AAA Cafe' Daily Chat 01/22/2015

[NaturalClocks]

Welcome to new members, welcome back to returning teammates! If this is your first time here - this is a place to ask questions, share your most embarrassing secrets, or just chat about the slow and boring bits of your day…we want to hear from you!!

Be sure to check out the discussion board. There are games to be played and threads to explore. The more you promote your fellow team mates, the more you get promoted, so be sure to participate on a daily basis. Check out our blog and our Facebook page, as well as the other links provided below.

IMPORTANT LINKS:
* Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/301427606658253/
* Etsy Calculator: salecalc.com/etsy
* Etsyology: www.etsyology.net/
♥ Online Photo Programs: fotoflexer.com/ or www.picmonkey.com/
treasurypin.com./ and editor.pho.to/
arwmedia.net/tools/pixlr_express.php
* Etsy Craft Tools: www.mycrafttools.com/
* Etsy Gadget: www.estygadget.com
* Craftopolis -Edit multiple listings: www.craftopolis.com/#com=ee
* Etsy Banner Maker: bannerfans.com/banner_maker.php?bnew=1&pses=1a256d05
* Craftcount - craftcount.com/teritory.php
* Google+ tutorials blog.kissmetrics.com/personal-google-plus-account/ and moz.com/blog/tips-to-use-google-for-s
* Chrome Treasury Box: brittanysbest.com/treasurybox-chrome-extension/
* Google+ information plus.google.com/communities/112658132414010568954
* Etsy team page: www.etsy.com/pages/aaasupport
* Check your keyword relevancy in search: www.tools4etsy.com/Wall-e/Relevancy/Keyword
* 50 Reasons you're not getting Etsy Sales: www.handmadeology.com/50-reasons-youre-not-getting-etsy-sales/

Please don't forget to post in the AAA Support Team thread in the promo forum :)) www.etsy.com/uk/teams/21915/promos/discuss/15267796/

Good morning team!

A little bit of frost again out there, but it's otherwise fine.

Rebecca, you raised a good question yesterday: how do we get more customers in our own country? I wish I knew! US sellers won't face the same problem, as the biggest customer base here on Etsy is from the US, so much so that US sellers can chose whether to ship internationally or not, and several sellers stick to the US only and can still get very good sales.The rest of us would waste our time on Etsy if we didn't ship internationally, sad but true, even though I have noticed that UK buyers are on the increase.

One thing that I have done was to add in some of my items the tags UK or British, i.e. desk clock UK, driftwood UK, British scene, etc and I do get search hits with UK and British, so some UK buyers are clearly using them to look for items within the UK. It's worth a try to do the same for some of your bracelets perhaps?

I agree about ebay: I have the same feeling that it may actually cheapen my brand and the fees are atrocious. I have a few bits and bobs that I want to list on ebay just to declutter around the house, but after some brief calculations I decided that half of them will end up in charity shops, as for the sake of a few pounds profit that I may make (and I stress MAY) it's not worth the hassle.

So, I often read the saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket" and I sort of agree with it, but what other baskets are out there apart from or on top of Etsy? Don't get me wrong, despite all the messing about with various tests, the lack of addressing important issues, the redefining of handmade and the likely imminent IPO, I still think that Etsy is ace for exposure, reasonable fees and ease of use, it serves me very well, but sometimes I do wonder where else I could put some of my stuff (the items can be easily remade, not the one off pieces like driftwood or plates for example) to reach more buyers. Any ideas my friends?

Have a great day everybody!

[naturepoet]

Good morning, Val. Great subject for chat today.

Shipping is a problem for many of us. Canadian shipping has gone sky high as of January 1st. I put a magazine in an envelope yesterday and took it to the PO. The clerk told me it would be over $10. I said no. Last year this would have cost under $5, so she said maybe i should send it small packet. She figured it out and that was only $7.50, so I took it. This is something new for Canada Post and since they didn't send me the usual cost increase pamphlet, I had no idea there was such a thing.

Makes me crazy. They are decreasing service and won't even ship Air Mail to Australia anymore, but yet they want a fortune. What a mess for online sellers from this country.

