How to create successful custom listings?

[Former_Member]

Thinking of adding some listings for customs to my shop.
Do you think this would be a good idea? ( they would be for glasses cases)
And what photos should I use? Ones of old glasses cases? Or ones with words?

What info needs to be in it?

Never done this before so all suggestions are helpful.

[Former_Member]

Pretty much my entire shop is custom listings...so you could gander through mine to see what I have done. It seems to work for me :)

[greengrass2]

There is also a new team for this, here: http://www.etsy.com/teams/13971/custom-orders

[StudioCherie]

I think I may be able to help you here. You do not have very many listings in your shop, so I think adding custom listings could be a good way to go for you to expand your offerings - as long as you have photos of cases you have made in the past. Showing a big variety of colors and buttons, etc will help your customers envision the case they want for themselves. You have to remember though, that someone may order a color that is not popular and then you will be left with extra yarn that sits around unused for a long time. There is a certain amount of waste that goes along with taking custom orders and allowing customers to choose any color.

I think adding initials would be a good way to customize an eyeglasses case. Otherwise, I am not sure why someone would want a custom case as opposed to seeing one you made and liking that one and being willing to wait a few days for a made-to-order item.

I hope that makes sense.

[Former_Member]

If I were to add names or initials, should I make that a singular listing like: Add initials or name to glasses case for $2. Or should I just put it in custom listings or in each cases description.

I had been thinking to photograph the thread/yarn we have available. (which is alot!) and then name or number them so that people could say I want a case with this dimensions, in this color, and with this button. And then if we don't have a yarn just mark it out of stock.

I was also considering offering the different stitches it could be done in. Would this b e a good idea?

Thanks for all your help! It's really helpful!

[StudioCherie]

You can't have a $2 for an add-on. Each listing has to be able to be purchased seperately. So have a listing for a regular case and a different more expensive listing for a monogrammed case. Does that make sense?

With the new listing variations, you can do the thing you are talking about with the yarns I think.