Buying Fleece from Internet Vendors
by
Pegg Thomas
Many people buy fleeces over the Internet from fiber shops and ‘off
the farm’ from shepherds. I have a vested interest in this topic
since I do sell most of my fleeces this way. Everyone who has ever
bought anything sight unseen knows that there is a certain amount of risk
involved, but there are ways to decrease the risk. So let’s go over
some points for buyers out there to be aware of.
Reputation is everything. If you subscribe to one of the
many fiber arts e-mail lists you have already heard about some of the venders
out there in cyberspace. You’ve probably heard both good and not-so-good.
It’s difficult to accept anyone’s point of view from an e-mail. Here’s
a couple of ways to sort through the muddle.
If you see a person consistently posting articles running down other
people or businesses, you start to notice that it’s a pattern and can disregard
that person’s opinion. The same goes for people who are constantly
cranky and write complaining or whining e-mails in general. These are
not people you want to consider an opinion from if you want to make informed
choices. For myself, I also filter these people into the trash folder
once I’ve made this decision. Life’s too short to spend reading e-junk.
If you see several happy customers comment on fleeces purchased from
a vendor, jot down that vendor’s name and keep it in a file somewhere, or
cut and paste those e-mails into a folder for future reference. Look
for patterns to see if several people have given good comments about the
same vendor. Do the same for people who post unfavorable comments about
vendors or their fleece, but do take into account the person posting and
whether or not he/she belongs to the group listed above.
Visit the web pages of vendors and look for a comments page. Any
vender can post any comment true or imagined, but there should be a name
with the quote and you may recognize some from the e-mail lists. Don’t
be afraid to ask a vender for references, past customers who you may contact.
Honest venders won’t mind providing these, either by providing you the
e-mail addresses, or by asking the reference to contact you directly.
I would not recommend asking for opinions on the e-mail lists.
That just invites negative opinions. For some reason, people are much
more motivated to post negative comments than positive comments via the
electronic realm and the data you collected would most likely be skewed
that way.
Asking for samples is a thing of the past. I’m not sure
just when it changed, but as the Internet advanced, old fashioned mailings
have become almost obsolete. Fleeces sell so fast on the Internet
that mailing out samples only slows down the process and many vendors no
longer offer this service. For example, if I take the time to mail a
sample to Suzy Spinner in Colorado, it will take that sample at least 4 days
to arrive. In those 4 days, I may have another 4 offers to buy the
same fleece without sending a sample. As a vendor, it doesn’t make sense
for me to turn away 4 customers who are willing to buy to wait for 1 customer
who ‘may’ buy. It’s not that I am against sending samples because of
postage costs or bother, it’s just a matter of good business practices and
satisfying customers who know what they want when they want it.
Photos are the new samples. Most vendors have photos of
their fleeces available for viewing. The best way to evaluate from
a photo is to have the fleece pictured with a ruler. This allows the
buyer to observe an approximate crimp per inch and length of staple.
Unfortunately, there is no way to truly show the feel of the fleece from
a photograph. Knowing the breeds of sheep and knowing the range of
wool type within that breed is a huge help to the buyer. Research
in this area will help the buyer make informed choices.
Always ask for insured mailings. Whether the vendor you’re
purchasing from uses UPS or USPS or FedEx, be sure to ask for and pay the
extra cost to have your fleece insured. With the USPS, insurance
for up to $50 costs only $1.30. Things do happen and a lost box,
a damaged box where the address cannot be read, or a damaged box where
the fleece itself is harmed can make an otherwise happy purchase turn into
a disaster.
Stick with a good thing. Spinners tend to have favorite
types of fleece. When you find a vendor who has what you like, you
can avoid all the guesswork by going back to that source for your fleeces
in the future. At least 75% of my fleeces sell to repeat customers.
That makes me happy and obviously pleases them as well. Don’t think
of it as ‘being in a rut’, but rather think of it as ‘buying a sure thing’!
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