What is going on with the traffic?

[AntoArts]

Hi,
I know Sep/Oct are slower months, but the traffic is really bad this year. I am down to about 1/3 of my regular traffic. I do have sales, but it will slow down over time, because of not too many visitors.

Is this the same with you? There are sellers complaining about this all the time, but for I've been here for over 3 years. This is my 4th autumn on Etsy and I definitely think that something's going on.

What is your experience?

[DoodlepopDesigns]

Yep, really slow for me too, summer was better.

[AntoArts]

It's like day and night. Compare to last year I am about the same, but since then I expanded, I bring in outside traffic, work with vendors, sell at Nordstrom and this brings regular traffic, and so on. This tripled my views in the last year. Suddenly 2-3 weeks ago, right around the time Etsy announced the "improved" policy changes, it was as if someone took a knife and cut out about 2/3 of my regular views.
Very odd, I would say...

[Former_Member]

I believe a lot of sellers have chosen to move on or not work their shops. Sellers make up a lot of views so if they are not here then their views will not be either. I get more views now from outside sources than I do from Etsy. Those views are down about half.

[dstefanTreasures]

My sales and Etsy views are down by about 1/2 from the last two years. I'm trying to gradually change my titles and tags, again.

I hope I haven't invested too much in Etsy. It seems as though vintage jewelry is more of an afterthought these days. I'd hate to go to the dark side....the other e-selling site :(

[PrairiePrimitives]

It's been slow for me too, but considering how little I sold here the first 5 years I had this shop, I shouldn't complain. LOL!

[Former_Member]

At the time Etsy announced its new policy changes, the US government went into shutdown mode and many were out of work. The shutdown not only affected government employees but also many others who's jobs depend on government entities.

Around here that meant that the staff at the Air Force base wasn't getting paid, nor was any of the tourism industry who depend on the Grand Canyon and other National Parks for their traffic.

Many people were not able to make their mortgage payments or pay for groceries and were resorting to food banks.

So with that in mind, I'm sure that Etsy sales dropped as well. I know that my sales for the first few weeks in October were well below what I had targeted and are only now slowly starting to come back.

[PithAndRootStudio]

My experience is exactly the same. My sales and views are below what I had last year, but I've worked really hard to improve my listings and revamp my shop, thinking I'd see a boost this year.

I agree the shutdown has sent a shudder through the U.S. economy. Even though furloughed employees will get back-pay, confidence is a big part of what drives the economy. Economists say that private companies are reluctant to hire more employees or make large investments with the uncertainty that another debt ceiling crisis may bring months down the road.

I think that, combined with Etsy's declining reputation as a place for the handmade and unique, could explain the slump.

That said, I still intend to do a lot of Christmas shopping on Etsy and I have a Christmas list of my own of things from handmade sellers.

Not jumping ship for now!

[Former_Member]

For me, traffic is picking up a little bit higher than last month. It doesn't take extra effort for me to drive my traffic like it used to be. But I noticed that whenever I post new item it tends to increase my traffic alot more than when I only promote my old items.

[Former_Member]

i cannot complain but then my shop improved a lot from what it looked like last year

[MerlinMN]

I live in a town where the new Dollar General can't decide whether to open or not. The lights are on, but there's nothing in it. They have missed out on our summer season, back to school, Halloween and it looks they are throwing out Santa, too.
Nevermind the NEEDED jobs! Oh wait, those assuredly minimum wage workers are waiting for the mines to reopen before the die.

[MalibuJewel]

I have also noticed a big drop in views over the last few weeks.

[hipposdream]

October is sooo slow for me , I can't believe it. It is my 5th year on Etsy and I must say that 2013 is ( till now) not my best year at all.
Hope it picks up for the last 2 months.

[MyDistinctDesigns]

This Oct. has been quite different than the first 9 months of this year. I think there may be several reasons for that. I keep plugging along and working on my shop and the sales that I do have. Things will come around.

