Exceeding expectations!

[Former_Member]

My first year on Etsy is exceeding all of my expectations!

I just made my 350th sale and I still have a month and a week until my one-year anniversary here!

Figured a +/- about my learning here might be relevant on this momentous occasion.

Positive ways my expectations were exceeded:
+My original goal was 100 sales my first year. Then I upped it to 250. Then 350. Now I'll say I'd like 400 by January 24!!
+These forums and several teams have been INCREDIBLY helpful. In general, Etsy sellers are a very generous and caring community.
+I'm learning and building on skills I never imagined I'd take on.
+Etsy provides a relatively user-friendly platform to easily get started with e-commerce with very little money to start up
+This is a LOT of work, but I am really, really enjoying it.

And the not-so-positive:
-I definitely didn't realize how much internal politics there were here!
-Like many brand new sellers, there was a short time when I first opened shop that I thought 'if I build it, they will come'. HA!
-There is a STEEP learning curve to things like SEO and marketing, and Etsy constantly changing things doesn't help sellers who are new to the game.
-I'm not as comfortable being my own boss as I need to be if I want this to grow.
-It would be REALLY great if there was some kind of mentorship program here, whether facilitated by Etsy or not. I tried to set up a meetup in my area about 6 months in, and quickly shocked myself realizing I was the most experienced of any of us!

Any glaring plus or minus to your initial expectations about selling on Etsy?

[WhatCandySays]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/62704583/congratulations-large-milk-chocolate

350 sales!!

I know it is not easy in Plants and Edibles catagory!!

[Former_Member]

Go Gena! Excellent first year!!

Positives:
-Inspiration is everywhere here..."my hands are jealous of my brain"
-Teams are amazingly helpful

Negatives:
-So much mass-production masquerading as hand-made..unfair playing field

Surprises:
-That it's so different from Ebay
-That most of my family and friends have never heard of Etsy

[Former_Member]

That's so awesome! Congrats! Seriously, great job because an Etsy shop like yours must take a lot of patience and hard work.

Agree with most of your positives/negatives. Plus a few more:

Positive
-I LOVE being my own boss!
-The feeling of satisfaction after an order is complete

Negative
-Not too many people know of Etsy
-Very strange wave of success-sometimes my listing are high up in the search; sometimes they're down low

Keep it up Gena! And excellent profile picture choice by the way-it would draw anyone to your shop!

[Former_Member]

Surprises:
-That it's so different from Ebay
-That most of my family and friends have never heard of Etsy
------

Janet, so true! The fact that Etsy is not a household name (yet) means there is tremendous room for growth.

[Artgirl56]

Gena, that's fantastic! A big CONGRATS!!!!

Every time I look at your avatar, I drool.

[Former_Member]

Building your reputation is important and that's only accomplished by having top-notch customer service. Etsy is kind of a weird situation, because I *still* struggle with my prices (which are about to go up yet again in January), but at the same time I think that if you're a brand new seller you simply can't price too high or that reputation will be really hard to build. I agree reading and contributing to the teams is super important.

Congrats! :-)

[BeljaysFelt]

Congrats Gena! Shame I don't live on your continent, your delicacies look fantastic!

For me
Positives:
That there are so may helpful, friendly people here

Negatives:
That some great selling tools are not avaiable to sellers outside the US (but I hope they will be eventually)

Surprises:
How good I feel when someone convos back or leaves feedback saying how much they liked something I have made. I don't think I will ever get over that thrill.

[Former_Member]

@ Belle:
oh yes convos and feedbacks from happy customers are the best. just had one myself after i sent a bracelet to the US. to my surprise it arrived within the time that was listed on the HP of the austrian postal service and my customer was so happy.
things like that really motivate to keep working and improving one´s shop don´t they??
i have not even made it to my 6 months anniversary but what surprised me the most was that people bought my bracelets and that there are actually not that many sellers out there that sell the same *fingers crossed it stays that way*. and of course the helpfulness of other people so you can improve your own shop, that´s top!

[PaperDotCo]

Congrats Gena! That is amazing!

