Chat Thread for 2015

[#1]

A very Happy New Year to you all!

Here's hoping the sales fairy looks kindly on us all during 2015

Blwyddyn newydd dda a llewyrchus i bawb!

Rosemary X

[teabreaks]

well done Sarah Jane...great news
Waving Rosemary....and welcome Nikki

[sewmuchfrippery]

Waving back at Brenda! I hope all is well with you and yours

It's a gorgeous sunny day here today. About time!
Our local Post Office is shut this week for refurbishment so I'm going to take the bus to Dolgellau. Looking forward to a bit of an outing! (I know - I don't get out much!!). I have been chained to the house recently. There are some nice little shops in Dolgellau - including vintage and charity shops. Hopefully I'll come home with some goodies to sell

[BellaRosinaJewelry]

How was your visit and did you find any treasures?

Carey Ann

[sewmuchfrippery]

Hi Carey Ann. Nothing too exciting unfortunately. A few sewing patterns, not much else. My favourite little vintage shop has recently closed - I was so disappointed to see it gone!
The bus timetable has also changed - but they didn't think to amend the notice - so I ended up hanging around in the cold for an hour!
Oh well, at least there is a really nice cafe there, with homemade cakes. That saved the day!!

I hope everyone is well. The weather here can't seem to decide whether it's Winter or Spring!
All the best, Rosemary

[BellaRosinaJewelry]

The cafe sounds nice, did you get any Welsh cakes?

Hopefully another shop will open soon.

Carey Ann

[sewmuchfrippery]

No Welsh cakes unfortunately. But they sell some very nice Bakewell slices!
The cafe is in a converted Victorian hardware shop - very atmospheric and one of my favourite places to drop in for a coffee!

The UK is currently gripped by election fever (polling tomorrow). I will be stocking up with the obligatory nibbles and bottle of wine - and will stay up for most of the night, until the result becomes clear. Will then either celebate or drown my sorrows!

All the best. Hwyl fawr! Rosemary

[Former_Member]

Hi folks!

Hope you had a good election night Rosemary! I won't talk politics on the thread ...

Any way just wanted to say hello as I don't often get chance to come on to Etsy and also to share an opportunity. If anyone is interested in exhibiting ACEOs in a touring exhibition this Summer until Jan - please message me! or see www.facebook.com/workersgallery and look for the BIGsmallART post!

Take care welshies!
Gayle :)

[sewmuchfrippery]

Waving at everyone! Here's hoping you are all well

This thread has been very quiet recently. Like me, you must all be leading very busy lives. I'm hoping to spend much of the summer on the west coast of Ireland so may end up putting my shops into vacation mode for a little while. It's too much hassle to cart everything with me. It has been so quiet on etsy recently I probably won't be missing much trade!

I'm hoping to take bagfuls of unread novels, knitting projects and the like to keep me occupied. All the 'favourite things' that I never seem to have time for!
Can't wait!

Have a great summer everyone! Take care, Rosemary

[teabreaks]

I wonder, is it worth continuing on here as I mostly seem to be talking to myself.......such a shame but it takes time to keep listing and posting and if no one else is here, then I can spend more time painting than being here all alone.???

[sewmuchfrippery]

Just back from my summer hols! Waving at everyone - and, just like you Brenda, wondering if there is anyone there to wave at!!!

So good to hear from you Brenda - on this eerily quiet thread. I hope you are well.
Etsy seems to be dying on its feet. Views and sales were at an all time low when I left in July -and judging by other forum threads, don't seem to be much better now. So sad to see. The old etsy held so much promise for so many creative people. I now get the impression that people move on quite quickly when etsy fails to 'deliver' for them. For instance, so many of the people who were active on this team in the early days seem to have abandoned etsy altogether - or, I suspect, just return once in a 'blue moon' when they get the occasional unexpected sale!
Anyway - I am always up for a chat and a 'virtual cuppa' Brenda whenever you are passing through. It is always good to hear from you!

[bysarahbiss]

Hi, I'm new to this team, will always find time for a chat. Originally from Wales, now living in the Cotswolds. Be good to get to know you all :)
Been looking for a chat team, rather than a promotion one. So many promotion teams out there.

[sewmuchfrippery]

Hi Sarah. Good to hear from you. Welcome to the team! Croeso! We are quite a dwindling band these days (many of the original team members are no longer active on etsy) so it's always a delight to see a new face.
Where are you from originally? And when did you leave Wales? We'd love to hear more from you whenever you have a minute to 'pop in'.
I'm also 'Bopa Jones' by the way - I have several etsy IDs!
All the best for now, Rosemary

[bysarahbiss]

Hi Rosemary, Diolch yn fawr. :)
I left Wales over 20 years ago now but still consider myself very Welsh. I went to a welsh speaking school although I haven't spoken the language in years so would be incredibly rusty. I am originally from LLantwit fardre near Pontypridd. My parents and all my family are still there so I get back often.
All those shops, very impressive, I did take a look when I first joined the team.
Lovely to hear back from you so soon. :)

[sewmuchfrippery]

Good to hear from you Sarah. My 'better half' is from The Valleys too - although I'm a Gog!
I opened four shops in the days when I was still very optimistic about etsy. I had hopes of getting them all really well stocked. Now I'm not so sure if it will be worth making that sort of investment. I suspect not. I list a bit on ebay too but everywhere seems to be slow these days. Maybe it's time for my own site!

This team used to be quite vibrant at one time but many people seem to have gravitated away from etsy in recent months/years. However, it's still nice to have somewhere to pop into for a chat. As you say, so may teams are purely for promotional purposes - with various rules to enforce that - and it's nice to have somewhere where you needn't feel any pressure to 'participate'. It can also be helpful to sound ideas off each other.

