Renewing - how many times?

[Former_Member]

Hello all team members!

This year my sales are not what I hoped them to be. Only 2 so far. I'm listing and renewing my items on daily base. With no sales, I have a feeling that's all I do, pay fees for listing and renewing.

We all make new item, loving it and list it, hoping someone will love it so much, it will sell fast, don't we?
Now, my question is, if an item doesn't sell in 4 months and you renew it for another 4 months, but it still doesn't sell, how long do you renew it? 3 times, 4 times, 5 times?? Where's the limit? How do you cover Etsy fees for constant renewing (especially if the items you sell are not expensive)? What do you do with an item that doesn't sell? Keep it? Give it away? I have items that I have been renewing 4 times, listed them under sale section, but still no luck. I love making new things, but it would be great if I could sell then as well. :-) I have way to much stock.

Thanks for your time and opinions on this topic.

[Former_Member]

i can relate, i have a few items that have been sitting in my shop for more than a year but i keep them because it´s inventory and gives people the feeling that there´s a lot to choose from. some time before christmas when i had a lot of sales i got rid of some items that have been in my shop for quite some time and i could not believe i finally got rid of them. now that they are sold i do of course think twice whether i will make them again or not but i just had to wait for the right person to come along and buy it (and love it)
do you have other outlets to sell your "unwanted" items???
maybe you can turn them into presents for friends???

[Former_Member]

my thought was, not all item will be hot sales product, however we have to keep listing new product and renew the old one to make sure the inventory is fill up to attract more people to your shop, because buyers may link to your shop from any products listing from your shop and probably will lead them to buy your other product.

you may try the search ads for little budget and sometimes it will bring in good sales. (if you used the right and targeted keywords)

Good luck! :)

[KiltedWoman]

I keep renewing something if I really love it and think it is just waiting for the right person. Some things I am kinda not in love with so I remake those items into a different thing. I also keep track of what is not selling. I pulled my scarves, they sell in person but not so much online. Probably not going to renew soap anymore. I also try changing the price sometimes. You just never know what is going to attract a certain person.

[LeedsRadio]

I looked at your shop and it's very nice. Your product and the pictures of it look great. Then I looked at your shipping information: "Delivery time overseas should be between 10 - 40 working days." If you would like to expand sales in the US you have to find a way to ship that does better than that. Nobody waits 40 days for anything in the US. There are stores now that have same day delivery. I know that the 40 days is just the remote, outside time of delivery but I can tell you that if I was shopping for a luxury and saw that I would look elsewhere for equal quality but faster service.

[Former_Member]

Thank you all for your replies.

I also sell at local Art & Craft show and do very well. Sometimes I remake some of the items into something new, I have also donated for charity auctions and I only give to friend as a gift if they really, really like it.

@Richard, thaks for your compliments. In reality delivery oversea takes 14 days, but I stretched it into 40 day, because it includes Customs - they can hold an item if it's over certain amount of money. At least that's how it works in Slovenia. I belive if a customer wants something and it's one of a kind, they will wait. Just take the Birking bag as an example - acording to Wiki, the waiting list is up to six years. And, my bags are all ready to ship and they usually ship the next day.

Let's get back to topic. How many times do you renew an item?

[ForeverSweethearts]

Your renewals are only costing you $0.60/listing/year. They'd have to hang around for several years before they start being a loss in fees alone!

I keep my unpopulars listed, just because they *do* draw views, even if not sales, and if they're bringing people in, then they're giving me my money's worth :)

[ForeverSweethearts]

Oh, and to answer the question above... I just keep renewing.

[Former_Member]

@Stephanie, good point. Made me renew an item for the 5th time much easier :-)

[ClarasHandMade]

Each time before I have to renew something, I change it, new photos, and I look very closely at the items stats, what brought in traffic what didn't, what else could be used to describe this item? some times just changing an items photo really helps. I done this recently with one of my linen clutches and it was featured in a couple of treasuries and got a few hearts. No sales on that item yet but hopefully soon.

[ClarasHandMade]

Hi Kristina another thing with your items you are often starting your purses with the colour as the first word eg your red purses, why not use a different phrase eg kiss frame purse red, or even a different way of saying red eg scarlet? is red one of your highest ranking stats?
all of your featured products are also red purses, why not change this up to different colours and different items too so people see more variety from you. Red is very Christmas I think you should have your green and yellow items up there for spring.

Good luck to you x

[SpangGangDesigns]

Having the word "on sale" as part of your title, especially in the beginning may not be helping those items. Most people won't search "on sale". Put the keywords that people will use at the beginning of your title. If you want to indicate that those items are on sale, how about adding text across the photo indicating such?

