Business Chat

[#1]

If you have any questions or pointers to give relating to the business of running your Etsy shops, please post those here.

[CSavelsCollectibles]

@Janine, there is no need to close up, times are hard for everyone right now so do hang on in there. It is clear though that niche and highly branded stores do best on Etsy. If you look at theblackapple, the highest selling store on Etsy, you'll see that everything she does has a common style. I know this is easier to do with art but it is one of the reasons she is successful.

The other thing to consider, which @Dayyz mentioned above, is that she looks at what sells and what doesn't. Make sure you study trends and check out what your customers really want and then try and source those items for them. It's hard, I know, but really necessary to keep going.

[DaydreamingDayz]

I'm keeping a few items that don't sell well but do manage to get views, hearts and including in treasuries. I was told they could be luring customers in and then they could be buying other things instead.

So it works out as a low-cost advert. :)

[CathySavelsArt]

@Dayz, I have a listing like that in my Eureka Guides store, it's just $3, a bit of a loss leader as it's called. It brings in views so I think it's a good idea from that perspective.

[DaydreamingDayz]

Cathy, haha yes I forgot they were called a loss leader. I have been thinking of Final fantasy 7 and referring to them as chocobo lure. :P

[CathySavelsArt]

That's a good one! Haha!

[GypsyEarthJewelry]

I've just recently started posting on Craftori. From what I can tell, I don't have any etsy listing views coming from Craftori. I've noticed some sites fall under direct traffic - does Craftori have a specific listing (from traffic under shop stats)?

[Former_Member]

Hi Kristel, I uploaded some of my etsy listings on Craftori too last week (when I saw the request to do that is this team discussion). and thusfar I've gotten just one 1 view coming from Craftori site to my Etsy shop. It has indeed a separate traffic listing (like pinterest and so on), so you can see when and how often it happens.

[CSavelsCollectibles]

@Kristel, yes, you'll see a link from Craftori in your stats when you receive traffic. The more populated categories like jewelry, accessories and vintage do get less traffic. We do go through the site each day and remove sold items when we find them and all items expire after 4 months to stop items getting buried. As it gets busier, we may have to shorten this time.

[GypsyEarthJewelry]

Thanks! I guess I should have just waited a bit before posting because now I see some views from Craftori. Thanks again for answering my question. :)

[DaydreamingDayz]

I've started posting a few items too but am not expecting anything just yet. :)

[CSavelsCollectibles]

@Dayz, it can take a short while. I do try and give publicity to all pages but I tend to wait until the author pages are worth visiting. People who just upload 1 item are not likely to do so well since I don't want to drive traffic to a page with just one item. It's not interesting enough for our shoppers.

[DaydreamingDayz]

Eureka,

That makes sense. It's also worth waiting until they fill it up a bit in case they post one and then never come back. A UK team that I run has a lot of inactive members and promoting them is time that could be better spent promoting active members. :)

[LuxeWreaths]

I have been getting views from Craftori. I am selective about what post...only my faves.

[DaydreamingDayz]

Hollie, that's what I'm trying to do at the moment and as I have been rethinking my shop I haven't got a huge amount of favourites right now. :P

[MadeByHind]

Hello guys!

I`ve been on Etsy for quite sometime and I only sold two items, both were same product, so I am wondering why my shop doesnt sell other products. If its quality problem or my photos are not very clear or I am I over pricing the items. I wish I could have some one reviewing my shop and giving me a honest feedback so I can improve my work.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatureWhisper?ref=si_shop

[CSavelsCollectibles]

@Hinda, one of the reasons you are not getting sales is because you get very few views. The issue is with your titles, tags and descriptions. In order to make sales you need to get traffic and lots of it.

I offer critiques in my store but you would need to send me a message first as I don't have them listed right now.

[FlossFlowersandCraft]

Hinda, I started getting more views as I built up my inventory. Work on your titles and tags - your photos look nice.

I am finally getting some traffic from Craftori, also needed to have more items there to get views.

[DixSterling]

Hinda, Quick comment -- good photos but I think your beaded jewelry would show up better on a plain background.

[MomsantiquesNthings]

@kristel & Dayz

just wait and keep posting on the team threads, activities, I get a lot of views from craftori on my stats, as much, and sometimes more than pinterest

[ReTainReMakeReNew]

Hi all

Feeling very depressed and blue and wanted to share in the hope that someone can give me a little light to head for....

