Suggestion to Etsy: improve your advertising (UK)

[VintagePointUK]

I've posted this under "Technical Issues" because that was the only option available. 

I don't know what it's like in other countries but it seems to me that Etsy's UK TV advertising is... well, not very good. It positions Etsy as a place for buying gifts, mostly in the form of homeware items "made by real people".

There are several problems with this. One - most importantly - is that it excludes whole categories, thus leaving potential UK customers entirely unaware of the range of things on offer. Not only can you purchase a handmade squiggly wall shelf or a cheese board for your French neighbour, you can also buy things like digital downloads (say, astrology predictions or knitting patterns), tech accessories, handbags, clothing... 

Speaking of neglected categories, there's one that's huge: vintage. One gets the impression that Etsy doesn't quite know what to do with vintage, so it sits ignored like an unloved stepchild. This is a HUGE missed opportunity, the more so as it doesn't necessarily conflict with Etsy being a go-to place for gifts. Far from it - as other people on the forums have pointed out, there are many of us who would PREFER to have a well-chosen vintage item as a gift, rather than something new. Vintage is a more environmentally-friendly option too. 

The second problem with Etsy marketing itself as a "go-to place for gifts" is that this leaves some categories out in the cold. Supplies is one category that springs to mind but I'm sure there are others. Maybe Etsy's already making enough money out of its sales of supplies and doesn't feel the need to advertise. IDK. 

TL;DR: Etsy's UK ad campaign is too narrow and ignores entire categories of seller. 

[bradgoodell]

What you are asking is "Can you please raise fees Etsy?"  Because that is what will happen if Etsy pours more into ads for all the various categories out there.  We sellers are already paying for off-site ads that cover things like vintage, supplies, and digital downloads.  

This isn't a technical issue, it is what Etsy chooses to advertise.  

[VintagePointUK]

I know it's not a technical issue. As I already pointed out, I posted in that category because it was the only option I was given (apart from Teams).

And I'm not suggesting running other ad campaigns alongside the one they're already doing. I'm saying that the *right* ad campaign could cover more categories of seller... and therefore make more money for Etsy, thus obviating the need to increase fees.

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

Why defend Etsy's narrow mindedness?  The TV ads don't need to cost more just be more inclusive. 

[bradgoodell]

@JJewellerySuppliesUK I'm not defending Etsy, I'm pointing out the obvious.  

Etsy doesn't think it's worthwhile to have more inclusive TV advertising.  

Currently, the all-inclusive, every-category advertising we pay for is out-of-pocket.  Something that no one is happy about.  

Want more advertising of what Etsy doesn't want to pay for?  We will all pay for it one way or the other in higher fees.  

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

I don't see what's obvious??

[bradgoodell]

It isn't obvious that Etsy does not want to include vintage, supplies, and digital downloads in their TV commercials?  

[TwiLdCapitHog]

Personally I think "the place for gifts" is a weak concept. Anything can be a gift, and you can pick something up at the supermarket, even a cheese board. 

Etsy had a strong identity with "unique, original, handmade, vintage and supplies" which they have ruined. 

Etsys best advert, in my opinion, was I think 2017. It was the outdoor market showing a diverse range of products. I still remember that ad and the music, for all the right reasons, which to me says a lot. It had personality, which set it apart as Etsy.

And I have given beautiful vintage buttons as a gift! Something you know can't be found just anywhere.

[VintagePointUK]

Actually, I'm kind of with you on the gifts being a weak concept. Personally I think Etsy's "concept" is "independent sellers with personality", something that fits in with the 2017 ad you describe (shame I never got to see that one). 

[VintageRescueSquad]

No advertising campaign that is too broad is effective, and is rendered pointless. I know what you're getting at, but a purely vintage etsy tv campaign would potentially alienate viewers who want gifts or handmade or digital items. One that focused on supplies would too.

That is why their campaigns focus on problem-solving solutions (gifts, home decor, etc.)

I'm not saying their ads are good but theorizing as to the why of their strategy.

