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Bingo! I often like the Odd Lots because they work really well with silver and enamels, my two main bead ingredients! Also, the colors are fantastic!
If I spend $30 for a 1/4# of glass (about 5-6 rods) and I make $30 on ONE focal made from the glass - the glass is then paid for and I still have enough glass left to make about 12 focals - let's say avg price $25.00 ea... I have the potential to make $300 for $30.
And that's the main reason why I don't make sets. Sets use a lot of glass and the profit margin is crap for me. I do much better with one focal.
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Exactly! Well-said, Amber! If a certain type of glass works for the beads you're wanting to make, it will actually increase your sales or the value of your beads. It's actually worth the higher cost in the long run. Oh...and it's
sooo true what you said about making sets!!!
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But here's my worry. If we as a group gobble up every thing that is new and exciting no matter the cost, sooner or later the prices will increase "just because they can". The costs will increase to whatever the market will bear and we as a group are showing that we are eager enough to pay what ever is asked.
That is my concern - rising costs just because the market wll tolerate it.
You just have to love capitalism and all that comes with it, eh?
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I think that all of these new odd lots and silver glasses are a surge in response to what we lamp workers want. We're hungry for new colors. Odd colors used to kind of trickle in. They were mistakes, no matter how pretty they were. These new colors are being purposely formulated for us because we want them and have shown we will pay well for them. If there were no market and the demand was low, what would be the impetus for creating new kinds and colors of glass? As with any new product, no matter what it may be, if you want to be the first to have it then you're going to pay more. If you bide your time, after the initial surge in sales, the price always comes down to a more reasonable level. But where odd lot glasses are concerned, unfortunately, there's no guarantee the ones you want will be there when that happens.