What would you be prepared to pay?

I think these would sell great. I can't really say as to a price cause I'm not in UK, but I think you could market them easily with a little hype, maybe call the small one Pixie doors and the medium Fairy doors and the large Hobbit or Gnome doors, something like that. Maybe just the display of a toy fairy to get across the idea would be good enough!
Good luck with it, I think they will be a big success!!

I agree withWohibuli,

But my own experience with fancy boxes was less than I could earn pushing a lawnmower. By the time you factor in the sandpaper, oils, stains and finish you are perhaps at 4.00 an hour. Much better to start learning to grow plants.

The doors look great and I wish you success. Just don't give up on the day job. People love art, but are often unwilling to pay for it

That said, look at chia pets. Reclaimed wood products and green products might just be the way to go. Good luck!

I disagree with Skyline on this, being in the UK, i think we would pay for them, i think the price will be important though, obvioulsly must be worth your while to do, i know in much of the floral industy, and indeed how some garden centres work is they charge, materials x 2 plus vat, then add on £20 per hour for time making up, but this is based on the average arrangement or planted display taking 20 minutes to make. completely different product i know, but still artisic. i would imagine that these have taken you far longer, and i doubt you would get the sort of money you would have to charge for your time on this basis. so proberly the best way to price them would be to work out how long they have taken you to make, if you mass produce, may be far quicker to make several at once, and then charge a rate per hour? as you are using mostly reclaimed stuff, would think there would be a reasonable profit in it for you. Craft fairs and garden shows i would say are your best bet, although you could try Ebay too, at the right time of year ebay can be good. it is hard to say a price, but if you are asking what i would expect to pay, i would say for the smallest size proberly between £8-15, then going up by £5-6 on each size, would be a reasonable price, that i think people would go for. but would it be worth your while for that sort of money? they are quite unique, so you may well get more than this for them, and Trees, if you did decide to sell mail order, would love to be one of your first customers, let me know on a private message, i think they are lovely. ...sorry Skyline, just re-read your comment, think we are saying the same, lovely, but question if worth time and effort involved, but it is just a part time hobby something you like to do, you do get paid for a hobby and like you say, spare cash for plant buying - always a good thing if you ask me lol

I would say about £6 up to £12 - but if you can get them in posh gift shops or at Chelsea or somewhere then you could get more. They look totally wonderful - my hat off to you! Let us all know if you do sell them as i would like at least one in my garden!

I think if you show the pics of yours in there surroundings when Advertising T&T you will get more for them, Some people Can't visualise where to put them, also as others have said, how much you have spent on them, Hinges, Stain and time spent on making them.. I agree with Hoya. Between £6 to £12.... Dee..

me to

If you look on my photos you will see a tree stump I decorated at my sister-in-laws. I would warn you that these doors and windows can be purched at garden centres for a few pounds. They are made of plastic not wood and I have only seen them in one size.

You will also see the house my husband made this summer. If you where to add the man hours this took you would probably be able to buy a new house lol.

Thanks guys for the market research.

I wont be giving up my day job as like everyone else I have a mortgage. But I do have a light in my garage and I hate Eastenders.

I am going to try and make a few of these whilst it's winter time and then sell them at my garden club and one or too of our local shows (if they dont charge to much for having a stand).

I will pitch them at £12.00 for the small Fairy ones, £16.00 for the medium Pixie ones and then £20.00 for the large Gnome ones.

This will cover the cost of materials, time and effort. The wood, I always keep my eyes open. As I say the wood is reclaimed.

Thanks again.

Go fot it T&T. Good Luck and I hate Eastenders too....Dee..

What exactly are these used for??

Hi Andrea, if you look at Treesandthings pics, you will see how fab they look in his garden.....Dee...

Guys, I want to thank you for your help on pricing the 3 different sizes of doors.

As well as different sizes there are different shapes.

If anyone would like one then please drop me a private message stating which one you would like.

They will be £10.00 for the small ones to all GOY members. Postage within the UK seems to be £4.20 for the standard parcels through Royal Mail. This obviously changes with weight and size etc...

Have a look at the pic's and if you fancy one let me know.

Andrea, my wife wanted a Fairy door for down by the pond. We saw some expensive stone/concrete ones at a show as well as some cheap plaster ones. I then promised to make her one. Now I have made one for a little niece, my mum and my sister.

They are just for a bit of fun.

I think this is marketing. Well done mind you. I thought this site discouraged this sort of thing. I would have dozens of jewelry boxes to post, Bonsai stands etc.Gillian could put up prices for her rocks.

Much less plants.

