From the original auction:

So I misremembered... you didn't say "cut corners", you said "stripped down". It's an inaccurate unfavorable comparison that infers that Devardi is superior. That is one of the things that led people to question you.

Is Firemagic one of the "Devardi people"?


Andrea

I agree !

Yep, it's Dan. Up to his old tricks.

OK...then him talking about himself in the third person while discussing problems with his product has helped me make up my mind.

Thanks.


Andrea

940? or 850? ;)

Hey, I got "graded" on my "test" answers :)
(and I got them "half right" :lol:)
All *I* know is, I bought some glass (a long time ago), the rods they *said* would be bubble-glass *were* bubble-glass & DIDN'T cost $40+ a pound & *weren't* hollow rods (so they didn't need to be kept in a special place 'cause they weren't all fragile & breakable & terrifying to use), & the "bubble-glass" had loads of bubbles & was gorgeous colors (so, no "use bubble glass with a transparent to get a color" routine)
The other stuff *seems* to be compatable with 104--the beads I made, stuffed into a crockpot & had batch annealled later all have *not* broken. I made them the same way I make my beads using Lauscha (another glass that *supposedly* you "can't batch anneal" :roll:) & two of them have some of Brad's Striking Glass Color on Devardi Metallic Black & multiple months later, they're still intact. I didn't swirl it in, so that *could* be why. I don't know. All I know is one of them has been banging around my purse for months (not great treatment for a bead :lol:) & it's fine.
I like the metallic black a LOT & for $6 a pound, it's shiny, easy to use, and a heck of a lot closer to my budget than any *other* brand of "shiny"--and when I'm selling beads for uber-cheap to people who are looking for bargains, not "name-brands", I'm fine with that! (particularly when it's passed being tested in my purse for nearly a year :lol:)
And seriously, PINK for $6 a pound? Yeah, I'm buying it. And testing it *exactly* the same way. Valentines day is coming in a few months--I can't *get* $40 a bead--I'm lucky if I can get $10-$12 for a bead *on a chain*!--and if this glass is stable enough to use even as a "single color" glass for basic production of simple shapes--I'm good with it!

Fingers had a mind of their own and mistyped! 850 Turbo . . . it's a work horse!

Andrea - that's one of the reasons why I have made it a personal practice to not reply to posts from those who refuse to disclose his/her identity . . .

It is?

That's making more and more sense. No avatar, no signature, no location, and not so much as a first name = probably a dupe account.

If I pay less than $25/lb for the glass I use, I don't even take it into consideration when pricing my beads. I am learning a lot from this thread!


Andrea

Say I pay $40/lb including shipping, and just to make the math easy, I get 40 focal beads out of that pound. That's a dollar a bead.

If I pay $10/lb for glass and get 40 focal beads out of it, that's 25 cents a bead. That's only a 75 cent different per bead.

Just thinking out loud.


Andrea

ahh... that adds up to a $30.00 savings.

Jack

Well, that's true before you even make the first bead.


Andrea

Yes, BUT you can get 4lbs instead of 1lb, so that 160 focals for the same $$.


But I don't sell... I bought the glass because some of the colors are TDF and not difficult to work with at all. Some are (in my opinion) a PITA that I won't buy again, but I was forewarned and I only bought .25lb anyway. ($2).

There are lots of ways to look at it.
eta: That's a good way if you make 160 focals out of the same glass :D


Andrea

Exactly my point. Thank you.
Jack

wow.

You're welcome!


Andrea

What does this mean?


Andrea

Production workers and people on the show circuit often do. When I was using Effetre, it wasn't uncommon for me to buy 5lbs of a particular color, if I liked it. I bought 8lbs of BG Pink & 10lbs of Slate.

(Or you could by 1lb each of 4 colors...)

I usually buy my clear in 5 lb lots.

My torch cost $700. My kiln cost $1200. Then there are the oxygen concentrators and the cost of fuel and electricity to keep these things operating.

Honestly, when I do my taxes at the end of the year, glass is one of my smallest expenses, and that's despite buying silver glass, boro, and Bullseye, among other things. I think I spent $600 on glass last year... that would be a lot if I wasn't selling, but I support my family on proceeds from my beads. If I wasn't selling, I wouldn't have needed so much glass. I buy the glass I need; sometimes I make a lot of boro beads, so I buy more boro. Sometimes I make a lot of Effetre and Vetrofond beads and Mike Frantz gets my business. I don't think, "Oh, Effetre is cheaper than BE so I'll buy more Effetre and just make Effetre beads for a while". It just doesn't factor in.

