Seasoned Warrior Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 I have been following several people I picked based on their sales type. I've been following these people for a while. It seems that most people who sell on Etsy ony sell a few pieces a month. Does anyone actually find Etsy a good sales platform as opposed to eBay. I've sold on eBay for years and have had regular sales. Recently eBay has become less user friendly for smaller volume dealers and I have been looking for an alternative. I've followed U-bid and a couple of others. Is there a site anyone is happy with? Regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Username Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 My wife has had a shop on Etsy for just under three years now, and we have done very well there. When I say very well, I mean just under 700 sales; for us, that's very good! Before Etsy, we were on eBay, with little results. Ebay is just not associated with handmade articles, whereas Etsy is. What do you think when you want to sell your old telescope that you haven't touched in seventeen years? EBAY! What do you think if you want to BUY an old telescope that hasn't been touched in seventeen years? EBAY! I don't think people go to eBay for handmade craft, especially since Etsy came along. It is the market leader in sales, traffic, name recognition. Performance on Etsy can vary, some people have been on for years and sold very little, others have done well. Some sellers that do well are: Whitney Smith - http://www.etsy.com/shop/whitneysmith Heather Knight - http://www.etsy.com/shop/elementclaystudio [/url]Shoshona Snow -http://www.etsy.com/shop/shoshonasnow Circa Ceramics - http://www.etsy.com/shop/circaceramics I know there are others, but they escape me right now. There seems to be a critical mass involved before you start selling consistently, and the rumor is that you must have 50-100 items in your shop before sales will move along. This seems to be true. There are other factors, but I think Etsy is the best bet right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Warrior Posted October 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 My wife has had a shop on Etsy for just under three years now, and we have done very well there. When I say very well, I mean just under 700 sales; for us, that's very good! Before Etsy, we were on eBay, with little results. Ebay is just not associated with handmade articles, whereas Etsy is. What do you think when you want to sell your old telescope that you haven't touched in seventeen years? EBAY! What do you think if you want to BUY an old telescope that hasn't been touched in seventeen years? EBAY! I don't think people go to eBay for handmade craft, especially since Etsy came along. It is the market leader in sales, traffic, name recognition. Performance on Etsy can vary, some people have been on for years and sold very little, others have done well. Some sellers that do well are: Whitney Smith - http://www.etsy.com/shop/whitneysmith Heather Knight - http://www.etsy.com/...ementclaystudio Shoshona Snow -http://www.etsy.com/shop/shoshonasnow Circa Ceramics - http://www.etsy.com/shop/circaceramics I know there are others, but they escape me right now. There seems to be a critical mass involved before you start selling consistently, and the rumor is that you must have 50-100 items in your shop before sales will move along. This seems to be true. There are other factors, but I think Etsy is the best bet right now. Thanks, those are good numbers. Best regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthwood Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 This was very helpful to read. I have had a store on Etsy for about 6 months and only made 6 sales so far. Some reasons why this might be: - I have not put much energy or effort into my shop - have not listed new items the entire 6 months - I have always had less than 20 pieces for sale - Etsy is a gigantic global marketplace now, so there is tons of competition Some things I will do that I think will help sales: - Join some Etsy teams - they are groups of people who work to cross-market eachother - List more items. 50-100 items sounds like a good number to shoot for - this is very helpful to know. It makes sense, because the more items you have in your shop, the more ways you can come up in a search. - Be patent. From analyzing the traffic to the site, it is interesting to notice the VERY gradual trend upward. I think this is because the more active on Etsy you are (that is, the more shops you list as "favorites", the more purchases you yourself make, etc.) the more traffic gets driven to your site. The more other people favorite your shop (getting more links and exposure), the more positive feedback you get, etc. The other reason I find Etsy a hassle, is that it takes me so much time to photograph, write a description, set a price and determine keyword search tags for items, not to mention packing and shipping orders, that I have to somehow incorporate this extra work into the price of the pieces to make it worth it over selling directly at craft fairs and open studio events. I like to have an online presence for buyers, but my personal experience has shown more success at fairs and open studio sales. If I put more effort in my Etsy store this might change, so I'll let people know! Thanks for the suggestions! - Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 Selling successfully on Etsy is a daily job ... every day