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...but were afraid to ask!

Part 1. It's All in a Name

The Unique glass beads by Trollbeads are undeniably the one category of Trollbeads that is open for all kinds of interpretation depending upon your own experience with and knowledge of these incredible beads. To begin this discussion let’s start at what to call  these beads as this is one area that confuses many collectors. I remember a couple of years ago having a debate with our Trollbeads Gallery Forum members on what the best name is and it was really quite arbitrary with the name being different on different websites and in different countries. 

Lund (our past U.S. Distributor) referred to them as “Assorted Beads” but that name was too vague for me and we were permitted to call them anything that fit but not "OOAK".  Many dealers in the U.S. chose to call them "limited edition" beads but for me this didn’t work either.  Owning an art gallery my idea of a limited edition is something that has a finite end and I’m sure no one has been counting the beads as they were being made. Another problem with calling them limited edition is that Trollbeads had actual limited editions such as Brilliant Hearts and later Crazy Lace Agate, for two examples. Calling them "Limited Edition" would surely confuse the collector because these releases had nothing to do with Unique beads.

In Europe the dealers were selling these beads as “OOAK” beads  (which is  an acronym for "one of a kind") but as I mentioned Lund did not allow us to use the term due to legal ramifications. They believed the term to be misleading, where most all of these beads were not one of a kind.  This difference in the terminology may not seem like a big deal yet it was for the U.S. dealers.  At this point in time collectors the world over would run computer searchs for the term “OOAK” Trollbeads and where we could not use the term, it cut us out of a lot of internet searches. This was a big drawback for the U.S. dealers but I also understood the issue involved. The discussion I mentioned on our Trollbeads Gallery Forum brought up interesting points but I remember one of my Forum members telling me that “Unique” literally meant one of a kind and she was right of course but my use of the word was more about something being different from the norm. Since we had been using the name on Trollbeads Gallery since the early days, people had come to know the Unique beads on Trollbeads Gallery were in fact the same as the OOAK beads in Europe.

So call them what you want but on Trollbeads Gallery they will always be known as Unique!

In future blog articles I will be discussing the styles, values and origination of the Unique Trollbeads. Please contact me if you want anything specific or have anything to add!

The photograph above was taken of the Unique Trollbeads I was sent for Trollbeads Fest 2010.  I can't wait for the Unique beads to arrive for Trollbeads Fest 2011!

 

 

I love the Internet and I love the ability to find so much information with very few strokes on a keypad. It’s a gift for readers and for blog authors but for the authors this is a gift that comes with a responsibility.The responsibility is to offer accurate information they can count on to form their own opinions.

The title question came to mind because of a Trollbeads blog I recently read. The blog offers information about Trollbeads gossip and is usually entertaining to read. In general, with the freedoms allowed to “anonymous” bloggers, no commitment is necessary by the writers to seek the truth before publishing, after all a lot of blogging is just opinion. The unfortunate thing about the written word; many people take it as the truth. The case I am referring to is opinion but many people may not understand this and it is important that they do. I appreciate this author’s view point but there is a position they have taken and have commented on before, I feel the need to oppose because it can hurt Trollbeads retailers and ultimately the collectors. It has to do with the writer’s opinion on the prices charged for Unique beads. Unless you are an authorized dealer who has personally signed legally binding contracts and the rules are different for each country a business is registered in, you cannot know all of the facts required to voice opinions on pricing. Before commenting publicly many things need to be considered. I am speaking for other Trollbeads retailers as well.

1.The retailer understands that UNLIKE any other product offered by any other source, they DO NOT have a choice in what unique beads they receive to sell.  The beads are purchased unseen. They DO NOT have the ability to return the product if it is unsellable. The retailer also may NOT discount and may NOT have a sale on these beads. This type of buying situation is unheard of in most industries. We do however have the choice to not order these beads to sell but is that in the best interest of the collector?

2. If you are a dealer you must consider the financial ramifications. If your order comes in and there are beads that are the best of the best, there are also similar quantities that are unsellable. If you charge the same price for the best as you do for the unsellable beads knowing you will never sell the undesirable beads, you will never make back the investment or even the required profit to make it a viable on-going category for your business.

3. As a retailer selling this product you have 2 choices.

   A: Is to sell them all at the same price, selling only the desirable beads, learning after a short time that it is a losing proposition and you stop getting them in to offer.

  B: Is to price the beads according to their desirability and in doing so cover the cost of the undesirable beads no one wants. It is a simple formula for succeeding in selling unique Trollbeads which is the only way for us to continue to offer the Unique beads collectors want.

In conclusion for those of you who don’t know me, I have been selling Trollbeads for 4 years and have sold Unique Trollbeads for just about as long and let me tell you I have many Unique beads that will never sell. If I had not priced the Unique beads by their desirability I would have stopped getting them in and stopped selling them over 3 ½ years ago. Trollbeads Gallery is now on Unique Bead #4093. That would mean they’d be 3000 fewer Unique beads in the collections of my customers. Would this have been a good thing? Please let me know your thoughts.

To check the going prices go to the links below.

Regards, Louise Rogers

Trollbeads Gallery Uniques

Trollbeads Gallery New Uniques