Greekbeads.net! Owned by a greekchat.com member
 

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to stop in and show a new product that we are showcasing! First off let me introduce myself and our company.

My name is Stephen Gordon and I am a brother of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity at the lambda alpha chapter down in new Orleans. I was president directly after the hurricane where in a year we went from a chapter of 2 men to over 20! IT was one of the best years of my life and really solidified my love and passion for Lambda Chi Alpha.

What turned out to be a way to thank our national headquarters for their continued support for our chapter turned out to be a business venture of sorts. When our international headquarters came down to New Orleans last November for a fraternity conference we set up an alumni/Active banquet to celebrate the success of the chapter after the hurricane. We made some lambda chi alpha beads with a new Orleans flare to them as a unique present! From the overwhelming support of the beads myself and three alumni decided to pursue this abit and we ended up making beads for a few different organization as well as the Greek tags that are on our website.

The site has been up for a few months and up until now I have only sold the beads to brothers from word of mouth. I wanted to take some time to showcase beads that we designed and made for a few different organizations! We are licensed and should have the logo up in a few days. Right now Chi Omega, Zeta Tau Alpha and Lambda Chi Alpha have approved our design and we are waiting and hoping the other organizations we made beads for will do the same!

If you are interested in checking them out please go to WWW.greekbeads.net

Thanks for the support!
Stephen Gordon

Do you make them for local GLO's?

Ok, can I point out 2 things...

1) This doesn't belong in Greek Life

2) Having 6 posts, despite having joined almost a year ago, hardly makes you a "member of GC".

I like them!
 

Despite what AlphaFrog said, I like them! They are really really cute. But, you don't have any for either of my orgs...it would be nice to see them up there too :rolleyes: My only concern is that they are made of pewter. I have had a few pieces of jewelry made of pewter and they did not hold up well at all. What would you say about the durability of your product??

What are the beads made from? Acrylic? Metal?

Do you make those tags yourself?

Who actually manufactures the necklaces/tags?

Wondering, because I make handmade beaded jewelry, and I wanted to know the quality of the merchandise. You might want to write a little about the materials used, what kind of clasps, etc.

hi all,

Thanks for the kind words about the products! And even for the not so kind one thanks for taking the time to comment!

Alpha Frog,

you are right that was not the right place to post, I apologize for that. Also I do not have a lot of post but I have been a lurker the past year and have read alot of post!

As far as what the items are made out of here it goes.

The emblems design were hand carved out of clay by me and then were sent out to be mass produced with the beads. The beads are mardi gras style plastic beads and the emblems are made out of a hard composite material. Each emblem is hand painted!

The greek tag was also carved out of clay and sent to be mass produced. There are two loops on the back of the tag and a leather band is run through it. I have had it set up two diffrent ways. The first way is with two slipnots and the other way was just tied to fit and the excess cut off. The tag is made out of pewter with an antique coating on it

The reason why only a few organizations were decided upon was inital cost. to have these mass produced a large quantity would be needed in order to make it fessible. We can deffintly make it happen especilly if a few chapters want to get together and buy a large number we can deffintly make a custom order! This would allow you top determine all design ideas, color and shape!

thanks for the continued support and if their are any more questions please let me know.

thanks
Steve

According to the greeklicensing.com website (the company who does many GLO's licensing) you are not licensed for Kappa Delta, but you're selling Kappa Delta beads on your site. That's a legal no-no.

1st rule of business - it is NEVER personal

Know your market and where to advertise. Go for where people are (and not where they are not) looking. Forums are NOT the place to advertise. Never, ever, ever. It's a sure-fire way to turn people off.

FYI I hope that you are using lead-free pewter. If not, you are supposed to note that it is not lead-free. Children handling items which are made with leaded pewter can get lead poisoning.

FYI if you are trying to drum up customers for your "business", read and re-read every single letter you type that will be in a public forum. Spelling and grammar are paramount to looking professional.

We are not selling the kappa delta beads. We never placed an order for any and under the part where you can buy it says pending approval. I came up with a design for the beads but will not have them made until we get approval!

REE1993,

Thanks for the comments

I never said it was personal and I understand business very well. I wanted to take some time and come to the largest online community for Greeks where it would be a good place to showcase what I am selling. I am not selling items on the forum but was more looking for feedback about them. If I got people to go to the site and check them out, then great.

I would have to disagree with you, If I could pay a monthly fee and advertise here I gladly would! I am in another business venture and we only advertise on different community forums as it is one of the best way to target market!

I am not sure how showing people in a target community a new product that is related to the same common interest is a way to turn them off.

I will agree with the spelling but because this was an informal setting I was not that concerned with checking for it

Hope this clears anything up!

You are right that you are not LITERALLY selling your items on GC. You cannot "add item to cart" through GC, nor paypal through GC...but you are MARKETING on GC, and if you try to say otherwise, you're just flat out lying. People get turned off here because GC is NOT a place to market. John used to have an ad at the top that he sold to Greek 101 or whichever store it was, and due to popular demand, he got rid of it, and no longer sells ads. That is why people are turned off by markting on here.

