Is there such a thing as too many listings?

[Exaltation]

I read often in the Etsy Advice articles that the more listings you have, the better, because they'll capture more search phrases and categories, etc...

But when all your items are more or less the same - same style, materials, etc... it seems like it could get to the point where just browsing through the shop is like wading through a sea of overwhelming options.

I ran into that issue when I had over 200 listings and I couldn't even look through all my own pages without being inundated with choices. So I pared down to about 170.
Now I'm wondering if I ought to build it back up again, seeing some shops with over 20 pages worth of listings?

Any thoughts? What's your experience with having hundreds of listings?

[Former_Member]

Hi Exaltation,

I am currently trying to increase the number of items listed in my shop, but I don't plan to go over 100. I agree with you that going through every page of a shop that has 200 or more items is a bit... overwhelming ;)
And can get boring too in fact. Do you see a difference with sales though?

Your tees are amazing by the way!

[michemozaix]

I think it depends primarily on what you sell. Supply shops often have hundreds of listings. Other shops generally just have to find their own 'comfort zone' where choices are balanced but not too overwhelming for buyers.

[ConcertinaPress]

I've never been held back from buying in a shop that had hundreds of listings, because that's when I used the search bar in the top that said "Search: This shop" - but I know it can be annoying to try to edit that many listings, say if you want to provide a link to your blog or change some wording or whatever.

[CausticThreads]

Some people think there is such thing as too many listings, but personally, I do not. While I agree that my shop may be overwhelming for someone to look through, I always hope they know about the "search this shop" feature.

Most people find your items through etsy search, and each listing is one more chance to be found.

I also try to list 5 brand new things a day (shirts in new color combos, etc) and that definitely helps sales.

[CausticThreads]

I've never been held back from buying in a shop that had hundreds of listings, because that's when I used the search bar in the top that said "Search: This shop" - but I know it can be annoying to try to edit that many listings, say if you want to provide a link to your blog or change some wording or whatever.

Posted at 11:13 am Jul 16, 2011 EDT - Report this post
___________________________________________________________


Editing that many listings is um... really not fun... I try to remember to check for edits when I renew listings, but sometimes I am not in front of my computer so the listing gets renewed without the changes. I have a new color chart, and there are still items with the old color chart.

[Former_Member]

I have over 200 and I'm not going to stop. . . :)

[Exaltation]

Thanks for the compliment, etincellestudio

And thanks everyone for responding...

It's good to have some different takes on the topic.
At the end of the day, I think I've decided to stop posting more when I run out of creative ideas - hopefully never!


I'd like to think that everyone knows what they're searching for when they come to my shop, but in most cases I think people just come to browse and find something amidst allllllll those listings that they really like.

So perhaps I'll just start taking down what doesn't sell, replacing it with new stuff, and leaving the tried and true favorites. Seems a good compromise... ;)

[Former_Member]

Etsy limits you to ten categories and few things are harder to grasp than shops with 300 items and only two of them in a category. So I think using the categories effectively means that you can easily have hundreds of items with ease. But shops without proper categories can be overwhelming with just 100 items.

[InspiredTheory]

I've been wondering about this exact thing myself. I've got over 250 listings right now. While I have a ton more stuff I could add to my shop, I'm concerned it could become overwhelming to people browsing. I've actually run into this issue when I've been shopping in other people's shop where I find too many things I want to buy, can't make up my mind, and end up not buying anything at all. Anybody else do that at all?

[thedots]

When I check out different shops, inevitably if I notice there are pages in the double digits, I know they've sold a lot, and when I see the amount of sales, that proves what I already knew. Having sections, too, is vital to help buyers and sellers check out your merchandise without having to necessarily look through 18 pages in your shop. I currently have 150 items in my shop, and when I had 180, I found I was having more buyers, and more frequently.

[Former_Member]

I agree 100% with CausticThreads, although my shop still has under 100 items, I do plan on adding more and more. Also what KoutureCrochet said about categorizing, is crucial. Whenever I go to an Etsy shop, I look at their categories, and browse what interests me the most. If I have some time in my hands, then I'll browse a little more and see what other items are carried withing that shop. So, it's all about organizing out our shops utlizing all of the available tools, and listing your items in the order that they sell the most to the least...

[Former_Member]

suekari says

I've been wondering about this exact thing myself. I've got over 250 listings right now. While I have a ton more stuff I could add to my shop, I'm concerned it could become overwhelming to people browsing. I've actually run into this issue when I've been shopping in other people's shop where I find too many things I want to buy, can't make up my mind, and end up not buying anything at all. Anybody else do that at all?
-----------
I think that you should limit every category to 3-4 pages. if it is more than 4 pages some people like me wont bother (i am the LAZIEST buyer) so bracelets and necklaces you could split into two categories if possible.

[doublebrush]

I have around 100 items and want to add more. If things start to look too crowded or similar, I thought about having several color selections of the same candle on one listing.

[Former_Member]

As a buyer, I get overwhelmed when a shop as too many items.

[poisonpear]

Yeah, when I see that a seller has 10 pages to wade through, if they don't have well thought-out categories, I will maybe get to page 4 then give up. I don't necessarily use the "search this shop" feature because I think I might miss something! I am more of a browser than a searcher, I guess.

[Former_Member]

I try to balance between 80 and 100 items in my shops.
I have no idea if this makes a difference in the search crawl or not. But I keep making and listing, I don't want to run low on items.

Taking pics this weekend and will list everyday this week, in both shops. Keep on, keeping on.
Have a great Sunday.