A commentery I posted on a question blog, was deleted for being sharp and or rude. It was not. Just honest!

Censorship here seems to be very arbitrary.

Not a blog I will follow.

Careful Trees, Skyline dose have a point, should be one rule for all, having said that though, partly my fault as i did ask, and yes i am still interested Trees, but i would keep prices ect to private messages. or the GOY police will get you lol (just a joke no digs intended!)

Sorry I dont want to upset or annoy anyone or bend the rules. It is really a case of as I am making some and people have shown an intrest then I dont mind making one or two extras.

Sorry to everyone on GOY.

I apologize to Treesandthis. He sent me a nice message regarding my comment. (edit below).

I too walk a thin line here on not merchandizing. I am a nurseryman. I sell in the states. I sell on line.So I have become super cautious about any such marketing here..

That said, I have posted a few pictures (few for that very reason) as being in my garden as it links to my somewhat questionable commercial place of business. I believe I only exceeded the goY rules once when I posted four neat plants that simply are not bought enough.

My common stuff sells, but none of the real neat stuff. Dumb downed buyers of Wal-Mart.This ticks me off!

Same for great handcrafted stuff. Every now and then when I am winter bound I make a few jewelry boxes or burl wood stands. I think I make three dollars or four an hour.
In this country, hand crafted things do not sell for their real value. I therefore have a barn full of rare and beautiful woods.

My father was a Master cabinet-maker from Germany. I would not even be in the apprentice stage there. That says much. In this country all he could find work for was to pound in nails as a carpenter.

I wish Treesandthis success and God's speed. Re-using old wood and timber is much needed. Bat houses, birdhouses, whatever. Fairy doors I think would be a very welcome addition to every garden.

DARN -- I just saw the post of the fifteenth. My commentary stands but I withdraw the apology. This blog is blatent marketing.

Herb

I just looked at the message by Treesandsthis, and it was posted on the sixteenth. I think he is just confused as to how this site works, or might desire to work. I was caught flat-footed myself. goY needs to do a better job in its introductory to avoid such innocent mistakes.

Treesanadthis is making an attempt to market his wonderful products and just doesn't understand the kapich factor. One can register as a seller and gives the owners some payback in loot. I assume much less than eBay charges. That is called advertizing.

This site has much to offer but it does need to create a goY 101 dummy page I still have not found all the hidden stuff available here. Plant and seed exchanges at the bottom of the screen under.....OOPS not Plants, but under Garden Plants. There needs to be a goY guide site as well. Explain to us what the heck is expected of us and what is not.

Copyright pictures. They are not mine, but I purchased them. Okay or not.
gif pictures from Adobe, Corel or Serif. I purchased the programs and they allow me to use them in any non-commercial form. Okay or not.
I hope to post a great picture by a local artist. it might lead back to sales to him. I bought it from him but not the negative. He gives me a written okay to use it.Okay or not?r

Same for Gillian and her rocks. She sells those in her shop. So do many of us that use this site. I may get customers from a town nearby because of a contact I rediscovred here.

All of these are razor blades of Okay or not censorship and are of concern to me..

A comment I made regarding a certain question was deleted. Perhaps, I was rude. I was also correct. When a plant forum invites questions such as I am green, have white flowers, I am dying. What am I -- please help. Add no picture. It affects the validity of the forum. Those of us who can help need information. Rather than deleting my answer (basically, go back to the nursery you bought it at, or give us more info.), I think Peter should have deleted the question. -- or asked the poster, please expand your problem with specifics.

Some basic information is needed before causing umpteen plantsmen/persons to hound blindly after a answer.

IMO

goY needs to have a gOY dummy guideline in the bottom of the page or better yet on the top!

Skyline, guidelines are now coming. We have not needed them up to this point.

Thank you Ajay!!!
I really think rants about the site as a whole should be directed to the administrators of the site and not to other members, especially on the public forums. You suggested the 'Contact Us' tab to me the other day, could you make that more visible on the site, it is so small I didn't even know it was there.
Every time I logon to the site now, someone is having a go at something or someone (myself included, but I managed to sort that out myself) with another member and it is really spoiling it for me.

