To be fed up of people trying to hawk their 'craft' wares

[Goldenhandshake]

Over the last couple of years there seems to have been phases of craft/homemade items being hawked by loads of people, en masse, particularly over facebook.

There have been cards, cupcakes, personalised converse trainers and now hair bows seems to be the latest.

AIBU to be sick of the sodding 'Please like my FB selling page' requests, stalls popping up at DD's dance class, school fetes etc and then having people I know almost guilt tripping you into buying because you know them?

I know I don't have to buy anything, and I mostly don't, but have felt obliged to a couple of times. and have mainly been left disappointed

Another local woman makes beaded bracelets, they look a bit like this one on ebay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RECYCLED-OOAK-ONE-OFF-CUSTOM-MADE-HANDMADE-HOMEMADE-UNIQUE-ROCK-CHIC-BRACELET-/291029271642 and she charges about £6 each. She regularly comes to the toddler group with them and is very pushy, getting you to go over and look at the stall. I think they look like something my 8 year old niece makes.

'No, thanks.' Repeat, repeat.

those weet trees drive me mad. one of the reasons I closed my facebook account was the daily pics of shit items that I was expected to coo over.

I know someone who has received some kind of government grant to start a 'business' selling balloon models for events and these sweet trees. The problem is that the items that they produce are hideous.

I would link but don't want to out myself.

I only have a few FB friends who make things and, thankfully, they are very talented at what they do (mainly beautiful cakes!).

Our local village selling page is another matter - all manner of things, clearly used, for about a fiver less than RRP .

I agree with MmeLindor.

I do love to see well made things on FB being sold, but do get somewhat annoyed by the tat people try to sell sometimes and say that it's "lovingly handmade" when it probably only took ten minutes. But then I knit weird stuff like dinosaurs and handcuffs so I can't talk

I'm going to start up a craft business in the new year to try and get it on a roll in time for when DP and I start trying for children in a couple of years time, it'll save me not bringing in any income in the early days theoretically.

I did have somebody offer me a fiver to make their child a dinosaur. Considering that I spend 10+ hours on each one, and even with cheapy acrylic DK the yarn costs £2 a ball, I ended up telling them that I only make them for children I know and not often. They seemed to think that a fiver was generous too and were especially put out when I said that I wouldn't sell them because of how expensive they'd have to be to cover even part of my expenses and time!

I get round this by making everything myself (even if I do a shit job!) the. I can honestly say to people that I would love to buy one however I've already made one at home.

I am registered and pay tax and cannot tell you how angry it makes me when I see reassembled £ shop tat being called "homemade" and being put in the same category as what I do.

Melt and pour soap.

I have a friend who makes soap, he was considering selling it but you have to test each batch with a propper test - I can't remember the details but it is expensive so he doesn't.

People go to craft fairs and sell melt and pour as home made, nope that's not home made.

Occasionally come across the real stuff but untested, which it is illegal to sell. You may wonder why, well soap is made from a mixture of oil/fat and caustic soda, if you don't make it properly the stuff can burn you, and the only way to test for selling is the aforementioned propper test.

Although those chocolate filled sleighs are shite...obviously, someone IS buying them, or they wouldn't bother making them up. Kudos to the seller for spotting an easy market.

I'm a trained seamstress/dress maker and also do knitting and quilting. I was self-employed as a teenager and in my early twenties and am now thinking about doing it again after a few years off....I'm a SAHM now, and have spare time, so who knows?

I just reported a seller on NotontheHightStreet who'd bought all her 'crafted necklaces' for 49 cents apiece on Alibaba. They haven't taken her down yet.

I make cards - not from kits, I design and cut everything - but I'm not confident enough to sell them. Wouldn't make enough to cover the cost of the materials anyway. A relative is a lot more bold about her cards - she just takes plain white cards, stamps a single image on the front and calls it good, or prints a blurry image of a CBeebies character and glues that on - and she claims to sell them. But I can't work out who's buying them.

My DM is an extremely talented card maker/crocheter(sp?)/quilter/knitter/sewer general all-round crafty lady but she has no drive to sell and doesn't see the value and quality of what she makes.

People have commissioned items from her and then 'forgot to pay' but its okay because she 'likes her little hobby doesn't she?' She just makes gifts for relatives and friends now as she's left feeling like a mug.

Pisses me off. Especially when you see some of the tat out there.

*seamstress not sewer -dear god for shame?!
She IS not a sewer!

Lurker and Artex you are spot on there. I knit and have done since I was twelve...a couple of years back was spotted at work knitting a handdyed cashmere lace shawl in my lunchbreak. A colleague offered me £20 (to include the yarn) to knit her one ...the yarn alone cost me about £50! Have lost count of the number of people that have generously commented on the fact that I could sell my wares "at maybe a bit more than say, Primark or Asda". FFS.
I've just started making soap - proper stuff, with olive/coconut oils, shea butter, essential oils blah blah - and it's sobering how much I'm going to have to charge just to cover my costs...
The emergence of cheap and utter shit being made by people with zero ability and imagination isn't making things easy for the really creative and talented artists out there.

