This time of year there are fleeces for sale everywhere. I am finding that I really prefer buying a fleece in person; however, not all breeds are available locally.
I've been known to buy a few full fleeces in an on-line purchase, either through Etsy or Facebook. I also practice a lot of restraint and don't buy all the beautiful fleeces I see posted in the fiber sale groups. I see a lot of sales post though, and I wanted to take some time to talk about what the good and bad of what I see in a lot of these listings.
Let's start with the obvious: a listing should state the breed, the weight of the fleece, and the price. Shipping is almost always in addition and at the buyer's expense, but shipping cost/policy should be stated. It is helpful when the seller can give a rough estimate (i.e. "I use x size flat rate boxes that cost $ or shipping in the continental U.S. is typically in the range of $-$$. exact price will depend on your location.)
Picture are really a must. Here is where I am going to get a little nitpicky, because I've scrolled past fleeces I might otherwise have been interested in because of bad/unhelpful pictures. First of all, please make sure any pictures you post are clear and not blurry. Second, multiple pictures are helpful! One picture should be of a decent portion of the fleece, such as a good square foot or so of one side. If the fleece varies a lot or it is a multi-colored fleece a whole fleece shot would be especially good. It is really important that the picture of the fleece is the tip side, not the cut side. You can include a cut side photo if you like, but you have to show the tips. Yes, the cut side is clean and squishy looking, but you could roll up an absolutely filthy fleece and there would be no way to tell from the cut side. A close-up of the locks is also helpful and that brings us to the "ruler shot.'
I remember a few years ago in a group someone who obviously didn't have prior experience selling wool to handspinners took a picture with wool in it and a yardstick. The yardstick wasn't measuring anything, it was just in the picture because this person had apparently seen the "ruler shot" pictures but didn't understand them. Another important bit of information about a fleece is staple length. While a lot of listings helpfully explicitly state the staple length of an average lock, a lot of sellers will back that up with a photo. When you do this please line the lock up the ruler in a way that makes the measurement easy to read. Start at 0? I can do math/read a ruler but it is kind of annoying to have a lock sitting at 4 3/4" and start the measurement there. Besides the staple length, this picture is also really helpful because it gives the buyer a good look at what a lock looks like. If the color changes, if the tips are dirty, the shape of the lock, the crimp, all of these is really visible in the picture. It is a very good picture to have and this along with a photo of a larger section of the fleece are really vital in my opinion.
If you have a picture of the sheep whose fleece you are selling that is always appreciated. It isn't necessary, but having a picture of the sheep and/or knowing its name makes it all more tangible. It is also helpful to identify if the fleece is from a ewe or a ram or a wether or a lamb.
Descriptions of the fleece are also extremely helpful, even if they are going to be subjective. Amount of vm and type (i.e. some hay, or burrs, or ground up "pepper" type vm), any tenderness and breaks (you HAVE to disclose this), relative softness, presence of kemp, if it is a Shetland is it dual coated, is the fleece typical or atypical of the breed, staining or any flaws, description of color, and any other information that might be helpful or relevant is great. I feel a lot more comfortable buying a fleece from someone who is taking the time to make at least a basic assessment of what they are selling. I also feel a lot better when I can see in the descriptions that they recognize when a fleece is less than perfect because honesty always goes a long way.
Then there is the issue of skirting. Now some people actually buy the "skirtings" for whatever purpose and obviously if they know that is what they are getting and it is priced accordingly that is fine. It drives me crazy though when I see people posting "unskirted" fleeces for sale. Maybe what they really mean is "minimally skirted." I don't expect the seller to go through the fleece with a fine tooth comb to remove all the vm and second cuts and coarse sections etc. I expect to do that myself when I buy a fleece. What I absolutely don't want is manure tags or belly or britch wool that is caked in mud. Sure, i could deal with that if I was given a fleece for free, but if I am buying a fleece priced on weight and then paying for shipping that is also priced on weight, I want to pay for wool, not mud and manure! It also feels like if you can't take them time to pull off the obvious nasty parts of the fleece prior to packing it up and selling it, I can't trust that you have taken enough time with the fleece for me to be assured I am getting a sound fleece.
That is basically it, I do see lots of terrific posts with wonderful picture and great descriptions all the time. Like I said, I have to use a lot of restraint this time of year!
No comments:
Post a Comment