New 2005 Fire Island Calendar!

[liza]

Beautiful new Fire Island 2005 12-month calendar available!

Featuring the photography of Liza Dey. Now available online at The Flying Pig Gallery for just $17.99.

Keep that Fire Island feeling all year long!

[Clasione]

Hello Liza - try not to advertise products that you might find in a store or online shopping experience.... We don't want this to turn into a knock off ebay

This is a classifieds area.....
If you wouldn't find it in a newspaper classifieds section, in probably doesn't belong here....

[liza]

Hi, Clasione -

I HAVE posted this very ad to other classified boards, as well as in the classified sections of both actual and online newspapers, along with posting an ad/announcement of my new Fire Island screensaver in the same locations. I have also previously marketed my photographs thru classifieds in various subject-specific newspapers. I had the idea that this is EXACTLY what classified ads ARE for - when an individual has something that they wish to promote, sell or trade. Many other people on this board are selling items, including works of their own handicraft.

This is not a generally available, mass-produced item. I am a freelance photographer, and the calendar is entirely my own work: I have shot the photos for it, designed it, self-published it and am marketing it myself. It is, as of now, available in no "brick & mortar" stores (although I WOULD like to change that), or thru any other online venue or large sales outlet. (The same holds true of my screensaver.) As of now it is available ONLY thru my own online CafePress.com store, and the ONLY forms of promotion I have ARE classifieds and other such announcements. I am not a large publishing entity; my promotion of my artwork thru classifieds is, I feel, no different than someone say, selling handmade sweaters or scarves, or other handcrafted items with the use of classifieds.


Thank you. I hope I have cleared up any misunderstanding.


Liza

[Clasione]

Well Liza - That all sounds fine and good, but my job here is to manage this place as I feel neccasary and your post caught my attention.

The Long Island Exchange Community is nothing like any other Long Island site you may find on the net and to how many others you posted to isn't really my concern.

I'm not very fond of CafePress.com stores and do not want a community filled with outbound links to cafepress that are promoting your products...

You've made a few posts to your store already, so why not just include your store in your signature and post actual useful topics, some that people might find interesting while your signature is at the bottom of your posts will suggest your store...

There's a better, more sophisticated way of promoting your products without accessively posting threads about your products...

[liza]

Clasione -

Point One - I have seen other similar postings on this board, apparently without your attack.

Point Two - Apparently people who view your board ARE interested in my products. According to my site statistics, I have had NUMEROUS people checking out my site, and my screensaver, from these links. So somebody out there, other than you, DOES seem interested. As a matter of fact, they actually seem to appreciate my posting notes on these items, which I think might be of particular interest to other Long Islanders, and which they seem to think are attractive and interesting enough to catch their attention and warrant them clicking on the link to find out more.

Point Three - I am hardly blasting this board with announcements. I made one post, a few weeks ago, about the opening of the online store. At that time, I also posted a note re: the screensaver, ONE ITEM that I thought was of particular interest, as something that I've not seen done before and which I think alot of people might be interested in. This week I finalized my 2005 Calendar, and posted a special note on that for the same reason. These are only two items that I have brought attention to, and the only two that I intend to do so with.

Point Four - Since, by your own admission, you seem to have something against CafePress, and individual artists who take control of their own lives and products, and sell their wares themselves, your attack on me, as opposed to other posters with similar products, smacks of having a personal motivation. I don't know why you have a problem with CafePress. From everything I have seen and experienced, they have many beautiful, quality items. They allow artists to create and design their own products, without waiting for Hallmark or some other huge corporation to allow them to do this. They also allow individual artists to keep any profits from the products that they create, design and market. Sounds like a classy win-win-win situation to me. And many of their stores are either entirely devoted to, or, like mine, feature a section that is charity-based, with all profits going to some worthy cause.

Point Five - Those "other, [supposedly] more sophisticated" methods of advertising are not always open to individual artists, without multi-million dollar advertising budgets. And I disagree that word of mouth and self-promotion are bad tools; they are the basis of our American system of enocomics, and, before the advent of slick ad companies, was how artists and craftsmen have traditionally promoted their wares in this country.


I am sorry that this has devolved into an unpleasant argument between us. That was never my intent with my postings. I merely wanted to alert people to beautiful items that I am proud of having created, and think they may be of interested to your board readers; items that they may perhaps be interested in purchasing for themselves or as gifts for people they care about. And from my site meter statistics, apparently people are, indeed, glad to see my items posted. I am an individual artist promoting my creations; far from the eBay huckster that you implied I was in your first post. (As a matter of fact, I suspect I may be the last internet-using person in America who has actually never even GONE on eBay, as of yet, either to sell something, or to purchase something, lol!) As for our exchange, once again, I'm sorry that it has turned unpleasant, but I felt your initial posting, and even more so your second, was a personal attack on me, and on my work, complete with snide comments and implied name calling (i.e. your comment about "sophisticated marketing" tools). And I won't let personal attacks lie unresponded to.


Thank you.


Liza

[Clasione]

I'm not trying to argue with you, it's just that you have posted 4 threads to your store:

http://www.longislandexchange.net/long-island-chat/showthread.php?t=1186

http://www.longislandexchange.net/long-island-chat/showthread.php?t=1150

http://www.longislandexchange.net/long-island-chat/showthread.php?t=1149

http://www.longislandexchange.net/long-island-chat/showthread.php?t=1148

I simply do not want excessive posts to online stores...

I'm making it clear that this community is not going to be filled with post's similar to "hey - come to my store" or "look at all the things you can buy from me"

It's just not going to happen....

I admire your persistence and devotion to your work, but I uphold the community as I feel necessary...

This is absolutely nothing personal....

But I do make the rules here....

You can use your user control panel and create a signature that will appear at the bottom of ALL of your posts....




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http://www.seekon.info/

[liza]

Point of clarification, Clasione:

The first posting, http://www.longislandexchange.net/long-island-chat/showthread.php?t=1148, does NOT lead to my online store, THE FLYING PIG GALLERY. It leads to my online photo gallery, LIZA DEY PHOTOGRAPHY. This is a completely different site, in no way connected to CafePress, and completed months before the online store. THIS link was STRICTLY for informational purposes. I do not sell any photos, or anything else, on that site; it is merely an online gallery, meant as an enjoyable viewing experience, as is a trip to an art gallery or museum.


And as I said, I have never intended to post excessively. This posting (for the calendar) was my last intended posting. I posted one notice letting people know of a gallery they might be interested in looking at. Then I DID let people know about my online store, yes, hoping that they might want to buy something, but also thinking that it might be an enjoyable experience for them. I then made two postings alerting people to TWO SPECIFIC ITEMS ONLY that I thought might be of SPECIAL interest to board readers. No other postings (including these) intended. I don't think 3 related postings (the first one is to a completely different site, for a completely different purpose) over about 3 weeks is "excessive".


Thank you for toning down the snippy comments and rhetoric of your posts. It was your tone, and snide comments, that particularly struck me as a personal attack. I feel any professional business discussions should be discussed in that tone, not in the tone and rhetoric of a personal attack.


Hope this resolve this situation, and my intents -

Liza