Also, people are turned off by the "false" advertising. Anyone can join and claim to be selling something as a "member" - but, in fact, if you join and over half of your posts are to market your product, I don't consider you a member.

Now, take the case of CrimsonTide4. She's an author who just happens to be the top poster on GC, so you better believe that she used GC to market her book. BUT - she's also been a member for YEARS and litereally has 10,000 other post that have nothing to do with her book, so people respect that.

Your post is a solicitation. I am not going to argue semantics, but this is not an appropriate place for you, the "owner," to "spread the word". Consider taking a marketing class or reseach on how to market your small online business. Always ask a forum owner if and where it would be appropriate to make such posts.

Again, every post, advertisement or "FYI" is considered by readers and potential customers as "official". You should carefully read and edit any post, email or PM. It shows that you are professional, and that you care enough to communicate clearly, concisely, and intelligently. Guerilla or viral marketing is cheap and easy, but you have to appear professional.

Good luck.

If you are not selling them then they should not be on your website. You have no right to use the Kappa Delta name and letters on your website if you are not licensed. You need to remove them immediately or face trademark infringement problems.

No offense, but this post is really lame coming from an adult.

clearly your sound advice hasn't been taken to heart - while it isn't possible to order beads for KD (or Chi Omega, or Delta Gamma or Phi Mu or Tri-Delta or Zeta Tau Alpha), they're all still up there.

To the OP:

You've been given good advice, why not heed it? Especially as a new business owner, why expose yourself to unnecessary risk and liability issues that are easily avoidable? Not only is it bad business practice, it's plain stupid.

(my two cents at least)

I think they're cute.... I just hope you have the proper approval from the GLO's you have listed.
(I am not going to go and research it for myself - WAY too much else to do today!)

One spelling error that I caught - on the Phi Mu page it should be "quatrefoil," just so you know. ;-)

Oh yeah. One more thing to add....

The only way you can get lead poisoning from lead products is to PUT THE PIECE IN YOUR MOUTH. You aren't going to get poisoning from simply touching the piece.

I work with lead everyday in my stained glass pieces. Pure lead.

Just wanted to clarify..... :cool:

I cringe when people bring up their number of posts or years on GC to prove some sort of legitimacy. Am I more legitimate than others because I have been on the site since 2001? Of course not. Some of the people with the most posts and most time on GC have said some of the most ridiculous things.

WOW,

I really wasn't trying to cause this much controversey. But I suppose everything is bound to cause some.

I have updated the site with the greek licesnsed product logo as well as the ability to purchase the zeta tau alpha beads.

Currently we have ben approved for chi omega, zeta tau alpha, and lambda chi alpha and you can buy these from the site. The others one I just put up with pending approval to showcase the items. If they need to be taken down before they are approved then I gladly will. Did not think it was a big deal especilly since they do not even exist yet!

Thanks for all the info, it is always good to have input about a new product!

I will be in contact with everyone who pmed me about how I can improve the products!

They look cool and all, but what in the world would you wear them to? Mardi Gras is about the only time I can deem them appropriate.

I was wondering the same. And even during mardi gras, I wouldn't wear them because I'd want to drink and most likely drink a fair amount, not just a glass of wine with dinner.

I think they would work well in a bid day pack.

I can't really see myself wearing them, but I could see it up on my shelf of stuffed lions, possibly around one of their necks.

I still like 'em! :D

Hi all!

I wanted to comment on why you would buy/wear these.

When we made them it really was not because of Mardi Gras. Obviously with my being raised in new Orleans we see beads such as these on a regular basis. One of the big trends as of late is Mardi Gras style beads being used for multiple different ideas. The biggest as of late is for your favorite sport team. All professional and college s port teams now have beads and it is a fun way to show off your spirit. Just like wearing letters on a shirt or hat just a new way to do so.

Using them for parties or a Mardi Gras themed social would obviously work as well but these were more along the lines as a new fun way to wear letters!

Also one idea that I did not think of is being used for homecoming. Especially if a parade is used as a part of the festivities!

on a last note we used them for our chapter for bid day, formal, and our annual alumni banqet!

thanks for the support!

Surely if you're starting up a new business, you have an attorney. You should consider consulting him or her about your rights (or lack thereof) to display products that you are not currently licensed to sell. You are not licensed to use the name or any symbols of Kappa Delta sorority and you should remove anything that you are not licensed to sell immediately. It doesn't matter if you're actually selling them or not - you do not have the permission to use the name in any way, particularly in relation to your business. So please get the letters of the various orgs, including my own, that you do not have license to sell, off your webpage. I'm not sure how many different ways this has to be said.

Be a smart small business owner and educate yourself on the law or pay a lawyer to tell you these things.

(Disclaimer: Though I am a licensed attorney, I am not licensed attorney in your state and this in no way, shape or form should be taken as legal advice.)

Surely you don't need someone to talk down to you. Keep on trucking greekbeads guy and don't worry about the haters that used to be moderators. :)

-Rudey

I love it. :D

ROBITY?