For four years, I've been soujourning in the world of Trollbeads. Too many hours frittered away on the forums & thinking & pondering these little beads have birthed a few - well ten actually, - things that I think Trollbeads really needs to do.
1) Introduce some Rose Gold into their beads - Why? Well, to be frank, there are only so many 18k gold beads a girl can buy before the color becomes stagnant. Rose gold would introduce a new color element into the collection, and onto our bracelets. It's already been done masterfully in the UK by Clogau's Milestone line of beads (http://www.clogau.co.uk/promotions/beadcharms.aspx#choose_your_charms), and the effects are stunning. Contrast between gold, silver, and rose gold... the possiblities are endless and may recharge the sales & desirability of the gold and gold combination beads.
2) We need a new BIG lock! Like Fish or Flower size - I've heard this over & over from collectors. Many who prefer the flat design or who have dexterity challenges and can't open the smaller locks easily have been wishing & wishing for one of these. It's way overdue! Trollbeads, are you listening? My arthritic hands are waiting...
3) Align Release Dates more Carefully - I think we all appreciate that one of TB's successes is allowing each countries distributor to market the product in a way that they think will see the best success in their country & culture. BUT. And this is a huge on-going knot in collector's panties - is that releases come out in a random, un-coordinated fashion. The thing is, the hard core collectors who spend the big money buy where they can, when they can. Which means our LD's and countries miss out on sales because we all just shop overseas on-line. Release dates for Ltd Editions & special TB items (like the Trollcoin) need to be better organized. Which leads into...
4) Ltd Editions Need to be Universally Accessible - Trollbeads is now worldwide, yet they don't sell consistently worldwide, which is really, really frustrating & opens up inflated unfair prices on eBay which also makes "have" individuals quite a tidy profit off the geographically unfortunate "have-nots". Case in point: The Ltd Edition Gemstones - first release in the UK, NL, and Belgium (methinks) and now appearing in Italy. Did anyone see those faceted Blue Gold Stone beads going for $400 US? That is insane!!! And it makes collectors really, really mad, and breeds feelings of TBs playing "favorites" with some countries, or ignoring other countries rarely included in the mix. And quite frankly, it is a tad unethical for TBHQ to sit quietly ignoring the fact that someone, somewhere, just got hosed on a bead that probably cost about $5 to produce.... :( Seriously, if we want to throw money away let's choose a better cause.
5) Do More Charity Work - You've seen them, Pandora's 5 page ad in InStyle magazine explaining which beads benefit which causes, or Chamilia's campaign for "Be the Match" Bone Marrow series, or their Autism, Boy-Girl beads. Specific beads dedicated to specific causes. Troll really falls behind in this area, allowing distributors to randomly run fundraisings on certain beads for charities. But I think this could be done in a much more effective & consistent manner. Specific beads, specific charities, with no time-limit or confusion on proceeds. There are many International Human Aid organizations or Funds that could benefit...
6) Disclosure: Are Trollbeads made Ethically? - One of the first thing every new collector eventually posts on the forums is: "Are my beads made in China??? OMG! PRC stands for People's Republic of China???!!!" People need to know what work Trollbeads is doing to ensure that our beads are being produced in places that are paying workers a fair wage and supplying them with proper working conditions. We'd all sleep a little better at night having some PR on these subjects. China has a bad reputation, why not shed a little light on the manufacturing????
7) Open more Concept Stores - Oh yes, I know many of us hate the thought of being parted from our Mom & Pop shop local dealers. But when I walk through one of the biggest Malls in the world, which is an International shopping place for visitors, (Yes Brad & Angie have even been there), I see a Pandora Concept store, a knock your socks off Thomas Sabo shop, ... and... well, no Trollbeads. No Original. In locations like these I'd love to see a TB only shop with big displays, showing the possibilities & enough stock so that I could riffle through 5 or so of each glass to find the perfect one. So many shops have a rack of TBs, but not even a complete bracelet on display. People just don't know what they are, what they can be when put together in a stunning combination.
8) Keep Retired beads Retired - No explanation needed on that one. ;)
9) Keep the TB Size Core - Don't make everything Universally sized. The smaller core is what has made TBs trollbeads, according to the collectors on the forums. Universals are great, but keep the small core for everything else... and where have our small core OOAKs gone??? The minions have spoken.
And the final thought....
10) Keep Doing What they are Doing - Trollbeads does it so excellently, and so trollishly well.
