Shop Critique

[#1]

If you would like some advice don't be afraid to ask!

[DoorCountyVintage]

Hi Rachael,

I love your banner,Policies,shipping policies, titles and tags.

Shop Announcement: Use some of your tags in your shop announcement. the more keywords you can work in the better. Google crawls your announcements,titles,tags and sections the more places it reads your tags the higher in search you are placed!

Photos: They could use a bit more light they are a bit dark. Also put a white table cloth,paper what have you under the item so you get a nice white shot :)

Overall great job!

[DoorCountyVintage]

Suzanne,

Your Shop: I love your banner,policies,inventory,love that you ship worldwide.

Critique:

Shop Announcements: Being vintage (like myself) you have a unique opportunity to overflow this section with keywords, collectibles,vintage decor,kitchen items,depression glass,figurines etc.


Photos: Your photos are a bit dark and in alot of them you can see your house which does for some reason turn some buyers away. Id suggest a higher exposure,more lighting and a nice whit background to help your item pop!

Titles: Obviously with your numbers of sales people are finding you but I think adding more relevant tags and organizing your titles into most important info first would bring more views your way.

Lucky Wish Bone and Flower Brooch

Vintage Jewelry, Lucky Wishbone and Flower Brooch, Gold Toned, 1 1/2x1"

I hope that helps!

Tags: The more tags you use on teams the more potential customers you cost yourself.

[DoorCountyVintage]

Shelby,

Your Shop: Your photos are not bad, I like your banner,policies,titles,the fact you ship worldwide and tags

Critique:

Inventory: Try to get to 100 items all good things on Etsy start at 100!


Shop Announcement: Use some of your tags in your shop announcement. the more keywords you can work in the better. Google crawls your announcements,titles,tags and sections the more places it reads your tags the higher in search you are placed!


Overall great! I hope this helps!

[Former_Member]

I am just starting out my shop in the last few months. I had some sales in the beginning but things have really slowed! I would really appreciate any advice or constructive criticism to offer.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TicePhotography

[Former_Member]

Thank you for taking the time to look at my shop - your advise is really helpful, much appreciated x

[Former_Member]

read this, and helped me too.! however, sombody was on my puter and everything is soooo bigggg, i cant read w/out shoving it back and forth, does anyone know how to get back where i can see a normal, not giant , screen?

[Former_Member]

katie, love your pics. take more! i have splees. i sell nothing, then, wham bam...all in a row...... btw, whats a splee? oh, a typo, spree i think i meant.well, keep your shop moving, add more, keep it updated and intresting.i certainly dont have all the answers, but i notice people seem to notice when i add new items.

[ValuableCr8tions]

Okay I am ready! I would appreciate a critique.. I know my pictures are not great but I have a hard time with them and I am not a pro. :(

[Former_Member]

i mess up when it comes to pics, i accidently put my dogs pic in one....trying to figure out the shot can be confusing, much less getting it up there...you see a lot of dogs etc. in background in my pics, i know i need improvment. or the tv is on and in pic...lol....so thanks...for that post!

[BeezyBeeArts]

Chris, it is very generous of you to be so kind to help people out. Please, please, critique my store, too.

I used kind advices of fellow Etsians couple months ago, like do free shipping inn USA. I did, I combined the sale price + shipping price and insurance and delivery confirmation or signature is applied wherever possible; I changed my Tags, and made them look like how the customer will search in Google; I ship Internationally; I was advised to change my banner – did that too… I followed advice to included returns, etc.

Still… nothing moves, and everything is so slow.

And I see a lot of stores that do not accept returns, exchanges, they do charge shipping separately --- and their stores are blooming any way. What’s wrong with my store? I even did several Youtubs with step-by step how to-do some of my items, trying to spark an interest in people towards my store. I participated in some Forums, I was asked how to make a banner without Photo Shop, etc, and I provided with detailed explanation, I mean I try to be active in Teams. And I was featured in Treasuries several times. Still, people do not want to buy from me. I had just one sale.

I truly enjoy creating my art, and many of them take a lot of time to make. Sometimes, I have doubts in my mind if I even need to continue…But I love to do my mosaics.

Would you please help me if you have time?
Have a wonderful day!

Lusine

[DoorCountyVintage]

To all waiting for critiques check back tomorrow afternoon and I should have caught up by then.

[Former_Member]

Thank you so much for the critique! I really appreciate all of your thoughts. Looks like I have some work to do,but all for the better!
Thanks again!

[DoorCountyVintage]

Valarie I'm no pro at photos either but yours are fine!

