What am I doing wrong?

[Former_Member]

I have been at this Etsy thing for a while now, and have only had 1 sale.

I have put a lot of time into my shop, but I'm wondering if there's something I'm doing wrong, or something I need to do to intrigue buyers. Lot's of people are very successful on Etsy, and I can't figure out how they do it!

I would love to get a quick critique on my shop from anyone who is willing! Be honest- i really need to know what to change/do/fix to make my shop succesful and my time worthwhile.

Thanks (:

[Former_Member]

Hi! I am pretty new to Etsy, so please take my thoughts with a grain of salt. :) But, I am wondering if you have experimented with adjusting your pricing? I checked out your shop and your bags are cool! I am sure that $20 is a bargain for the amount of time and effort it takes to create them, but I am wondering if reducing your prices a tiny bit might help?

Good luck and don't lose heart! I'll be curious to hear what more experienced sellers suggest!

Lauren

[CollettasKitchenSink]

List more items. The more you have listed, the more you will be seen. Keep working and keep listing!

Good luck!
Colletta

[Former_Member]

You are doing nothing wrong, believe me. Everyone is talking about this problem. Most of us think its the economy. If you have all your ducks in a row, they will come. By ducks I mean tags, links, twitter, facebook, blog, website, and an external high traffic marketing site/blog where you advertise. Also make sure you have your google analytics setup and use the craftopolis app. I've been in the same boat for over a year and I am implementing a lot of changes this month thanks to some very generous advice from fellow etsians.

[Former_Member]

I am running a 50% off sale to see if that makes a difference. I'm pretty discourage with my shop since joining in March this year.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for your advice, good luck with your shop as well, I hope the changes you are talking about making will work for you! (:

[SherryKayDesigns]

Hi,

I don't think you're doing anything wrong, either. You have a nice selection, beautiful handbags, your prices are VERY reasonable, & pix are wonderful. I wish I had some great tips & advice for you, but everytime I think I've found the secret to more views & sales, I end up pretty much back where I started. I'm going to hang in there through the Christmas season and see how it goes. I honestly don't know why your handbags aren't selling, because they should be. I really hope things get better for you & best of luck!

Sherry

[Former_Member]

Hi Barking: I also am new but tried to get a lot of feedback and advise from other sellers when i first opened so I will pass some of that on to you.

First you need to get people to your shop.... Your shop title and description have to include keywords about what you are selling and why someone should visit your shop. Keywords might include upcycled, handbags, totes, unique, trendy, whatever you think describes your product. You should definitely read all about SEO (search engine optimization) to learn more about how to write your text. The verbage under your shop title just has your names and location - you need to change this to keywords about your shop.

Make sure you participate in the forums, join teams, create treasuries, and promote on facebook and twitter. I have read that many people get shoppers/visitors to their shop via twitter. I personally do not use it but mostly because I am too busy to learn a new form of technology but I suggest you investigate this as well as facebook. I do have a facebook fan page www.facebook.com/babywearbybabs. You should start promoting there and get your friends to help promote and spread the word. Join the Make my Facebook Famous team and get people to "like" you to build up a fan base.

Once you get people to your shop you need to keep them engaged in your product....

Your banner doesn't tell me what you are selling and it really is too busy to keep me interested. Work on the banner - there are people on Etsy who will help you design one if you need help there.

Work on your photographs. Look at your competition. You definitely need to include at least one photo of the inside of the bag. Remember that people are not in a brick and morter store and cannot touch and feel the product. You need to represent your bags completely - make the photos so good someone feels like they can see every piece, every angle, every texture. Photos on a model are good for size perspective. You also might put them in an environment instead of just white background. Not too busy but something interesting. Again, check out what your competition is doing.

I disagree with the idea of lowering your prices. But make sure you aren't trying to make money on the postage. I really try to put a price that is accurate but not much more than what the actual cost would be. I read recently on another discussion about someone refunding extra postage billed over the amount it actually cost. If you want to try this then make sure your shop policy says you will charge only for actual cost (and you will have to figure out how to refund through Paypal). I think most buyers are sophisticated enough these days that they know when shipping is too much - I know I will stay away from someone who is trying to gouge me.

Lastly rework your store policies. I checked out people with a lot of sales and read their policies while I was creating mine. I have heard over and over that "all sales are final" is a big turn off to buyers. Buyers want to know that you will work with them. You might get burned sometimes on returns but you are more likely to have a happy customer with positive feedback if you provide some kind of return or refund policy.

Be personable and friendly in your writing. Your item descriptions are short and sweet - try to put a story into them.

I know this is a lot to absorb but I would go back to the beginning and rework every aspect of your store after researching other successful shops and reading about SEO. Again, I haven't been around all that long but I looked into all aspects of Etsy selling before I opened up and got a lot of great feedback early on.

You asked for Honest - hope this isn't too much to absorb.

