Interested in a Critique?

[Former_Member]

I've noticed a lot of people asking for advice on running their shop, so I though I'd put a general critique offer out there :) If you're interested in feedback on photos, descriptions, SEO, etc (or your overall shop!) just post here, and I'd be happy to take a look!
Feel free to message me as well if you have any questions, I love to help out.
If anyone else is willing to help others out, feel free to post here as well.

[Former_Member]

Please critique my shop! I know I need more selection but what else?

[Former_Member]

Hi Misti,
Your bracelets are beautiful! You're right, more items would definitely be a plus. Try to keep at least a full page of items (of course much easier said than done!), if not more.

Your bracelet prices are fine, but I'm curious as to how you are able to ship for only a dollar. You should be shipping in a bubble mailer rather than a regular letter envelope to prevent damage or loss of the item during shipping (the machines letter envelopes go to are designed for flat paper, not bumpy bracelets). Currently, the cost to ship a 000 bubble mailer is about $1.75 via paypal, and will increase to around $2 or $2.25 when postage increases at the end of the month. Your buyers are willing to pay full shipping prices, don't ever eat the cost or try to work it into the item price.

How are you photographing your items? I strongly recommend using a light box with a solid white background or setting a sheet of white paper in non-direct natural light. This will give you clearer, brighter pictures and really show off your bracelets. You may find that you need to do a bit of editing to get your pictures as bright as you'd like- I use photoshop elements, but others use free online sites such as picnik that work just as well. Getting beautiful pictures is a constant battle, but the more you experiment and play around, the better yours will be.

I noticed that you haven't updated your store policies since August. Try to review them every month or so to keep them fresh. Include details such as how you ship items (do you use USPS first class? priority?), if you include the shipping price in item refunds or just the item price, and how customers can contact you for more questions or custom orders. You can include a direct link to send a message to you with this https://www.etsy.com/conversations/new?to_username=DotsKnotsAndMore

You really have a great shop! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask here or send me a message!

[Former_Member]

oops, that link doesn't seem to be working, try https://www.etsy.com/conversations/new?with_id=15627652

[TheGiantKnot]

I would love some critique for my shop please.

[Former_Member]

Hi Muiyo!

First off, your pictures look great! The only problem is that you only have one picture of each item. Make sure you're listing at least three photos for each item. Keep the pictures you have as the default, but also add pictures of the bracelet laying flat, the back side of the bracelet, the knot of the bracelet, etc. The more pictures you take, the better a customer is able to see exactly what they're buying.

The main thing I feel you should focus on is your shipping. As I told Misti above you, it is extremely important to ship in a bubble mailer. The machines that regular or "flat" envelopes go through are not made for bumpy bracelets, and you risk damage or even loss of the bracelet, even if it's wrapped in paper (although the paper is a nice tough visually). Your buyers are willing to pay a few dollars for shipping if that ensures that their item will get to them safely. Shipping a bracelet in a 000 mailer only costs a few dollars to almost any destination in the world (although be careful if you're looking up shipping prices now- they are going up slightly at the end of the month).

Make sure you list at least one or two thing under materials. "Thread" or "Embroidery Floss" work well.

As for your titles- to have a better chance of being seen, you need to put what the item is first- i.e. "Macrame Friendship Bracelet - Blue and Orange Arrows" instead of "Blue and Orange Arrow Friendship Bracelet". If you use "-" dashes, make sure you put a space before and after.

Your bracelets are great! You have very nice craftsmanship. :)

[TheGiantKnot]

Thanks so much for your help! I've just ordered these amazing biodegradable bubble mailers from Eco Enclose on Etsy and I'll use them as soon as they come. I'll definitely get more pictures of each item.

[Former_Member]

Great! I've actually been wanting to try the biodegradable mailers, you'll have to let me know how they work out for you! :)

[Former_Member]

Can I have a critique please?

[Former_Member]

Hi Kaite!

