Former_Member
Not applicable

Need advice or something

I was just noticing a shop that's been opened since March, 2011 and had 93 sales! How is that possible? I've had 19 sales and I've been open since Oct 2010.

Are my prices too high? Am I not marketing enough? I have FB, twitter, blog, flickr, etc. I market several hours a day. I think my prices are reasonable. Shipping is always iffy - I've over and under estimated.

What do you think?
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

I'm no etsy expert, I am new to selling myself, so I may not have "professional" advice. I have done a lot of research, though. But I browsed your shop as an average buyer, and here's my advice...
The first items I saw were your featured items. Then I looked up at your banner and it did really flow- your banner seems focused on your button bouquets only, and right beneath it are mixed lots of buttons and no bouquets!
I think the overall flow of your shop could be improved. There is vintage jewelry in both the vintage category and jewelry category. You have 2 button bouquet categories but there are only button bouquets in the "everything else" category. It seems that if someone might miss what they are looking for unless they search through every category. Your sales might improve if your shop were easier to navigate - check your categories for accuracy, perhaps divide the "vintage" category further, ie. vintage housewares, vintage jewelry, misc vintage. And if your shop is going to be split between vintage and button bouquets mainly, I would try to find a way to alter your banner to reflect the overall vibe of your shop. I have read a lot about creating a "brand", and having something that ties it all together. If someone visits your shop to browse the button bouquets, they may think that the other items were just "thrown in there". But if you make it part of your brand it would all fit together.
Oh yeah, and I think your button bouquets are AWESOME and I love them. That said, I thought to myself what could I actually do with one of these? You make reference to special occasions, and the bridal use is obvious, but what could other uses be? You list some in the baby blue and floral pink listings, but it may be beneficial to either have specific information in all listings or maybe on your main info page. People visiting your shop to find a bouquet would have a use for it already, but others stumbling upon it and thinking they're super cute may need help seeing how it could have a practical use for them. Perhaps extra photos showing how they could be used? A table set with plates/glasses/etc and a pretty tablecloth with a bouquet in the center? Or for the baby shower ones, showing a table where they are at each place setting? Speaking of photos, some of yours are a bit blurry, I would recommend using a tripod or if not available setting the camera onto a stack of books and using the self timer to avoid any shake after pressing the shutter.
Wow sorry that was a long post. Hope you find some of the info helpful and not just crazy rambling! :) Good luck!
{brit}
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

sorry second paragraph should read did *not* really flow
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thedots
Post Crafter

Re: Need advice or something

If the shop you visited was someone selling supplies, that is not unusual at all.
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

I'm not here to say whether a seller should have particular items in their shop or not. The more the merrier! Rather I was commenting that perhaps better organization of items may improve traffic and/or sales.
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

I agree with heavy petals... your shop seems very unorganized. I didn't take the time to browse through everything because of how disorganized it was! Work on your flow and re-work your categories. Is it necessary to have 3 button bouquet categories? Especially since there are so few in each one. I would combine them for now. And your featured items need to have your button bouquets because that seems to be your focus. Hope this helps.
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

You can't compare apples and oranges. . .
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Former_Member
Not applicable

Re: Need advice or something

not sure what you mean, silversmack...
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

I mean, was she comparing her shop to a button bouquet selling shop? Or just to any old shop- like supplies, or soap? Those kinds of shops sell a lot because they are things that people use up quickly.
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

Thanks for all your comments. I think the banner comment is valid. I had some issues having some one make it for me and wasn't able to have it customized. I try to move around my features, highlighting the latest items or a red, white and blue theme, etc.
I appreciate your feedback on the store organization and will go back and re look at it.
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

Silversmack - you're right.
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Former_Member
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Re: Need advice or something

Heavy Petals: I list the options for the bouquets in the description and also in my shop announcement. I like the idea of photos of the ideas too.
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