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Thread: Mermaid or merman Casting Call for a baby shower

  1. #1
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Meilyn's Avatar
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    Mermaid or merman Casting Call for a baby shower

    CASTING CALL!

    Paid: 80$ for 2 hours (negotiable with experience or silicone tail)
    City: Kent, WA
    Time/date : Saturday evening @ a private location in South Seattle
    Theme: It's for a friend's baby shower. Stranded mermaid or merman she says. Someone to push a hidden button to take photos primarily.

    I'm looking for someone with a silicone tail or a high quality fabric tail and preferably a seashell top to go with it too. This is for an all girl's baby shower for a photographer friend of mine so she may also give you free photos as compensation on top of the pay. She's a well known retro photographer as well but identity will be released to the mer chosen.

    Please write something on the post in the North Pacific Pod group on Facebook then send me a message or a link to your professional page/website on my Facebook. Or leave a link in the comments section in facebook. We will hire by photos and contact will be here until I pass you onto my girl. Pay will be given at the party.

    I do not check mernetwork so please contact me via Facebook.
    Thank you

    - Meilyn

  2. #2
    $80 for two hours is a little unreasonable. Professional mermaids put in hours of training, dedication, etc...So you may wanna think about offering a little more.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Euro Pod Mermaid Livou's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheAutisticMermaid View Post
    $80 for two hours is a little unreasonable. Professional mermaids put in hours of training, dedication, etc...So you may wanna think about offering a little more.
    Compared to Mermaid Hanna's offer in a previous fb post, quiet good :P (and she was looking for 'models') Im not a pro so i would apply - if I were living there :/

  4. #4
    $80 for two hours is very low for a dry event. Especially for a mermaid with prior experience and a silicone tail. They have to also cover travel costs and maintenance. I would bump at up to at LEAST $100 for 2 hours. I think you will have better luck.
    Ohio's First Mermaid.
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  5. #5
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Meilyn's Avatar
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    You guys do realize that I did write "negotiable with experience or a silicone tail" right? As in, it was a starting point for someone inexperienced.

    And a paid job is a paid job. I don't know how often paid mermaid jobs come up in your areas of the world but they DO NOT come up often unless you've established yourself in a specific region. Where else would you get to sit around for 2 hours and get paid 40$ an hour? Especially if you have a fabric tail.

    Please don't pick and choose what you want to read and then make remarks about it without asking for details.

    The photographer that this event is for is a world class photographer as a matter of fact. And it's been casted already for a local mermaid who was more than happy. She even negotiated a higher pay herself as well as perks worth over 600$ for herself with my friend.

    And why are you guys even on this post for a location so far from each one of you?

  6. #6
    Part of being professional is knowing what to charge for your time and resources. I was not intending to try for this event just giving a piece of advice. Paid jobs come when you advertise for them. You aren't only paying for those two hours. You are paying for the training and travel and prep time.
    As a mermaid in a landlocked state I have no issues finding well paying jobs. In fact many princess companies charge upwards of $150/hr. And that has less training and money behind it compared to mermaiding.
    I'm glad you got it casted and the mermaid is satisfied with her compensation.
    Try not attacking other professional mets when they try to give you some advice based on their experiences.
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  7. #7
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Meilyn's Avatar
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    No, travel and training is an individual sacrifice that everyone has to make to better their arts in order to create a better value of what they're trying to sell. EVERYONE has to do that in life for their jobs regardless of what it is. You don't pay a performer for their training when they don't specifically train for YOU; you pay someone for their services offered and rendered. If I used the same example for any business then everything would be overpriced.

    One does not get paid to put on make up and for their travel time to work; it's just what you have to do to be able to work/look presentable.

    You see, what really irritated me is the fact that you undermined the ad in terms of pay when on your Facebook, you've seem to have not even had a private paid event and all your experiences seem to be free publicity stunts to advertise yourself. And that if I recall correctly, you were asking for a free tail once a very long while ago somewhere. I could be wrong but everything I've seen from you has just rubbed me wrong along with all that you've said as you've stated in some threads that you've gone to work with a massive hang over. If I were you, I'd change my name on here as anyone can look up your business and if I were a mother, I would not want what I've found about you to be a role model for my daughter.

    Princess companies overcharge because they are representing Disney as well and Disney takes a portion of anything that has their name on it. There's also insurance costs and operating costs involved as well as many other determining factors. Being an independent contractor/independent performer is a lot less risky overall because you work for yourself and usually you have no one under you.

