Thursday, February 2, 2012

Oh yeah, I have an Etsy shop, don't I?

Peek-a-boo!

I promised myself that once I picked up all my work from the Criaturas show on the 31st, I would get it all photographed and reopen my Etsy shop. I have neglected my Etsy for about 2 years now. I was beginning to wonder why I even bothered listing it on my business cards. It got to be such a pain to keep it up, with the whole 5 photos of each item thing, and the crappy search algorithm they used to have. You just got lost in a sea of jewelry shops (no offense to you jewelers out there, but man are there a lot of you on Etsy!)

I've been told that Etsy has vastly improved while I've been away. I think my stuff has improved as well, so maybe it's time to give it another go. I don't know if I can realistically produce work fast enough to keep up with it and craft fairs (Bloomington Handmade Market is coming up!), but I'm willing to give it another shot. It seems like it works for a lot of other potters I really admire. Maybe I can make it work for me.

What about you guys? What are your experiences with Etsy? Do you love it or hate it, and has it really gotten better? If there are any super successful sellers out there, feel free to share the secrets of your success!

3 comments:

erin e flynn said...

Once my listings for my stationery stuff expire, I don't think I'll relist. When I finally made myself sit down and saw that between etsy fees and paypal fees I was making pennies... Ugh. I like to BUY on Etsy, but not sure that it works for me as a seller. Not like I can really charge $10 for a postcard, you know? But you might do better since $0.30 off a $25 item isn't nearly as bad as off a $2 one!

Unknown said...

Considering the 30-50% cut taken by stores and art galleries, the fees from Etsy and Paypal are negligible by comparison. It's the time involved in keeping it all up that keeps me from wanting to use Etsy. It's just so labor intensive!

Jacqueline Allard said...

Lori, I agree. Etsy fees are nothing compared to galleries. I like being able to keep most of my money and have the occasional sale.

Currently I am not a full time potter I still do graphic design a few days a week. Because of etsy and it's traffic I am able to sell a good amount of work without leaving my house. I hope to go full time next year so I can spend more time with my family. Yes, listing is a pain but you get quicker at it. You become expert at shipping after a while too, lol.

Your work is so unique and beautiful I think it would be well worth your time to give it a try. The biggest piece of advice I could give is list a lot of items. My sales took off after I had a few pages of items. Also, having a range of prices is good.

I also have my own website which is another project all together. I used supadupa.me for that. You can point to your own domain.

Good luck!
Jacqui
Islandgirlpottery on etsy