you have to check it, add things. The more action you have, the more you are noticed so you should be active and join teams. It does work for those who work at it. It is discouraging however to note how many new items are added per hour and how quickly yours disappears down the list. I tried it early on but did not have the time to put into it. Last week I was surprised to see my daughter shopping on Etsy for art ... she is in her 30's and decorating a new house. She loves Etsy because it's fast, easy ... and cheap. Yes ... accent on the low, low prices. Art from people who either don't know what their art is worth or have a process that can push out hundreds of copies. I suspect some were just re-sales from imports but not for me to say. I know there are 'known potters " selling there but I have not taken the time to see what they are selling and if they are able to get a decent price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 I plan to venture into online sales in 2011. Etsy is still on my list of possibilities so I appreciate the user experiences. It seems to me that having an Etsy store is like being in an art festival with literally 100,000 other booths! Even if you are doing smart things to gain attention, so are half of the other booths. It also seems that there are potters on Etsy selling good-quality, respectfully-priced, handmade ceramics, and lots of it. But these potters are also working hard to build a customer base outside of Etsy, then using their Etsy store just for its shopping cart function. If I choose Etsy, I don't plan to waste any time trying to attract random new customers. I plan to keep building a mailing list of my own and directing my promotional efforts only to those folks. Mea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonpots Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 I have been following several people I picked based on their sales type. I've been following these people for a while. It seems that most people who sell on Etsy ony sell a few pieces a month. Does anyone actually find Etsy a good sales platform as opposed to eBay. I've sold on eBay for years and have had regular sales. Recently eBay has become less user friendly for smaller volume dealers and I have been looking for an alternative. I've followed U-bid and a couple of others. Is there a site anyone is happy with? Regards, Charles If you're interested in an actual count of the top sales in the ceramics and pottery category for etsy, go to http://www.craftcount.com/category.php?cat=3&subcat=24. I stared about a year and a half ago but only got serious with listing within the past month. Have had 5 sales this month--the last one that I took to the post office today was $120. This is not all low-end as some think but both quality and individual experience is all over the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 >If I choose Etsy, I don't plan to waste any time trying to attract random new customers. >I plan to keep building a mailing list of my own and directing my promotional efforts only to those folks. I agree 100% with this philosophy ... Business 101 - Its easier and cheaper to keep a customer you have than to try to get a new one. If you take the time to find out who your customer is you won't waste your money going after those who will never buy from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Parker Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 >If I choose Etsy, I don't plan to waste any time trying to attract random new customers. >I plan to keep building a mailing list of my own and directing my promotional efforts only to those folks. I agree 100% with this philosophy ... Business 101 - Its easier and cheaper to keep a customer you have than to try to get a new one. If you take the time to find out who your customer is you won't waste your money going after those who will never buy from you. ArtFire is doing a good job of self-promoting, and Etsy as well. ArtFire is free to list and to sell, and Etsy is 20 cents per item for four months and then a percentage when you do sell. Ebay has turned in to a cesspool, although there are some long time ceramic artists still listing. Best thing to do is check out the kinds of things listed on each site, and see how they compare with your items. There is of course a wide range of expertise and pricing, but if you like what you see, then you should try it. In all cases, you can create a user account for free so as to "reserve" your studio name (or your personal name) on each site, and I would recommend that you do so. I sent all my customers to ArtFire through my email campaign because of the no-fee policy, and I was able to set up a discount code that could be used. I would have had to pay eBay that much money in fees - so much nicer to pass it to my happy customers. In all cases, you really need to do your own marketing on top of whatever would drive people to the web site. It's a lot easier and cheaper than starting your own web site from scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted December 23, 2010 Report Share Posted December 23, 2010 I found a good comparison review of Etsy and Artfire if you are interested. http://handmademarketing.org/artfire-vs-etsy-review-of-artfire/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Moon Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 Thanks!! Great info!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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