Good luck,

Barb

[Former_Member]

Thank you so much Barb, all of that is really helpful, and I will definetly look into everything you mentioned. Thanks for taking the time to post this (:

[DabHands]

It's alot of work getting a shop up and running! Barb has excellent suggestions (some of which I'm going to implement).

I've been opened for 2 months and had 3 sales. I've tried to make sure my shipping is reasonable (I usually end up paying a bit more than I charge), my descriptions fun and informative and my photos interesting. Plus I've joined teams, have a FB page, made a few treasuries and made sure I favorited people's work when I see something I like.

Best of luck to you. We Etsians are all cheering each other on! Faith

[Former_Member]

You are certainly welcome. I had lots of help when i was starting out - still need it as a matter of fact! I just call it "pay it forward" Barb

[NutfieldWeaver]

Hi Zebra!

A couple of things struck me when I looked at this listing:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/77119517/purple-and-green-floral-handbag-with?ref=pr_shop

You need to take more pictures. Have a photo of someone holding the bag (this will help people see the size better - you offer dimension information in the listing, but unfortunately these are often overlooked) and maybe a picture of the lining. Instead of "One of a Kind" try "ooak" in your tags and title. This fabric had a contemporary feel to it vs. a romantic floral feel. Tags that describe the item will often help your search results.

Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I agree with everything that Barb said.

Your bags are unique and funky. The bags should be photographed inside. What colors or pockets are inside for example. Tell people that the bag is great for the beach, grocery shopping, or as a diaper bag. On your tags you can put 'diaper bag' for example. You may want to make a reversable bag. People can have two bags for the price of one.
You will get your first sale. I think it took me a month for my first sale. I had to figure out the 'world of Etsy'.

Belinda

[Former_Member]

Barb - I have to say big thank you, I have my shop open since May, and all your advice is very helpfull, I have to rethink what I am doing and change some of the things in my shop

[Former_Member]

I'm new, but here's my two cents ;)

I'm diggin the Barking Zebra Designs name. I understand it's a good idea to be more descriptive in your shop name, but at the same time I believe the title you've given says something about your character - fun, funky, bright, mod, etc.

I'm also a big fan of the white background contrasting the bright color and printed fabrics you use. And like most people have mention, more pictures please! Inside for sure.

It's alot of work to set-up shop, I totally understand. Facebook, twitter, blog and website I'm sure will be worth it though! I worked on my fan page over a couple days and eventually reached my 25 "Likes", after that I set-up a blog that features artist who also work with upcycled and repurposed materials. Next is a website.

Just keep at it, get your ducks in a row and network!

You Go Girl!!
Mioux

[StudioCherie]

I love your avatar photo and think it might help to see more of your bags on people.

Also, with bags it is good to know how much fits in them. You might already say that in your listing. The way I do it is just list how I use the bag myself.

Another thing to do with bags is market for an occasion (like wedding or a trip) or a special use (like a diaper bag or a laptop bag.) Everyday bags are really tough, because everyone already has one. In the everyday bag market you really need to wow them with the detail you put into the bag or something special about the materials or the design.

Hope that helps!

[Former_Member]

A trick to having more photos of your items (because 5 is sometimes not enough) is to add a link in your description to a photo sharing site like Flickr: you create a set of additional photos and reference the Flickr set page into your description. Of course the link in the description is dead (non clickable) but any curious buyer will copy paste the link into a new browser page.

Personally, I take pictures of the items under construction, share them online, and talk about my creation process. This way I slowly create interest from my little group of followers and they are always eager to see the finished product be made available online.

Price-wise, I think your items should sell for more. Do not undervalue the work you offer online.

[CharlenePrecious]

Same boat! I feel like I've been doing all the necessary things but sales are still SUPER slow. But I think the consistent new listings will help get exposure for your shop! I try to list one or two new items daily.

[RBJohnson]

Have you tried renewing a few items a week? And as others have mentioned perhaps decrease your price initially, then increase by a dollar or 2 until your shop reaches that number of sales you would like it to have.
Also target your market, then you know what tag words should be used for Google and other search engines to pick up, for traffic to your store...

I started my items with a $1 or 2 profit at first and every few weeks after sales, I increased the price, until I'm now at a place where I know more than this people do not wish to pay.. Oh yes, and I renewed 1-2 items daily after a month, when sales started coming in..

All the best, you have great items, don't become discouraged.

[Former_Member]

Hi Barking! I love your offerings. IMO, it's not only the economy, it is the time of year that makes it is a little slower. July is usually a slow month, at least for me! Buyers are enjoying the summer.

Also, I think your prices are a little low. You have unique items and it seems like you are selling yourself short.

[Former_Member]

ditto collettakay....list more items. The more items you have with unique descriptions and tags, the more you'll pop up in searches. Also, I noticed that you seem to renew your items in chucks of 3-4. If you had 100 items listed that would be great, but with 20 items, you might want to spread that out a little more maybe renewing 1 or 2 items at a time throughout the day. That gets you valuable realestate on the front page "recently listed" section and also in the "new items" section of anyone who has favorited your shop. Good luck.