Raised Prices sales dropped??

[ModernHermine]

I raised my prices to reflect my time and materials and I didn't even raise them as much as I should. Right after I went a little higher all sales dropped, this has been the worse month yet. I was having many sales per week. Prices went from 16.00-19.00 and from 19.00-22.50 which really isn't too much. I wonder if it's just slowing down or the small amount increase has dropped sales. I have really enjoyed paying bills and having some extra money!! I wonder if I should drop back down...Not sure if I have the ability to wait this out? Anyone else have this problem with increase in prices?

My views have increased so I can't say it's not due to views, I was on front page 2x this month and on home and Garden finds 2x as well so it's been good traffic?

[StuckOnSilver]

Sarah, you have an amazing eye for items! The fact that you have been FP and home and garden finds twice shows that you're definitely on the right track. Our integrity as sellers and finding the sweet spot between supply and demand is always a balancing act. Hang in there. Hope your sales pick up!

[NanNasThings]

I have been reading in a couple different threads how sales have gone down since Etsy rebooted. When I think of it, that's when mine went down a little too! I don't think it's your prices. When I first started I was lowering prices if something didn't sell after awhile but what I learned is that most of it is waiting for the right person to come along to buy your item. I offer buyers to convo me for lower shipping and most don't bother....they just pay what is there. I think if they really want an item, they want it and they'll buy it. That has been my experience anyways....

[ModernHermine]

Yeah it was just so busy and now it's so dead, one sale this week! I was getting used to the extra income..... Thanks guys what happened after the re-boot? I also wonder if this is normal for shops to have such extreme up and downs. I would love steady business as then I could rely a little on the income.

[Former_Member]

Hi Sarah,

Assuming that it is indeed the prices that resulted in a drop in sales, it may indicate that you are reaching out to a different customer base than before, and that the customer group that was buying from your previously is no longer your target market. It takes time to build a new "audience," so to say, so patience, patience, patience... If you cannot afford to wait and were making enough profit before, then you know what to do...

However, that assumption is still an assumption -- when you see a correlation, it does not mean causation. And while in your own shop you notice what you do and what changes you make, the market is so big and the variables that affect the broader commerce are so many that it is truly had to make a conclusion like this right away. To really know if the prices drive your sales, you would have to do this experiment a few times (which in real life and for a small business may not be possible).

Here are some questions to think about, as you are trying to figure this out:

-- How stable is your customer base? Do you have many returning customers? If so, it helps in figuring this out.
-- Was the change in pricing the only thing you changed in your shop?
-- Did the sales drop on the lower price range?
-- If so, do you need to offer an additional variety of items (at the lower price range) so that you could expand your price range and still keep teh old customers, whil trying to appeal to the new market?

Hope this helps :)

[AnneLondezGlass]

I too was going to ask if your customers where mostly return ones. These may have been put off by price rising but on the other hand, how long can you keep up working at a rate that doesn't reflect the time you are putting into it ?
It is indeed a slow time I think, not sure if it's related to the reboot or the time of year.

[seemomster]

I don't have any historical data for my shop...since I've only been open since October (and really only up-and-running since January) but how do this June's sales compare with last June's sales for your shop? It's probably not your prices...but SUMMER. There's a reason many stores do a "4th of July Blow Out!" and "Lazy Dayz Summer Sale." Sales in general drop in mid-June, July, to mid-August. At least, that's how it works in bricks and mortar retail.

[seemomster]

Checked your shop--IMHO you could raise your prices a little further and still be within the market. I don't think it's your prices. I think it's the season.

[BrushStrokeOrnaments]

I've also had a few less views and less sales over the past several weeks (especially since the re-boot). Last summer was extremely slow for me also, however. So I think that could be a part of the problem for you.

Most all of my items are in the $13 - $17 price range. When I reaise prices (and I have several times), I tend raise them slowly...maybe 50-75 cents at a time. The smaller increment increases have worked for me, anyway. I've never noticed a drop in sales. And am planning a price increase for late Aug when things pick up again (and possibly again in early Nov when I'm swamped). But maybe it only means that my items are priced too low (I have compared myself to others...and I, at least, think I'm in the same ballpark pricewise)! This pricing game is a hard one to figure out. Hang in there.

All the best!

[Former_Member]

How to get out this summer, what to do to increase sales?

[spacefem]

I personally don't buy into the higher prices = more income mantra that's been around here lately, I say if you had more income with the lower prices (due to higher sales), keep your prices low. I mean, obviously you can't lose money on supplies, but when it comes to time, I'd rather get $3 an hour for stuff that sells than $10 an hour for stuff that DOESN'T. If it doesn't sell, your time earns $0 an hour, remember?

but I'm alone on this, I think I'm the only one lately who wants to keep prices low. I think it comes from the fact that I'm more of a buyer here than a seller, and I do comparisons and buy stuff based on what's a reasonable price for what I'm getting, I don't buy expensive items assuming they're better or classier or "designer". I just buy. I'm not sure how much all these price-hikers on the forums actually purchase stuff here on etsy, they're here to come out ahead, which I can understand, it's just not me.

