50% off?

[starflycreations]

Hi teammates,

I am trying to drive sales quickly. Which have you had more success at a deep discount coupon or B1G1 free? Other ideas? I was thinking 50% off over a 2-day weekend but then I started thinking if more for the same price wouldn't be a better solution... I already have free shipping on most items in my shop so I don't think there would be an advantage to that.

So here's my thoughts so far...
- extend free shipping on entire shop
- 50% off coupon
- Buy 1 Get 1 Free
- Offer a free gift of say $10 - $15 value for every purchase of $30 or more

I plan to hype whatever I decide on the social networks

Are there any other suggestions? Has anyone had great success at running a sale? Thanks for your thoughts and time!

[WilliamsGiftshop]

I don't believe in sales.
And nobody makes a profit giving a 50% discount.
Are sales your goal, or is making money?

[starflycreations]

Thanks for responding BeaG,

I need to move merchandise. True, I will not make much of a profit but I want to move merchandise while it's still viable and not taking up space. It's time for the holidays and I would like to have space to add my fall and winter creations. So, recouping my expenses and gaining a small profit would provide funds for the purchase of autumn/winter papers.

[SewMuchFabric2010]

I think I might be more likely to have a sale in February when sales are traditionally slow. You never know what you are going to sell over the holidays. I have had things I was thinking of putting in the sale bin (at shows) sell for fully price with just a slight tweak in their tags or a new photo. You have to decide what works for you though.

[AllieBlankets]

Sales have never driven sales to go up for me. The only sale that ever worked for me was my birthday sale in July, but it was advertise for over a month on my Facebook page before hand. Other sales have flopped, literally. People could see it as a desperate move as well.

If you want to move merchandise I would do a clearance section. I personally would never do one, because just because an item has sat in your shop for awhile doesn't mean it wont sell. The first two items I made for this shop almost a year ago just sold in the past week!

I think you need to take a deep breath. Your shop is going very well since you are still a fresh shop. :)

[starflycreations]

Thanks SewMuchFabric. I would love to wait as I realize my cards will eventually all sale. I love them all. I'm sure someone out there will love them too. But my dilemma is space and funds so my goal is to increase space by decreasing merchandise while increasing my available cash for paper purchases to – once again – fill my space with merchandise. I need to create. :)

I'm pretty sold on having a sale now rather than later. Just not sure which route to take.

Anyone with ideas for the best sale?

[Former_Member]

I have had sales, and no one bought anything. Currently I am running a free shipping coupon till friday - still nothing.

I give a free gift from my shop for every 10th sale.

[Former_Member]

Sales never worked for me. I had a sale to use a coupon code for 2 weeks and nobody used it. I just listed something new today and within hours it got sold. Its different for everyone. Depends who wants to buy and what urges them!

[starflycreations]

Thanks Alisa for the vote of confidence. True, a sale may not be successful but then I would not have lost anything. I was just hoping to "refresh" my shop. I would rather not add a clearance section either. It's just that I create better in a well-organized space with lots of elbow room. If I were to create my current designs, I would be hard pressed to find a place to keep them organized.

[ElectronicGirl]

Alisa Erkes from AllieBlankets says
...
If you want to move merchandise I would do a clearance section. I personally would never do one, because just because an item has sat in your shop for awhile doesn't mean it wont sell. The first two items I made for this shop almost a year ago just sold in the past week!
...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

yep. this just happened to me too. yay!

[starflycreations]

Thanks ElectronicGirl, I've sold items that have sat for a while as well. I would like to just move some merchandise now (without being labeled clearance) to make room for new designs.

There doesn't appear to be much success in having a spontaneous sale so I may have to plan this for next month and start hyping it on the social networks. Thanks to Alisa for sharing your idea experience of an advance sales notice.

Thanks to everyone that has given of their time to answer my Q.

Happy sales, everyone!

[Former_Member]

I did a giveaway contest through my blog a few years ago and that was great at both driving traffic and sales, but unfortunately not until after the contest was over.
Could you combine several cards and offer them at a lower price? I guess that is your BOGO idea. Is there a boutique you could consign your cards at in addition to using Etsy?
best!

[Former_Member]

Sales on Etsy only work when they are heavily promoted.