My main concern is whether the glass is good quality. I also take other factors into consideration, but that's at the top of my list. Like I said before, if it's lower-quality it's perfectly fine for practice, but in terms of overhead, if you're breaking it down financially for business purposes, the glass is such a tiny percentage of your costs that whether you pay $5/lb or $40, it's barely worth taking into consideration for pricing purposes, IMO.

I haven't used this glass, so I have no opinions on it.

I would like to relate my experiences with other 'problem' glass though. I had a batch of Diamond Clear that cracked. Abe offered to replace it, but I declined as I had only bought 1/2 lb. I also bought some TAG clear that looked liked seeded glass when worked on my Cricket. Fine on a Minor though??? Anyway, Jenny offered to replace it or give me glass in exchange. My point is that both manufacturers were extremely ready to admit there may have been problems with the glass, and offered to make it good. Devardi responds to criticism by insulting and undermining the skills of the beadmaker posting the problem.

For that reason I will probably not buy any Devardi, even though I would love to try some of their colours. I only like to do business with respectful vendors who's attitude (in public) is one of 'the customer is always right'

That makes sense. Luna's post just started me on a train of thought, but everyone has to price things the way that works for them.


Andrea

I haven't said a thing (that I remember) regarding Devardi up until now -- and I've lurked on the threads, starting with the one months ago when the glass was first talked about here. I saw the nastiness from the (only) vendors of this glass first hand, before the posts were deleted. For that reason I'm not likely to ever purchase this glass either.

I speak with my wallet whenever I can - and as long as there is other glass with other vendors to choose from I'll go that route. The only time I deal with vendors/companies I *dislike* is when there's a NEED and no other place for me to get that need filled. Example - my local gas and cable companies. Otherwise, on principle, I'll hapilly spend more to support those who deserve it AND have what I need.

When I was figuring out how to price my boro beads, I did some calculating, breaking down the cost of glass in each bead. I was starting with the assumption that I would need to charge more for boro beads because boro color is about $40-50/lb. Clear is cheap, of course.

With my bracelet-sized beads, I get about 96 beads from each pound. Even if I make a set that's solid color, which I rarely do, that makes my materials cost just under .47 per bead assuming a cost of $45/lb. If I'm using Vetrofond, it would be 12.5 cents per bead. I could charge .34 cents more per bead for the boro, but really, whether a customer will pay that depends on how pretty the bead is, which depends pretty much entirely on how pretty the glass is, how well I work it, and how much effort (time) I put into the bead. So instead of basing my pricing on the cost of the glass, I focus on how long it takes me to make each bead... since my labor is the most expensive thing I'm putting into it. I've priced less-attractive beads made out of very expensive glass much lower than beautiful beads made out of cheaper glass.

The beauty and time factors are why a quality glass that's easy to work with are important to me. They're not necessarily important to everyone, but for me it's a prime consideration. Glass that's easy to work reduces the time I spend making each bead, which means that in a day I can be more productive and make more pretty beads, which in turn means I can price them more reasonably, sell more, and put more (figurative) food on the table at the end of the month.

That is my reasoning for spending more on better glass. It's not applicable to everyone's situation, it's just my personal answer to the "it's so inexpensive it will save you money, so why not?" question. In my specific situation, the way I use glass, it actually wouldn't save me money... same reason why expensive silver glasses, with their high beauty-for-the-dollar payoff, are worth it for me.

Personally, I tend to allow vendors a mistake or two in their public dealings. Shortly after TAM came about, even Mike Frantz showed his hind end in public on there, about dealings with a customer. Quite a few people have shown a not so pretty side of themselves in one way or another. I like to see if it's a continuing manner of behavior or a short term action. If it doesn't happen again, I consider it being human and move on unless it really offended me personally.

I read the original threads. It wouldn't matter if Natasha and Daniel had pulled their posts or not, they would have been deleted when all the threads merged and came into the Tips and techniques thread below. There was a lot of nastiness going around in those posts-not just from Natasha and Daniel. They didn't handle it well. Personally, I could see responding the way they did. They did remove themselves from acting that way again, and I haven't seen them post in such a way again.

When I've emailed with them, they respond promptly and answer every question nicely. They haven't behaved poorly in public again. I like their glass. I think the colors are unlike what I see in some of the COE 104 lines available, and at the price, I think they are a good deal. I don't think they are any harder to work with than some of the more temperamental 104 glass already out there.

I don't recall Mike Frantz being on TAM... do you mean Mike Aurelius? He's not exactly a good example for the point you're trying to make... what with the multiple accounts, sock-puppetry, and belittling customers with problems.

I'm glad you've had good experiences with Daniel and Natasha. I went into that thread thinking I'd be interested in trying Devardi, and came out of it wanting nothing to do with it, largely based on their behavior. The reports of low quality cinched it for me. Your decision is fine, and so is mine.