First Knife Order - need a few opinions please

John Wilson said:
The internet is the solution. Create an online presence. There’s a whole world out there ready to spend money.
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John, I agree . The question then becomes : "how in the heck do I accomplish that realistically ?" . A little hep for this old man, por favor.
 
Bruce McLeish said:
John, I agree . The question then becomes : "how in the heck do I accomplish that realistically ?" . A little hep for this old man, por favor.
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Facebook is the easiest. You know a lot of people and they know a lot more people that you don’t know. When you post pictures they get commented on and shared, and people who know those people will see that they commented and shared. That’s the part everybody knows. But what they often don’t get is that you to interact with people on your posts.

If you think of Facebook like a brochure or website then that’s missing the point and the real power of it. Posts that get commented on stay alive and keep getting pushed out by Facebook. So the goal is to generate conversation, not just share pictures. That back and forth keeps that post alive and keeps it getting pushed out to new people. It also builds a community around your page. People scroll and scroll. Give them a reason to stop and comment. Answer back. Keep it going.

Here’s a good tip: post a picture of a knife (which you already sold) and talk specifics about the knife. Then comment a few minutes later “thanks for your interest, everyone, but this knife is already sold”. That generates buzz. People see your knives but they’re always already sold. That way your posts aren’t seen as a steady stream of “for sale” ads, rather constant reminders that they missed the boat.

I don’t post prices. When somebody asks, it’s an opportunity to message them. Start a conversation. Build a relationship. Maybe exchange numbers and call them and discuss what they want or what you offer.
 
John Wilson said:
Facebook is the easiest. You know a lot of people and they know a lot more people that you don’t know. When you post pictures they get commented on and shared, and people who know those people will see that they commented and shared. That’s the part everybody knows. But what they often don’t get is that you to interact with people on your posts.

If you think of Facebook like a brochure or website then that’s missing the point and the real power of it. Posts that get commented on stay alive and keep getting pushed out by Facebook. So the goal is to generate conversation, not just share pictures. That back and forth keeps that post alive and keeps it getting pushed out to new people. It also builds a community around your page. People scroll and scroll. Give them a reason to stop and comment. Answer back. Keep it going.

Here’s a good tip: post a picture of a knife (which you already sold) and talk specifics about the knife. Then comment a few minutes later “thanks for your interest, everyone, but this knife is already sold”. That generates buzz. People see your knives but they’re always already sold. That way your posts aren’t seen as a steady stream of “for sale” ads, rather constant reminders that they missed the boat.

I don’t post prices. When somebody asks, it’s an opportunity to message them. Start a conversation. Build a relationship. Maybe exchange numbers and call them and discuss what they want or what you offer.
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Dealing with FB is like dealing with a tooth ache. It is "painful". FB hates the word "knife" and any form of free speach. If you attempt to sell a knife on Facebook, more than likely, you will get banned or suspended. For that reason, I do not like Facebook. I do not like all the political crap on FB, either. But, I like the easy access to my FB friends. Especially my knife and leather buddies. I like to look at everyone's latest creations.

With that said, I like to post build alongs on my Facebook page. Encourage interaction with your FB friends. Post pictures and ask them questions. Many of them will respond if you are at all interesting or entertaining. I focus of knives, sheaths, other projects. Most of my FB friends know very little about knives or knife building or leather stuff. I like to share my limited knowledge with them. A few of my FB friends are knife makers or leather workers. Quite a few fro here on KD. These are your best friends for creating an interest in your wares. Many of them will post comments on my stuff. I try to respond intelligently. I always post "likes" to my FB friend knifemaker's knife pictures. I also post easy questions and comments to their knife pictures. Stuff like, "what is that handle material?" or "what type of steel". Lots of "very cool" or "I really like that ..." I intentionally do this to help other makers build their reputation. It is rather easy to do and I have a real interest in what they create. Win-win. And I get to look at knife porn on FB. Kind of a twist of the "knife" so to speak. I giggle everytime.
 
I sell a few on IG. I'm not sure I ever put a price "for sale" on there. But people slip into the messages anyway and buy a few. It's an ok platform, but there is a yuuuuuge amount of makers on there. I sell a lot local, which may or may not be enhanced by FB. A lot of locals like/comment.

What thing I can say for sure...they are buying YOU, the maker. There are lots of totally serviceable knives out there, cheaper, fancier, stylistically appealing...whatever. Put yourself out there, do your work with a happy heart, and treat a customer like you understand that you understand their dollar is valuable, and you'll soon have as much as you want. And, for crying out loud, don't ever take money up front unless you have a government contract or have to pay a smuggler to get you the materials to make the knife. Languishing commitments to supply already paid for knives has undone as many good makers I'd bet as much as anything else.
 
I have two Facebook accounts. One for family and friends that I post “normal” Facebook stuff to along with my knife stuff. The other account is strictly knife stuff. I belong to several knife making groups and post to often. If you want to see how stupid the general population is there’s nothing better than a Facebook account. :D
 
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Randy Lucius said:
I have two Facebook accounts. One for family and friends that I post “normal” Facebook stuff to along with my knife stuff. The other account is strictly knife stuff. I belong to several knife making groups and post to often. If you want to see how stupid the general population is there’s better than a Facebook account. :D
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I may be guilty of lowering the quality of FB content from time to time...