Another suggestion would be is to create a separate area for members who sell/make things for the garden. On the profile pages another page could be created to add pictures/prices and this could be used to post what members make and sell, any queries by other members are automatically directed to a private question, not an open forum and that would keep any marketing on the site in a specific place and to a minimum. Another option would be to place a tab in the area where you post blogs, ask questions or post photos and plants called 'creative members', and if you wanted to look at other peoples art/stuff you could go there specifically, but if you wanted to avoid it you also have the option. It could be set up like the shops area where you have contact details and websites.
These little doors by TT are very nice and I think do have a place on this site, perhaps TT should have thought more carefully about how he worded his post, but they are part of a garden and that is what the site is about. I would like one when I create my woodland area with ferns and things, however I would ask him on a private message about prices,etc.

completely agree with Andrea, well done you! some really good points, i too am becoming sick of the constent moaning and bad feeling on here. obvioulsy as Ajay has said, we have'nt needed these sort of guidlines up untill now, and thank you Ajay, for addressing this problem, there are so many members now and all completely different, and i think this situation has been brewing for a while, i personally would like to move on from this, after all it is Christmas, and yes some fantasic ideas about advertising, it is anoying when people blatently advertise on blogs and pictures, - which i might add i am sure was never Trees intention - i have to take part of the blame as i did ask openly in the forum if i could buy one, purely without thinking, - so what i am saying here is not in the least directed towards you Trees, sorry that it will show up in your inbox. but there should be a place for this sort of stuff, we have seed swap, we have outside companies advertising on here, all in the right places, there should be a way that we can offer up things which we can sell, that can be kept away from the open forum, i know this has been in the pipe line for a while Ajay, after asking me what my thoughts are on this, and just to confirm as an ebay plant seller i would defo welcome this option. but whole hartedly agree it sould be an option to members, if they are looking to buy, rather than a hard sell. and having this facitity would hopefull remove the adds from the mainstreem of this site. the only thing that would concern me a little bit about it is how would it work? on ebay, you have safe guard systems against fraud, such as the paypal system and feedback etc... would hate it if GOY ended up as a selling site, but as the site is getting bigger, how would you safe guard, or would it purely be at members discression, or in way of links to private websites, or ebay, so the responsiblty is not with GOY? Ajay, as the site is now so different may i sagest that you write a blog that will allow everyone to have an imput into this conversation. i don't think anyone enjoys this current atomphere on here. maybe you would be able to clear the air far better than any of us can lol and everyone would know where they stand as it will be coming from the horses mouth so to speak lol. just a thought hope you don't mind me saying so, i really do enjoy GOY and would really like to continue to do so , but no one likes to log on to bad feeling and moans all the time.

About GOY becoming a selling site, that would be fatal. The members who sell stuff and if the option is added to the site must have a website where you are directed for any transactions and any complaints/feedback should be kept there. GOY should not have the responsibility for anything members choose to do that would open up a huge can of legal worms

yes i agree Andrea, which is why i am pointing this part out, I don't believe Trees has a website? nor do i, but i do have an ebay account, with 100% feedback, maybe a link to websites would be the best option, and/or a list of ebay sellers, breif discriptions on what they sell, and a link to ebay, hense the responsiblity removed from this site, it is really easy to become an ebay seller, so for anyone wishing to sell, that does'nt have a website, ebay would be the best option - proberly not worded as well, lol but was what i was trying to say.

Andrea, Majeeka - Please use the Contact Us link at the bottom for comments like these. We will make it bigger and more prominent soon.

sorry, will do.

Ajay commented. "Skyline, guidelines are now coming. We have not needed them up to this point."

I for one would appreciate it. I see how easy it is to slip into uncharted waters, and I do agree with Andrea, that merchants should have their own websites. They should then pay goY, for advertising fees to link from posts made here.

This could be dicey. A sliding scale might work. You post a blog worth reading and you are allowed a link. How to determine a worthy blog? Readership perhaps. Say five likes or more. Ten likes and you get two links. Something like that. One link to a blog might be a beginning. Then it gets iffy.

To link up with eBay might be a good short-term financial move, but in the long term goY would be eaten up and swallowed. EBay in my opinion is messing up big time. As a merchant there, I have stopped and will find a hosting site that will cost me the same as a store on eBay. Enough about that.

I really need those guidelines. I have not posted pictures of plants that are in my garden, because they could be markers of a retail nature. Same for my boxes, or Bonsai stands. If I want to sell them, I need to have my own store elsewhere, as Andrea suggested (legal problems alone would kill this site.) Paid advertising links to it would be a simple solution.

People who do not like my blogs (and many do not already) would not log to my site if I had too many add links. goY of course would have their revenue from any of those added links.

Case in point ... I write about Japanese Maples, or say Maples in general. I then include links to Japanese Maples on my website, Korean Maples etc.
goY would get a fee from all those links/ads.

My return would be customers. Not only from my articles but perhapseven from other members writing about Maples at the same time. Same would occur for them.

This really does not apply to me that much as I am in the U.S.A and I will not ship even to Canada. Too much red tape. Phytos, customs etc. But for people in the U.K this might be a start.

