Dare I ask...

[DancingFeathers]

I am sure that I will spending plenty of money , for a Corvus albicollis (African White-necked Raven) that I will not have till summer 2015 . I mean, I sent in the deposit this year, but there was no pure/non hybridized male chick available from the breeder. This will teach me to send in a deposit too late, for a species that breeds once a calendar year . I used to breed various Psittaciformes (parrots) but never any Corvids.

I have gotten some lovely deals from My Safe Bird Store's "Deal of The Day". Plus, I can't wait to get my clearance items from Avian Antics Parrot Boutique and Crystals Bird Toys.

Now, you must all be thinking, what in the word could I need for the above avian specimen that I do not own yet ( I am too, come to think of it ). Well, I still need some more SS Skewers, SS toys/bells, Natural Wood Perches, "Easy Clean Perches" and a Storm Whistle. I could also use some jesses and anklets. Will any of those items be available at the sidewalk sale?

Lastly, does anyone know the dates of the sidewalk sale? Yes, I am new to this type of sale and or arguably the planet .

That is one of my dream birds! Please give me whatever info you can in the future

 

[Mizzely]

The sidewalk sale is just avian Avenue vendors. So you can see what vendors we have in the marketplace of the forum and see what is available there. None of our vendors carry jesses as they are not recommended for parrots.

We never know the dates until a week or so before it happens.

 

[JosienBB]

WE NEED SIDEWALK SALE!

 

[Clueless]

I need the date for my calendar......and I would like to know my secret Santa or pilgrim or whatever we call it before the sale.

Only thing better than shopping for our fids is shopping for others fids!

 

[Mizzely]

Yes, I need to know if I will be on maternity leave for this sale or in labor

 

[Jan]

What the hey ... vendors want to make money but it's like they avoid the SWS like it was a plague ... what's up with that?

Is this all based around whose schedule anyway?!! [I know who.]

 

[CatsNbirds]

That is one of my dream birds! Please give me whatever info you can in the future

I will not have my Corvus albicollis (White-necked Raven) until summer 2015 . But, I will gladly share whatever information I gather with you. Yes, I know, it is a very long wait .

I need the date for my calendar......and I would like to know my secret Santa or pilgrim or whatever we call it before the sale.

Only thing better than shopping for our fids is shopping for others fids!

Does this forum actually have a Secret Santa and or some type of Secret Pilgrim/Thanksgiving (for those who live in America) exchange? If so, when/how do I sign up? If this is a joke, please forgive me for being so ditsy !

What the hey ... vendors want to make money but it's like they avoid the SWS like it was a plague ... what's up with that?

Maybe, they do not make ample money for the time spent? Or, they do not feel they make ample money for all the time they put into the Side Walk Sale? I am not sure of course, since I am NOT a vendor. So, my "educated guess", could be very incorrect. I do apologize in advance .

Is this all based around whose schedule anyway?!! [I know who.]

I believe the proper answer to that is Danita. Am I correct ?

 

[Clueless]

I joined right before a secret Santa event. I couldn't enter without a certain number of posts. I made it and it was the first year my amazons received gifts. I was so excited about it that a co-worker made them personalized Christmas stockings.

 

[Jan]

I will not have my Corvus albicollis (White-necked Raven) until summer 2015 . But, I will gladly share whatever information I gather with you. Yes, I know, it is a very long wait .



Does this forum actually have a Secret Santa and or some type of Secret Pilgrim/Thanksgiving (for those who live in America) exchange? If so, when/how do I sign up? If this is a joke, please forgive me for being so ditsy !



Maybe, they do not make ample money for the time spent? Or, they do not feel they make ample money for all the time they put into the Side Walk Sale? I am not sure of course, since I am NOT a vendor. So, my "educated guess", could be very incorrect. I do apologize in advance .


I believe the proper answer to that is Danita. Am I correct ?

2013 Secret Santa started out but then it was changed to after the first of the year... I did not participate in it so not sure what the reason was for that.

