Hello everyone,
 
Recently I received an e-mail from a devoted ferret lover wanting to
use some of my images for a talk to humane societies about ferrets.  I
agreed to their use and provided the proper copyright information for
their protection because I support this kind of activity by ferret
lovers.  It's a positive for the animals and for folks that care for
them.
 
In the course of our conversation she told me something that really
saddened me.  I asked her why her club wasn't buying ferret calendars
this year and she said that many members wait until the stores have
the calendars on sale for half off and buy them at that price.
 
This saddened me for two reasons.
 
It means the clubs don't have the opportunity to make some money to
help cover their veterinary bills and for educational purposes.  If the
calendar isn't a viable way for the clubs and shelters to make a little
extra money that's fine, but I do hope members support their local clubs
and shelters in any other way they can.  Rescue is expensive and tiring
and the folks working so hard to help ferrets need the support of their
members to survive.
 
The ramifications for my business are also painful since the retail
bookstores get over half of the retail price which means that they also
receive over half of the price when it's reduced.  This represents a
loss for me on that calendar.  When calendars are marked down, it's
also considered a loss by the stores and they reduce their order of that
calendar for the following year.  So even though my ferret calendar
appears to be the most popular ferret calendar on Amazon.com and
Calendars.com which both rank based on popularity, and is most likely
the most popular ferret calendar with the large ferret specific web
retail stores, FerretStore.com and FerretDepot.com, my press run was
reduced this year.
 
In one sense this is better for me.  I lose money on calendars that
remain unsold or are sold at an extreme discount so it is more cost
efficient for me not to print these calendars in the first place.  But
it also means fewer calendars become available for the public and
opportunities on really fun editions are limited to what was printed
back in May.
 
So this note is directed at those of you who really enjoy my ferret
calendar.  If you like and appreciate my ferret photography, please
consider buying my ferret calendar at the retail price whether that is
from your club/shelter, book or calendar store or one of the on line
ferret retailers.  It's not an expensive item at $14.95, though I spare
no expense to produce it.  Some backgrounds cost me upwards of $400.00
alone so with film, polaroid, photoshop and scanning, many images top
$1,000.00 to produce.
 
But ferrets are worth it and I hope you agree.
 
Sincerely,
 
Jeanne Carley
--
Jeanne Carley's 2007 edition, Ferret Fun is here!  To enjoy some
amazing ferret photography visit http://www.ferretcompany.com
 
NEW!  Custom prints of Jeanne's terrific ferret photos!  Is there a
ferret picture that you've always loved?  You can now order your
favorite ferret photo by Jeanne Carley.  Click on Collections to
choose.
[Posted in FML issue 5361]