pricing critique??

[WildClementinePets]

Hi everyone!

So I started my shop in April 2014 with lower prices to build up some sales (and confidence). I've since worked very hard expanding the number of listings, photos, descriptions, customizations. etc. I rode a wave of good success Oct-Dec. I raised prices to be what I consider fair/comparable to others selling similar products and am still getting a good bit of sales (knock on wood but I would like them to be a bit slower)

Recently, I've had to put my shop on *multiple* short vacations to catch up on orders. Advice in forums is always "never put your shop on vacation...just raise your prices"

I understand that raising prices will slow down your orders but I guess I don't know how I feel about charging more than competitors...

Can anyone take a moment to critique prices for me? Maybe compare to other sellers as well?

This seems to be the most difficult part of running my shop. I need an objective opinion :-)

Thank you in advance!

[FrancescasWords]

First of all I'd put your sale items all in one 'SALE' section. It makes browsing easier for the customer. Secondly, I found your listings a little bit confusing and overwhelming. I love the custom pet product idea but you're also doing items for people, and the organisation of the pet products seems a little bit complicated.

I'd recommend having fewer products in a more organised shop with more organised information before you alter your prices. If they've sold at that price so far, there's little point making them cheaper unless you want rid of stock or are having a sale. But if you can bring down production costs, you might also be able to bring down the price without decreasing profit.

Reading that back sounds really negative - I don't mean to be harsh, your shop is overall really lovely, but you might want to address other aspects of the shop before tweaking the price. :)

Good luck!

[Former_Member]

Hi Ali,
If you're wanting to slow sales, raising the price is definately a good way to do that. As you sell more and more of your items, they will get more weight in search. Meaning you'll sell more. Raise your prices by a dollar or two per item and see how they sell. Obviously if your sales slow too much you can put them back down.

You have beautiful fabrics and so you're going to sell. The other option might be to hire one person to do your cutting, or perhaps to handle packaging your items so that you have that additional time to make more items.

It's a nice problem to have :)

[WildClementinePets]

Francesca, Thanks for the input. The sale items are those that were pre-made and really haven't been selling. It's only the custom items that have done well. I was just trying to clear out the pre-made stock. All of the bowl mats are made with scraps so those don't cost me much to make...
I've been struggling with shop organization. The custom items have a lot that needs to be mentioned in the listing unfortunately. I haven't been able to pare that down too much.
The people stuff is only seasonal and I won't renew those items until next fall.
I appreciate your comments. I will try and sit down and restructure everything. I don't have internet or even cell service at my house so this will involve posting up at a coffee shop for a day or so... blah

Twisted- thanks for your input. Maybe the incremental increase will work. I wish there was a quick way to edit ALL variation prices because it is QUITE the chore to go into each listing and update up to twenty size prices per listing. I get ok sales but I'm very far from hiring help. If I do, it will be in the form of my mother but she lives across the country at the moment.

[FrancescasWords]

You're welcome. :)

[Former_Member]

Hi. I like your shop but agree that it needs a bit more organization. It's a little confusing how some items look very similar but are price differently.

I'm new to Etsy as well. Good luck with your shop and your updates.
Kindest regards,
-Mary

[WildClementinePets]

I consolidated a few of the categories, created a sale category, am paring down the text for crate covers...work in progress.