[RiverfallJewellery]

I don't know what the ads are like in the US but the UK ones are awful. There's no link to handmade, just gifts-gifts-gifts. The ads are so glossy you can't tell what they're for and it doesn't make you want to explore. Same with the marketing email: today I got one for wedding dresses. No link to wedding flowers, wedding shoes, wedding jewellery, family of the bride, wedding hats. It was just three, admittedly spectacular, dresses that looked as though they had professional photographs.  Etsy seems to push the professional photo listings at the expense of everyone else, along with 'personalised ' listings - the ones I mean are like bought-in pendants that can be engraved. They're everywhere.  They have a massive selling point in unique, handmade, one of a kind items & they just ignore it to push a different agenda. It's very sad. 

[VintagePointUK]

The marketing emails I get give me links to my own stuff!

I do feel you on the handmade/OOAK thing. Unfortunately I have a suspicion that Etsy makes far more money off cheap mass-produced stuff, and that it wouldn't be able to stay afloat by restricting itself to true handmade. It's a sad fact of life that most people buy on price.

But yeah, the mass-produced personalised pendants thing makes for a very boring Etsy jewellery page (unless that's what you happen to be looking for).  

[TheNiftyNeuron]

I recently searched for "cute neuroscience gift" and mostly got generic POD results and the digital therapy products I often search for. I tried google image search -- not the shopping tab -- and I got MUCH more appropriate results.

The search results that are relevant to prior searches are especially annoying because sometimes I browse for myself and other times for a completely different person with completely different preferences!

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

The thing is with Etsy tv ads is that you have no idea who they are or what they are talking about until the end when it says Etsy and by then you have forgotten the bland content and blurb!  

[FallsAveVintage]

The cheese commercial is awful and the home sale one they're running now is good but to showcase 3 specific shops wasn't too brilliant especially since one was a brand new shop and another wasn't even a star seller. They could've just as easily shown vintage homewares along side the new pottery.

Etsy is in the midst of an identity crisis. I seriously doubt the C suite even knows what Etsy is at moment.

[FoundAndFlogged]

@VintagePointUK Completely agree with what you say. Not only are they over-pushing the gifting nonsense as well as overlooking various categories such as vintage and supplies, trying to be humorous in other peoples countries is a difficult job that often doesn't work. As we know, there aren't many American comedians that can cut the mustard in Britain, and vice versa - different things make people from different countries laugh.

We are English migrants, living in France & running a vintage and antiques business here since 2015. We were duped into going "full time" several years ago, and due to the downturn in business that so many of us are suffering due to mismanagement, we are wondering how we can keep going and pay our bills.

When I saw the superbowl ad which has been repeatedly screened on UK tv since, I was quite shocked to be honest. I know that (nationally speaking) we all have a poke at each other sometimes, and all but the most straight laced of us can take it with a smile on our faces as well as dish it out... but that ad they spent millions on, omg. It did raise a good hearted snigger the first of about 50 times I have seen it, but if I was French I'm sure I would have found it very offensive - and I am no prude by any measure.

One of the ironic aspects of this expensive waste of money, is that there are a larger number of different cheeses made in Britain than in France. It's all about cliches I guess - the Englishman wearing a bowler hat and eating fish and chips out of a paper bag; the Frenchman wearing a beret an stripey tee shirt riding a bicicle loaded up with baguettes; the fat American with an overly colorful shirt and a camera about 2 feet long, etc etc. We can all have a bit of a laugh at these things, but a multi million dollar ad campaign repeatedly screened in many countries - I'm not so sure, it wore thin very quickly for me.

It's such a sad thing that so much of their money is wasted on ill-conceived ideas such as this, while site fees spiral upwards each year to compensate the board room for the company's failure to attract new customers and increase their income in the right way.

[bobsiDi]

You should count yourselves lucky that you have advertising. Most other countries like Australia where I am don't feature on advertising Etsy's radar, LOL. BTW I never did like the superbowl ad.