Hey mamas --
I'm pretty sure I want to start making some things to sell (not diapers) and I'm thinking about getting an Etsy page. Anyone here have one? Anyone willing to help out a newbie and give me some tips?
Or just in general, what do you like/dislike about etsy and the people who sell there? I'm hoping to start off on the right foot ;)
Thanks mamas!
spamanda
06-17-2009, 01:37 PM
Anyone?
myblessedbaby
06-17-2009, 05:10 PM
Etsy is pretty easy to set up. For the best tips, visit the community forums on Etsy. I know they have a thread in there for newbies, you'll probably have to search for it.
The hardest thing about Etsy is getting noticed. Depending on what you sell, you may have to relist your items often so that you show up on the first few pages of the search engine.
spamanda
06-17-2009, 07:26 PM
Thank you!
I've wondered about getting noticed, too.... simply because there are SOOOO many awesome things there! I'm currently trying to figure out a niche of some kind so I'm not duplicating a bunch of things already there.
Do they charge you each time you relist? That's a bummer. Hadn't thought about that part of it.
myblessedbaby
06-17-2009, 08:40 PM
$.20 every time you list or re-list
spamanda
06-17-2009, 09:16 PM
Ah, didn't realize it would be if I re-listed, too. Hmm.... that might change things. Thanks for the heads up!
tschecter
06-29-2009, 09:07 PM
yup, getting noticed is toigh on etsy. be active in their forums and it will help.
WeeEssentials
06-29-2009, 09:15 PM
If you have a niche, it's not too hard. If you sell jewelry, paintings/prints, or stationary, it's definitely harder. I depend mostly on word of mouth, and I do pretty well. Etsy's just like any other site, or really, the web in general- you can't just put up a shop and think you'll make lots of sales (not saying that I think you think that!) - you have to work for it. I promote here, send out samples to people in everything, talk in the forums, answer alchemy requests, tell my friends and family, etc etc etc.
But it's $.20 a listing, and 3.5% if you sell. That's pretty cheap for the amount of exposure you'd get. That listing stays up for 4 months, but you can "renew" it before then, but it will cost you $0.20. Renewing is only benficial if you are in a saturated market, but it might not be so beneficial in the future. The reason it was good was that before, the search on etsy would list items that were newer first. Now they've started working on a search based on the relevance of an item, so renewing wouldn't do any good if your item wasn't relevant to the search terms.
I rarely renew, sometimes my nursing pads or menstrual pads, because they are in more saturated markets. But I try to list new things in those genres rather than renew - it seems to be more effective- when I list new things, I generally sell them quickly. When I renew, I don't notice sales going up much at all.
Etsy is great, but I'll warn you, there's always drama in the forums. I've noticed a trend with a couple dozen sellers that blame whatever they can for the reason their sales/views are low, but never the fact that they are in super oversaturated markets with items that are selling slowly right now anyway, and they aren't doing anything to promote themselves except complaining on the forums, lol.
If it wasn't for Etsy, I would not have done as well as I have. :) If you want to know more, PM me! I'd be glad to give you any advice I can think of. I've really enjoyed being a part of Etsy. :)
williamsj33
07-03-2009, 09:57 PM
I love etsy! ive just started making things to sell on there, waiting on my friend to finish my logo before i list my products. Its VERY saturated when it comes to baby items. The pocket diapers are hard to come by on there (good ones anyway). Ive bought an awesome AIO one size from a seller, and it was super cheap and wonderful. I have become very addicted to buying items on there as well!!!! I would suggest looking for items that you plan on selling first, see how many are selling that particular item. If youre still willing to make it, try and figure out a way to make it more appealing. good luck!
spamanda
07-04-2009, 06:44 AM
Yeah I don't think I want to make diapers, I actually have a few other ideas in mind. Stuff for older children, but not babies.
Thanks for the info, I've been doing searches too and seeing what things are there and are not. I kinda just made a list of things I can make, then started seeing what etsy had and didn't have, and went from there.
Now I'm working on making a logo and some other stuff. I'm actually a graphic designer, so that part is the easy part for me! lol
jengojengo
07-07-2009, 01:32 PM
The thing I don't love about Etsy is that you can't customize the look very much. HC is almost completely customizable, but not Etsy.
