Team Chat

[#1]

Hi Team!

Here is your opportunity to chat about whatever is on your mind... Get to know your teammates, and start networking and building those relationships :o)

[DapperCatDesigns]

I hear you all saying you are a bit overwhelmed!! Lets see if I can help any :o).

Heather - in the "tips of the day" thread, there is a post that offers tips on SEO and tags, that may help to set you in the right direction :o). Also, feel free to post any listings in the "shop help" section and we can all brainstorm for you :o)

Debbe - unfortunately I don't think those jitters ever go away! But that's a good thing because it means you will constantly be trying to improve on yourself and learn new things!! Feel free to share anything you learn here, as I'm sure you're not the only one with those questions and jitters!!

Michael - I agree that sometimes its good to take a step back and just enjoy things :o). Please feel free to ask any techie questions you may have... While I'm not the best either when it comes to that stuff, research is my forte so I am more than willing to help you find the answer :o)

Hope everyone else is doing great!!

[CheckerboardFaire]

Have a question about the thumbnail pics that show when your items matches a search or just show up on your homepage.
You can edit this image when you list your item to make sure it is best for the smaller format, but what do you do if you cannot make the edit "hold." I have a couple of items that do not hold their crop where I want it. On one the edit only holds in the "new format" thumbnails (across the top of item pages) but does not show on the store front page, on the other it doesn't show on either page.
Any thoughts?

[DapperCatDesigns]

Agnes, I've had that happen to me a couple times too... Might be a good idea to post that question in the "bugs" forum and see if admin has any suggestions!

[DapperCatDesigns]

What does everyone think about the new Shop Dashboard?

[CheckerboardFaire]

More info (that I really don't know what to do with!) is always good, right?
I tried cropping the thumbnails that were bothering me again and they both held so-o-o MATBE it was glitch between the 2 different Etsy shop formats that's been cleared up?

[Former_Member]

I've been incredibly busy lately... adding new items and editing my listings. I still have a lot more to add though....

Nicole- I love the new shop dashboard! I'm kind of obsessed with my stats though :)

[LoftyCastleCrafts]

I hadn't noticed the new dashboard, but I love it so far! Thanks for pointing it out.

[Former_Member]

Feeling kind of chatty tonight.... how are all of your shops going? I am so happy to see how much this group has grown :)

[Former_Member]

I've been thinking about the packaging stuff myself. I love all of your ideas for jewelry. My stuff isn't necessarily that compact. I've got a number of vintage blankets in my shop. How do you neatly package something like that? I'm lucky to get some of the blankets in the regular size Priority Mail envelopes. I'd rather squeeze the blankets into an envelope so I don't have to charge any more for shipping than is absolutely necessary. Just not sure how to keep shipping costs low but also add nice touches to create my brand. Any thoughts?

[Former_Member]

You could always raise your prices to cover the excess shipping....just a thought. I always love getting a beautifully wrapped package in the mail. It's like Christmas even though I already know it's coming.

[DapperCatDesigns]

I sell blankets and I've played around with box size and shipping prices... Have you weighed the blankets? I know some shipping is by weight.... Perhaps check out some of the flat rate priority mail boxes? I'm a dork, so all my blankets get placed in boxes with paw print paper, and then a little "dapper cat" trail of paw prints gets stamped on the box.... It amuses me, so I hope my customers get a kick out of it too...

[Former_Member]

Most of my items get a ribbon of some sort around the actual item. Then I wrap it neatly in tissue paper to keep it protected and covered in the mailing box. I just recently found some bike printed washi tape that I'm now going to use to seal my tissue wrap...so excited for it!

I have only been able to use the USPS boxes so far, all my things are too thick for envelopes. I save the big air filled pillows from orders that I place online to "fill the box" a bit so my items aren't sliding around too much.

...did that make sense???

[Former_Member]

For the three things I've sold I've used the Flat Rate Priority Mail envelopes (the ty-vek ones, not the cardboard ones) to ship the items. Two of the sold items were blankets, one of those blankets just barely fit into the envelope. It costs $5.05 to ship the envelope and I usually charge the customer $5 for shipping (I roll any other shipping costs into the cost of the item). It seems like every other shop I look at offers substantially cheaper shipping than I do. Perhaps they ship First Class? I decided to go with the Flat Rate Priority Mail products so the envelopes and boxes would be free and I wouldn't have to worry so much about weighing packages (in part I was trying to avoid buying a postage scale if I didn't really need one). I thought that would be the best way to go while I am still trying to figure everything else out.

Kristin - do you mean increase item prices or shipping prices or spread the cost between both?

I really want to improve my package presentation. I ordered some Thank You postcards from Vistaprint the other night and I bought some stickers from them too. Thought that might be a little nicer than the hand written notes I've been including. I'll probably start printing up an invoice as well. Thought I might get some craft paper (the brown paper that comes on a roll) and some beach themed stamps and make my own wrapping paper since I can't find anything online that I like. I would use the new stickers to seal the package. What do you think?