[HartfordAvenueQuilts]

My views/traffic fell through the floor as well. I don't think I've ever been this slow. I did a show recently, and that helped move some items out the door, and I'm doing another one in 2 weeks, so hopefully I'll sell some more quilts. I also recently put some of my items in a local art shop run by artists. I'm doing it consignment as I don't want to pay the rent or work 8 hrs a month (just don't have the time). I haven't sold anything there yet. One of the shop owners told me that it seems like the shoppers who have the most interest in my quilts are men. Makes no difference to me - a shopper is a shopper!

[MerlinMN]

Nancy, your quilts sound like my bags: men are looking at them as gifts!
I have some of my bags and some other things (from my other Etsy shop) in a local gift/consignment venue and the owners tell me the same thing, altho' it is the women who make the final buy. I think it helps that the men tell the ladies that its attractive, as in, if it 'gets thru'" to the man's sensibilities, the lady knows he won't beef about it - he likes it already.

[MoabBagCompany]

Things are pretty slow for me as well. I only opened my shop this past March, but things steadily climbed over a few months and I thought I did rather well in July and August. I still have not hit the same peaks in views or sales in the last two months as I did over the summer. Hoping it will pick up more soon!

[JoJoJoanson]

Summer was terrible for me,especially August.I thought that with the end of the holidays my shop will comes to life and that was happened but only for the while..September was really good,but this month is back slowdown.I truly wondering did the pre-Christmas season will change something.

[Former_Member]

I was really busy the first week of the month, and then up until last week, almost nothing. Things have started to pick up the last few days though. Possibly people are spending again now that the government is back up and running? I read an article last week that said 40% of US consumers cut back on spending because of it. Hoping that Christmas shoppers will start soon!

[AntoArts]

I'm afraid Etsy might have killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. I don't think it will ever go down, but the reputation it had is damaged.

I am surprised how many people know about Etsy and what is going on here. I am talking about people who don't sell here.

I was involved in a conversation about Christmas shopping earlier today. There were a few people who didn't know I was selling here. When they heard I had a shop here, they commented that it was such a sad decision for Etsy to allow mass production.

One of them even said that she didn't have a reason to come to Etsy anymore, because it's no different from other online sellers. She said she wouldn't be sure whether she would be buying real handmade, or something that just looks like it. She said the reason she shopped here in the past was to buy something unique and to support those who still make handmade stuff.

I am starting to think that this is the main reason for the withdrawal. Apparently, there are many people who do care about buying handmade vs. handmade in China.

[Former_Member]

I keep hearing people talking about moving to other platforms but I'm sticking here because if I've never heard of the platform before, I can't imagine how popular it would be with buyers.

Do you think people just aren't shopping, or do you think some may actually have moved to other platforms?

[AntoArts]

I joined the new platform (no names) :o) I want to explore it and see what happens there.
It's a new and upcoming platform. It's flooded with unhappy Etsyans.
I am staying here. I am very unhappy with the recent redefinition of "handmade", but Etsy will always have a special place in my heart. This is where I started, I saw the web site grow and so on. It's been part of my life for the last 3+ years.
I don't want to upset anyone (I know the admins are just doing their jobs), but what's happening with Etsy is a great lesson for me what happens when greed comes. It looks like Etsy removed its core in order to bring cheaper stuff and with this more buyers. The special and unique part of it is gone. It's becoming a new, polished version of eBay. I hope I would never get to see a "new plasma TV" listed for sale here . . .

[watermediaworks]

My views have collapsed in the last 2 to 3 weeks. There are so many possible explanations, and the government shutdown certainly contributed. As an artist, there's also the big old gorilla -- Amazon Art -- to contend with now.

My solution is to focus even more on in-person sales and getting my art in more physical locations. I've got several upcoming exhibition opportunities and open studios that I'm excited about. I am not going to discontinue my etsy shop, as it's been a very good source of sales to me for the past few years. I will just dial it back a bit until the dust settles......

Change is constant, that's for sure!!

[ScarlettsCozyCottage]

Slow here too. Lower views. This is my first year, so I have nothing to compare it to. Hopefully it will pick up soon.