Just wondering how long you leave an item in your shop (one that is not selling) ... and do you lower the price?? How long do you give it?? Does it depend on the piece?? What do you do??
I had some older stock that never sold... Tophatter was new at the time and was getting a lot of attention here in the forums, so I tried it with all those sold items I wanted to move. They all sold, some for multiple bids and I got rid of them instead of giving them away for free. At that time, my Etsy shop got more attention and I even made more sales than normal.
I did end giving up on Tophatter when I ran of that older stock and it became so hard to schedule anything.
When item views stop for a certain listing, I mess with the tags and titles, sometimes update the pictures too. Usually this helps a little. Recency does play a role in searches too, and I notice that when an item only has about 1 month left it really doesn't get seen as much. At that point, if I think it has a good chance at selling, I renew the listing. Otherwise I just let it expire and move on. Maybe re-list it later. I haven't been working with my shop long enough to know how many times I'm willing to re-list an item. I'm sure it depends on the item. I don't drop my prices though. I make too little profit to afford lowering prices. :) Just feel it out with each listing I think. At a certain point I think I would just give an unwanted item away to a friend, relative, or charity. Some people do silent auctions, never tried that.
I dont really have too much of a problem with items not selling. Everntually something sells that has been setting there for a while and that always surprises me. :) Sometimes I will give an item away if I really think it doesn't have a chance. There are ideas in my head that when put took hook dont materialize the way I expected. lol
Natasha...'cause your stuff is SOOOO cute (& reasonably priced)!! My granddaughter LOVES her little "chicken & egg" (remember?) ... I love the sock monkey tote. Your items are DARLING!! :)
Judy, Tophatter is just a few months old and already it isn't what it used to be anymore... It is nearly impossible to schedule somethung now, the number of auctios is growing a lot, and it filled with sellers fast, and they seem to reward only those sellers that sell a lot with scheduled listings.
Natasha...'cause your stuff is SOOOO cute (& reasonably priced)!! My granddaughter LOVES her little "chicken & egg" (remember?) ... I love the sock monkey tote. Your items are DARLING!! :) ************************************************************************************* Thanks Judy, I am so glad she still likes it. One of my favorite things I've made so far. I've got more sock monkey themed items planned. They are so pupular and fun to make!
Veronica, thank you for the warning. I have heard that. I'm glad it worked out for you in the beginning. I still think my best bet is continuing to take my items to craft shows (and perhaps feature the 'older' items with a huge SALE sign). THEN, whatever doesn't sell by perhaps the end of the summer will get put aside and taken apart. I love the challenge of taking something old and making it new again!!
Natasha...I've always been attracted to sock monkeys, lol. I bought one for my granddaughter last year for her 1st b'day. And I knitted a little jumper for her AND for her sock monkey (MATCHING)!!! You would have really appreciated it!! :)
My plan is to have many more items in my shop than I have now -- apparently when it comes to being found on Etsy, the size of your shop matters! I don't take anything down, I renew when they expire, and am trying to come up with new items.
Jean, that's great. Yes, I believe if you leave it there long enough (and it's titled and tagged well) ... EVENTUALLY it will sell. At least, you hope it will. I will only take things apart if I see there have been little to no views...& I have a different 'vision' for it. It has only happened once (so far) so like I said, I'm very patient!
This shop is new. I might not have many sells, but i'm thinking about selling popular items that sell in etsy instead of "being true to my self as an artist. After all, I do need to make an income off of this. The rest of my goods, I would rather keep them until I die of old age than to devalue their cost. I don't overprice, I sell them for what they are worth.
P.S I have a lovely flow of traffic on my expensive shelf sitting items in my other shop, so they are not going anywhere. One actually sold 2 weeks ago ^_^
