Ebay : Please have a look see....

Greetings fellow tribes people. I have listed a few of my hand painted plaster tiki guys on Ebay. Take a look see. Please let me know what you think..or what you'd like to see.. The pictures did not turn out as good as I hoped for. But I sure had a nice time making them. I tried out different colors. I prefer a natural wood look.. but some people are are into colors. I'd like to come up with names for these guys. Any ideas? Thank you very much for looking!
The auctions end Jun-14-03 22:33:16

[ Edited by: monkeypaw on 2003-06-10 00:23 ]

[ Edited by: MonkeyPaw on 2003-06-16 00:18 ]

On 2003-06-09 23:57, MonkeyPaw wrote:
I have listed a few of my hand painted plaster tiki guys on Ebay. Take a look see. Please let me know what you think

I think it's dumb to put "Shag" in the item title.

Even aside from that, when shopping on eBay I wouldn't click on "Shag kitch tiki god retro" to even see what the items are. I would look, though, if the title was (for example) "Hand-painted purple tiki head."

(No, I still wouldn't bid. Though I might buy one in person at a flea market or such.)

Hi Erika -
Thanks for your input. I just read about this very thing on another thread. I hated to see things like that too.. But when you look around on ebay and you search key words you will be amazed at what you will find. I learned that people use key words to attract certain people. I know no one will specifically be searching for a purple tiki, but if I have certain key words in the title then you have a better chance of your item even being found. I know some people may simply search retro or tiki or even, shamefully, shag. But thats what it seems to take. I do agree with you.. the tiki's look sooo much better in person. The digital camera does them no justice! Thank you for looking!

I hope this works.. here is a link to the same subject on another thread..
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4151&forum=5&3

Uh, yes, I would search specifically for "purple tiki", and have done.

On 2003-06-10 12:17, purple jade wrote:
Uh, yes, I would search specifically for "purple tiki", and have done.

Purple - You must be "the one"... :D

MonkeyPaw- Oh gee, thanks...get me into trouble!

I like the little masks. I think they are cool. I don't know about the color scheme though. It's just my own personal taste.

Having done this myself (obviously), I see no harm in putting "Shag Style"...if it is a Shag-type style. And while these masks are not really the cartoonish style associated with Shag, the color scheme would kinda fit in there.

Now, I would have to draw the line if you did not use the word "Style"...because by simply putting Shag, you're implying that it is a Shag item.

I hate the paintings that decribe themselves as "Shag Tribute" or whatever.
But lets face it, (Erica), whether we like it or not, the experiement of putting "Shag" in a title as an advertising gimick actually works. Guess that says something about the popularity of his works.

Monkey, Did you create these molds or utilizing an existing mold?

I wanted to link to the old...OLD Shag usage discussion...but I can't even find it now....ah-ha! Here it is:

VERY old and you can't connect to the humorous ebay pictures anymore, but a topic well worth reviewing every year or so.

https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=602&forum=1&start=0

Good luck.

[ Edited by: the75stingray on 2003-06-10 12:40 ]

Hi 75 -
Sorry about the link.. I was trying to let Erika know that sometimes you have to be "Creative" in your title description to get more looks. I used a mold made for candles or plaster. I agree with you on the color scheme. My personal favorites are the natural browns and greys. I also added flowers.. a girly touch I guess.. Im a girl!
They do look very cool in person! Even the colored ones...

If I may add my 2 coconuts worth...

~I believe most Shag collectors have become immune to "Shag style" and pass over those headings.

~I believe you mean K-I-T-S-C-H. As in "kitschy", cool, fab, etc.. The spelling you have (kitch) is used on ebay for abbreviating 'kitchen' (other than a lava lamp seller that keeps mispelling the word). Check it on ebay.

~Personally, I would be drawn more to a highly detailed plaster that looks more like a wood carving. I would try to work on trying to make my brushstrokes come out so that a person visiting my house would have to really study and/or touch the tiki to see if it was really wood or not. I have seen artists paint poles simulating bamboo so well that I did have to go right up to it to see if it was real. If you see some of our fellow TC'ers bar setups, try to imagine a bright green or blue tiki in it. Most of the TC'ers probably wouldn't add one to their wall since it would not go with most of the decor (too bright). These would be good in a brightly decorated tiki bathroom, but as you may notice in reading the posts throughout TC, most of us have only one area designated as our 'tiki area', and it usually doesn't include the bathroom.

~I would try listing it as a "Tiki Wall Hanging". I would bet that you would receive more hits on your page than 'shag' or 'retro'. Curious tiki buyers would click on it just to make sure they aren't passing up something good. Of course in the end, the buyer would really have to be specifically looking for a bright blue or green or colored tiki, no matter what heading you put on it.

Good luck on your auctions.

On 2003-06-10 11:52, MonkeyPaw wrote:
I learned that people use key words to attract certain people.

That's half of what I meant, actually. :)

I do periodically search for purple, violet, lavender, lime, cobalt, and blue tikis, by the way. All at once and -shag -eames -wow. (I like traditional tiki colors too, but never search for them specifically.) Anyway, good luck on your sales.

"I believe you mean K-I-T-S-C-H. "
Thanks for the heads up. I use the same template.. did not catch the typo..I think I will try a little experiment and ad Wall Hanging. Good Idea! I do get a lot of comments on the Tiki's that I do in natural colors. People tell me that they do look like wood. But then I get the peole who say..I want color..they should be more colorful. Granted the people who want color are not Tiki collectors.

Thanks Erika...I wonder if you select search in item descriptions and titles and type in "Lime".. will you find one of my guys? HMMM I think I will try that out...

Erika & Sugar Daddy:

Erika, you said: "when shopping on eBay I wouldn't click on "Shag kitch tiki god retro" to even see what the items are. "

I have said this months...even years ago...I don't think the "Shag" thing works on people like ourselves, but for those buyers out there who may be buying for a friend or relative, LIKE OURSELVES, because they only know that paticular name. There are thousands of aunts, grandmas, moms, dads, cousins and friends out there who say; "Ohhh, Erika likes Shag...whatever the hell that is!" And so that is what they punch up.

Same goes with the paintings...(see the old topic thread above)...While original, new, fresh painting styles go unpurchased, these cheap Shag knock-offs, with no originality and even less talent, are being purchased for $30.00! It's a crazy market. And it's a gimick, like I've said.

Just throwing my additional two cents in.

Thanks again!
:sheckymug:

Thank you all for looking at my ebay post. The auction is now over...