I opened shop in early June and have sold one item to date, have had a critique done and worked on SEO, titles, tags, etc etc. One of the main issues that keeps coming up is the shipping costs.

Now, I knew it was costly to send stuff internationally from Spain (where I now live) but hadn't really worked it out to the last penny!

Well, on the advice of several different people, i have just started to do so and realised that my business is not going to happen - not from Spain anyway!

To ship a pair of mosaic coasters to US will cost nearly €30.00 - about $40! now given that i am charging about $18.00 - how will this work?.

It has been suggested that i increase the price of the items and reduce the shipping costs, but whichever way you work it - it is waaaayyyy too much to expect people to pay for coasters!

Other items get worse - the heavier, the costlier! Not that I've had many orders anyway, If I were to put the real shipping cost on the items, it would make my stuff extortionate - even though I'll be getiing hardly anything for the hours I put in - a disaster!

Right now i feel very upset!

Is there anyone who works from Spain out there and how do you get round this?

Ganev

[CSavelsCollectibles]

@Ganev, what kind of tariff are you using? Often, the Post Office will only give you the most expensive option. I myself had to do a lot of investigation on the Post Office website (in France) to find a cheaper option. I now ship using a tariff that does not include tracking or insurance for lower value items. It is much cheaper than using the normal parcel tariff and it is used by businesses sending merchandise.

Of course I don't know if there is an equivalent in Spain but do check online. Otherwise, make an appointment at the local post office and see if you can talk to a manager who should be able to help you. Lots of businesses have this issue so there has to be a way around it.

[DaydreamingDayz]

Ganev,

Congrats on your first sale. Getting one in the first 6 weeks is not bad going at all. I think mine took about a month but I have heard it take some people a lot longer.

What I was told when I was new was that confidence to buy can take more feedback and time on Etsy as a whole. I was advised to buy a couple of things to give and receive feedback to show I was part of the community as this helps. Then once I had 5 feedback I started to notice small sales trickling in.

I did also run a few starter discounts to encourage people and this helped gain feedback and repeat customers.

As far as shipping goes I don't know much about the cost of shipping from Spain but I do know that packaging can make a big difference.

Here in the UK the price can depend on both the size and weight of the parcel. This means you really have to consider the size / shape of boxes and envelopes. Some sellers have changed the size / shape of some of their items too to fit these restrictions and keep the shipping cheaper.

[ReTainReMakeReNew]

Hi Eureka

There are 2 tarriffs, one is priority and one economical. I got this information from the national website. The economy rate without insurance etc is about €24.00 for same package. So it's either €24 economy or €30 priority. There does not seem to be any 'flat rate' or 'under a particular weight' type of thing.

I have been researching today and from what I have read this is a real problem - to the extent that people will drive across the border to France just to post things. Unfortunately, I'm about 600k from there so not possible!

But thanks for the tip re speaking to PO direct to see if there is anything they can offer. I will look into this.

Hi Dayz, great to 'meet' a fellow Brit!

I take your point re trust and have purchased a few things, will purchase a few more!

Also great tip about starter discounts, maybe I'm not exactly a 'starter' now but was thinking of maybe an end of summer sale, what do you think?

Yes it's the same here in Spain about the size and weight of the parcel - both make a difference. I intend to go to the PO next week to see if they can advise.

I guess my problem is that mosaics weigh so darned much! Maybe I will need to find some other line that is cheaper to ship! Also, because my main thing is to upcycle, I can't really organise what's going to be on the tiling table next - it depends on what I can find and pick up. But already I am keeping the items as small as I can even though what I really want to mosaic is furniture - never mind!

Thanks for all your input guys, I am feeling a bit more positive and won't give up just yet!

[CSavelsCollectibles]

@Ganev, Do check again with the PO just in case they have some special business rates. I also wondered if it may be worth you opening an account with a courrier company. You would need to send a certain amount of parcels every month but maybe with the furniture, this could be worth looking into. They do very favorable rates as long as you have an account with them.

[ReTainReMakeReNew]

Eureka - thanks for the ideas, I will look into the account with a courier too, hopefully it will be something I can do once I get a few more sales!