I had followed the thread some time ago about using Etsy and decided
that it is too low end for me and way too many jewelry people to get
noticed. But I just read an article in the current Jewelry Artist
magazine about 1000 Markets which is a juried site and may be a
better fit for me. Has anyone had any experience with this newer
site?
I haven’t put any of my work on line yet and need advice as too
where would be the best place to do this. I sell mostly at galleries
and juried craft shows which I would like to get away from doing
since outdoor shows are so hard to do and galleries take too much of
my money.
I have been doing a search on the web for some good on
marketing on the web and would love to know any great site that may
help me make good decisions to further my business. I am currently
building a website but it isn’t finished yet.
I’ve been on Etsy for a couple of years, and sell sporadically
there. I put some work on Artfire and 1000 Markets, this spring,
but I haven’t sold anything on either of them. I’d be interested to
hear others’ experiences with these sites too.
I am very new in building different jewelry lines and am still in
the process of loading every piece onto Etsy and 1000 Markets. I
started loading onto Artfire but was put off by the fee required
after the initial complimentary 12 items. I figured if any of the
first Artfire pieces started to sell (i.e., I was seeing traffic
through that site), I would upload more items there.
I am just beginning to see sales from Etsy and in the building of my
website, have decided to use Etsy as my eCommerce solution. I looked
at various eCommerce companies and types of functionality, but in
talking it over with my web programmer, we realized that I will pay
considerably less in both programming and back-end to simply provide
a link to a pre-existing eCommerce site, which both Etsy and 1000
Markets essentially already are. The only debate then was between
the two and although Etsy is going to require a little more watching
to keep current (your items expire after a certain amount of time),
the percentage that Etsy keeps is slightly less than 1000Markets. It
is only hard because you have to figure in the roughly 7% to 10% you
are losing to Etsy and Paypal.
I will still have all items on both sites (and Trunkt as well for
wholesale), but am looking at the short-term fix ability to offer
eCommerce to my customers.
I am also on etsy. My work here is what I consider production work
even though I use very little pre-made findings. I am also finding
that etsy has too many “jewelers” most being on the spectrum of
beading or are self taught and needing lots more practice before
selling their jewelry. So far I have sold one item to a stranger on
etsy. The rest of my work has been snatched up by family and friends
who are supportive enough to sign up for an etsy account to purchase
my work. I was recently thinking about 1000 Markets and Artfire and
wondering if they were better forums. So far I am doing much better
at Open Markets and in galleries or stores than on the internet. I am
starting to think that etsy is the place to go and find something
handmade but it isn’t for quality, it is for the sake of buying
handmade and getting a deal. There doesn’t seem to be much care
about craftsmanship. For now I at least have a website which is low
in cost and it has led to sales from the Open Markets. A fellow who
wasn’t able to purchase a necklace at a market contacted me through
etsy and we met up at a cafe for an informal mini sale. I will keep
on with etsy if I can still get similar sales through it. Once I get
to making my artisan jewelry I hope to get onto
… It seems that someone needs to recommend you. One day I hope to be
in their online gallery, it is lovely.
I have been selling on Etsy for just about 3 years with much
success. I have set up stores on Artfire and 1000Markets but have had
no sales on either.
In my opinion, the key to online sales is consistently listing new
work and stellar customer service. This has been especially true for
my successful Etsy experience. I have gained wholesale customers as
well as many satisfied return customers.
I have been selling on Etsy for about 18 months and on 1000 Markets
for a few months.
I’ve made about 80 sales on Etsy and so far, no sales on 1000
Markets.
My experience is that they both require a great deal of attention in
order to keep the sites active with new product and in the case of
1000 Markets–new content–since blog postings are a component of
shops on that site.
I too find that Etsy mostly caters to beaded jewelry where the
average price point is about $30. I added 1000 Markets to my options
because I like its site features and think the quality of the product
offerings is slightly more upscale. Unfortunately, I think the site
is still too new to attract many customers. They are about to undergo
a PR campaign though so perhaps that will help.
It is very hard to know whether it is the lack of being able to
touch and feel that makes online challenging for jewelry or just the
nature of the economy.
I keep plugging away at my two sites but it’s a good thing it is not
much more than a hobby for me and that I don’t depend on these sales
to make a living!
I sell on both Etsy and Dawanda – just gemstone bead and sterling
wire jewelry.
My average sale is about 35-40USD. I do have necklaces and bracelets
listed at up to 120, but those sell very slowly. Most expensive
thing I’ve sold was about 72.
I just started listing on Dawanda, and I’m very happy with it… the
strong Euro vs the CDN dollar really helps! But I think to do well
on Dawanda, you really need to list in German on their German site.
ALL of my customers there so far have been German.
It’s true that most of the jewelry sales on Etsy are on the lower
end. Though higher end items do sell.
The big issue on Etsy is being found… there’s a LOT of jewelry
listed. I sell regularly (but slowly) because pple will come onto
Etsy searching for certain types of gemstone jewelry… how many
pple list Lapis Lazuli + peridot earrings" Or nice quality sleeping
beauty turquoise earrings" Lol, these searches bring up far less
pages of items than a search for “sterling earrings” or “blue and
green earrings”.
The other huge issue is of course photography. I think your product
photography really is key. Unfortunately it’s also time consuming
and takes a ton of practice. I don’t know how pple manage to sell
low priced one-of-a-kind items… the overhead involved just from
the photography would be painful.
I don’t sell on 1000markets, because it’s only open to americans and
I’m canadian. But it is trying to build a higher end look, and may
do well in the future for higher end items. Though traffic there is
slow now since it’s very new.
Thanks everyone for your input. I think that 1000 markets is a good
way to go for someone who doesn’t have a website and don’t want one.
It is easy to use and it doesn’t cost anything to list your work. I
know it is very new so I hope it will grow. Unlike Etsy you don’t
have to keep up every week to be seen since they rotate work to get
your work seen. I have started up an account in hopes that this will
be a good place me to place my work.
Thanks Sally for your thoughts on this subject. I agree that 1000
Markets has a more upscale look which I really like. I think it may
attract a market for those who want a little better product then Etsy
or Ebay. Not to say that there aren’t some really nice things on
these sites, but you really have to dig through a lot of very low end
product to get to something really nice. I am hoping that 1000
markets really does well since there is a real need for a juried site
with better products.
I looked at both your sites and they are very well done and I like
your jewelry.