    Being professional is not asking for information for a friend when they can easily obtain the information themselves. And it does not entail complaining about a price before obtaining all the information needed to start a negotiation.

  8. #8
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Meilyn's Avatar
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    That and the fact that you picked and chose what you read to come up with your reply instead of seeing it for what it is: a starting point with flexibility. And every market/region is different in terms of price for everything.

    I can buy 5 REALLY NICE houses in the southern states with what it cost for me to buy my house.

    The price that we charge here for coffee is doubled every where else. Seeing that you're not base in the PNW, I'm going to assume that you know not of the values here in terms of show business or any business here.

    To complain about 40$ an hour for a starting point in pay is ridiculous to me when I look at that person and see little to no private events done by that individual or any individual complaining. Especially when the level of experience is not required as a starting point.

    And my advice to you is to get a business license as I can not find you in your business license search. Get insurance, get a manager or a company to represent you, invest in a photographer and editing, and buy an actual website for yourself as a private contractor/performer instead of a weebly website. The absolutely worst thing I hate that also turns others off when hiring private contractors is when we see that those people don't even invest in themselves as much as they charge. The balance just isn't there.

  9. #9
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Meilyn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mermaid Livou View Post
    Compared to Mermaid Hanna's offer in a previous fb post, quiet good :P (and she was looking for 'models') Im not a pro so i would apply - if I were living there :/
    ^ this as well. People won't even pay models for business advertisements in big show biz, anything beginning for an amateur with pay is better than something for a professional without pay.

  10. #10
    No, travel and training is an individual sacrifice that everyone has to make to better their arts in order to create a better value of what they're trying to sell. EVERYONE has to do that in life for their jobs regardless of what it is. You don't pay a performer for their training when they don't specifically train for YOU; you pay someone for their services offered and rendered. If I used the same example for any business then everything would be overpriced.

    One does not get paid to put on make up and for their travel time to work; it's just what you have to do to be able to work/look presentable.

    Thats up to each performer. If thats how you like to itemize your charges, thats fine. In the state of Ohio, I am allowed to charge up to $0.59/per mile for work. I don't really care how you conduct your business. I am merely stating that many individuals factor in their personal costs when taking on a job.

    You see, what really irritated me is the fact that you undermined the ad in terms of pay when on your Facebook, you've seem to have not even had a private paid event and all your experiences seem to be free publicity stunts to advertise yourself. And that if I recall correctly, you were asking for a free tail once a very long while ago somewhere. I could be wrong but everything I've seen from you has just rubbed me wrong along with all that you've said as you've stated in some threads that you've gone to work with a massive hang over. If I were you, I'd change my name on here as anyone can look up your business and if I were a mother, I would not want what I've found about you to be a role model for my daughter.

    I have never gone to work as a mermaid when hungover. I have two day jobs. One of which is rather long hours. I made a joking post on here about having to go into work as a waitress with a hangover. It happens. As a WSI swim instructor, I would never EVER consume alcohol before an event. Anyone who knows me personally can tell you I am crazy when it comes to water safety
    I book private events nearly every weekend. I choose to not advertise private parties because they are just that. Private. I do not plaster my PUBLIC Facebook page with images of other peoples children. I advertise PUBLIC events on my facebook and website because they are PUBLIC, and people are able to attend. What do I gain from advertising private parties? What does my business gain from that? In addition, I have never asked for a free tail. I applied to be a tail tester for Moongazer, but was not selected. I bought every one of my tails with money I made and saved myself (or by selling previous tails). By all means, please show me a screenshot of when I have asked the mermaid community for a free tail.
    And frankly, I don't really mind if you like my business practices or not. We are not in competition with each other. I'm on the other side of the country. Why does it matter to you how I choose to run my business or what I decide to charge people? If paid jobs are hard to come by in your area, and thats a good hourly rate, great. fine. Whatever.
    Oh, and by the way? I don't do free events. I don't publicize what I charge for public events. But they're not free. IF I do a free event it's a special circumstance, and not my normal way of doing business. As I said before, I am not desperate for jobs, and am satisfied with what I earn as a mermaid.
    Princess companies overcharge because they are representing Disney as well and Disney takes a portion of anything that has their name on it. There's also insurance costs and operating costs involved as well as many other determining factors. Being an independent contractor/independent performer is a lot less risky overall because you work for yourself and usually you have no one under you.
    Fun fact: Princess companies cannot legally use the same princess names as the Disney characters. Disney does not take a cut from these companies. The only place to meet a licensed Disney character is on Disney property (be it a park, or resort, or Disney cruise). For example, these companies cannot advertise "Elsa" rather they have to call her the "Ice Queen". Sleeping Beauty often becomes "Sleeping Princess", Ariel becomes "Mermaid Princess" and so on. Former Disney Cast Member, by the way.