[Former_Member]

I sell vintage as well and was going gangbusters until this last Wednesday, have not had a sale since, although steady views. I don't think the higher prices have anything to do with it, you are still reasonable. It is just that time of year!

[ModernHermine]

Good ideas here! Yeah I did a raise in prices back in Jan from $14 -$16.... I have been doing it slowly month by month in chunks of 1.50 when I list new items. As the plate designs evolve I have been doing more techniques to age them and they look better but take more time now. I have a good amount of repeat customers but I wonder how many plates and bottles will they want? Usually after about 5 purchases or so they stop.

I had a lot of requests for custom orders on letters, but I don't have the proper equipment right now for cutting out letters or shapes. So in that respect I have lost out on some sales this month, it's hard when you have to wait to make sales to buy more supplies HA!.....

But it could very well be that it's the season as well. I have keep some of the smaller plates in the 16-18 range to see if that has a difference. Ahhhhhhhh business... My large plates and medium size hasn't changed in price at this point and my old bottles are the same as they have always been. It's the small plate sales that have disappeared it seems???

[ModernHermine]

I do understand the idea as well do I lose out on that $3 extra I wanted or the $18.00 that I could have made... Making zero money it's really not my cup of tea ahahaha

[Former_Member]

So then, Rebecca, it sounds to me that it is the lower price range that has fluctuated... It may be that those customers can only pay that and no more. Again, to test that out, see if the customers who buy smaller items also purchase bigger and pricier items. If they do -- this theory is out the window! If however, lower pice items tend to sell one at a time, then it is your decision, whether to keep this customer base (keeping some prices low) or expand to another market (raising all prices and atracting a new kind of customer).

[Anthropologeek]

If your prices are competitive you shouldn't worry about it just as Julia said, your audience might have changed and you have to maybe wait it out a little bit. I tend to agree with spacefem..."A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Good luck, your shop is beautiful!

[ModernHermine]

True when I had things a touch lower they bought more together I have rarely had a one sale purchase it's usually combos. But at the same time some people do not seem to care and will buy lots of higher priced things together. Maybe I will lower the smaller plates and see what happens and keep the other things at the same prices.... What a headache... Thanks everyone

[Former_Member]

It is a very personal thing, that of profit making.

You could sell multiple items at a lower price and collect marginal profit that adds up to the number you need in your pocket, or you could sell fewer items at a higher price and collect less frequent but higher profit. What is the best will depend on what you need and what works for your customers. Any time you think of expanding to a new customer base you have to think of it as an investment, which may not pay off right away, and some do not pay off at all (not all investments are successful, unfortunately).

Hang in there, take notice of what you are doing and what you think it does for your shop and over time track whether your hypotheses were correct.

I myself am new here and I am still figuring out who my customers are. But I also know that I cannot go lower on my prices in order for me to be sustainable. I can afford at this time to make that investment and wait for the right customer, as I also do not want to attract buyers who will not be able to afford my offerings in the future.

[AnneLondezGlass]

Spacefm, I think it depends what you need to live. If Etsy is just a hobby and you don't need the income to eat, that's one thing. If, as is the case for me, your craft is your living, it has to be sustainable in the long term. That means, among many other things, being able to not only pay your rent, food, insurances on a daily basis but also being able to put money in a savings account for rainy days. There is no way I can do that making 3$ an hour. Admitedly I live in a country where the cost of living is high but even so, I have to be able to make a substantial amount per hour to just survive and if I am not aware exactly of what costs how much, I am working for nothing. There are things I don't do anymore because although they were easier to sell, the benefit/cost analysis showed a profit of a couple of $ per hour, which isn't viable.

[Former_Member]

Sarah,
if you do do that with your smaller plates, then take notice of whether it does make a difference. You need to know what changes result in what business dynamic.
(and I so truly appologise for calling you Rebecca in the earlier post--I have been on too many teams at the same time -- the post still was written for you)

Best of luck!

[Former_Member]

Ditto, Anne!
I am so with you on that!

[ModernHermine]

ahaha Julia that's ok I went back in the thread to find Rebecca but then realized that was me!! Yeah I will have to keep track of this thing. I don't want to work for cheap either cause then I feel undercut while running around shipping, photographing, listing.... I find that tiring, I suppose I was happy at the other price as well cause things were selling quickly.

But at the same time if it has nothing to due with $3.50 well then I might be wrong? I rather sell less for more but if that never happens then I am selling nothing and that stinks too!!

But my husband got real comfortable with me buying the groceries the last 5 months!! I miss it.......

[ModernHermine]

Yes Anne it's true hobbies and trying to make a living is very different things. I would love this to be a hobby cause then I wouldn't mind at all!! Any little sale would be fun!!!

But the "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". certainly makes sense too....

[AnneLondezGlass]

Well, you need to find the right balance but that has to be one that you can sustain in time. It's a trial and error process so it takes time !