Okay, wait. What to do with black friday again?

[SnarkFactory]

How and what are you guys doing? I've heard some of you talk about sales and promos, while others say that a sale isn't necessary since it's already busy (i'm thinking I agree with that), regardless of where you stand, how are you preparing? Are there any nuggets of advice you can pass along to a newbie? I've been pretty swamped over here, and I'm just starting this thread so that if I've missed anything, this thread will remind me.

[TheDorothyDays]

I would be really interested to hear what others are up to as well. I am going to be promoting lots of Twitter but I am not sure what kind of promotion to put on and need some inspiration!

[beatroad]

I already have a sale running because I'm trying to lighten up my 2014 inventory, so...I will not be running another sale. ;) I've tagged my items in the past with no luck. I've never seen it do anything for my views or sales. So personally, business as usual here!

[hipposdream]

I will be launching s sale for a few days and I already promoting it for some weeks on FB.... if it will be succesful I do not know but I hope it will.

[PithAndRootStudio]

The last couple of years, I changed all my tags and listings and it was exhausting. It helped me get sales, but it might have been because people were just online looking anyway and not because I killed myself. This year I'm going to hammer it home on all my media outlets but I'm just going to put a note in my shop announcement with a coupon code. By now, buyers should know what to look for.

[KiltedWoman]

I too have run sales, clearances and done a lot of 'cyber monday, black friday" tagging and it did not seem to make any difference. Sales remained stable. Interesting. You would think there would be more people interested in a bargain. I am totally a bargain shopper but many of my friends are not. If they want an item they buy it as long as it's in their budget (and sometimes even if it isn't!)

[PiecesofMeCardsnMore]

I'll be running a percent off a certain dollar amount discount code Thanksgiving thru Cyber Monday to encourage buyers to spend more. I'm not promoting it now because I don't want buyers to hold off until that weekend to do their shopping. I want sales now as well. I'll add the information to my shop announcement and listings (if I'm feeling ambitious!) the day before Thanksgiving.

[Former_Member]

Since this is my busiest time of year, I'm not running any sales, discounts or promotions. I save those for the times when business is slow such as the hot summer months.

I've been swamped with custom orders and have already stopped taking them for Christmas delivery.

I may set up a small clearance section in the shop for items that I only have one left of or that are no longer in production but other than that its full price.

[Former_Member]

I had a sale for black friday the first year. I put the discount code in every listing. Only about half my customers used it. I think this year, instead of the listing I will just put the code on my facebook page.

[ShadyLaneDesignz]

I'm not going to do anything special. Black Friday was nothing great for me last year...I think I got more sales before and after. But that weekend after Thanksgiving was not so great.

[MyDistinctDesigns]

I am not changing any thing. I am not a mass retailer and I think that people shopping for the "ultimate deal" are not my customer. I have not tagged items in the past or run a big sale.

[Former_Member]

This is the exact information I was looking for. When I shop during the holidays, I search for the item I want….not "Cyber Monday or Black Friday". I don't think I'll be changing my tags or titles. With so many others doing it, mine will get lost in the shuffle anyway! Saving myself the headache.

[WilliamsGiftshop]

I would never decrease my prices in the busiest time of the year.

[TreeCraftDiary]

I used Etsy on Sale last year on Black Friday Cyber Monday, but that didn't bite any sale. This year I won't put anymore sale as I have already on Free Shipping Worldwide promotion for the whole month of November until at the end of Cyber Monday to boost Christmas sale.

[Former_Member]

Adding more ready-to-ship items but not offering discounts, this time of year people spend more than other times so why would I ask them to pay less for my items?

[BrushStrokeOrnaments]

I would suggest that if you have a FEW items in your store that you would like to get rid of, you might consider discounting and slapping on some "Black Friday" tags. Other than this, I don't thing it's really worth a lot of time. I tried a bit of black Friday promotion a year or two ago and got no takers. I think everyone is out shopping and not spending time on etsy.

[LaLindaArtStudio]

Last year I did a Free Gift with purchase Promo from Black Friday through Cyber Monday that was pretty successful, but I'm not doing anything but kicking back and enjoying the Holiday this year.

[SnarkFactory]

Excellent, thank you guys for your responses. I'm thinking i'll sit tight and hope for a little black Friday rush. My sales the last 2 days have plummeted, does anyone else ever notice a mid month slump?

[kijsa]

I will only be promoting when my cut-off for taking orders is...I have been running pretty busy on current listing sales, so, like crochet gal, I will only run a promotion at a time when sales have been slow!

[Former_Member]

YES!! My sales usually happen during the first half of the month. The second half is usually dead. I think that most people get their paychecks at the beginning of the month and spend more money the first half. I know I do! When I notice my funds disappearing near the end of the month, I watch my spending more.

[maydaylabels]

We have days that are half of our average (sometimes several in a row) and days that are twice our average, so I don't worry too much.

I'm not sure about holiday sales. I don't want to get more business than we can handle (and for less $!) but I'd like to do a bit of a sale, maybe on some non-personalized labels we can have packaged and ready to go?

[TheFamilyJewelsWI]

I am making a bunch of these as they are selling like hot cakes. That's it. I wonder if I have them priced too low?

https://img0.etsystatic.com/002/0/6424263/il_170x135.399211418_iahj.jpg

[SnarkFactory]

Yeah, I've learned to trust my shop and not panic when I have a few slow/bad days. It's just interesting that for the past 3 months the 14th, 15th, and 16th always get low views and sales.

I think I'm going to announce a sale on my facebook, most of the people on there have not bought from me. I'm thinking that a promo code will bring in sales and hopefully repeat buyers.

Mary,
Those earrings are pretty cute! I think they are priced just right :)

[LaPetiteVie]

I usually offer a coupon code on IG, twitter, FB, and through my email list. I spent hours tagging all my products one year and didn't find that time was worth the amount of sales I had. People who are already fans usually buy again though.

[Former_Member]

I might run a twitter coupon code, haven't decided yet.