[ZingRetroFinds]

Hi All,

Just a quick check in today. I am on my way to NYC to see the Matisse exhibit at MOMA.

My latest piece:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/219451946/black-cameo-necklace-white-lady-pendant?ref=shop_home_feat_1

[ItsSewYouDear]

Good morning Val and all.

Very good idea to use location in some of your tags. I know when I shop, many times I am narrowing my search down to US sellers either because I don't want to wait on international shipping or items would be too heavy that I don't want to pay for international shipping and same is true for many people I imagine.

As far as other places to sell, I honestly don't know. I was contacted by 9th and Elm late summer to add my stuff to their site and I did and got quite a few sales, but asked them to take my stuff down in November when I was getting so busy here as it would be impossible to keep up with inventory and orders on both sites. I know there are other sites like Artfire and Zibbet that sell handmade, but I don't think they get a fraction of the traffic Etsy gets, so not sure that they are worth the effort. For me personally, Etsy is quite enough as this is just a hobby shop for me, and despite its flaws, I do love Etsy!

I never really considered selling my handmade on Ebay although I had in previous years sold stuff from around the house that we no longer needed/wanted. But yes, even that may not be worth it now with all the fees increases.

Busy day so I better get a move on, Happy Thursday all!

[Former_Member]

I never did well on Artfire, or ebay.
I actually do quite well on Facebook believe it or not. I do local shows from time to time, and I also have a few Facebook craft groups I interact with (never post and run), as well as I do twitter parties. When I do local shows I pass out my card which has my FB page on it. I encourage people to join, and I don't spam it with only my items.
In my cat shop I do funny cat memes and helpful cat info.
The kids shop I do kid crafts, and activities as well.
I also have a charity FB page and I post motivation as well as charity advise and tidbits. I try to get my people involved in the pages in any way possible, so when I do post something they are more vested in me and my items.
Over Christmas I sold more in this shop on FB than I did on Etsy.
Oh, I do post occasionally in the local yard sale type groups too.

[naturepoet]

Since I have joined the Etsy groups on FB, I've had a few sales from there. Never had a lot of luck on ebay and their fees were atrocious. I have tried a couple of others, but Etsy is the best I've found.

NEW TODAY

https://www.etsy.com/listing/219571838/angel-valentine-with-pink-roses

[COLDHAMCUDDLIES]

Like it or not, really think that Etsy is the best - for fees, and international exposure. As you say, Val, if one relied on the UK for one's sales, one just wouldn't get anywhere. Most of my stuff goes to the US, but have got Cuddlies living in Australia, Saudi Arabia, France, Denmark, and Italy, and some in Canada too. Ebay contact me everyone and again, but their fees put me off as well as the need to list everything again!

Having said that, the latest sale I've made went to a Buyer in Torquay, Devon and she actually rang me today (she obviously got my number from the delivery note I always put in the package) and she already left a Review (5 star, I'm pleased to say). But isn't that a bit quick for one of those? Have to admit while thrilled with the review, am a bit breathless at the speed of it posting! I only sent the package at 0930 yesterday morning!!! She likes the Sleepy Koala so much, she might be buying one of the Baby Koalas to keep him company!! I'll know later tonight.

One of the leaders on one of my other teams has sadly died - she'd been ill for some time, but even so, her passing was unexpectedly sudden - so that's been taking up a lot of my time today. Must away to check what's happening elsewhere, and get my evening meal going too.

[Former_Member]

Hello, Team
Years ago I tried EBay, not luck. I dont do international shipping for now.
This is not a new item, but I would like more views and see if can be sell.
Thanks, to all of you.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/86953286/valentine-gift-crochet-flower-scarf?ref=pr_shop

[910woolgathering]

I did well on Ebay for supplies and vintage. I do buy a bit extra supplies for listing here, but not enough to mess with ebay anymore.

I promote in a lot of places. I just use Etsy as a transaction handler.

Lately not sure if shows are even worth the effort.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/219492929/blue-cotton-head-band-crochet-twist-hair?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/219548991/spring-crochet-tie-belt-boho-hippie?

