If you want an additional option to Etsy, you might investigate
artfire.com. This is one of Etsy’s new competitor’s and like Etsy it
is a venue for selling handmade items. I know there are other venues
for handmade art out there too. (Of course the term “handmade” is
defined differently by everyone, so you will see a range in the
types of items for sale). There are a few thousand paying or
“verified” ArtFire members already and they also offer a “free”
account option. They have a special deal going on for “verified”
membership- which I took advantage of and I am in the process of
setting up my online studio/store with them. The site is currently in
“beta” but thousands of artisans are selling thru this venue. They
are fine tuning the site and I like the fact they pass on member’s
ideas to the programming team and they implement them. (Imagine
that!) I also have an Etsy account and I’m getting my shop set up
with them too. I haven’t started selling on either site yet, as soon
as I finish getting all my jewelry photographed, I’ll be open for
online business. Then I’ll see how it goes. In the short term these
sites are going to help me sell to my current customers who are too
far away to shop in person. I’ve been selling the “traditional” way
for twelve years, so I’m not depending solely on these venues. I’ll
still have to market my business and do everything I can to drive
business to my online stores. I figure it’s worth trying a number of
options and I have little to risk.
Priscilla Walsen
You know, I’ve only once had my monthly fees on Etsy add up to over
artfire’s 7.99 a month. I’d rather not pay anything for a month where
I didn’t sell anything. I think I’ll keep my 20 cent 4 month listings
on Etsy. And Etsy’s advertising in fashion mags. I only heard of
artfire the first time last month. I started selling on Etsy after
hearing about it in a dozen places on-line and them two places
locally. And my local demographic is seemingly art/internet clueless.
Just my 2 cents.
LJ
Dreaming Dragon Designs
Hi Priscilla,
For what its worth, if I could do it again I would post my work over
a period of time instead of trying to get it up all at once. I found
that posting one or two pieces a day, especially during certain days
of the week and times, seemed to increase the number of visits from
new traffic I was getting into the store.
Just a thought
Christine
www.christinebossler.com
Go to “pounce” on etsy and check out recently sold items to see what
the temperature of the water is. I know people who love it. The
customer base has a particular feel and they fit.
No one has mentioned etsybitch.com - it has some useful information
(not all bad, despite the name).
1000markets.com is also interesting. It’s juried and has higher
pricepoints.
Dana Carlson
Dana,
How do you check out recently sold items? I’ve looked around the
site and I’m not seeing it.
Pam East
I do have a link to my etsy page on by personal website as I would
never expect someone to just find my etsy page direct
I’ve been on Etsy for a couple of months. I’m using the free Google
Web Analytics they offer, and was quite surprised to learn that over
25% of the visits to my shop originated from outside Etsy, through
Google, referrals, etc. This is through no effort on my part, and
it’s quite interesting, if inexplicable, to see where they’re coming
from. I’ve also had visits from over 20 countries, which is kind of
cool too.
I have yet to put a link on my website to my Etsy shop, because I’m
still conflicted about how much I want these two worlds to
intersect- although I do mention my website in my Etsy shop. I’m
selling a number of things for less on Etsy than I charge at my
retail shows. I’ve decided that if a show customer mentions seeing
me on Etsy, I’ll give them the lower price, but otherwise I don’t
want to undercut my ability to get more at shows to cover the extra
expenses.
Photography for Etsy has been mentioned recently too. One of the
frustrating things I’ve discovered is that it frequently takes as
much time to take and prepare the photos as it took to make the
piece itself. Now if that’s for a piece you can sell over and over
with the same picture, that’s fine. But in cases where each new
piece is different enough that new photos are necessary, you should
factor that into your time/price calculations- although I’m giving
that time away at this point. If I get more traction, maybe I can
boost my prices a bit.
Allan Mason
www.sivermason.com
Each individual shop shows SOLD items. It used to even show the
price, now only the description. Lots of chatter on the FORUM wanting
NOT to show sold items. On ebay you cannot see what vendor sold what
to whom. I had an interesting thing happen. I have 2 shops on etsy,
barbrie777.etsy.com and briesboutique.etsy.com and a customer from
England found me in google under “vintage glass, harlequin opal” and
because I had a shop at etsy (which did not cost me to set up) she
found me, purchased items.
How do you check out recently sold items?
Click on “buy”, then click on “pounce”, then toggle “just sold” and
click “pounce again”.
Dana