are there upscale shoppers on etsy?

[FoxandRavenJewelry]

Ok, looking through a lot of shops and a lot of items, etsy seems very dominated by low-priced items-- a lot of them priced lower than similar mass-produced things would cost in a department store. There are some really upscale things, and a more moderate number of what I would call mid-range (which is where I think I am at the moment, but others may think I am high-- depends on the comparison, I guess). But it's hard to know what is really selling at a reasonable rate & what not.

So my question is, are etsy shoppers predominantly bargain hunters? Are they looking to spend $5-25 on little things, or are there shoppers who are looking for quality items and willing to pay more for them? Do the more upscale shoppers shop on line at all, or are they only going to brick & mortar shops?

I have to confess that I didn't buy on etsy before, though I looked through quite a few times-- and that's because, for instance with jewelry, I only buy things I know have genuine stones and sterling or at least gold filled, and the search results were dominated by the really inexpensive stuff without good search filters available, so I would look through a few pages and then go elsewhere. I did buy on ebay, & got some nice things at a bargain and quite a few lessons in what not to do online and how much fake junk is out there. But I think most buyers might trust etsy more than ebay.

So, those of you whose average price is $75 and up, are you selling? Much? Do you primarily use etsy or is it a supplement for other online sales or art fairs, etc?

I'm doing jewelry, and I made a decision to stay away from the lower end stuff, both because I don't really wear it myself (which means my personal jewelry collection is small) and because there is such a glut and no competing with the cheap mass-produced stuff from southeast Asia. So I am charging more than most of the ebay sellers I see (it seems like some people are pretty much giving their stuff away). I know if I charge less, I won't be covering my time and materials, and I really need to make this work, but I'm worried that there isn;t a market here.

[PetiteFiligreeShop]

I'm also wondering this! Because I don't really know do My jewelry have market in the Etsy-users, I'm really working towards better visibility in Google.

[nearerthemoon]

Many sites prosper online with higher end prices. I think Etsy, with it's tagline of handmade encourages a thought process in customers of smaller products at a lower price point. You do hear of some shops with high prices doing well, but even for me personally I prefer to use etsy to pick up trinkets and impulse purchases to brighten my day!

I think I am on the cusp of high prices here on Etsy and I read somewhere else in the forums today that if you don't fit the etsy mold complettely, why not try using it as the secure checkout end of a normal website, i.e. have a website you would find anywhere else online then when you click through to each products page have the link send your cutsomer to the etsy listing for that product.

I think once direct checkout is rolled out universally this model will work even better.

[Former_Member]

I'm constantly on the lookout for such shops (I'm just curious how well they do too), so I know I have seen high priced shops that do really well here. From memory..

One was a shop selling retro, 1960's inspired dresses (avg USD150) -- this style is really popular
Furniture shop, saw it on front page (had stuff in 1000+ range i think)
Wedding/bridesmaid type sellers (few hundreds to 2000-ish)
Marie Antoinette costumes (the really over the top costumey types)
Antique/junk store (cant remember price, but was quite ex)

I cant remember the names of the shops :) but they do soo well. I'm sure there were others I saw but I just forgot.

Avg price of my dresses are about USD130-150. I only started 2-3 months ago so I consider myself very new. I am finding it a bit difficult but since I started from scratch, don't do anything big outside of Etsy, and can't continually add listings due to my day job (and I've to admit my product styles are limited! Each design is just so time consuming, there is no way I can reach 50 or 100 listings), so I am willing to wait it out and experiment :)

At the moment, if I am lucky, I would hope to get a sale every 2-3k views (which is extremely crazy high compared to the views per sale other sellers get, there was a recent thread on it!). But maybe once we establish ourselves, it will get better and easier? Hmm, thats what I'm hoping anyway. =)

[Former_Member]

I think it really depends on what the buyer is looking for. I bought my husband's wedding band on Etsy for $550. I know a lot of people who strive to have a handmade wedding as I get requests about my soap favors from my bath & body shop. I too looked to Etsy when I was planning my wedding.

There are also lots of people in print and TV media who look on Etsy for products to feature and have been numerous crafters from Etsy who have had a celebrity buy from them.

It can be hard, but define your target market and focus on them. Because it's hard to become established on Etsy, it shouldn't be your only venue for selling your products. Maybe focus on offline promotions and selling and have marketing pieces that direct your interested buyers to your Etsy shop.

[KLKingDesigns]

