General Shop Questions/Critique

[Former_Member]

I did a TON of researching before actually opening up my shop but everything seems different now that it is actually open. I'd like some advice on my prices and listings. Everything is custom made so I'm afraid to make too many listings since, until I get some orders, they will all be the same pictures over and over again. I'm worried that my prices are set too high but they are substantially lower than what I have sold them for in the past.

I've been making these for a number of years but have just now had enough time to devote to trying to make them. I have never been able to find anything even remotely similar to this so I don't even really know what to call them. Maybe my listing titles aren't good enough? The close as I come are ones made from actual elements - not ones from the person's actual name (if that even makes sense).

Your advice would be wonderful to have - how many listings should I have for an all custom shop? Are the titles/tags ok? Does the price point seem too high? Do you even understand what I'm selling based on the description?

[PressSend]

Hi Catherine,

I'm new too so I don't have loads of advice but maybe you could put canvas or painting in the title as people are more likely to search for that. Also, instead of having just 'geeky' or 'science' as tags you could try 'geeky art' or 'science art' or something like that. I think your items are original and I'd pay that amount for a custom item.

Good luck with your shop!

[Former_Member]

Hi and welcome, Catherine!

The biggest thing, and I hate to say it, but you really do need more listings. Think of each of your listings as another "ping" out into internet world and a chance to get more people in. Can you offer something similar? Different sizes? Try to think about ways to tweak.

Also, I wouldn't start your listing name with 'custom order.' The first three words are the most important, so starting them with Canvas Periodic Table for Baby or something similar might be more effective.

Since you're selling something very specific, I'd recommend advertising heaviliy off of Etsy. Since this is such a huge market, you're going to need to find a subset for your speciality.

Finally, I would definitely recommend you check this out: http://amandajocrafts.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/on-helpful-tips-for-etsy-sellers/
especially for the section on tags.

Best of luck!

[BeautifulByCharlene]

Catherine,

I think your concept is cute. My thoughts are these:

I don't think people work well with too many choices. I would offer several variations that they can pick from and make listings for each variation.

It is against Etsy's terms of service to sell add-ons. So, make additional listings for artwork with the add-on included.

You need more items in your shop. You have four grains of sand on a very large beach. Hard to be found with so little stock.

Show the back of the product so people can see how to hang it up.

Consider the same concept but at a lower pricepoint - maybe one letter and a smaller canvas.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for the feedback! I had NO idea that add-ons were against Etsy's terms. I've actually had to buy add-ons from another shop for a previous purchase - that is where I came up with the idea.

I have been working on getting smaller sizes for a smaller price point ready - so they will be coming soon!

I actually am paying for impressions right now but out of 700 I've only gotten 1 viewing. Kind of disappointing.

Thanks for the advice on the titles and tags - I'm in the process of changing them now and I'll see how that works.

Sidenote - it doesn't cost money each time you edit a listing does it? Because I'm constantly editing them. I hope not.

[Former_Member]

I suggest reading up on titles. When I think of the word "canvas," I think of the fabric, like in totebags and burlap, not necessarily paintings. I think something like Periodic Table Painting Personalized Custom Order might be a better fit for what you are selling. I know you want to do custom orders, and as someone else pointed out, having more listings helps your shop come up in more searches. I would suggest having a listing for each type of painting you offer (i.e. each size, each color scheme, etc). Not only will you have more options for people to choose from, but it will be less confusing for shoppers.

Also, I'm not sure the buy one get one sale is all that enticing. If I were going to buy one for a friend who just had a baby, I'd probably just need one, unless they had twins. I suggest focusing on what you make, rather than focusing on deals.

I notice your shop announcement immediately directs people away from your shop and to your Facebook page. I don't think this is a good use of this valuable real estate.

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone,

We're Le Vixen Designs and are brand spanking new to the team, thank you for letting us join.

We would really love for some constructive criticism of of store. We get a lot of store and listing views yet struggle to get steady sales.

Any feedback would really be appreciated. Thank you!

Our store can be found here: www.etsy.com/shop/levixendesigns

[Former_Member]

Amanda - just read your blog post and did a ton of updating. I think I'm going to work on this the rest of the night to get some things up to par. Thank you so much! Like I said, I did a ton of stuff beforehand and now that I have the actual shop I feel overwhelmed with all of the information I have tried to figure out and all of the information I have yet to find and figure out. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction :)

[AuntBeasBling]

Hi Amanda,
Thanks for the advice and the link. I checked it out-it was very helpful!

[Former_Member]

sara - I didn't even realize that the fb link directed them away. Thanks for your input!

And the bogo 50% intention was for twins. I'm in the process of updating my tags and I'll include that in there.

Thanks again!