I was shocked

[TikasDesigns]

Recently a close relative was looking to buy multiples of an item on line.
She asked my opinion on several of her picks, I was not impressed with the quality and suggested she try etsy.....her response was " I don't know about those people on etsy". It caught me completely off guard because she is someone who buys extensively on line.....I got a little defensive before I asked her why she said that, so she clammed up on me.
Now i'm wondering if public perception is part of the reason for the lagging sales on etsy and if so why doe the public have a negative opinion of etsy sellers.....if at all????

[GalacticAffair]

I don't think so. A good demographic is a good demographic. However, Etsy does have a slight stigma of being a place that sells mostly kitschy crafty things (think back to the days of the Regretsy blog) that not many people really want. It can be a really great platform for an artist/designer just starting out though, as many do. Although it wouldn't hurt to expand towards other options as well. I'm looking to expand to Storenvy since I want to broaden my audience.

[fishcouple]

I just checked Storenvy and curious how it works. Would anyone know? Thanks!

[MariasWorkshop]

Maybe you saw this already, but here it is - just scroll down and it has a lot of info:

http://www.storenvy.com/open-a-store#

[Former_Member]

Rachel has a point, but (conversely) I would also like to add that some people have told me that they stopped shopping on Etsy because it has allowed so much reselling or they have to wade through pages and pages of the same charms or types of necklaces or whatever to find something interesting and unique. I can't speak for your relative, but I know that a lot of the public I encounter at craft fairs, the brick and mortar store that sells my items, and just in general day to day conversation think of Etsy as being like Ebay now.

[TikasDesigns]

Annie I agree with your point. Looking at page after page of the same or similar things would color my perception of etsy..... i would leave frustrated and look elsewhere.

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

I have never gotten that reaction. The most common reaction I get is, "What is Etsy? I never heard of it." Which is weird cause I thought just about everyone heard of Etsy at this point.

[MagickPatchworks]

I get the same response Nikki. Most people I know either don't know what Etsy is, and the few that do LOVE it, and shop religiously here for gifts.

[fishcouple]

Annie and Jen -- I agree with you because sometimes I stumbled to some party items (which my shop is mainly about) on Etsy that I actually saw in Dollar Store... Sigh!

[Former_Member]

I have actually purchased a few things from Etsy in the past that were obviously not handmade. (or vintage) One even had "made in china" stamped on it. not cool. I can see why some people would be wary. It's a bummer. It's like craigslist used to be an awesome place to find inexpensive solid furniture, but then everyone tried to make a buck off of it and now you can't find anything worth while there. I hope Etsy isn't headed that way.

[CircusOfCelebrations]

When I opened my first (no longer existent) Etsy shop, people hadn't heard of it. The thing that bugged me then was that there were a lot of things to wade through that looked very homemade, bad photos, etc. Now, things look really nice, but there are exponentially more to wade through. When I tell people I have an Etsy shop, they act like, "Oh, you too, everyone has one of those now."
Etsy has been a lifesaver for me. Before I started my shop, I was at an emotional low. I knew I needed to find the thing that would make me happy or I was just going to continue to be miserable.
When I answer people's questions right away, and ship their items the same day or the next, they seem so surprised. I have found sellers for some of my supplies who treat me the same as I treat my customers. But I have had other sellers who took days to ship my purchase, or one a few weeks ago who I sent messages to 3 times, then cancelled the sale after 2 weeks, because I needed to supply sooner. I wanted to be nice and be her first sale, and then she acted so unprofessionally. Finally said she didn't have the item any more. Another seller last year who sent me a message after a few days that the item I wanted most was broken, so she couldn't send it. When she shipped the rest, the packaging was a mess, box was barely held together, and no packaging inside to protect things from rattling around.
These people are making a BAD impression for the rest of us and it makes me angry. I take realy pride in running a professional shop, as I'm sure all of us on this team do. I love it when a person joins Etsy that day, to buy my item, and I can make a good first impression on them.
My sales are up this year due to finding a new niche and providing a nice product. I can't always charge what I think my time is worth, but it makes me happy to keep creating, and I pray that I can keep this up. All of the changes with Etsy going public and allowing resellers, copycats and obvious phonies to go unchecked because they can't keep up with the complaints. I hope the public is more aware and pleased, not turned off.

[Former_Member]

Cindy, you make a good point too. If you go to the better business bureau's website, the vast majority of the complaints people have has to do with individual shop owner's behavior. People criticize never receiving their item, the seller never getting back to them, etc. I try to return messages the same day or the next and always give my buyers the best service I can accomplish. It's sad that what we may view as being decent, correct, normal behavior is now sometimes viewed as being exceptional. It reminds me of a Chris Rock standup routine where he talks about how people want praise for doing things they are supposed to be doing. I love your items, btw, Cindy. Very cute. :)

[Former_Member]

I'm really sad to know that there's so much underachieving going on around Etsy! I also didn't know that some people seem to feel like they have to "wade" through a bunch of boring stuff to find the unique things they want... I thought that was just me being to picky! (When I look for my own jewelry in searches, it can be tricky unless I purposefully look for Viking Knit. Even then...) Is there anything that can be done about this without stifling the free spirit of the platform of Etsy?

[BlackCatStudio98]

This is so sad to read some of these comments. Mostly I come across people who still haven't heard of Etsy, or people who think you have to have a paypal account to buy on Etsy.

I've been disappointed in the quality of photos I've been seeing. I don't expect everybody to have fabulous photos, and I'm always trying to improve mine, but some of the photos out there are pretty horrible. A blurry photo should never be listed and especially when it's the only photo provided.

[mirrymirry]

cindy im so with you on all you said.
I used to like the personal touch from buying through an etsy seller, but now that sadly seems to be lacking. The amount of people that ignore my messages is just disgraceful - even sellers that have had a lot of my money - still waiting for a reply from one such seller from a week ago :/

& theres no note with the orders...no 'hi mirry hope you likey!' Kind of thing. Takes but 2 seconds ...otherwise i might as well go to the high street.
I recently bought an item on etsy from the usa...it was sent damaged. Not damaged in the post but they sent it that way . Why wouldnt you check it? Even more if it's travelling the ocean.
There's no hope for us if we fail on these things....we can't compete with the big retailers, we have to give the customer something better than this,

Ive still bought nearly all my 25 christmas pressies off etsy, most sellers have been amazing, some have been terrible & like it's been said, they're letting the side down for the rest of us sellers

[Craftegui]

I get the same response Nikki, and it's because Etsy is not very popular in Mexico like Ebay or Amazon, or another called mercado libre.