Number of Products in Store

[LouiseMead]

Hi there everyone, nice to meet you! I've been having a look at the most successful Etsy sellers and they seem to have a LOT of items in their stores whereas I only have around 30. Some of them seem to have multiple listings for the same item. I considered doing this but didn't want to confuse people. However I can see how multiple listings, using different titles/keywords for the same item on different listings, could be very beneficial.

Have any of you experimented with the number of items in your store? What do you think about posting multiple listings of the same item?

It would be difficult for me to paint enough originals at any one time to fill up my store so I think I might have to invest some more time in making prints.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[poisonpear]

I would probably only do multiple listings for the same item if I actually had multiples of them. Unless you put them as made to order, and made it very clear that they weren't yet made.

I think making prints is a great idea - it allows you to appeal to a different market that maybe can't afford an original, and it's also a lot less work for you!

[Former_Member]

I agree with what Beth said. If you put multiple listings of the same item, would you be prepared if someone bought all of them at the same time?

I think your work is great!

[LouiseMead]

Thanks for your replies and thanks Jessica for your compliment! I've just had a look at your shop and you have some very pretty things! :)

[Former_Member]

I have multiple listings for my soap dishes for the simple reason that my buyers have requested each of these combinations.

I started out selling only individual dishes and then got requests for 2, 3, 5, 10, etc so I started listing them that way.

If every one of my soap dish listings were to sell at the same time, yes I would be able to ship within 48 hours as I try to keep a stock of between 200 and 300 on hand at all times.

I've experimented with the number of listings in the shop and have found that the more listings I have, the more I sell.

And yes, if my entire shop were to be sold in one day, everything could be shipped immediately other than the items that are specifically listed as 'made to order'.

[Former_Member]

Can you test a few doing both ways to see which works best for you?

I do pillows. I do a single listing, then a pair listing with a small price reduction on the pair. I do this to test which sells better. So far, 2 singles 2 pairs. I had tried the multiple but it just didn't make sense to me.

[Former_Member]

I think multiple listings are good for if you HAVE the multiple items on hand and if it's an item that sells regularly, so it's good to have another in place in case one sells. Yes, you could just change the quantity available to more, but if you do multiple listings then you could play with keywords, title, etc.

I think making prints is an awesome idea! My sister sells original paintings here on etsy and I keep trying to get her to make prints of her most favorited paintings, but I guess she has to save up some money first to invest in making prints. I know I'd be more willing to buy a print of an original rather than the original since that's what I can afford. A great way to still support artists!

[WoolWench]

I also think it depends on what you are selling, in my art store (SuzyJaneB) I have about 110 items, all as well tagged and titled as I can get them, but I get more views and sales from my yarn shop, in which so far I have only managed to get up to about 30 items because my yarn is selling as fast as I can make it these days. I believe its because my yarn is very specific, people come to etsy with a standard set of search terms when they are looking for yarns, it all falls within a specific range. However, with art particularly, I think people are more likely to find you from browsing a wide and non specific search term. I have huge problems trying to come up with the tags and titles that I think will work for my art items, and I think when people are looking for art they also dont always have anything so specific - I mean who looks at their wall and thinks 'I want a picture there of a whimsy goddess sitting in a field holding a flower and painted in watercolours'. They browse general terms, makes it harder to find and harder to get views.

I wish I could get more non-etsy views, I dont get many from Google, and I cant figure out why yet... I do get views from my FB page though. Thats a help.

I think you should do prints for sure, and also your art would look really amazing on greeting cards or postcards too - I make those in my art shop too and they are easy and fun to make and you can sell them in sets as well as individually (more listing potential!). Also ACEO's attract a lot of collectors, and again your art would look fab on a business size card as a collectors card! They are also small and light and you can even offer free post on something like that, or even pop some in with your original art sold items as 'swag' - great publicity for you!

I love all your paintings :) Fantastic colours and design, and you have a unique shop and very recognisable work, I'm sure you will also sell a lot of prints! Go for it!

[Former_Member]

I have done multiple listings for some things (wine charms) that fall under two categories. For example, I have Christmas themed items that fall under both Holiday decoration and Kitchen/Wine Charms. Being that I have multiple quantities of this particular item, I have listed it in two categories.

I've done that with jewelry that I've made a couple of when it falls under both 'wedding' and fashion jewelry. I've seen my items from both categories sell, so I'm not sure if one does better than the other and I'm happy to get the additional exposure.

But it could look weird if you are browsing my shop and see the same item again. With this, I usually reserve one listing I group with the other similar items (wine charms with other wine charms, for example) and the other listing is buried in the last page at the end.

[Former_Member]

I have 12 items in my store, but I'm trying to increase productivity. My stuff is a combination of original items and prints. I think my biggest issues with listing so many things are: 1) I work two jobs and am going to school for my 3rd degree so time is limited, 2) I need to create more work, 3) I have prints up for original pieces that may sell but I'm not ready to part with them :( 4) I have sold or given art away as presents before getting them scanned to make a print

[LouiseMead]

Thank you so much for the feedback so far! I think I really need to invest some time in making prints of my work. I invested in a decent camera recently so will spend some time over the holidays shooting my work and printing. I've also considered greetings cards as a couple of people have suggested it.

I think I'm just really concerned about ensuring the print quality is really good without having to spend lots of money upfront paying a printer and buying in bulk. I don't want to take the risk of having lots of prints made up only to find people don't buy them. I've turned a few paintings into prints so far and they've turned out quite well but it took quite a lot of time and attempts to get the photograph right and then to set up the printer for the image to look good enough. I guess when I've done a few I'll start to get the hang of it. Anyone else had experience of making prints? Any tips?

[Former_Member]

I get my prints done by a local office store that does presentations and business meeting large prints. They do a good job. What I really like is that they scan the image on a large format scanner so lighting and angles aren't a problem like they'd be when you take a picture. I have spoken to a few artists and done some research because I plan on getting a large format printer at some point and doing my own. From what I've hear, scanners are preferred from a buyer stand point. Large art photographs best in indirect sunlight with a good quality camera (15 megapixel or so). And putting black and white paper next to the art allows you to photograph then entire range of values in the work. If you have the money to invest, good quality large format printers can be affordable in the 400-500 dollar range and can make prints up to 13x19 or longer. This would give you the capability of printing as you get orders and can be less expensive per print than going somewhere. Hope this helps! Also, if you find an artist who does a lot of prints, send them an email and ask. That's what I've done. Check out: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Krystyna81

[LouiseMead]

Hi Menika, I don't think I can justify that kind of money right now, maybe when I know there is a demand for prints of my work. I've checked with quite a few local printers and they either don't have a big enough scanner for my work or they're ridiculously expensive and their prices mean prints of my work would need to be sold for higher prices than my actual paintings!

I'm going to take some time to photograph my work properly. I'm lucky to have quite a few photographer friends so I should probably pick their brains if I get stuck!

[Former_Member]

I've been trying to increase my inventory, but my coasters take a long time to make. I tend to make them in batches, i.e., four sets at a time. I've decided that I will list new sets a few days or a week apart, as opposed to listing all four sets at the same time. This way my brilliant idea from yesterday - maybe it will be helpful for someone else!

[Former_Member]

That's where I'm at now too. My own printer/scanner is too expensive until I start having some sales, and professional printers charge what I want to charge for the print which would drive up prices.

Photographer friends are good to have! Pick their brain!!

Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I have 15 items so far...