How long until you got your first sale?

[Former_Member]

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone can tell me on average how long they had their shop open before they had received their first sale, I have had my shop for a month now and have not sold anything yet, I am wondering if I am doing something wrong, or if my items just are't nice enough or if this is normal because I am new.
I am spending quiet a bit on promoting my items and although I am getting some views - no sales yet,
any advise?
Thanks for you time
Angie

[Former_Member]

Mine was a little over 2 weeks after I opened.

[PendulumsbyMarlaina]

I didn't get my first sale till October and I had opened in June. Other things also factor in. When I opened in June I got busy with summer and I kind of neglected my shop, but in the middle of Sept I got back to work with updating photos, adding more items, joining a team to critique my shop, promoting my shop etc. and 3 weeks later I got a sale.

It takes a lot of time and patience thats for sure. Just keep trucking..Unfortunatly January is very slow around here for a lot of us...ick.

[Former_Member]

I opened in late Sept and my first sale was not until beginning Dec! So hang in there. Join teams, promote your stuff and other people's, circle people, make treasuries, these all help with views. I haven't looked at your shop, but I would think you need hundreds of views before you make one sale.

[Former_Member]

It was about a month before I had my first sale. In terms of having success on Etsy, I'm finding that it's helpful to populate your shop with as many items as you have time to make. I started at about 15 items and I've worked up to over 30 so far. If you are in a competitive field such as jewelry or weddings, it can be hard to be found when you are selling one item among thousands. Here's a few suggestions I've found to be helpful:

- Try to figure out keywords that are common search terms in the Etsy search box and then use those keywords to title your items.

- Work on boosting your listings up with as many strong keywords as possible. Think about how an everyday user would enter a search item if they are looking for jewelry, and then label your items after that

- Find a focus for your shop and then capitalize on that. This has been a hard one for me because I love to do so many different things, but if you can find a focus, then you can list many items within that focus. This increases your chances of being seen in search results. If you list items in a ton of different categories, you might get lost in the mix.For example, I did a quick search for "sea glass pendant" and there are over 10,000 results. If I only list 2 items in that 10,000, it might be awhile before someone finds me.

- Can you think of any way to diversify your product?

- I don't recommend spending money on ads. This is a personal choice, but many people have been trained to ignore ads and so the money you are spending might get you some views, but perhaps not a ton of buyers.

- Think of ways to promote your product outside of Etsy. Think of Etsy as a little dot on the map of the entire internet. If people don't know where to find you or have any connecting points between a blog and your Etsy shop, they will be less likely to find you. Try pinning items on Pinterest to get some links going to your shop. Or if you have a blog, promote your blog like crazy and promote your shop on your blog as well.

Those are a few thoughts I have! I'm sure there's tons more great advice out there as well. Best of luck and stay positive :) Don't give up!

[Former_Member]

Hi Angie, I think it took me about a month too, so no worries. I looked at your shop and have a couple of suggestions that you can implement that might help.
Your items look really great and are reasonably priced. I would suggest having a white background with your pictures, that might make them a little bit lighter too. Some of them are quite busy, be careful that you don't "overstyle" the pictures if you know what I mean. I noticed when I looked at your very first listing, you didn't use all the tags. Definitely use all 13 tags you are allowed. For this listing you could add: Blue, silver, heart, gift for her, for example. I don't know if "handmade" is necessary in your tags since you are already in the handmade section. So, that's just my two cents here. I think you have some great items, they look awesome. Just hang in there, keep it up and the sales will come. Good Luck

[Former_Member]

All very good advise, Thanks everyone!
I will be patient and maybe make some changes, and just keep trying :)

[Former_Member]

I think your timing may have something to do with it. If you opened a week before Christmas it was a little late for Christmas buyers and after Christmas I have to assume, though I am new too, that many shops experience a slump. Discouraging of course, but I think it's a matter of patience, and maybe a little dark chocolate now and then for a boost.

[Former_Member]

Yes, chocolate always helps

[Former_Member]

Lol chocolate make it WAYYYY better !