Many of us vendors can do pretty good money wise but what fails for many of them is that they make toys so they get super back logged and can take up to a couple of months to get completely done from the sidewalk sale ... in the mean time, normal orders flow in during the time the vendor is trying to get sws orders done, so it can get frustrating. So many of us vendors are a sole store owner and don't have help, like myself and a few others.

Yes, your answer is right ...

 

[zoo mom]

Last years Secret Santa did not happen because the person who usually organizes it was dealing with family issues. Hopefully we can do one this year. It was lots of fun.

 

[Clueless]

So to help out our vendors, maybe we could agree to let sidewalk sales be filled with a later date effectively placing them on the back burner while regular orders are filled at the time they are made? Perhaps a check the box if need it now or can wait

Or charge more dollars to"get it now"

Plus we could get our secret Santa name and avoid slamming vendors when they need to spend time with their families

 

[crystaljam]

As a vendor in previous SWS....literally every spare moment is spent creating toys...for 6-8 weeks or longer. Non-SWS customers making orders after the sale are bumped up to the top, making the SWS orders take that much longer. I also have a professional Clark Kent Day job...so that meant I ate a lot of hot dogs & quick food and didn't see my family. At all. And stayed up until midnight to wake up at 5am to start my normal day before CBT day. I even took my "Vacation" Days from Clark Kent DJ to work on SWS orders. Usually 4-5 days on average.

I mentioned SWS to Husband after the first year, and he got this scowl on his face...there's never really a good time for it, as even 3 months before xmas, some orders barely make it in time.

I did prioritize any Secret Santa orders so they would arrive in time. One year I finished my last SWS order on Christmas Eve...and only took a break on Christmas day to get back to making regular orders come Boxing Day.

The adrenalin rush during the actual SWS is great and the threads are fun...but then the stack of invoices sits there...it really creates a lot of anxiety! I'm getting anxious just thinking about it now!

It's a lot of pressure...if a vendor doesn't participate, you pretty much won't get your normal sales that month. If they do participate, they know what they're getting themselves into and sacrifice a lot for a fun weekend.

So it's a bit of a Ying Yang situation.

As much of the reality is explained above, I'm going to miss making toys for it this year. I miss that adrenalin rush and challenge already!
For the customers, it's great fun, and it's like opening a Christmas gift by the time your package arrives, as they've forgotten what was ordered .

 

[Saemma]

As much as I like the idea of a sidewalk sale and discounts, I would really just prefer that the existing vendors continue to remain in LONGTERM business and be able to make some decent income while providing quality enrichment to our parrots AND offering reasonable competitive prices to everyone all year round. I really don 't feel that they make all that much in profit ( take home $ after business expenses) to begin with and it's such a labour intensive and very time consuming business.

I find myself feeling sad when a vendor goes out of business, regardless of the reason. This also tends to remind me that without their services, my only options would be BIG PET SHOPS for parrot toys and I really don't care for that to happen. I certainly love discounts but when it's one that could potentially lead to a going out of business sale for a small business bird toy maker, I don't get much satisfaction out of that at all. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Jan]

I so whole heartily agree in relation to Crystal's post where she says when the stack of invoices sit there the anxiety level goes up ... oh yes it sure does!! LOL! While it is great to have all those orders I know with me being that I do not breathe great as it is ... my stress level goes up too! I know like when people would order my jolly ball with the toys, I really would get filled with the stress but then after realizing what it was which is a "time issue" and on my site I had stated allow up to 10 days before shipping out ... my stress level went way down. I think when we all order things online we want it quick but with handmade things that is not always possible unless you can stock pile toys a head of time. I think trying to make toys too customizable has its big drawbacks for the vendor. I'd be more inclined to offer a same toy type say like varied with 3 different ways and then have them made up in advance. They only other big thing is making up toys takes up toy parts and maybe the toy would not be a good seller. It's difficult to out guess things sometimes.

By the way, I've been running a free shipping through USPS for along 3 weeks now and goes until the end of this month of August and I also have a 15% coupon code that you will find under the vendor list here on AA but both those coupons can not be used in conjunction. I often do not mention / advertise here when I have a sale going on. I did recently post on here about my Jolly Ball Give Away which at this time has 4 days left to enter if you haven't already!!