I agree with Jacque~ define your target market. I came on ETSY selling my advertising balloons and windsocks, which are a by-product of the balloons. My 4 largest $ sales have been flags and a banner, which fall in the same category. I was discouraged for about a year, and didn't really have high hopes for my shop.
HOWEVER... Once I made a huge pattern purchase, and started listing the sewing patterns, sales started coming in, and occasionally for one of the custom made, more expensive items. This gave me a broader field of viewers, who actually may have found something they had not expected. Some may think my products... sewing patterns/ things sewn don't go together, but they do. It's " things I sew, and things TO sew!" Makes sense? But, I have actually raised certain prices and made sales. Especially when the item was a gift. Some people will not send a cheap gift.
The point is... you can't get sucked into the game of price wars. There is a
lot of that going on here. it is my biggest pet peeve.
Answer: Know your product, know your value, and stick to it. Use as many outside methods as possible to send people to your shop.
Do not worry about the junk. I believe there is a little too much desperation coming from too many sellers, all trying to win that sale. But I think that price wars lowering the price standard will eventually destroy this site. Stay above them!
Tell buyers WHY your work is worth the money. Let them know Insurance can be purchased for the shipment, and in the case of more expensive jewelry, give them a trade-in option.
, say within a week. I didn't say refund> I said trade-in. And, unless you are prepared to replace an expensive item, avoid international shipping on high-end goods. Things go missing. A lot of shipping internationally cannot be tracked once it leaves the US border, but you still pay for the luxury of sending it.
At least they will know you are there to see them happy. And you will develop a following. Hang In There!
Plus...You will be doing the rest of us a favor who don't want to give their stuff away either!

[dorsetclothing]

And, unless you are prepared to replace an expensive item, avoid international shipping on high-end goods. Things go missing. A lot of shipping internationally cannot be tracked once it leaves the US border, but you still pay for the luxury of sending it.
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In those cases, force tracked shipping. I will not send items over $100 for anything less than registered shipping overseas. In my industry, a lot of asian companies don't ship anything short of EMS. If people want it, they will pay the price of shipping. (often I will pay the extra for EMS on high priced items/bigger orders because I like getting the item within a week, and that I can track it right to my doorstep online)
Americans especially seem get caught up in the cost of shipping, but coming from an Australian, your shipping prices are cheap comparatively to the rest of the world.


Anyway, seconding know your market. Those who don't want your items for the price you have them, aren't your market. I am at the high end of my market for what I do, and I've developed a loyal set of customers. They often buy my cheaper items first, and then come back for more expensive stuff over time. Having a range of price points can help with getting people interested in your work.

[FoxandRavenJewelry]

Thanks for the feedback & encouragement-- I know if I look at what I use for materials, and if I compare what I am making to what is available in shops, my prices are reasonable to low-- so it's good to know that there are some people making it work & who don't just think the site is for the low end things only.

Interesting advice on the shipping, Karen... I decided for my own protection to insure everything, but I hadn't thought about how that works overseas. And I originally had my return policy set exactly as you suggest, but then I worried I was too strict & it would scare people off, so I made it a week for no questions refund (which I'm not entirely thrilled about because of the costs associated with that). I'll have to think about adjusting it after I have a few sales.

I do wish etsy would offer a more sophisticated advanced search (and let us use more tags).

[dorsetclothing]

I only return/refund if an item is faulty or not as described. My policy is that the customer must contact me within 7 days of receiving the item, and they pay return shipping costs. If you insure/track your international orders, then you'll be able to get info from the post office as to when it was delivered. I don't, but I've always assumed I'd accept it as long as they've contacted me within a reasonable time frame. That said, in five years I've only ever had to refund one item, and replace another that went missing in the mail. I've had pretty good luck overall.

[KLKingDesigns]

My experience is that the USPS only insures and tracks Express International mail. Plus, Fed Ex and UPS are even more costly.. And that is only worth paying for if the item is expensive. So, if it was an expensive piece of jewelry, it would be worth it. But, naturally, if the item cost is less than the shipping, are there really people out there who don't care if shipping is dis-proportionate to their purchase? Not in the world I am familiar with! In such cases, when there is a bit of money and work involved in an order, I like to add extra insurance. Just in case!

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the team with this shop, but have another shop also on this team ( nancyjeanhomegoods)

This is a great discussion. My shop had been doing very well since starting about a year and a half ago. I was consistently selling both my lower lived work - $35 and higher priced work with prices around $600 , but sometimes over $1000.

But, I've noticed a HUGE difference since they rolled out the relevancy thing! Ive tried to do all the right things as far as tagging and titling, but my sales have dropped so low that I'm wringing my hands!

The only reason I can think of is that I use to renew consistently several times a day, and it worked well for me! Now that all the painters are on an even playing field my shop is suffering.

I have visited other shops that sell similar items to mine and some of them still are doing very well.

So, now that vie told you my tale of woe, I guess the point Im making is that YES, you can pull in a good salary here, and yes, folks will spend the money!

Now if I can just figure out where all MY big spenders are!!!

[seemomster]

"So, those of you whose average price is $75 and up, are you selling? Much? Do you primarily use etsy or is it a supplement for other online sales or art fairs, etc?"
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I'm not selling much...yet. But then, I don't have the magic 100 items in my shop and I missed Christmas. I DID get what I consider to be great advice over the weekend...and I am in the process of implementing it. A vendor suggested that I think of Etsy as my secure shopping cart--not my primary venue. I should develop a blog and/or website that links potential customers to my Etsy shop. It will take me a few weeks to a month get that in place...but I've already registered my domain name.

In bricks and mortal retail January and February are ALWAYS slow...things seem to pick up in March. I'm hoping that is the case!

[Former_Member]

Also keep in mind with higher priced items you don't have to sell as much when compared to lower priced items may need to sell a lot to meet their revenue goals.

Definitely look into outside places to advertise to bring the high-priced shoppers to your shop.

[Former_Member]

@seemonster - that's good advice about thinking of etsy as an extension of your personal venue!