I still have issues about censorship here. Anyone can flag anyone and Peter or Ajay can then delete the question or the blog. Accuser, trial and jury ... and no defense. Could we not just agree to suggest re-wording something that someone finds offensive, or is legal in one country and not in another.

These may be my last posts because of that issue.

I absolutely agree with your final paragraph Skyline. What appears to be legal in your country is not in this and I think your comment about a certain substance and how to procure it upset the administrators which is fair enough. That is why we really need to think about what we say before charging ahead and posting it on the WWW. Guidelines is the best answer for all and personally I can't wait.

However, I think you are over complicating posting your pictures, that is what the site is about and I was only suggesting that members on the site who do little sidelines in craft and art they sell should have a space on the site and arrange transactions using their own website or telephone, etc. A link to ebay for those who sell on there but don't have their own site is also beneficial, I can't see it swallowing Grows on you, it is just a link like the ones in the Garden Shops section at the top of the page

I've seem similar on e-bay, but not as good as yours. I would pay up to £8ish for one. Yours are well made and looks like you've taken time over the finishing. I think people pay a little bit more for something well made and unusual. Good luck with the sales and buying lots of new plants!

I would go round my local garden centres Tat and see what they think.....of course you have a middle man...but then like most things it is the marketing that reaps in the benefits. I used to sell pressed flower pictures about 10years ago and did really well.....I think your doors will go great but I would think of starting with a large garden retailer that brings in the customers to view your products first....selling 300 for £4.00 is better than 50 @ £10.00.

~I don't think having a direct link to ebay is a good thing necessarily
~ebay has been fined millions of dollars recently for selling counterfeit goods and I have been caught out a couple of times~They do not appear to pay very much attention at all as to what is for sale on the site~that's not to say that I haven't bought fantastic plants from great sellers but I would want GOY to stay a million miles from their clutches.
They are a huge money spinning organization always on the look out for ways to increase their sales~if you want to sell on ebay fine but I would prefer not to have links embedded.
I also think legal issues would prohibit private sellers doing business here on GOY~what money back gaurantees would exist for the buyer and what protection would be available for sellers?How would that affect GOY if things go wrong?
Obviously the revenue from those who pay for advertising keeps GOY going so how could you run a two tier system for members who are professional and those who just want to sell a few items?
It looks like a can of worms!
If someone wants to run a site for small private sellers go for it!

I don't think it would be a good idea to have a page where people can sell stuff - don't think this is the place for it. I'm assuming it's acceptable to put a link in ones Profile to an e-bay shop/personal website type shop/You Tube advert, etc. Personally, I would not feel very comfortable with buying (or accepting a payment from) someone I considered a friend. Very happy to swap plants or even give stuff away so long as they pay the postage - but buying/selling? No. Best to keep that sort of thing on e-bay as Majeek and I do. Plus Andrea's comment, "...would open up a huge can of legal worms" is an excellent point.

Of course, one must be careful when selling. I am a fully paid-up business as far as the Inland Revenue are concerned, but handy-crafts and selling a few plants at a car boot sale are very grey areas. I'd say if something is making you more than, say, £100 per year, then if you're not paying income tax on that, you could get into hot water with the Revenue. Just a thougt....

T&T - your comments and original question were very obviously innocent. You opend up a can of worms didn't you! :-)

Guys thanks for all the comments on this blog.
I'm not a manufacture of mass produced wooden products etc.
I am a gardener who like everyone else enjoys as much time as possible in the garden, tending to plants etc. This started out as a present for one of my nieces and a few for friends. I asked a question, from fellow gardeners on their opinion of something and it has escalated, to an area that I'm not interested in, nor is it of interest to GOY members.

Ebay, shops, selling etc is something that the guy's Ajay and Peter can look at if they want, but direct youre questions and comments to those directly by using the contact link at the bottom of the page.

I can and will appologise for this blog going in this direction and I hope that GOY members get back on track with the gardening questions, photos and blogs.

Do you know, this is a really interesting blog.
Being someone who uses the site purely for fun, I've never yet considered these conflicting questions of interest and grey areas between business and hobby activities.
I've not read every word of it - there are a lot of words! - but think it's a good starting point for establishing what is or isn't allowed, and having one rule for all.
That said, I can always send Treesandthings a PM about his wee doorsies!
Any time I feel I'm veering off course, that's what I do, then no-one else can object.

Peter and Ajay are doing a great job so far. Let's not bash them.

its a tricky one but if you under sell yourself people doubt your worth so maybe more £12 than £6 perhaps