I have seen some amazing blinged up Converse, tbh. Two people I know are REALLY good at it.

AnnieJanuary and why bother about copyright?

Boy I could sell tons if I could stick Thomas the tank engine on my crafts.

I don't think anyone minds people selling homemade/handmade goods if they actually have some skill. It's the people who do things like melt down cheap pillar candles, put them in cheap glass jars, whack a label on and try to sell it as an 'artisan' candle, or people who've never done cake decorating before deciding they're totally capable of starting a cupcake business because they watched one tutorial on Youtube. Or my very favourite, people who string a couple of ugly plastic beads onto a bit of elastic and tell you they're a jewellery designer.

I have friends who are very talented and make beautiful things. Most of them have worked at their craft for decades. I know other people who are constantly spending masses of money funding their latest 'business venture', money they never get back because there's only so much poorly made crap you can force friends and family to buy.

People who have spare money to blow on a ton of beads, or cake decorating tools, or yarn, when they're at best amateur enthusiasts (who have often never before even seriously attempted making whatever it is they think they can sell to others), those people aren't in need of money, if they were they'd be a lot more careful with it.

I want bilingual converse but no-one is offering

blingy not bilingual

I don't think people who make genuinely decent hand crafted items push - for example I have a patchwork quilt that cost a small fortune, it was made for me by a group of older ladies in my husband's hometown. They have a waiting list! On the other hand every time I go to one of my sister-in-law's parties her friend is there with a case of 'handmade' shite necklace and earring sets that are straight out of some Chinese mega-factory, all she does is string beads FFS. The cooing that goes on over this crap, and then the hardsell...uck.

FB I ignore immediately. One colleague sells Fimo shite and another does that knitting you do on a tube - she makes scarves that are about a foot long and 'handwarmers' ie she does not know how to make gloves or mittens. Bleh.

So I guess it's a YANBU from me.

(Now would anyone like to see my potholders? I ironed on transfers myself....)

I crochet, sew and quilt, and I also find that the time needed and cost of materials puts me off selling the things that I make. Plus, I lack the confidence to sell things, preferring to give them as presents.

I'm making a crochet toy and a sewn toy for two of my nieces, and at the back of my mind I'm thinking "but is this enough and should I buy them something else"...

YANBU a colleague stopped me at work recently and asked me to come in to her office to discuss something. When I got there she starts pulling out some jewellery (hideous) that her friend makes, and would I like to buy some.

Firmly said no, but I was annoyed she had used work to sell things

I like a bit of sewing and I made my DS a double sided supehero cape. A few people have asked me to make one for their child and said they'd pay me but I have politely declined as the material and felt cost quite a lot as I am relying on the buying the odd metre from the local shop rather than buying wholesale on ebay. I wouldn't feel able to ask for the cost of the materials never mind the time taken to make it. People seem to think it takes no time at all but handsewing the individual designs takes ages.
I've made a couple for people I like for presents. I made a wonder woman/bat girl one for my colleagues little girl because the only other one she could find was Hello bastarding Kitty.

My sister is always making us bobbly scarves from those kits as presents. I hate them and I've never seen her actually wear them.

I have a question about income tax if people don't mind (goes completely off topic) I'm not planning on returning to work until my youngest starts school, but am currently selling portrait drawings, this will bring in £1500 a year maximum as it's not something I'm actively promoting, I just love drawing and people have requested that I do them. Do I still have to inform the inland revenue (I'm happy to, just didn't realise I might have to!)? Thank you if anybody knows.

I have my own jewellery business but I do it properly. I've been on courses and spent months perfecting my skills, nothing is ready for sale until it is just so. I spend extra buying quality findings from reputable companies so I know they are lead/nickel compliant and won't break. Even my fucking invoices are beautiful. I'm properly insured, taxed and registered and wouldn't dream of foisting things on my personal FB page.

The kind of sellers you describe do my nut in. Either its cheap poorly made tat or the price won't cover the cost of making and it makes people like me look too expensive while giving handmade a bad name! Its hard to hold your nerve and avoid the race to the bottom.

I work as a illustrator and graphic designer (mainly in children's books) and when I was on maternity leave I sold prints and artwork but I sold it on Etsy and through Amazon, I never approached friends or family on Facebook because it just seemed like begging and charity rather than someone buying something because they liked it.
I made around £5k doing it which was all declared to the inland revenue.
I think if you want to start a business you need people other than your friends and family buying everything otherwise it's just not sustainable.