Why i'm loving Etsy! [Archive]

glasskanvas

31-01-2008, 12:29 PM

This month i've moaned....and moaned........and moaned! But...the saving grace has been Etsy!
I've barely begun restocking after not bothering with Etsy for about 6 months but this week i've sold 5 pieces on Etsy...the last one, a bangle sold within 2 minutes of me listing it!
Off to list more!!

candles by lisa

31-01-2008, 12:33 PM

That's excellent. I have registered with Etsy but have never got round to putting anything on it. It is only my new years resolution list though!!!

Great sales.

Cheers.

Lisa

:D

Debeadz

31-01-2008, 12:45 PM

That's great news GK! :D

I'm with you Lisa, i've registered but that's it. I must get round to actually listing something! :p

Hopej

31-01-2008, 01:26 PM

Thats great news GK, I'm really pleased for you, glad things are picking up again! Although I'm not at all surprised your stuff as I have said before is fantastic.
Here's to many more sales for you!

glasskanvas

31-01-2008, 01:33 PM

Thats great news GK, I'm really pleased for you, glad things are picking up again! Although I'm not at all surprised your stuff as I have said before is fantastic.
Here's to many more sales for you!

Oh, don't get me wrong, things are still dire but i'm passed worrying about them.. I'm looking for a job...well, in half hearted kind of a way at least.
I just though i'd share my story as some people have criticised etsy on previous posts which might discourage others. I just wanted balance out the arguement.

Rodeo Lady

31-01-2008, 01:59 PM

Im so pleased for you although not surprised at all. I listed on etsy about 2 weeks ago not that I expect to sell anything. Just wanted to get a feel for managing a shop on the web.

Anyway chuffed to bits for you..

Cheers Janice

alisoni

31-01-2008, 03:30 PM

well done you!
i have listed a few pieces on etsy but no sales as yet.
good fun watching the views going up though!

Neesey

31-01-2008, 03:40 PM

Thats wonderful!!!!! Its one of my goals for this year if I can get myself together:)

ezzyam

31-01-2008, 03:46 PM

I'm thinking of signing up with Etsy. Has anyone had any experience of E Bid??

incywincy

31-01-2008, 04:26 PM

resmi

31-01-2008, 04:28 PM

that is very good. Someone just here asking whether or not knitted dolls would sell online or not.., I think he/she should read this message..

Good luck again :)

Focus on Life

31-01-2008, 08:07 PM

Oh, don't get me wrong, things are still dire but i'm passed worrying about them.. I'm looking for a job...well, in half hearted kind of a way at least.
I just though i'd share my story as some people have criticised etsy on previous posts which might discourage others. I just wanted balance out the arguement.

Thanks for these encouraging words - cos Im a bit confused :confused: n bewildered :confused: about where to start on the "virtual" side of things! - Blog? - Flickr? - Craftjuice? - Etsy? - Website? - it's all a bit chicken n eggy to me at the minute!

...but in the non-virtual world, at least I have an appt tomorrow with someone who (hopefully) may want to commission a framed piece and have just booked onto the Lostock Hall craft fair Foolish Friends are organising on 23 Feb (thanks Angie!) :)

Shaz x

glasskanvas

31-01-2008, 09:30 PM

Personally i'd start with Etsy first....so people can actually buy your stuff, then work from there. Flickr is good for showing your work to a larger audience and there're groups to join, although personally i've never really taken to it. Websites are good but be prepared to have to dedicate a lot of hours to it and blogs are really good for picking up stay visitors as well as people interested in your subject, plus you can link from it to your site effectively. Once you've got something on the web you can then go onto sites like craft juice which are excellent way to promote yourself.

Tip Top

01-02-2008, 07:31 AM

I joined Etsy just before Christmas and had my first sale almost a month later!!

I submit on craft juice although not as often as I would like and I was featured on cuteable so I certainly notice the rise in website hits and I'm getting a steady stream of commissions!