Positive:
- A lot of good information on the forums & teams by Etsians.
- Feels great when people from so many different countries buy your handcrafted products


Negative:
- Just 1 person wearing so many hats in running the business takes it's toll.
- sometimes I spend a few days at the sewing machine, without getting out of the house or talking to any people. (But then being my own boss balances it out.)
- No Mentorship

[Former_Member]

I could copy Gena on all the positive things - except for the sale goals, I'm not anywhere near her level, but still very happy with how I've been doing so far after six months :) I love selling here and the teams are great, learned so much from them!

Can come up with two things I find negative:
-sometimes it feels like Etsy's priority is handicraft and artists much more than vintage sellers, many features and tips are directed to them and we're more of a side kick tagging along...
-as a seller from a small European country I also feel many great Etsy-features, -tools and -tips are for US-sellers only.

[diarysketches]

your cake stuffs look amazing!!! congrats!! I love that etsy brings alot of traffic and viewers I would otherwise not have

[Former_Member]

Congratulations! And wishing U the very best 2013:)

Negatives:
*No Etsy telephone support (which is just one reason why I don't do DC)
*Etsy enhancements are sometimes short of what is needed, such as offering variations but not including price variations.
*Forums/teams can be addictive, should be working but on the forums
*Having to make every single little or big decision

Positives:
*Flip side -- love being my own boss
*Online labs, forums/teams are great places to learn
*Sellers are more often positive, supportive and share info/knowledge
*Relatively low start up cost which makes it a good place to start an eCommerce biz

[TerraRhapsody]

Congratulations! That's a fantastic number. I've only just reached over 400 sales this holiday season after being here since 2009, but I've only started really working hard on my shop for the last couple of years, and am only just beginning to understand SEO etc from people in these forums- lots of support, which is lovely.

Positives-
- Support from other sellers in the forums and the friendships I've made with people across the globe as a result is just awesome.
- I've gained interest through etsy to have some of my work displayed in a local gallery, which is a real boost
- I used to sell a lot on ebay, and etsy is vastly better for selling handmade items

Negatives-
- Etsy is not so well known outside of the US, so I find I get few local sales. Shipping times and services to international addresses could be better.
- I've had a few comments from new-comers to etsy about how confusing parts of the website are to them, such as a buyer that was looking for a local seller, and the parameters he put in for a local search kept changing and disappearing as he searched
- Feedback is difficult to get on the whole. There are quite a few buyers- as well as sellers- that never give feedback. A move obvious system might be more helpful
- I would love to see something like direct checkout made available to international sellers soon!

[LaurasPaperCreations]

Congratulations on a wonderful year of sales!

Your items look divine - unfortunately I'm vegan so I can only enjoy them by looking at them - LOL!

[sewbigkeepsake]

One thought on getting the word out about ETSY. I include a convoy to buyers thanking them for shopping ETSY. I too have found that often people have not heard of ETSY and think we all do what we can to promote the shopping experience.

A convoy, I received from a customer just yesterday, said that it was his first purchase and that he was impressed so far. Everything we do is a reflection on all shops.

Congrats on such a great year....way to go.

[Former_Member]

Congrats! I love the names of your items. They are very clever!

[Former_Member]

I've also read that it's extremely difficult to photograph food. And your photos make my stomach growl. Fabulous!

[Former_Member]

What Kitty said regarding feedback: YES, if you are accustomed to Ebay, or Amazon you expect to get feedback on each sale, because those sites remind each buyer to leave feedback after each sale

What Jess said about people unfamiliar with Etsy: YES, many of my customers are first timers to Etsy, finding it by a Google search not for Etsy but rather for a specific item, and I try to go out of my way to show them personalized service, to help every seller here!

[DorothyJanePaperie]

Congratulations! Wonderful! Etsy is, for me, an amazing opportunity and a blessing.

[Former_Member]

@Laura - I'm hoping to add some vegan treats in the new year, along with more gluten-free options and maybe some sugar-free. Any ideas of things you'd like to see??

[Crafts2Love]

Congrats!

I can only second that a more obvious feedback leaving option could be a plus.

After over a year and a half I am still in need of mentoring myself, but feel I know more than my friends-sellers already, so I am a half-baked mentor to them...

Your photos make my mouth water...

[Former_Member]

Thanks Nadia! I'm still learning product photography. It's hard with my measly point-and-shoot and lack of much natural light in my apartment!