I don’t understand the double standard but it does illustrate my point.
Regardless of where in the world it originates, assembled jewellery is not allowed to be sold on Folksy, as stated in their TOU. Assembled jewellery is defined by Folksy as, for example, a single purchased charm on a chain. There has to be an element of design or something handmade for it to be sold here.
I get quite annoyed sometimes at the amount of items on here that shouldn’t be - I’ve been reporting quite a few lately (not always jewellery) but these shops are still selling the items that I know are not handmade. Some are quite well-established shops too, which I find even more disappointing. Eventually there will be too many to stop and the site will become another ebay.
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It is offputting to see very simple and obviously assembled jewellery on Folksy, as well as the obvious breaches of copyright etc. It reflects badly on the whole site, though of course there are so very many items being listed I don’t know how the Folksy team could possibly police the rules. They do rely on us to report what shouldn’t be here, but it would take so long as there’s so much!
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I think most cheap mass-produced jewellery findings come from China. I don’t think any Chinese person would take issue with anyone saying that!
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No, of course they wouldn’t,I don’t know for the life of me why @ManiacalMosaics made such an issue of it.
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There is a very fine line your right for mass produced stuff. I think it goes along the lines of a mass produced stone shaped bead being put onto a cord would not really be considered as hand crafted. But using that stone bead as part of a more complex piece with other embellishments/ charms/ wire wrapping etc would be considered crafted and okay as it had something of a “design” element to it. Reporting such things may not sit well with everyone, but if folksy is to remain stand alone for hand crafted then a line does have to be drawn somewhere, no matter how finer line it is someone has to decide what is okay and what isnt. As said in another post similar to this i dont envy folksy admin.
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Agree @PaulsJewels, a few mass produced items assembled is not crafted, and this is a craft site (and supplies) and while they have a place, it’s not here.
Also agree with Christine @the owl and the pussycat, pretty sure China is quite proud of its cheap mass produced market as they do very well from it!
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I agree also with you all it must be a knight are to check them all but the more of them that are caught and kicked out the more chance the rest of us get noticed , there was no need to pick at my posts really. I think also a bought gem on a peice of string … Not really handmade , a hand wire wrapped gem on a nice cord /chain / etc is different . I would never want to offend but it’s hard enough competing out in the world of mass produced that we should be safe against it on here X
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Hi Natalie
After reading this thread I noticed a couple of shops which I’ve now reported - it’s not really occurred to me to report before but I guess we do need to as and when we spot this. As for being featured by Folksy, I have, it was lovely and I felt very lucky! There are a couple of things though that Folksy always mention about what they look for, and one of them is photography. They seem to prefer a clean, plain background for the main (first) shot - I find white works best because of the design of the site. Looking at your listings, whilst I love your wooden background, the ones on a white background do show the item more clearly, and allow it to ‘pop’ rather than merging slightly with the background. And given that the Folksy team often talk about this in their posts, it might be worth just asking them if that might help you get featured? They are very helpful normally, and there have been many previous threads on that theme to look through. You could still include the more ‘you’ photos for the remaining 4 shots, to get your house style across? Up to you of course - good luck!
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Oops, forgot to say you might want to tweak the cropping on some of your shots as well, so they fit more neatly into the Folksy square window. Not that I remember for mine, but I think the grid view of the gift guides means that an item which is cut off at the edges sticks out rather so might get passed over?
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I have been one of those people in the past who just got some mass produced items glued them together and tryed to sell them. I decided to take them off sale as I felt that jewellery wasn’t something I wanted to sell. I felt my items were cheap and rubbish compaired to all the fine time consuming items that were here (which is true) I can’t help thinking that some shops that are just mass produced stock that has been threaded together or glued are popular because that is what certain customers are looking for. I know that is does not qualify as ‘handmade’. There has been quite a few threads on here and I’m sure people have reported shops but yet some are still here selling well. Maby Folksy see it as good traffic of customers even tho the items are not handmade which does not give a good reputation for the site.
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Joy, I read your email message and responded. Why would you say I didn’t? I too do not wish to discuss or respond further, Right, got that off my chest.
Counted to 10 in 4 different languages and now removing myself from this topic in the interests of my serenity.
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I totally agree Christine shephard…esty went the same way with china imported cheap tack as i call it and not at all handmade…these massed produced items are spoiling it for us…it shouldnt be allowed on these sites…but i think etsy saw pounds/dollars instead of looking after their handmade clients who work damn hard to produce handmade…i closed my shop and will only sell on Folksy now…
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If we are all talking about the same shop (mieow as a clue) then several of us have reported it and folksy a) agree with us that it looks like its assembled and b) are following up to find out if the charms have been made to their own design or are indeed generic mass produced charms. So hopefully they will soon be gone (or at least editing their stock for something that is within the folksy T&Cs) and if anyone spots something similar please report it - it does have an effect.
Sasha
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