    Being professional is not asking for information for a friend when they can easily obtain the information themselves. And it does not entail complaining about a price before obtaining all the information needed to start a negotiation.

    This individual was not on Mernetwork and a newbie mermaid who was just looking around. I was going to forward her the info. Sorry you thought I was making this up.

    I'm going to end by saying that I have no history with you. Prior to you attacking me out of the blue, I had no issue with you. I'm not sure why you've decided you want to start drama with me. I'll avoid your threads from now on. Sorry you mistook my comment as a personal attack. It was not intended that way. It was a one sentence question.
    Last edited by KateyMermaid; 07-21-2016 at 10:06 PM.
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  11. #11
    That and the fact that you picked and chose what you read to come up with your reply instead of seeing it for what it is: a starting point with flexibility. And every market/region is different in terms of price for everything.

    I can buy 5 REALLY NICE houses in the southern states with what it cost for me to buy my house.[/quote]

    I understand pricing inPNW is different than the Midwest. Ok. Great. I was not attacking you. I already stated that I'm glad you got it casted.
    (also, Central Ohio is not southern).


    To complain about 40$ an hour for a starting point in pay is ridiculous to me when I look at that person and see little to no private events done by that individual or any individual complaining. Especially when the level of experience is not required as a starting point.

    I was not complaining. Just offering advice from my prior experiences. I had no intention of applying for this job. It would be silly for me to drop hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket. I'm not sure why you are getting so upset.

    And my advice to you is to get a business license as I can not find you in your business license search. Get insurance, get a manager or a company to represent you, invest in a photographer and editing, and buy an actual website for yourself as a private contractor/performer instead of a weebly website. The absolutely worst thing I hate that also turns others off when hiring private contractors is when we see that those people don't even invest in themselves as much as they charge. The balance just isn't there.

    Fun fact: It's being processed right now. I AM covered by insurance. I hold a handful of certifications relating to water safety. I'm sorry you seem to hate how I run my business. I use weebly because its free. I don't have clients that seem to mind its a weebly website. But hey, I'm not booking huge commercial events. I have fee's, and materials and insurance to pay. Frankly, since I have never spoken to you before this thread, and have never had an issue with you, I'm not sure why you are assuming to know what I charge or my reasoning behind it. As I said in my other post, why is this such a big deal to you? We are not in competition. I have not bad mouthed you. I only intended to give my perspective as a mermaid who books lots of events and my reasoning behind my prices. Again, I'm sorry you decided to take it as a personal offense and comment on your character, It really wasn't.


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  12. #12
    What Meilyn pays for her event is her business. If there's a mermaid out there willing to do it for $80 then that's their business. If you aren't legitimately interested in going up to the PNW area and doing this specific event, I don't really see why this is a topic for discussion.

    Just my two cents.

  13. #13
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Meilyn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Madison MerFaerie View Post
    What Meilyn pays for her event is her business. If there's a mermaid out there willing to do it for $80 then that's their business. If you aren't legitimately interested in going up to the PNW area and doing this specific event, I don't really see why this is a topic for discussion.

    Just my two cents.
    THANK YOU!

  14. #14
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Meilyn's Avatar
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    And if she was just a newbie mermaid, then why would she even expect pay or expect to have the grounds to negotiate pay? That doesn't make sense. That's equivalent to me going to a casting call for a minor part in a commercial and trying to negotiate the same amount of pay as professional actors way above my grade. From what it looks like, you're just saying so to cover yourself because your comment about the pay was inherently directed as if you were speaking for someone like yourself, NOT in lieu of a beginner. And you've been mermaiding for years by the looks of it, why didn't you get you business license when you started a few years back? I'm sorry that you feel the need to lie about it as you've said that you've done many shows in the past for money, however, your business license is STILL in process mode? When it takes a few business days to add anyone to the system. If that's true then you've been running your business illegally all these years. Tax fraud, evasion, and guess what? You can't get business insurance without showing the insurance agents a proper business license. It's in the mail? Then that means it should already be online as well. That's just how it works my dear.

    I never took it as an attack. It's just irritating when I see people try to tell me what I should or shouldn't do in terms of when I try to help others by providing a pay for a service that is hard to get pay for. Especially as a beginner. So I'm giving you MY advice on what not to do and how not to approach someone.

