Why don't we sell online?

I'm writing this the day after CyberMonday & it appears that most online merchants should be thrilled by the number of people taking advantage of their special offers. We don't sell online. We do try to have images on the website of work by all of the artists we represent, but we don't sell online. Many years ago when web shops were just getting going, we did sell from our website. What we found is that people only ordered items they were already familiar with or knew exactly what it was (i.e. a book is a book is a book!)

We are a small (micro actually) business & the inventory changes quite rapidly. Many of the items we showcase can take as long as 8 weeks to replace if we sell what we have on hand. As customers have become more comfortable shopping online, they have come to expect that when they order something it will be on it's way the next day. Can you imagine placing an order with Amazon & being told that they will be happy to ship the item when it arrives in the warehouse 8 weeks from now? Probably wouldn't be as big a business as they are right now if that was how they operated. So to make sure that we only posted what we had, we'd spend most of our time posting and unposting items as they sold & were received instead of helping customers in the shop.

Not too mention that since everything is handmade, even if an artist can make many of something, each piece is really one-of-a-kind. How the glaze fired, how does the mug fit in your hand, the color of the stones, the combination of woods; are all individual details that make what we offer special. None of which translates well if you can't see it in person.

We do try to make sure that we have pictures from every artist. If you see something that interests you, all you have to do is contact us via email or phone & we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about what we have in stock, what we can get, what are the color, size or any other options. Images can be sent to you via email or cell phone so that we can make sure you get exactly what you are looking for.