[RedRiverValley]

Good afternoon dear teammate,

Gray and cloudy day here but slightly warming that normal.

Donna, I hope you have a wonderful trip today!

I do ship internationally, but all of my sales except 2 have been to the US; 2 to Canada. I think because my items are so heavy the shipping prices deter international customers. As far as getting more local customers for those outside the US, my only suggestion would be to join a team for your area. Maybe promoting to those team members will bring in local customers.

[NaturalClocks]

Sorry to hear about your friend and team mate passing away Isobel. Even when we half expect it, those are always dreadful news.

Oh, Royal Mail do a wonderful job in my experience, can't fault them. If you have sent your Cuddlie by First Class, either standard or recorded, then it's expected to arrive the next day anywhere on UK Mainland. I have posted parcels in the afternoon (and bear in mind that I live in a rural area) and they got delivered the following morning hundreds of miles away (and of course that works the other way around too, I can get deliveries less than 24 hours from ordering if the seller ships the same day). It's great when a customer mentions that in their reviews, I've had a few of those recently, the last one an hour ago, as that will instil confidence in future buyers. As long as they realise that that works for UK buyers only, not international LOL!

We all seem to agree that Etsy is the best place for handmade and vintage then! :))

[Former_Member]

I haven't tried ebay so I don't know. Apparently they now have some free listings where you don't pay listing fees unless it sells, so that could be good, and the seo is built in, so it would take less time.

[BekisBeads]

Evening all. Etsy is the best to sell on in terms of fees etc and if you're in the US it's fantastic but I wanted to tell you how it is in the UK in terms of figures so those of you elsewhere can understand how bad Etsy is over here. Today I posted 2 white bracelets, 1 on Etsy and 1 on Ebay (Ebay.co.uk only) the only difference between the 2 is the Tibetan charms and the nicer ones are on the Etsy listing. i have posted both on my FB page, I have tweeted both the same number of times. The Etsy listing has had 15 views, i have only had 9 views of my entire shop from the UK in the whole of today. The Ebay listing has had 70 views. Out of the 373 views of my shop so far today 336 have been from the US. I don't know how we can get the message out there Val. I'll try adding UK to my listing that's a great idea. I hope the impending IPO puts some investment into the exposure over here. We have a UK site which is supposed to be our version of Etsy called Folksy but if you think Etsy's profile is bad well Folksy is non existent. I do well on Ebay but it's costing me 3 x as much to list my items, 9.6% commission when I sell and I have to reduce the price of my items slightly to compete with the rubbish that is already on there. One particular seller on ebay is shipping in 'European' charm bracelets for 41p a unit, I know where they get them from and selling them for £9.99 a time, they're plastic beads and metal charms and bracelets that will make your skin go green but they sell 100's a month. I can't compete unless I lower my price because the majority of ebayers are not there for the 'handmade with love and care' they are there for a bargain. Unfortunately if I want to sell in the UK I'm having to sell on Ebay. I do put my Etsy business card in every purchase when I post it though ;)

I'm sorry to hear about you're team leader Isobel sending you good thoughts.

On a positive note though, on Monday I decided to email all my customers on Etsy who bought from me last year offering them an exclusive 20% discount on my new makes. One of them bought a bracelet yesterday and refused to use the 20% discount because she said they were an excellent price already and then she tweeted and asked me if I could do 2 more on a custom order which I am doing. She's in the UK yay!. So I know it's probably been suggested before but why not send an email to your customers, we've got their email addresses and there's nothing to say you can't.

I've also had an enquiry from an on line shop who also do charity fundraising events and would like to stock my items. They will buy the stock in up front and then sell it which is fantastic. The lady who contacted me bought one of the Ebay items last night as a sample so 2 sales and 2 custom orders in a day I'm quite chuffed :)

[naturepoet]

Isobel, So sorry about your team leader. We just had an unexpected death of a distant family member. It is always surprising. She had been ill, but not for long and she was two years younger than I am. Makes you think.

[naturepoet]

Another new

https://www.etsy.com/listing/219634485/fashion-flapper-1920-reproduction