So, yeah! Go Etsy!!:mf:

alisoni

01-02-2008, 09:18 PM

i'm VERY excited as have just had, not one but 2 sales on etsy!!!!!
i only listed my first things on last week and have been completely obsessed with it ever since.

glasskanvas

01-02-2008, 10:38 PM

Well done! I definately think it's worth people trying Etsy....it's certainly has a more appreciative audience for people's work.

Nijani

02-02-2008, 09:07 AM

I have had an Etsy shop for almost a year and my sales seem to come in little waves....although the tide has been out since October.:confused:

I have had a lot more hearts tho since joining the forums, but the time you spend chatting and keeping up with links can really eat into your crafting time!

I will stay with Etsy, as I do believe that you get back what you put in, and I have had a request to make a wedding dress (Crochet retro style looks fab, and the girl is only a size 4/6 UK!) for next Jan and if that comes off it will be a biggy from and advertising point of view so stick in there peeps....as my hubby always says, "something will turn up"

;0)

Bumble Bee

02-02-2008, 05:33 PM

ezzyam

02-02-2008, 05:42 PM

My personal advice would be to not bother wasting your money with Tuggle. I am sick and tired of sending e mails and getting no reply. I have had friends make enquiries about items I 'sell' through Tuggle and they have had nil response too. :mad: I believe others have had problems with contact.

alisoni

02-02-2008, 08:17 PM

bumble bee

because i sell boxed necklaces, the postage is actually easy to decide for etsy. i took a box down to the post office and asked them to work it out for within uk, europe, usa etc. they were great and patient with me. the only thing is in the destination part in 'shipping' in etsy they don't let you put 'Europe' they put every individual country which is a pain. so i just have 'UK' and 'everywhere else' as my destinations.

hope that makes sense

incywincy

02-02-2008, 09:12 PM

Etsy and Tuggle are on my list for this month. Been looking at it for a while. Most people on the forum have had good things to say about Etsy, but im still not sure about Tuggle.

It might sound really silly but how's eveyone calculating there post internationally? Also have you added it onto the price of the item or do they pay extra when going to pay at paypal? Having a derrrr moment...:rolleyes:

Well done on the sales.
Maria

You can set 2 (or more) postage prices on etsy. So one for UK and another for overseas. It takes a bit to get your head round, but once you've listed a few items you will get the hang of it.

Use this currency converter ... http://www.a1credit.co.uk/currency.php?ref=Favorites

You won't really know exactly how much it costs to post overseas till you start selling a few bits. Just have a look at similar items and see what there postage is.
I need to change a few postage costs as I seem to be setting them too low for overseas.

hth?

Nijani

02-02-2008, 09:21 PM

Sorry just had to post this.

JUST HAD A SALE ON ETSY ------1ST SINCE OCTOBER

I need to go lie down now!!!

incywincy

02-02-2008, 09:26 PM

Sorry just had to post this.

JUST HAD A SALE ON ETSY ------1ST SINCE OCTOBER

I need to go lie down now!!!

LOL... So did I :D Just posted the above and at the same time I pressed 'submit reply' I got an email !!
Might have to talk about Etsy more often :p

cherry nelson

03-02-2008, 06:42 AM

i want to join etsy too! is it worth it??? i'm into card-making and a bit scrapbooking:sm:

glasskanvas

03-02-2008, 08:05 AM

I don't see why not...it depends really. Scrapbooking and cardmaking are probably the most popular crafts around at the moment so you might be up against a lot of competition...but that may also mean there's a lot demand for it too. Do you make embellishment or bits to add to cards etc?...That might be successful.

ezzyam

04-02-2008, 04:44 PM

Well I've finally done it!!

I've now listed on Etsy so I will wait to see what happens. It was really easy to set up ( much easier than E Bay for me!)

If anyone wants to take a look and offer any advice I would be grateful.

I'm there as Brides and Babies

Bumble Bee

04-02-2008, 06:04 PM

Thanks Sam (aka incywincy) for helping out. Iv got a few things to finish off and then im going to register.
Cheers chick!!

wyattbean

06-02-2008, 08:44 AM

This is all so encouraging I joined etsy some time ago but just haven't got round to listing anything......I'm going to go away and think about it and get my act together!!