I look forward to having a chat with you from time to time! Rosemary

[BopaJones]

Hi everyone. Etsy has just announced details of its annual Christmas Boot Camp. Here's the link should any of you wish to participate:
www.etsy.com/emails/courses.
i know that a couple of you signed up last year and found it useful
All the best, Rosemary

[bysarahbiss]

We won!!!!







The rugby of course. Yay! :)

[sewmuchfrippery]

I didn't watch the match but it sounds like it was quite a spectacle!
It's always good to see Wales win. I wish I had watched it now!!

[FragmentDesignsEtsy]

Hey guys!

I just realised it's been forever since I went on here, life has just been nuts and I'm team captain for Cardiff and Valleys Team so thats been taking up all my time.

How is everyone doing? I had a read back a little, sorry to hear you're not getting much off etsy, I've been doing quite well off them, pretty regular sales and since becoming a team captain getting to know the powers that be over in London, there's a big push this Christmas for Etsy Made Local events all over the country so I imagine there will be an upsurge in orders, fingers crossed!

Anyway just checking in, aside from team stuff not much to report, the bunnies are well, the hubby got his thesis finished, actually not sure if I mentioned we got married in May, very quickly decided just to go for it, adding to the mania that is life at the mo! Here's some pics :) http://fragmentdesigns.com/?p=1120

I actually ended up talking about this thread and you guys when Etsy brought me to Harrogate for the WI fair to talk about teams
http://fragmentdesigns.com/?p=1292

and I'm currently manic getting ready for Made By Hand at the end of the month!

Talk to you soon
I'll drop by more regularly! Promise

[sewmuchfrippery]

How lovely to see you Sarah-Jane. We've missed you!
I'm so pleased that things are going well for you.
And many congrats on getting married! I read your wedding blog - it all looked magical. I hope you will both be very happy.
Hopefully things will start to pick up here soon. It sounds as though you are waging a one-woman battle to get the word around here in Wales. Keep it up!
And, yes, please do pop in here whenever you can. It's always nice to see you.
Rosemary X

[bysarahbiss]

Interesting thread you got involved in Rosemary, regarding search. That would explain my sudden increase in UK sales. Can you tell me if this is happening in search for US buyers too? If so, this is bad for me. I had thought I was a bit quiet for this time of year. Most of my customers are from the US.

Love it as a buyer. Have been shopping here on etsy and finding lots of lovely stuff from the UK but as a seller, this time of year, if I lose my US buyers.......

[sewmuchfrippery]

There has been much speculation about the changes to search - and the creeping 'localisation' agenda. I think it has been in the works for a very long time - though shops will have been affected to different degrees at different times. Personally, I was one of the first to be 'hit' by these changes - I have lost 90% of my US sales over the past 2 years, and 75% of my sales overall.

I do believe that etsy is in the process of rolling this out in the US too (if only in test form at the moment). A number of people have been reporting very strange sales patterns/search results. On those rare occasions when I do get sales from the US, they tend to be clusters from an identical or adjacent zip codes.
There is speculation as to the impetus behind this 'localisation' agenda. There are several possible reasons (possibly a combination of many) - e.g. eventually charging us extra to be visible in other countries. Also etsy's new 'tax haven' status via 'Etsy Ireland'. There is a built-in incentive now to route as many international sales as possible via Ireland (i.e. by-pass the US altogether, so they don't have to report details of that income to the US tax man). This means that there is an incentive to direct international buyers to international sellers (but most of us would probably lose US buyers at the same time - given the way search is being skewed geographically).

My advice would be to be very cautious - and to diversify. Make sure you have other income streams in place, or ready to go. Hopefully you won't be too adversely impacted by this - but if you start to see your US sales drop dramatically (with no 'pick up' from other countries to compensate) then I would advise you to act quickly. Don't assume those sales will return.

Sorry to sound pessimistic - but on the basis of my own experience I have every reason to be sceptical. Good luck!

[bysarahbiss]

Thanks for that Rosemary. You seem to understand a lot about it. I had no idea this was happening. I had noticed shopping myself seemed easier, everyone seemed to be from the UK. :)

I have seen a decrease in sales over the past few months. I had put it down to being closed for 2 weeks in the summer. Sales have picked up but I had noticed, strangely from the UK. I just thought it was a coincidence then I came across that thread. I haven't had many sales from the US lately which is a concern as I was looking forward to a busy christmas. I am used to nearly all my sales, like you being from the US.

You are right about diversifying as this is my main income. I don't sell anywhere else just here, which is always a mistake having your eggs all in one basket..... as they say. I am in the process of doing my own website but I can imagine that would be quite difficult to driving traffic to it.

Anyway, we shall see what happens......

[sewmuchfrippery]

I think it's a great idea to diversify - a necessity really.
My US sales are pretty much non-existant now - and, since visibility in the US was one of the main reasons why I came to etsy in the first place, I really am starting to question how viable it will be to remain here. I keep hoping that etsy will work through whatever issues it currently has and get 'back on track' again - but patience is wearing thin!
Good luck to you anyway. I hope you get lots of Christmas sales

[bysarahbiss]

Morning
Have a craft fair today. Haven't done one in ages so I'm not sure what to expect. Fingers crossed.

[sewmuchfrippery]

I hope it has gone well Sarah. Nothing worse than lugging all your stuff out of the house then having to lug it all back again!
I don't do craft fairs but I have tried vintage fairs in the past with mixed results.
Hopefully people are starting to think about Christmas!