[maryfrancessmith]

I cheated. As my items are expensive, I was thought buyers might be afraid, with previous sales, so I has a friend make purchase. Within a week I had several buyers.

[Former_Member]

Well, for me it was only a couple of days, which was in Feburary of last year, and then I sold one in march, none in april, and 3 in may. I haven't sold one since then. But I think for most people it's normally a few weeks.

[spacefem]

I sold to one of my blog friends two days after I opened my shop.

I had my first random sale 12 days after I opened.

Honestly if you've had your shop a month, that means you opened right when people were getting done with Christmas shopping and now January is your first real month? I hate to say this but you picked the WORST first month to have! January is slooow. Don't lose patience though, have stuff to post in February and I bet you'll be fine.

[SerenityInChains]

We had our first sale 3 days after we opened, via the Pounce option (sadly it is no longer available, but it was a option to view and buy from just opened shops). But, it was several weeks after that, that we got our next sale.

It varies from one shop to another, based on your Relevancy, SEO, Target audience, Niche, promotion techniques, and a million other things. I highly recommend reading the Seller Hand book, and joining teams to help you get relevant information and improve your shop (Like the SEO For Beginners team, or the Critique team). Make your pictures as stunning (and as simple) as possible. Make them BRIGHT. You want to make sure they stand out in a sea of similar jewelry.

Make sure you tag and title clearly with key words that the average shopper would use to find your products. If you have a hard time doing this, have a friend 'shop' for your jewelry. Give them basic info like "it's a necklace with a piece of sea glass in it" and have them log their search terms, use these as key words!

[Former_Member]

It was about three months for me. Kepp your chin up and keep listing items. Good luck!!!

[Former_Member]

4 days!!!

[Former_Member]

I opened on Sept 21, 2011. Had my first "sale" (a great aunt) the next day, but my first unrelated "real" sale on the 24th, then the next two on the 30th.
But then it was almost 3 weeks before i got my next sales. I seem to sell in clusters for some reason.

[LittleBitsOFaith]

I had 2 sales a couple months after opening...be patient=) And, the comment about cheating....made me laugh. That isn't cheating=) I think a lot of people have friends and family making purchases online!! I have even heard of sellers buying there own items to show more sales....personally, THAT isn't for me, but the other....i think that is fair=)

[Former_Member]

I don't think it is cheating either, a sale of any kind would be great,I have alot of sales with my facebook page, and yes I think I did join at a bad time, but I am hopeful for feb. Taking pictures is the most difficult, I think I will need to invest in a better camera to get some better pictures

[CutenCraftyDesigns]

I had my first sale in July and opened my shop in March so it did takes some months. After that I had another sale in August and since then nothing else. Not even for Christmas which I thought I was going to sell. I don't know what's going on, but I hope I get some sales soon. I'm spending too much money and not making any in return. It's a bit disappointing. :(

[OverlyCrafty]

I'm still waiting on my first sale but here is some advice: Some of your pictures are a little dark. I just started using Picnik (literally minutes ago) to lighten my pictures and it is the easiest thing ever. I'm still working on my pictures now so the improved ones are not showing yet. Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I originally opened my a couple of years ago and never made a sale. Of course I was extremly busy with a full time job and not really putting that much effort into it. Then, February of last year I reopened with the expectation of quitting my day job and going Etsy full time. It took a while before I made my first sale. Then every month I started to see an increase in sales! I follow the Etsy success newsletters cloesly, read all of the quit your day job posts, and research on forums. I think it's really all about seeing what works for you, having tons of items, great photos, tag words, and word of mouth!

[marokel]

It took me several months to get my first sale, but that's because it took me a little while to figure out how it works.

so hang in there

[LittleBitsOFaith]

It defintely takes awhile to figure it all out....studying and reading....fyi, checking many of your shops...they are great=)

[Former_Member]

It took me about 3 weeks, and then it has been really unsteady since, I had one 3 weeks ago, then there was 4 yesterday... It's really strange.