How do they do it??

[#1]

So, tonight I've been doing a bit of research - in other words... I'm spying on fellow Etsians LOL. I often visit the shops of the most successful sellers (acording to Craftcount) and look to see what they're doing that I'm not that I can improve on.
Tonight, I came across a shop that has only been open just over a year (as in a few weeks over) and all ready they've got upwards of 29,000 sales.
Now, if these things were supplies or graphics or something, I could see it. But they aren't. They are very intricate using a craft I KNOW takes a while to do. So, how on earth, with just over a year under their belts do they manage to average 237 sales PER MONTH?
When I see stuff like this I cannot help but wander, is there more than one of them? Are they where santa's elfs work the other 11 months out of the year? I have been open since August of 2010 and killed myself to get just under 500 sales this year (409) to be exact and hoping for that magic number before 12/31.

[Former_Member]

Peacock, I too often like to search out other etsy shops....

http://www.etsy.com/teams/6561/admin-makers/members

these are very interesting. I would like to STATE specific shops that have interested and peeked my interest as of late...."charm stringers" but I'm not aloud to mention shop names.

Any how, its very curious how well the admin shops do....and their counter egos shops......might want to take a look see. Might want to check their tag usage......

[Former_Member]

Could someone private message me with the shop name please? I have been over the moon just getting 13 orders from Oct - present. Before that my last sale was in Aug. I think becoming active in the Etsy community has helped increase traffic to my shop. I have also added home/Christmas decor and supplie to my inventory. That is wher my sales have come from recently. Jewelry is a hard market to break into. I need to study some successfull shops to see what I need to change.
Good luck and many sales to everyone.

[WaveofLife]

Could someone also send me a msg with the name??

[Former_Member]

I must admit...I am a little baffled why supplies do so well here.
I often buy other supplies...wine bottle stoppers, chains, charms kinds of things. Etsy is to often the most expensive place to get them from. Unless I only need like 5 of something and in a hurry...im hitting up DHgate, ebay etc.

Guess my point is...fellow sellers...price out your supplies.

No offense to supplier sellers here, but I have a biz to run too.

[Former_Member]

Well, I do remember now (sorry, brain fart) reading about collectives or partners in the Etsy legalities and it is allowed. I think it is so wonderful what she's managed to accomplish in such a short time. AND... I just thought to myself.. I bet her views are going to astronomical today LOL.

I messaged her on facebook and asked if she'd be interested in mentoring someone after the hollidays. I would LOVE to just learn.... I really REALLY want to own a brick and mortar store within five years and I want my Etsy to be EXTREMELy successful so I will listen and learn and research and read and follow or stalk as much as I need to LOL.

[collageOrama]

Completely off topic, but here's a list of the top sellers (in terms of # of sales) in handmade on Craftcount's site:

http://craftcount.com/category.php?cat=3

I'm sure one can figure it out base on the clues.

One should note that the real top sellers on Etsy may be pretty low on that list, or not on it all. If you sell 300 items that cost $1,000 each in a year, you won't even make a blip on craftcount.

[Former_Member]

First, I think it's just good business practice to see what the competition is doing to compare price points (if you have the same market) and to learn from other businesses--but not to copy. Brick and mortar stores, service businesses, etc. do it all the time. One of the first steps in writing a business plan is to research your market and similar businesses.

Second, when looking at other shops in your category or some other category that appear really successful, I think it's important to note not just how many sales they have but also . . .
*price points (are they doing commodity selling--quantity over quality to offer lower prices. Do they really give detailed descriptions of their product?)
*how many items are listed (some people open with a large inventory)
*are they really new to selling online or otherwise
*are they selling a finished product vs made to order or both (some listings will show pictures of materials to be used
*Of course, they may be a collective, a family or just have help.
*How much advertising are they doing--perhaps they had taken a loan or had money saved up or some other 'bank role' to pay for professional marketing (maybe they have a son/relative with skills and they're doing a trade! Maybe you have a family member who could help with this too? Marketing takes a lot of time to do it right.)

I use to feel bad when I looked at other shops that appeared to be doing so well compared to what I was doing. So I narrowed my comparisons to those who appeared to have a similar market and price point both on and off Etsy--including established department stores, etc. I now also take the long view of slowly, but steadily building my biz

I don't know the store your discussing, but even if I saw it I would be asking a lot of questions, not just how many sales. I don't mean it isn't good to learn from that store!

[Former_Member]

Barb I agree. One sale a week would thrill me.

Of course I would love to have more but having trouble with making items for craft shows , open houses and etsy.

Think I lack organization and help

[Former_Member]

@mattD . . . wow, just saw the list. You're right also about quantity vs price.

I

[1AEON]

oh yeah! about quantity vs price! very important!

[Former_Member]

I saw a website that calls out Etsy sellers that have similar things to Alibaba and question how they are selling items that fast and the turn around on them. I would rather make a little bit of sales but be honest then lie and be a top shop.

[Former_Member]

That's what you can accomplish when you have a great product and your own staff! :)

[Former_Member]

I think another thing to note as well is that when looking at the total number of sales.... even Etsy counts each ITEM Sold as a sale credited to our over all numbers, when in fact, as many of my own sales have been... there are multiple items sold to a single person. So in all honesty, that is a total sale.

Now about that staff..... I have a husband and some children... hmmmmm..... (wheels turning LOL)