    80$ for 2 hour is very low? < Not a complaint? What do you think you just did? And that's without including the fact that there is no level of skillset needed the ad. I would like to see you try to get a paying mermaid job with fabric tail for 40$ an hour here in the PNW before you undermine the pay.

    Anyways, we're at the park! Wahoo!

    My big advice to you is that unless you know what you're dealing with, don't give your 3 cents when it's not warranted or asked for. I may not be very active on mernetwork but that doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm doing or what's going on.

  15. #15
    Look, let it go. I was not asking for myself. I am not going to explicitly explain how I conduct my business personally or as a company to you. In OHIO you do not need a BUSINESS license to act as an individual, I am covered by insurance. again business license not required. If you have been stalking my mermaid career you know that I was contracted under a different mermaid company for over a year and covered by them. My company as a BUSINESS is new. But I do not need to explain my insurance practices to you. It does not affect you in any way. You are welcome to conduct yourself however you want. I was not telling you what to do. It was a fast comment typed on my phone. Sorry I ever said anything. I'm glad the position was filled.
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  16. #16
    Just a quick note: assuming all a mermaid does is get paid to sit around is really rude. There's a whole lot that goes into entertaining at even a dry performance. Even if you're not "supposed" to be doing anything much. Pricing aside, that's like saying to a computer engineer that they get paid to play on the computer all day.

    If you don't want to pay a higher price for a mermaid, that's your business. But TBH, $80 for two hours IS a low rate from the standpoint of most entertainers. Now, if that's your budget, that's fine. But you're coming off as if any mer should be thrilled to death to work for that little, belittling what we do, and going so far as to personally insult a mer's business practices that actually have nothing to do with the subject being discussed.

    Personally, if I were ever inclined to consider working for you, this would be a HUGE red flag that you're a problem client. You might want to keep that in mind for the future.

    Now that the gig is over, I hope you can move on.


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  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Madison MerFaerie View Post
    What Meilyn pays for her event is her business. If there's a mermaid out there willing to do it for $80 then that's their business. If you aren't legitimately interested in going up to the PNW area and doing this specific event, I don't really see why this is a topic for discussion.

    Just my two cents.
    I agree with Madison.


  18. #18
    Senior Member Euro Pod Mermaid Livou's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meilyn View Post
    ^ this as well. People won't even pay models for business advertisements in big show biz, anything beginning for an amateur with pay is better than something for a professional without pay.
    Meilyn, my comment inteded to defend your post too, sorry if it wasnt clear I wanted to say, and did so, that sometimes other famous mermaids are willing to pick up people with experience for free, just coz of the fun; while u already made an offer. Yap, forgot to point out >negotiable< . I did get the point. And still would apply, IF ^^ peace <3

  19. #19

    Mermaid or merman Casting Call for a baby shower

    Quote Originally Posted by Merman Arion View Post
    I agree with Madison.
    I don't have a problem with what Meilin pays, it's the rotten attitude that rankles me.


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    Last edited by Thalassa; 07-22-2016 at 07:19 AM.

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  20. #20

    Mermaid or merman Casting Call for a baby shower

    Quote Originally Posted by KateyMermaid View Post
    $80 for two hours is very low for a dry event. Especially for a mermaid with prior experience and a silicone tail. They have to also cover travel costs and maintenance. I would bump at up to at LEAST $100 for 2 hours. I think you will have better luck.
    Just as a reminder, THIS was my post.

    In response Meilyn has
    1) Hunted down a joking post where I mentioned a hangover in reference to a job entirely unrelated to mermaiding, in a thread unrelated to mermaiding

    2) insulted my integrity as a professional and a performer

    3) accused me of embezzlement and tax fraud

    4) in nearly the same breath said I was inexperienced and had not booked any private gigs, and then went one to stalk my mermaid pages and ask why if I had been performing for so long, did I not have a business tax ID.

    5) made up facts about me asking for free stuff from the community, when I have never done such a thing, and only joined MN in April after years of ghosting it.

    6) accused me of being unhappy with my work and desperate for jobs without knowing anything about me or how I operate my mermaid career, or what my professional goals are.


    Just so we're clear, I was just offering my perspective. As you can all see for yourselves I did not tell her what to do, I did not insult her, I merely offered a tiny piece of advice that had been expressed by others in this thread. I even mentioned my criteria for upping the price. I never said $40/hr was cheap for a new mer. I never said it was cheap for me. In the post I said I thought it was low for those credentials.
    This whole thread is a great example of how people blow up and start drama over trivial things. It was an offhand comment typed on my phone.
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