No Nicole, I haven't weighed the blankets. I have a couple of blankets that I'm going to have to weigh though. They are way too big for the Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes. I'll have to go buy some boxes. I was going to buy some poly bags from Uline.com, but you could only buy a case of them (which was over $100 I think).
The paw prints are cute.

Ribbon is a good idea. And yes that makes sense Mama Berry.

[DapperCatDesigns]

Jeana,

The first blanket I shipped, I got a shock when I took it to the post office and it was $67 to ship!! I've since learned online shipping is lots cheaper!! I also discovered that unless you are using a flat rate box, anything over 1lb has to go priority mail instead of first class. I have no idea how some sellers charge less, unless they have marked their items up to cover the excess shipping?!

[Former_Member]

$67! Wow!
I'd really hoped to use flat rate boxes for everything. Problem is that their large flat rate box isn't very large. I'll have to bite the bullet and go to Office Depot to buy a couple boxes for the big vintage blankets I already have. Hopefully they won't cost a small fortune to ship (and yes I'll get a shipping quote BEFORE I list the item). : )
I didn't know that about first class and priority mail...thanks for sharing.

I've wondered about rolling my shipping costs into my items so I can offer "free shipping."

[Former_Member]

Free shipping doesn't make much sense if you are just going to roll the cost into your item. Remember you pay Etsy on the sale price, so you're actually paying a higher percentage price that way. And generally as a shopper I look at total price...which would be the same either way. :)

[Quagorsky]

I've thought about free shipping as well, but it definitely doesn't work for me, since my prices are basically fixed (no one is going to pay much more than $4 for a greeting card). I always figured free shipping only works for shops whose items cost more, and whose customers might not notice the fees folded in! But that's a good point that Mama Berry makes about having to pay more to Etsy for the transaction fee.

[DapperCatDesigns]

Mama and Michelle - I've noticed that many shops do roll the shipping price into the merchandise. I always search my items to see where I fall on the pages and price point, and I noticed yesterday that most of the stores offering free shipping charge the same for their items as mine end up being after shipping.... I'm glad we had this conversation or I don't think I would have noticed!! Makes me feel better about my prices...

[Former_Member]

That's a good point about the fees Mama. I hadn't thought about that.

I guess it's a consumer psychology thing. Is it best to appear to have a lower price than a competitor by not rolling shipping costs into your item? Or do people feel like they are getting a good deal by getting "free shipping" even though in reality they are paying more for the item to cover the shipping costs.

Before I list my items (unless I've already listed something similar) I usually check to see what other shops are charging for similar items and how much they are charging for shipping. I try to follow the mid to upper range shops with their item pricing and shipping costs. I always get hung up on the charges for the additional item though. Never know how much to charge.

[Former_Member]

Hi! I'm Laura and I'm new here . . . a newbie among newbies haha.

I sell dolls in my shop, but I've been wondering - what's a reasonable price for crocheted dolls? My friends are saying I'm being unreasonable...

[Former_Member]

Welcome Laura...don't worry, we are all newbies here. :)

This is not the answer you want, but price should really depend on your materials, and time spent making your dolls. There is a great formula out there in the ETSY world I believe its:
Costs for materials + your labor costs (whatever you want to pay yourself x hours to make an item) = wholesale price. To get retail price you should multiply that by 2.

I think for your dolls, $40 doesn't seem unreasonable, however you might work on your photos and their lighting a bit to make sure people can SEE the quality work that you've put in to your craft. Try to use natural light. Show the dolls from different angles. Close-ups of your stitching work would be nice too.

Just a few suggestions. Good luck and welcome again!

[Former_Member]

Thanks for your advice! I just spent about thirty minutes taking better pictures using a chair a blankets I found lying around. Natural light looks a lot better than whatever I was using before. :)

[Quagorsky]

I second Mama Berry's advice--pricing definitely depends on how much labor and money you have to put into it, so you if $40 is what you need to make a profit, I don't think that's unreasonable either. You could also check out your competitors' pricing--I don't know much about the doll market but I feel like it's not one where there's a general consensus about what people will or won't pay.

Finally, I might recommend using a white background to contrast against the colors of your dolls--I think that could look really nice! Up to you, though, of course.

[Former_Member]

A Non-sequitur:
I love the inviting, encouraging environment of this team. Keep it up guys! :3

[Former_Member]

Welcome Laura.
Love the dolls!
If you need to price them at $40 to make a profit, then sell them at $40. There is a research tool on Etsy that can show you how much crochet dolls are selling for. Part of the problem though is that some people under value their work and sell dolls like that for substantially less. Show that you sell high quality items and provide excellent customer service and people should (in theory) be willing to pay he higher price.