You would be much better off if you stepped up promotion and marketing and really worked on the SEO of your shop.,

It has become so important l to SEO for both Etsy Relevancy and for Google to get more views. There are differences between between Google and Etsy but it is possible to SEO for both.

Add SEO to every part of your shop, such as the shop title, section names as well as listings and tags, so that your shop and listings can be found on Etsy's Relevancy search and on Google.

Don't guess on the wording for keyword phrases. Start with using keyword phrases that are often used on Google to search for similar products. The keyword phrases popular on Google are also popular on Etsy.

There are web sites that keep track of keywords and how often they are used. One of these databases is from Google and is free. I suggest using Google's keyword research tool to aind the best possible keyword phrases for your listings:
adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal?forceLegacy=true

SEO for Google is a lot more than adding keyword phrases but this is the place to start.

[Former_Member]

I'd go with a sale with the prices already reduced so that the potential buyer can just make their purchase.

If you use the EtsyOnSale.com application you can use referral code TQ2B0L32XI to get $10 worth of free credits

[Former_Member]

I had excellent results with Etsy on Sale for my Summer sale but now I need to end it. The beginning was much better than the end. I guess it attracted a lot more people when it was new. I also have a 20% off coupon for anyone who asks or sees it but it is rarely used. I guess people are not really aware that some shops offer discounts. The Summer sale, though, was well worth it.

[Former_Member]

Sales don't usually work well for me either. I had a 20% off coupon for labor day weekend and the sales I made here and off of Etsy did not include the coupon code!

[starflycreations]

Lichen, great ideas about bundling! I've also considered searching a local boutique. Thank you.

Mary, Thank you for bringing up SEO. It's been a while since I updated keywords. I will do that!

crochetgal and Sandra, I've used Etsy On Sale before but didn't put any promotion behind it so it didn't really drive many sales. I plan to try it again in the future. Thank you.

Thank you! I will start by revamping my SEO. Then tackle a strategy for a sale. At this point I will probably combined the bundling idea and deep discount for a short period of time with advance notice provided.

I appreciate everyone that took time to respond. I ended up with a lot of useful ideas and considerations.

Etsy Success team rocks!

[WolfandFirefly]

I like BOGO myself. :)

[WintergreenDesign]

Perhaps if you are just wanting to move all listed merchandise you should just reduce your prices and see if more sales come in? I like the idea of bundling as well...

I've run a couple of coupon codes in the past and they have been moderately successful but that was for CIJ and it was heavily promoted throughout Etsy which I think helped a lot.

Good luck

[starflycreations]

Christa, I would rather not reduce my every-day prices on the cards as they are priced correctly for the amount of work and quality. However, a quick super-weekend special is more of what I had in mind and just needed brainstorming ideas on what kind of sale would work best based on everyone's input. I agree with you about bundling! Thanks for your thoughts!

[Former_Member]

Ditto on what Mary stated about SEO.

Also, you have to work on your titles. First 3 words are the most important on searches and titles like this one, will not get much traffic since people do not search for "CUT PAPER PET" when searching for a portrait of their pet.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/89899115/cut-paper-pet-silhouette-custom-multi

That was just an example but you have other ones very similar that may not be getting search results - which means not much sales.
Don't do such a drastic sale especially if your not getting the traffic or views in your shop.

[Former_Member]

Just realized most if not all of your titles do not have the word "card" within the first 3 words. Just changing your titles to have 'card' in them within the first 3 words may make a difference.

[starflycreations]

LOL! Pandi, good point. I've always known about the first three words and had not even realized that card was not within them. Thanks for your time and thoughts!

[Former_Member]

I love your stuff, and I would suggest doing a buy 3 get 1 free or some such.... I think 50% or BOGO sounds too desperate & mankes poeple wonder about what's wrong with your stuff. Most poeple I see doing a giveaway like this generally do a buy 2 get 1, buy 10 get 1, etc.

P.S. i would also show your custom pet cutouts in a frame, to define taht the merchandise isn;t a card but a portrait. The first thing I thought, after seeing your avitar & then seeing the pricve of the first thing was OMG - that miuch for a card!?!!!

[starflycreations]

Nicolette, LOL! You're absolutely right about the frame. I never thought about the possible confusion. Great ideas about the B2G1 also. Thanks for your thoughts and comments!