Worth giving Etsy a go?

[mrschambers]

Hi there,

I'm Helen and I'm new to the idea of selling my handcrafted cards so please bear with me!!

I was just wondering if it's worth having a go at putting my products on Etsy, just as a starter and to see how it goes? I think I'm still to early on to think about having my own 'proper' website, so I thought Etsy (or similar) might be a good way into it.

I'm aware that things won't happen over night either, so wouldn't be expecting to sell much to start with. But I just want to get my crafts out there, if that makes sense?

Hope to hear from anyone soon, would be greatly appreciated.

[onlyme]

Give it a go, that's what I say. I don't know much about cards but lots of people on Etsy do very well!

[mymiyel]

Go for it!

I love Etsy - I could spend hours and hours just trawling through the different categories, or foruming or chatting in the chat rooms. There is a lot of support available to sellers but, as you might pick up from other posts, it is hard work to get noticed on there due to the sheer mass of sellers.

I think you should definitely open a shop - you only get charged if you list and/or sell something so if you decide not to sell anything just yet then that's fine - you could just get to know the site, get chatting or post on the forums and then go ahead and sell once you feel ready.

[cloudhopping]

I love etsy too!

I'd say give it a go - its fun setting up your shop on there, user friendly, and there is a UK chat thread in the forums full of helpful folks if you have any queries.

[swirlyarts]

I'd say yes to Etsy and I'd also try Folksy too. Folksy is UK based and is up and coming - they are spending lots on advertising and it's growing nicely. They have a few issues with the speed of the site but they are working on it!

[Valmade]

Afraid I have to disagree. I found Etsy not very good at all.

Unless you are prepared to spend most of the day online posting in the forums or chatting it's really hard to get noticed.

Plus having to pay listing fees which are then money down the drain if you don't sell anything was costing too much.

I have found 3 alternatives, which currently you are able to list on for free.

www.dawanda.com
www.madeitmyself.com
www.artfire.com

I would recommend starting out on one of those before you start outlaying lost of money.

Val