The first thing I'd like to make note of is your Harry Potter and Adventure Time Bracelets. Since these are copy righted themes/characters, your shop could potentially be shut down for having them listed, not to mention the owners of the copy rights could try to come after you. Although some shops sell copy righted material and go unnoticed (and unless you're a big time shop, most copy right holders aren't going to try to sue you), you need to be aware of the risks.

Your pictures look nice, very bright and clear.

You may want to include bracelet width as well as length in your descriptions.

Also consider beefing your titles up a bit- include a couple of the words you use in your tags, such as colors.

You have a bit of tag stuffing in some of your listings, which is an etsy no-no and makes your items harder to find in relevancy searches. For example, instead of making 'red and white' one tag, make 'red' and 'white' separate tags. Also, tagging things for what they could be used for is not allowed, such as 'party favors'.

Make sure you're making it clear when things are custom or made to order- put it in the title and near the top of the description.

To have better results in search engines, the first 300 characters (I believe, but at least the first few sentences) of your shop announcement should contain what you sell.

A good word to use for color 'variations' is variegated- I use this for my hand dyed bracelets and get a fair amount of hits off of it.

You're doing a nice job of filling your shop. Keep it up! Aim to have at least 2 or 3 full pages of items.

Overall your shop looks great! Most of these things are just little and nit-picky, you're doing a fine job.

[TopStitchDesign]

I would love to get a critique for my shop

[Former_Member]

Hi Anna,

I'm curious as to how you are able to ship for only a dollar. You should be shipping in a bubble mailer rather than a regular letter envelope to prevent damage or loss of the item during shipping (the machines letter envelopes go to are designed for flat paper, not bumpy bracelets- ESPECIALLY important for beaded bracelets as the beads can break under pressure). Currently, the cost to ship a 000 bubble mailer within the US is about $1.64 via paypal, and around $3 for international. Buyers are willing to pay full shipping prices, don't ever eat the cost or try to work it into the item price- you'll just be cheating yourself.

To increase your relevancy, start your titles with "Glass Beaded Bracelet". For example- "Glass Beaded Bracelet with with Filigree Fishhook Clasp - Yellow, Orange, Red, and Black" rather than "Yellow, Orange, Red and Black Glass Beaded Bracelet with Filigree Fishhook Clasp ".

Make sure your charitable donation is within Etsy's TOUs. Check out the rules here http://www.etsy.com/help/article/269

It's against TOUs to have tags such as "gift under 10". Make sure your tags describe your item, not what your item can be used for. Team tags are fine.

Read over your policies to make sure they are current. Your policies make it seem like all of your items are made to order, but your listings don't mention if they are ready to ship or not.

Be careful with giving a specific lifetime to your items- instead of saying that your bracelet has lasted ten years, just mention that they are strong and long lasting. Giving a specific time frame can get you into trouble if someone's bracelet doesn't last that long. You may also consider giving your customers care instructions to insure a long life (I include a care sheet with each order with tips on how to wash the bracelet and thing to avoid- ie sunlight and chlorine- that can shorten the bracelet's life).

A note on your sweatshirts- make sure you say they are HANDMADE in the USA- by the pictures and only reading that first sentence, someone may report you for selling mass produced items. Of course, reading on it's clear that you make them yourself, but it'll save you time and the trouble of having to deal with etsy admin if someone reports you. They look great, though- definitely not a bad thing that they look so professional :)

[Former_Member]

I would love a critique of my store(:

[Former_Member]

Hi Scot, sorry it took me a few days to get to this!

Wow, are your prices low! You are greatly undervaluing your work- don't short yourself! Remember that super low prices can imply low quality, which is a turn off for a lot of buyers. Pricing is something that most shops are constantly struggling with, so don't worry if it takes you awhile to find what works for you. Try checking out this calculator to see how much you'll make with your current prices (not much!) and play around to find a pricing that benefits both you and the customer.

Similarly, I strongly recommend reconsidering your shipping prices. You should be shipping in a bubble mailer rather than a regular letter envelope to prevent damage or loss of the item during shipping (the machines letter envelopes go to are designed for flat paper, not bumpy bracelets- ESPECIALLY important for beaded bracelets as the beads can break under pressure). Currently, the cost to ship a 000 bubble mailer within the US is about $1.64 via paypal, and around $3 for international. Buyers are willing to pay full shipping prices, don't ever eat the cost or try to work it into the item price- you'll just be cheating yourself. I see you're new, so if you don't want to invest a lot in shipping supplies yet, try looking at walmart or somewhere similar for small quantities.