[LeedsRadio]

Opps. That's the part I forgot to answer. I have no problem renewing indefinitely. If I were to post 100 things every 4 months that did not sell, three times a year, it would only cost $60. I wouldn't say I have much of a business if I couldn't afford that. The things that don't sell still are advertising and drive prospective buyers to the things that ultimately sell.

[Former_Member]

Good responses, thank you so much! I really do appreciate it!

I do have other colours too, but I suppose I love bright colours and it shows, doesn't it? :-) I'll rearange a bit. Thanks for pointing it out, Clara.
I do change the beginning of titles a lot. I started with unique, than with metal frame, now with kiss lock. The most searched keyword in my shop is coin purse. Items with polka dots are the ones that sell the most, that's why they are featured.

I saw other shops put SALE or ON SALE in the beginning of the title, that's why I did it too. Where should I put it then? At the end of the title?

@Richard, $60 just for renewing may not be a lot to you, but it is a lot if you don't sell anything for weeks or even months don't you think?

[Former_Member]

I renew items indefinitely. Except if I decide to remove a product line or no longer feel the item fits in the shop. To me the renewal fee is the cost of doing business on etsy, and those costs are rolled into the overhead of the shop. The benefits outweigh the cost: renewing helps keep your shop active which is helpful for etsy search and browse functionality.

[IvoryCatCreations]

" I'm listing and renewing my items on daily base. With no sales, I have a feeling that's all I do, pay fees for listing and renewing."

Kristina, are you saying that you are renewing the same listings several times before they expire? That is a waste of money.

To answer your question; I relist as they expire after working on the pics and wording. Unless they no longer fit the vision of my shop..

it only takes one person that is in love with your items for them to sell, they just might not have been looking on etsy until now.

[Former_Member]

@Linda, no that is not what I'm saying. I only renew items when they expire, but I have 130 items and a few expire every day. I renew those and also list new ones.
I love your last sentence! Thanks! :-)

[ThreadsOfAFairytale]

Hi! Yes, I'm with more-or-less everyone else here and renew everything as soon as it expires. The listing fees are small and I feel every listing acts as an advert - the more things I have listed, the more chance of being found.
I do have a look at the pictures though - sometimes I'll try a different one as the first picture. I'll also look at the order of the categories an item is listed in and check it's being found. Eg. I sell clothing and costumes so I may have a fairy dress for sale under: Clothing - Women - Dress. If the viewing figures are low, I may try: Clothing - Costume - Fairy or Clothing - Dress - Women etc. It's surprising how this can make a difference!

[Former_Member]

I continue to renew all my items until I decide that they do not fit into the future of my shop. For example, I started out knitting baby socks and then developed my bootie line. The booties sold, the socks never did well. I sold off most of my inventory in local boutique sales where people could actually touch and feel them - guess the socks appealed better in person than on-line. So, when the socks expired I did not renew them. On the other hand, the booties will be renewed continually when the expire because that is where the thrust of my shop inventory is right now. It helps keep my shop full (or as full as I can keep it) even if the bootie never sells. If you like the item - even if it doesn't sell - it helps round out your shop and increases your chances of being seen by buyers.

[Former_Member]

I tend to renew when I want to boost where a listing is at on my page (so people see it right away) or when I don't have something new to list.

Some of my items take a day to sell and others take a year, but as long as the listing looks great, I don't mind at all! Just the way the business is. If you aren't making any sales and renewing constantly, I would suggest taking a hard look at your shop and see if there is anything you can change to better your shop.

Good luck to you!

[Former_Member]

Blackbird - your bags are gorgeous!
I renew once a week on Mondays or Tuesdays
for some reason I get a lot of feedback on those days
more than if I renew on week ends
Im getting ready to jump in the craft fair market
scouting for the best ones

[MoorieCaavieKnits]

I renew a couple of times. I've found that items that I've had in stock for quite some time (over a year) have sold. Sometimes it just takes time to find the right person and figure out the right SEO for your items!

[Former_Member]

I keep renewing waiting for the right buyer. I've also decided to redesign a few of my pieces.

[PorcelainJazz]

Renewing as has been said before is part of my advertising budget. Not just because it makes me more visible in search which it does. But because some of the expensive items like teapots draw allot of lookers but few buyers. Those lookers then shop the rest of the store sometimes buying something in the process.

[PorcelainJazz]

By the way I love your clutches and change purses. They look very well made and the materials you choose are very attractive.