Your shop: i like your banner ,policies PHOTOS, inventory,and your shop announcement. Your tags and shipping are great too.

All I can say is work on your marketing. Take time to make treasuries,get to know your team mates favorite like crazy bring as many eyes to your shop as you can! Great shop!

[DoorCountyVintage]

Katie,

Your Shop: Love your photos(obviously), banner,titles and shipping policies

Critique:

Policies: You MUST fill out your policies you are costing yourself sales without it. A lot of Etsy buyers make sure to check them in case something goes wrong to see how you protect them. If you do not have anything they are weary of spending their money with you.

Shop Announcement: If you want to get a higher placement in search you need to use your keywords in every important place. Google crawls your announcements looking for keywords. Architectural Photography,Nature Photography,Portrait Photography,Black and White Photography..try to work as many variations in there as you can throughout your announcement, Tell people about you,your shop, your photos and work those keywords throughout.

Tags: This is your money. You want to use all 13. You look like you have a grasp on what to use as tags just add more. You could even sneak the team tag in there asauap.

jersey shore asbury park beach art wonder bar photography ticephotography happiness summer new jersey beach in the summer love

Love is not one id use I wouldnt use your shop name either because they can already search that.. happiness,summer also dont really speak to your item as far as what a customer would be searching for to find you.

Jersey Shore,Asbury Park,beach art,Wonder Bar,photography,New Jersey, Beach in the summer, Architectural, building pictures, New Jersey Bar,Habitat for humanity,art photography,art for charity....

Inventory..Everything good on Etsy starts at 100 items!

Avatar: You should have a clear,bright shot in your avatar as alot of buyers are visual and the first thing some see is your avatar and may be turned away by a shadowy image.

I hope that helps!

[Former_Member]

Hello! I am totally new in all this and any advice and constructive criticism would mean a lot to me!
Thanks in advance.

[DoorCountyVintage]

Hi Lusine,

Thanks for the kind words. This is why I created this team to help people answer their question without having Admins censor what is spoken about.

Your Shop: I like your shop banner and the fact you ship world wide.

Critique:

Titles: You want to add as much info about your item while putting the most important info first.

Mosaic stone wall art green vase free shipping -65

Handmade Wall Decor, Mosiac, Green Vase Included, 13” x 11” x 1”, Free Shipping

You want to break up your titles or Google reads it as one long word which will lower you in search. Also leave out those numbers at the end they are just confusing..-65 what?

Shop Announcement..You got the keyword thing down but you also must work them into a who,what where and why about you,your art. Why you do what you do. Look at mine for an example if you'd like.

Tags: If you have no tags you have no way to be found. You MUST add the 13 tags to be found. Each tag is another potential customer!

Use more compound tags like this for this item

Mosaic stone wall art green vase free shipping -65

Handmade Art,Wall Decor, Wall Hangings, Green Vase, pottery,Handmade Mosiac,free shipping,green glass tile, vase,gardening,gifts for her,gift ideas,art

I hope this helps!

Now Pattie will take the rest..

[dressurdolly2]

Hi, Lusine!

First let me say that you have such a cute product! You just need to work on presenting it in the best light possible - and I mean that literally! :)

I highly recommend making yourself an inexpensive light box out of cardboard and tissue paper, and getting some inexpensive goose neck lamps for the two sides and top using true daylight spectrum bulbs. I made mine for under $15.00 - I bought everything at Walmart and I used this tutorial:
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent

I tell this story about my shop all the time ~ when I first started out, I had no idea how important photographs were. Here are some examples of my early days:

https://www.etsy.com/transaction/16332153?

Kind of blurry...busy background...very dark.

Then I tried a plain background with a flash:

https://www.etsy.com/transaction/23661770?

then I tried outside:
https://www.etsy.com/transaction/23277783?

Still dark...still a terrible background...still kind of blurry

The first 18 months I was open, I only sold 99 items. Finally, some other sellers gave me a very detailed critique, and every one of them said, "It's your pictures!!!!"

So I built the light box and stopped using a flash, read the manual that came with my camera and learned how to use macro, and started to take new pics.
Now they look like this:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/125719008/american-girl-doll-18-inch-dolls-short?


The month before I made the switch, I sold $36 worth of merchandise. The month AFTER I started using the light box, I sold $552 in merchandise, and in fact, in the next 18 months I sold 965 items. 965 items in 18 months vs. 99 items in the first 18 months. See how important that is?

Did you also notice my last photo is not a full shot of the item? That's called the teaser shot, and I highly recommend that as well. A good, clear, up close shot of a corner of the item will intrigue someone to actually click on the item and enter your shop. It really works. My views shot up tremendously when I started making this the first pic in the series of pics.