Me thinks this is going to be a good year!

Sue:)

linz

08-02-2008, 12:58 PM

I just started listing on etsy too (inspired by this forum!) Here's hoping it goes well :)

dee_liteful

08-02-2008, 01:26 PM

i have been on for a few months now still no sale:( just one would make me happy!!!!

i might re-register things, not sure whether to change my prices but dont want to sell myself short...

best make some more items, choice might make it better!

Nijani

08-02-2008, 02:57 PM

Get yourself involved with the forums, it can be quite time consuming but I have increased the number of hearts for my site since doing this over the last week or two, did get 1 sale but also a commission for a retro Wedding outfit. Which I can also use for advertising.

It is all about contacts, whether online or verbal.

Hope this helps,

Roie

KathySwartz

13-02-2008, 02:19 PM

I love Etsy too :)

Found myself just exploring all the fantastic items, esp the dolls, on there and would love to be able to make something you ladies would buy :jump:

Too often I just browse though.

FireHorseTextiles

13-02-2008, 04:08 PM

One point worth mentioning about Etsy is that it is very cheap to list items - only 20 cents (about 10p) per item, and it stays up there for months (3, I think), unless it sells first, of course ;).

I joined as a buyer on there to begin with and just enjoyed buying and browsing, but finally took the plunge to list a few things and would definitely recommend it.

I normally list postage for UK, France (the same rate I would charge for anyone in Europe), USA and Everywhere Else. If you contact Royal Mail they will send you a booklet that lists all of the postage costs for parcels and letters in the UK, Europe and worldwide. You just need an accurate set of scales to weigh items (with their packaging) beforehand, then look up the figures. If you send lots of similar weight items out, you can save a postage template in Etsy for an item type so that you don't have to work it out every time.

I know that personally I will rarely buy an item unless the seller has bothered to list the postage for my country and I guess other people are the same.

Good luck!

:)

23BeechHill

15-02-2008, 10:16 PM

Nijani

15-02-2008, 10:26 PM

I wouldn't get to disheartened, it took me a few months for my first sale. Things do pick up put you have to put time in on the forums.

Good Luck

glasskanvas

15-02-2008, 11:24 PM

Etsy sales seems to come in waves for some reason. I also think the best way to list things is to not put on everything at once and spread them out so they become visible at different times....It's also advisible to list later on in the day remebering how popular Etsy is in the US compared to the UK.
I wouldn't give up on Etsy even if you're not selling much, if anything. You can never tell where you're going to get your sales leads from so the more places you appear, the better.

colourart

16-02-2008, 07:47 AM

Well Done ! Glad it's going well for you.

I'm very disallusioned with Etsy. I've deleted quite a few listings recently as I've sold the items outside of Etsy.

I need to re-think what I list I think ....

Try putting together a treasury I have put together four now and it has increased my number of hearts, and its fun to do putting together a group of lovely objects. Well I think so anyway.:)

Roseberry Crafts

16-02-2008, 08:01 AM

It might sound really silly but how's eveyone calculating there post internationally? Also have you added it onto the price of the item or do they pay extra when going to pay at paypal? Having a derrrr moment...:rolleyes:

Well done on the sales.
Maria

I use Royal mail online. It's been an absolute godsend. I have a set of accurate digital scales (kitchen ones are fine as long as they have the capacity you need) to weigh my stuff and then use the price finder on the RM website to calculate the price. Usually when selling an item I just charge the actual postage but some people add a bit extra to cover packaging. Then (and this is the bit I love) when I get a sale I get back onto Royal Mail online and "buy" the postage online (which means you get to print out a professional looking label with return addy and everything on it), slap it on my parcel (and it gets better, wait for it), when you go to the Post Office you DON'T NEED TO QUEUE!!! - You just leave it at "the little window"!
The only problem with this is that it's bad news for Post Offices and if you use a small local or village PO then please stick to the old fashioned method because they need us badly! (you can still calculate the postage online though).