To increase your SEO (search engine optimization- this is how people find your shop!), start your titles with what the object is followed by a couple descriptive words. For example, "Friendship Bracelet - Gay Pride - Rainbow - Colorful" rather than simply "Gay Pride Bracelet". Similarly, make sure you use all 13 tags, including the words you use in your title.

Your pictures aren't bad, but they can always be improved (another constant battle!). Experiment with different backgrounds and lighting to create a cohesive look in your shop. Try to have at least 3 photos for each listing.

Make sure you fill out your policies! This is where you give your customers details about shipping, refunds, custom orders, etc. This is VERY important! In addition, take advantage of your shop announcement by writing a sentence or two about what you sell- this is also used in SEO.

Keep adding more items; the more you have, the more people will find you!

For only being open a week, things look pretty good! The first few months on etsy can be difficult, but stick through it and it'll be worth it :)

[Former_Member]

I just started, and I am looking for some feedback before my shop gets to large and it becomes hard to fix my mistakes.

[Former_Member]

Hi Kayla! Good for you for being proactive- waiting until you have 100 listings to fix something is not fun!

First off, unless you have the rights to angry birds, harry potter, ipod, pink floyd, and pac man, selling these items is copy right infringement and can get your shop closed with little to no notice. You could also face fines and/or lawsuits from the owners of the copyrights to any of those items. I strongly recommend taking them down as it is a large risk, even if others seem to get away with selling these items.

Continue to work on your photos. Make sure you have at least three pictures for every item. Your white backgrounds are a good idea, but you may want to consider using photoshop or some other editing software to brighten your photos a bit.

Make sure you include measurements for every item, even keychains and bookmarks. It's a good idea to list in both imperial (U.S) and metric (basically everywhere else in the world).

Make sure your titles begin with what the item actually is and is followed by some descriptive words- i.e. "Macrame bookmark - coexist - religious symbols - black and white" rather than "Woven Coexist Reglious symbols bookmark." Use all of these key words in your tags.

Maybe I'm wrong, but your items do not look like they were made with a crochet hook. If that's the case, using "crochet" as a material or tag is misuse and against etsy's TOUs.

[Former_Member · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone-

I don't always check this thread everyday, but I will get to everyone who posts! If you need an immediate critique or have any pertinent questions, feel free to message me :)

[Former_Member]

Bumpity bump...

Just want to let you all know that I'm still always happy to critique. Just post here or convo me!

[Former_Member]

I would absolutely love a critique.

[beausbitsandbobs]

Hi ! Can u pls critique my shop... I know i don't hv hundreds of items! Thanks

[Former_Member]

Hi guys, I see that you've posted but have to run some errands. I'll get to you today, promise!

[Former_Member]

Hi Tiffany,

Your photos are nice, but could stand to be brighter. Try using a photo editing software to brighten them up a bit, whether online or a program such as photoshop.

For google SEO, you should have "friendship bracelet" first in your titles. For example, "Double Wide Diamond Bracelet - Ready to Ship" should be "friendship bracelet - double wide diamond - ready to ship."

Most of all- you need more items! Try to have at least two full pages. I know it's easier said than done, but if you can try to list a new item every day it will really make a difference.

[Former_Member]

Hi Patricia,

You certainly don't need hundreds of items, but the more you have the better! Try to have at least two full pages of items, listing daily if possible.

You're pictures are pretty good. Try playing around in a photo editing software such as photoshop (or a free online program) to see if you can get them a little brighter and crisper.

Put a sentence in your shop announcement about what you sell. This will help google find your shop.

[Former_Member]

Thank you very much! I appreciate it!

[Former_Member]

Hi! I would love your advice on how to better my shop. I was getting steady sales last winter but everything just stopped this February and I've only gotten about 5 sales since!