It's also important to use all 5 photos. A close-up, the set together, back, stacked, an angle, etc.


I also want to address your shipping and return policies. It's important to know that you are responsible for getting the product to the customer without damage. Insurance protects you, not the customer. No matter what your policy says: if the customer received it damaged, or doesn't receive it - PayPal or their CC company will take the funds and refund the customer. Best thing is to pare down your lengthy policies into a more customer friendly sounding and reasonable policy.

If it's buyers remorse - they don't like it or changed their mind, then yes, I would require them to pay for return shipping. That is the industry standard. But if it's damaged or they didn't receive it, you should refund shipping as well.

If you are worried about breakage, always include insurance in your shipping and handling costs, or up the price of your items a bit to self insure.

Also, as is often stated in the forums by buyers, if you don't have the international shipping listed, most people will pass your item by and not bother to contact you for a shipping price. Best to research the costs and list it in your individual listings. Also important is to have a statement that international customers are responsible for their country's customs/VAT fees.

You can't correct everything all at once. Take one thing at a time, and work through your listings as you go. I would start with Titles and tags, as relevancy is so important here on Etsy. Then start retaking your photos...etc.

Good luck - and feel free to ask more questions if you have any.

[dressurdolly2]

Oh shucks! I forgot something important! After I take my photos, I use a photo editing program to crop and brighten them. I use the one that came with my computer - Windows Live Photo Gallery - but other recommend free programs like GIMP, too.

[ValuableCr8tions]

Wow Chris, thank you.. :) You totally made me say Wow, I was not expecting you to say my shop was great! Thank you for that.. I will definitely start doing what you said about marketing.. Thank you thank you again... :))

[BeezyBeeArts]

Pattie, thanks for wonderful suggestions.

That light box is awesome, I will follow. And yes, your pictures look so bright and clear. And the idea of teasing picture is good, too. Actually, I am using that technique when I presenting my how-to-do in YOutube, with step by step description, I post pics all besides the last one, the ready product, then I link them to my store to see the end result.

Some things that you mentioned to improve.. I always did, like Windows Live Photo Gallery – I do not work without that. And each my items had a price for International , so yes, I had it written in my policies about returns and insurance things.

You are right, . I did go back and changed it now in my policies, added something new.

QUESTION: Should I refund a shipping price if the person returning a damaged product back to me?

Could you also, please see if my Return policy is well written and reasonable?

About my Tags. it is so weird. I swear, while I am Listing my new item, I am writing there maybe 15-20 keywords, and this machine never notified me that I have more than 13 tags. So, I thought, oh, fantastic, I have plenty of descriptions for Goggle. And then after reading your text, I check my items in my store, I click on Show Item Details, and it shows 2-3 tags. What should I do?
Thanks so much!

[BeezyBeeArts]

Thank you, Chris, you are so good!

About the tags, as I said to Pattie, I am adding all the tags, many of them, but then they disappear and I can see, yes, there are 2-4 tags in each my items. That is horrible. I will go back and work on that. And my titles, I will edit that, too.

As for that number - well, it is an item number; let’s say a customer wants to order a brown mosaic like that one. Which one? I m have many brown mosaics, so he will tell me the number in the title. You have better idea about it, Chris; I would love to listen you.

And I will add even more to my ABOUT page ( Shop announcement). Thank you.

[BeezyBeeArts]

Oh Chris, regarding my numbers in my titles, I wanted to do like this shop owner does,, please see this store. She has number in all her titles and thought that will make my inventory work easier.

palmstreetstudio

[DoorCountyVintage]

No I was specifically talking about your shop announcement. Your about page is completely a different animal. It is important to have that done for people visiting your shop but not big in the Google process.

I would put your item number in your description. Stating that's what it is not your title.

You are saving yourself a ton of issues by just taking the loss on refunds then raising a federal case and risking your reputation being tarnished. I have been burnt before too but that is the cost of doing business.

As far as copying other shops I would advise against it. Be unique. Make everything you.

[dressurdolly2]

Lusine....about refunds for damaged items. If it were me....I would just ask the customer to send me a picture of something damaged and then refund them the entire original amount (including shipping). There really is no reason to return something that's ruined, and for either party to pay that shipping for something that will end up in the trash.

[Former_Member]

Hi Chris!
Thanks for inviting me to join your team! Would you mind critiquing my shop and also, I've made a facebook page for my Etsy shop, I also have twitter but don't really use that. Is there another way to advertise media wise? Thanks in advance :)