Jewelry just isn't that heavy- my max package is a big stone cuff and it still weighs under 4 oz in most cases, 6 oz max one time- I swear, I have never paid that much to ship first class over seas in 10 years unless it was some sort of Express package,
It doesn't matter what the actual costs were...this whole shipping charge just makes it more complicated all the way around. My point was that it's going to add up. So, I'm now having to pay shipping, then a 5% fee to use Etsy's shipping, then the increase in transaction fees, plus the subscription fee (because we all know that to be seen, you're going to have to pay the subscription fee), listing and renewal fees. It's quite a hike when you boil it all down. I just don't see getting that much ROI versus the increase.
I agree...you should have it in your business plan to adjust rates accordingly...however, I feel backed into a corner by all of this. Like I said before. Etsy is not my main source of revenue and never has been. I do much better at shows and locally. I need to go back to that.
I'm not surprised by the increase in the stock price. Wall Street loves it when companies raise their profits. I did have to scoff at the comment at the bottom of the article touting that Etsy was better at listening to their sellers. What a joke!
I wish you luck with your shows Chrissy. They are way more work than I want to do- 8 hours of standing around is not my idea of fun. I'm in slow down mode anyhow- and with nothing new listed in forever I am still selling - not always but enough to keep my busy enough to stay out of trouble :) You and others that do ooak, I admire the energy that goes into those, I am so happy to just make stuff made to order- I already have material and it takes little time to make finish and ship but I still get to play with my torch
Are you making any changes, Pennee in regards to shipping?
I feel like I want to offer free shipping and raise my prices to cover, but not sure how to work international or upgrades to priority or express. This just makes things more complicated. How do I use calculated shipping if I offer priority shipping and don't want to charge the whole amount because I raised my prices for first class?
Pennee...I am not looking at doing too many shows. Too much work, but I have wanted to add in a few private shows, and trunk showings and go back to maybe one big show a year. I have had good luck with those in the past, and for a couple of hours of work, I can have a pretty good day, much better than what I can ever make on Etsy. The last time I did my big geology show, it pulled in 3 years worth of Etsy revenue in 2 days. It's a much better ROI for me and in the big picture...a lot less work.
I also have my Squarespace site, and I have been putting off giving it the attention that it deserves. No listing fees, and when I was promoting, I was having great traffic. The cost of promotion in my opinion is a wash when compared with Etsy...I spent less in promotion on my website with much better traffic results than what I did with Etsy when I calculated listing fees, google promotion and promoted listings.
I have been on Etsy for 10 years this December, and it's never been a major selling venue for my work. The past few months have been especially bleak. My local following is really where my bread and butter lies with my work. I have a full-time job as well, so whatever comes in for me just pays for the ability to purchase materials to do my craft and my need for an artistic outlet. My day job is nearly strictly data entry...I like doing the OOAK for the creative outlet it provides.
I feel for those that are doing this as their sole source of income. I hope it all smoothes out. For me...I just don't have the patience for all the changes any longer.
Gayle I'm currently doing free shipping on domestic under 100, I'll probably continue. All my shipping profiles allow for shipping upgrades and international costs. I stopped shipping international on ooak, custom made to order only. I refuse to refund the full amount they require which includes shipping costs. I will probably raise prices on select items though, my pricing formula allows for a good profit so an increase in fees isn't going to take much away from me. I sure as heck don't sell a lot at full retail so I'm not going to lose any sales over a few bucks I add. I don't work all that hard at promotion, just some PL here on Etsy which always nets way more than my monthly spend
Jen if you click on some shop links through IG that use it, I have found it to be just awful to find things, it also shows other sellers stuff when you scroll through etc. I think Erin used it for a while, maybe she has a different perspective but from a buyer standpoint, I hated it. I have tried a few of those free places over the years and they all severely lacked in one way or another. Paying $30 a month for a basic site on Shopify or Square Space gives you a whole lot more professional look and they are set up with all the shopping carts to accept payments from everywhere, lots of tools and great phone support -imho
dh has his surgery today finally! He is so done with this whole catheter urinary tract and bladder issue. Hoping it goes smoothly. They told him he should be back to fairly normal in a week and all good in a month. We'll see
I kept it for a few weeks, Jen, but it was hard to use and hard to navigate. It was when I was there - I don't know if any changes have been made, though.
When I first started out on Etsy, once things got rolling a little, I found I would make in a month on Etsy what I did at one weekend show. When I added up the time and work load, booth fees (holy crap). and thought about how many shows I could actually keep up with, Etsy was a no brainer. I do about 2 shows worth of revenue a month now - most of it is repeatable made to order. I manage to sell a few customs here and there an the occasional OOAK. I’m fine with that because, like Pennee, I don’t want a full time job and if jewelry became a job - I’d end up hating it. It’s pretty easy to figure out my sales and what an additional 1.5% will be and add on .75 to domestic shipping and 1.50 to international and that will be covered. And I will bet very few people will not proceed to purchase for those additional amounts. I may even split it between item and shipping.
That's awesome Terri! I just have never had that much success here. It seems like shows have always been a better avenue for revenue. I was very picky about the shows I would do though...most were either trade shows or juried shows. It made a difference. The few craft shows I participated in, just didn't go over well. It was worth it to save up, and do a big show instead.
I think I'm just tired of all the changes and trying to figure out what works to sell here. I looked at my stats last night on Squarespace and I had 6 times the number of views there, with no promotion than I did here, paying for promoted listings. It doesn't make sense for me anymore. It's not just the rate hike...it's many other things. I also have to look at what is going to be the most profitable for my limited time.
Jen...I think you would do great with a Shopify or Squarespace site. You already drive your own traffic to Etsy. There are no listing fees with Squarespace...it's $30 a month with a free domain.
I'm going to play around with increasing prices and offering free shipping for the next few months before items expire.
Just keep I in mind Chrissy a lot of views on websites are bots and not actual people. I usually always know like when I see 97 views overnight it was bot night!. $30 to me is more than fair for any of these good templates websites and if you already own your own .com name you don't get stuck with stuff like prox@mygypsystore.com you just redirect your .com to whoever you choose and have your shop name .com
Chrissi - I do find it to be true and was told when I first started on Etsy that more items means more views. More views means more chances to sell something. I made one jump when I got over 100 items and now I keep about 200. I think the repeatables, that I do renew sold on, really factor in to the algorithim.