:cool:
 
Randy Lucius said:
I have two Facebook accounts. One for family and friends that I post “normal” Facebook stuff to along with my knife stuff. The other account is strictly knife stuff. I belong to several knife making groups and post to often. If you want to see how stupid the general population is there’s better than a Facebook account. :D
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i already have a terrifically low opinion of general population. it is : that most people are pond scum, and they seem determined to not disprove me.
 
tkroenlein said:
I sell a few on IG. I'm not sure I ever put a price "for sale" on there. But people slip into the messages anyway and buy a few. It's an ok platform, but there is a yuuuuuge amount of makers on there. I sell a lot local, which may or may not be enhanced by FB. A lot of locals like/comment.

What thing I can say for sure...they are buying YOU, the maker. There are lots of totally serviceable knives out there, cheaper, fancier, stylistically appealing...whatever. Put yourself out there, do your work with a happy heart, and treat a customer like you And, for crying out loud, don't ever take money up front unless you have a government contract or have to pay a smuggler to get you the materials to make the knife. Languishing commitments to supply already paid for knives has undone as many good makers I'd bet as much as anything else.
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Agree 100%. And as far as not taking money up front.... AMEN X1000

The only time I take anything up front anymore is when somebody wants multiples. And I don’t even take that money until I am ready to start the job. I had two people with big orders flake on me in one year. Luckily they weren’t anything odd design-wise so the knives sold immediately anyway. But now if it’s a substantial commitment on my part, or it’s something very unique to the customer, I take a deposit when their order comes up as next on the list.
 
Facebook is hilarious with their "weapon" rules. I have my knife biz FB page, I post all kinds of hunting knives that I make, etc. Those are fine, but I can't offer any of those "hunting" knives for sale. Either on my page or through FB market place.

Here's the hilarious part. I can sell all the kitchen knives that I want. Even giant Chef knives and cleavers that Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees would stop and pose for a pic. But, if I post the littlest knife and call it a hunting knife the FB police block it.

You just can't fix that kind of stupid.....
 
chrisstaniar said:
Facebook is hilarious with their "weapon" rules. I have my knife biz FB page, I post all kinds of hunting knives that I make, etc. Those are fine, but I can't offer any of those "hunting" knives for sale. Either on my page or through FB market place.

Here's the hilarious part. I can sell all the kitchen knives that I want. Even giant Chef knives and cleavers that Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees would stop and pose for a pic. But, if I post the littlest knife and call it a hunting knife the FB police block it.

You just can't fix that kind of stupid.....
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I can’t explain it, but I just don’t have these problems on FB. I post all sorts of knives. I call them Hunter, Double Edged Fighter... never had a post blocked. But I also don’t ever post anything with the verbiage “for sale”.

I also have a separate FB page called J WILSON HANDMADE KNIVES. Again, no issues. The only obviously stupid thing I encountered is that every time I post I get a FB ad wanting me to pay them money to boost my post. Just for grins I clicked on it one time and got a message that FB cannot boost this kind of post (knives). HA! Well stop asking then! LOL

Every knife I have ever sold is because of FB. I have never used any other avenue or platform. I don’t post on any knife site other than here on KD, and I don’t sell here, either.

FB has been amazing for me.
 
John Wilson said:
I can’t explain it, but I just don’t have these problems on FB. I post all sorts of knives. I call them Hunter, Double Edged Fighter... never had a post blocked. But I also don’t ever post anything with the verbiage “for sale”.

I also have a separate FB page called J WILSON HANDMADE KNIVES. Again, no issues. The only obviously stupid thing I encountered is that every time I post I get a FB ad wanting me to pay them money to boost my post. Just for grins I clicked on it one time and got a message that FB cannot boost this kind of post (knives). HA! Well stop asking then! LOL

Every knife I have ever sold is because of FB. I have never used any other avenue or platform. I don’t post on any knife site other than here on KD, and I don’t sell here, either.

FB has been amazing for me.
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Yes that is correct, you post/discuss Hunting knives, Fighters, Swords, etc. all you want, But, if you try to add them as a product on your FB biz page, try to sell them in FB marketplace, or even sometimes say it's for sale on your FB knife page it will be blocked or removed because they are considered a "weapon" under FB rules.

You might possibly get away with it on a private FB group or at least until the FB police find it.

FB is great for marketing and sales, you just have to play by their rules. At least until something better comes along!
 
I may give Facebook a try. I've posted a few knives I've made there in the past, but it was for friends and family to comment on; nothing more.

I see a lot of movement on Instagram which is actually owned by Facebook. And that's another oddity. Evidently you can't mention for sale on Facebook but you certainly can on Instagram. And they are both owned by the same entity.
 
John Wilson said:
I can’t explain it, but I just don’t have these problems on FB. I post all sorts of knives. I call them Hunter, Double Edged Fighter... never had a post blocked. But I also don’t ever post anything with the verbiage “for sale”.

I also have a separate FB page called J WILSON HANDMADE KNIVES. Again, no issues. The only obviously stupid thing I encountered is that every time I post I get a FB ad wanting me to pay them money to boost my post. Just for grins I clicked on it one time and got a message that FB cannot boost this kind of post (knives). HA! Well stop asking then! LOL

Every knife I have ever sold is because of FB. I have never used any other avenue or platform. I don’t post on any knife site other than here on KD, and I don’t sell here, either.

FB has been amazing for me.
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I also post stuff and don't have any problems on there but as soon as someone asks for a price I tell them to "PM ME FB DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO POST PRICING THANKS!!"
 
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