How much merchandise to have

[Former_Member]

Hello everybody,
What is a good amount of merchandise to have in your shop? I have around 36 now. Want to learn as much as possible to be successful.
Thank you
Ginger

[SnarkFactory]

I'm trying to reach 400 listings by the time my shop is 1 year old. I have a goal of having at least 200-250 listings by the end of October (in time for Christmas) but I'm not too sure it's entirely possible. Try to hit 100 because once I did that my views skyrocketed! Once you hit 100, keep listing lol the more the better

[Former_Member]

100 is the magic number. I'm trying for 200 once my store hist 2 but, it's kinda hard because I don't have money to make new projects and I'm preparing for the craft show I have in September.

[Former_Member]

There is no magic number. The more items one has, the more likely it is that sales will rise. But that's not a hard and fast rule - there are shops with not many items that do very well.

But it's also a matter of having the right items, being optimized for relevancy/SEO etc etc.

Me, I've made the decision to cut down what I offer from about 250 to around 100, to really focus my brand and because it felt as though one couldn't see the wood for the trees.

[Former_Member]

I was wondering that question myself. I have 30 right now. I am slowing adding more and still trying to learn about SEO and how to get people to my shop.

I have heard that 100 is a good start because the more you have, the better chance you have to be found. I'm just learning here too.

[WilliamsGiftshop]

There is no magic number!

The more items in your shop, the more chances of being found and the more chances of selling.
Adding new items also renews interest from buyers who visited your shop before.

[Former_Member]

There is no magic number.

I've seen shops with 1000 items that rarely get sales and shops with fewer than a page that are constantly busy.

What really matters is that you have great tags and titles so that your items can be found easily in a search and that you market your shop directly to your target customer.

[Former_Member]

i´m at 85 now and i´m starting to see more traffic but it was hard work to get there. it´s not that i´m complaining about sales but i have times once and again when i cannot add items fast enough to stay at a certain level. i guess that´s what slow times like now are for, to stock up as much as you can!!

[Former_Member]

Thank you so much everybody. That is great to know I still learning I still learn about the SEO and trying to figure what are the best tag word to put on my merchandise. I am the greatest writer to describe my items, but I just try my best. I have some new items I just made and trying to get some great pictures and figure out what to write.
Thank you so much for the comments
Ginger

[Former_Member]

I agree that there is no magic number. It's not about how many items you have; it's more about how well you market them, how effective your listings are, and supply and demand.

Also Mallory, I hope you have purchased the licensing rights to the images you're using. Shops get shut down regularly for selling images they don't have the rights to, not to mention you can be sued by the people who legally own the images. Here's a discussion on the subject: https://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/discussions/discuss/10183277/page/1

[SnarkFactory]

What images? I'm an artist and those are my paintings.

[SnarkFactory]

Unlike MANY, MANY shops out there, my products are all made incorporating my own art into functional, practical items. There's not a single item in my shop that's using an image that isn't my own painting. Thanks, though.

[Former_Member]

You're using someone else's likenesses, though. You don't own Bill Murray's likeness, for example; painting it with your own hand doesn't make it okay to use it. I'm not saying you aren't painting your own work; I'm just saying that unless you have Bill Murray's personal consent to use his image, you can be sued or shut down.

Not trying to upset you, just trying to help you out. I'd hate to see you get shut down or sued like so many others have (it really does happen all the time). It's important if you're going to sell your wares, whether on Etsy or elsewhere, that you know and follow trademark and copyright laws.

[Former_Member]

Sorry for the hijack, OP.

[SnarkFactory]

Both the artist and the celebrity have rights. The first amendment applies on both sides, which creates a pretty significant grey area. Not to mention, the artist cannot be sued if the painting is "transformative". How does one determine if it's transformative? There is no clear cut answer. I don't think this issue can be blanketed with an "it's right" or "it's wrong". Not to mention, in terms of practicality, what i'm doing as a small, independent artist, is such small potatoes that the chances of me facing an issue are pretty small. I appreciate your concern.

[Former_Member]

Basically, as many as possible! Customers like to see a wide variety, but be sure to keep your shop well organized, and make good use of shop sections.

[PrairiePrimitives]

For me, 50 has been the magic number so far. If I drop below 50 for awhile, views and sales REALLY slow down. But when I get back to 50 (or more), I'll usually get a couple of sales ... which motivates me to keep adding more things, and so on. Last year I got to about 75 items for Black Friday; this year my goal is 100 itens (several of my listings have multiple items).

[Former_Member]

Tana,

Do you sale on Black Friday or do you keep the same prices?