Redbubble or selling through independent website

[SaorsaPhotography]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone else is selling through their own independent website or red bubble? I'm in the process of closing my etsy store and moving on.

Would love to hear your experiences :)

[EveningStreetStudios]

Hi- I sell through a squarespace site that I created and I’m very happy with it.  I have to do a bit of creative advertising to get people to find it - but it is slowly being visited  as much as my Etsy site.  However, I do find people are a bit more reluctant to purchase from my site as compared to Etsy.  So still working out those kinks.  

[PeterKPics]

I'm redesigning my website right now (www.pkphoto.net) to sell my works there as well as here on Etsy. Not sure how to get traffic there, but I'll figure that out in the future. Would love to keep in touch and trade ideas, etc. I'll check out your Red Bubble space. Best of luck

[korokstudios]

I'm thinking about leaving Etsy since I get no sales here. I've only had one total. I do better on eBay and eBid. Heck, I only get sporadic sales on sites like Redbubble and Zazzle, but I do better there than here!

[InfiniteLoveArt]

Hi I'm finding it's worth having a mix of both not least because you only get around 25% from print on demand sites...anyway still early days for me but also worth checking out teemill.com - is the most ethical of them all - however only 15 items can be used on the free version of their site - need to pay £10 a mth to upgrade & then you can design up to 500 products...hope this makes some sense!! Apologies am in a rush...as usual!! 

Regarding sales on Etsy it def helps to improve tags, titles & photos....search for ur own listings & compare wording to other similar items that come up more quickly etc...

For those selling original art I recommend Artfinder - some artists find this works v well for them...30% commission i think...

[OddArtAndThings]

I've never had a single sale on Etsy and have been on for over two years. Occasionally I have a lot of products listed, sometimes just a few, and have come to see it as just a place to put my work out there as a conversation piece for other, real markets.

I had not heard of Red Bubble before but will consider it now.

Why are you leaving Etsy?

For the longest time I've thought about just creating my own independent website to feature my artistic projects and writing - I'm thinking of producing my own books. Everyone tells me "you'll have zero sales, you have to go to the sites with big traffic like Etsy, Amazon, eBay"... But they don't seen to get it. Millions of people go to those sites and sell nothing. There are thousands of professionally published books on Amazon now for instance (traditional brick and mortar publishers) that have never received a single review from anyone...

I think there is a backlash developing against these big ecommerce websites. That is, the way to make a living (IMHO) is to just have your own site and/or deal with local shops that sell art and crafts - partner with them through consignment or whatever. That's my feeling on the matter anyway...

[UGOTMYFINGERPRINTS]

I am also frustrated by how few sales I have on Etsy! I have also looked into other places like red bubble, but haven’t done it yet...but I do plan to. One thing about red bubble that others have mentioned is that you get so little money compared to what red bubble gets...but this is how I see it...if my product sell...It is a win win...beside red bubble handles printing the t-shirt/ products...I would not have to do customer service ...they do it all...they package and send it out. My job is to only produce great art work. I could spend more time on my art and produce more know that my shop is being handled by red bubble. I also plan on self publishing my own book which you can do on createspace and they are sold on amazon...it is similar to red bubble in the fact that amazon takes care of the printing/selling/packaging/mailing...yes, they get a big cut, but I do know someone who does this and they do well financially selling their books on amazon. She told me it is do to advertising in the right places! When someone goes on Etsy and puts in a search for example: a tie dyed T-shirt...there would be an enormous amount of pages that come up. There are just so many artists trying to make a living that it is hard to be noticed and stand out! There is just so much talent out there! I hate the saying ...starving artist...but I feel I can be so true!