Seeking thoughts on Etsy

[firecat]

Things I made are overrunning the house and I'm thinking of starting an Etsy store to sell some of them. If you have any thoughts about Etsy either as a seller or as a buyer, I'd like to know them.

Comments

[clever-doberman.livejournal.com]

I love to look through Etsy and I've bought a few things. it feels like buying on ebay when you buy from an individual seller. I have no idea about the fee structure, and I also don't know what the guidelines are for the items you sell being hand made, but I think if you want to try it, why not?

I tried selling on ebay for a bit and it was more work than I expected. but it was also fun, and it might be a good way to get rid of stuff.

what kinds of things are you making? pictures please!

[firecat]

Yes, I also find ebay to be a lot of work. And I understand for handmade things it's hard to get a good price there. I've gotten GREAT prices for plus-sized clothing in the past, though.

This tag should give you some pictures of the things I've made:
http://firecat.livejournal.com/tag/i+made+this!

Also my flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cat-and-dragon/

[clever-doberman.livejournal.com]

the first link didn't show me anything, but the second is a cornucopia.

you definitely can sell your work on Etsy, and it's giving me the idea that I might as well.

also, your jewelry photography is great. good color, light, not too much reflection. please describe your setup!

[firecat]

It's weird that the first link didn't show you anything. But you do need to click the individual cut tags to see the photographs.

I photographed the jewelry outside on a sunny day using a white towel as a backdrop. I have a camera with a nice macro feature.

[clever-doberman.livejournal.com]

I figured it out - I had to add the ! at the end of the url, and voila, all was revealed.

[firecat]

BTW, nice new icon!

[clever-doberman.livejournal.com]

why thank you, Ma'am!

I decided to opt for ads so I could increase my userpic collection.

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

I've bought a lot of stuff from etsy and have yet to have a bad experience with it. there's some ugly stuff, true, but there's also a lot of beautiful things.

[firecat]

Thanks!

[fattest.livejournal.com]

I have been selling zines on Etsy for a while. It's pretty great.

[firecat]

Excellent!

off topic, but..

[bunnybutt.livejournal.com]

I went over to flikr to look at your stuff.... and your mobius scarf, that you cite as a mistake? Is actually an "advanced technique".... I'm impressed!

I've been making her baskets, fun stuff.

Re: off topic, but..

[firecat]

Thanks! I agree it's an advanced technique if you do it on purpose. :-) I would have somewhat rather had a regular moebius scarf because this one doesn't hang as nicely. But I still enjoyed knitting it and like the result.

I should try making those baskets.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I buy more than I should from Etsy and it's not that much different from eBay, other than the sites seeming more intimate and individual. You should still post feedback, you're supposed to converse via the website, etc.

[firecat]

Thanks!

etsy

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

i've not sold anything via etsy, though i am considering it. i've bought from there and never had any trouble, and it feels more personal, more intimate than ebay (where i basically don't trust people unless they have at least a 99.8 rating).

Re: etsy

[firecat]

Thanks!

[okoshun.livejournal.com]

I've bought a number of things from etsy in the last little while for Christmas presents and for things for myself. It's been a good buying experience.

I've heard others complain who are sellers that it takes a long time to get their things up for sale, but I have no firsthand knowledge of that aspect.

[firecat]

Thanks!

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I've purchased several items from ohiblather's Etsy Store (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5075189) in the past, with great success. I quite like them. I have never been a seller there.

She was a safe place to start for me, since we know each other in person (not super well, but we get on well when we run into each other) and she's local, so I thought that if something fell through, I could always contact her directly and work it out.

Just this year I took the plunge into ordering a bunch more stuff from Etsy from random sellers. It's also been a good experience, in terms of purchasing, although none of it has arrived yet, so I can't comment on that part. The only thing that tripped me up is that I'm not in the habit of checking where the sellers are located and Etsy doesn't really push that information at you overly much, so I bought some stuff from Singapore without realizing it. While the shipping was very reasonable (such that it didn't ding my "Wait, what's up with this?" radar during checkout), I'm just hoping that it actually arrives here before Christmas.

[firecat]

Thanks!

[sogwife.livejournal.com]

I have only sold one item on Etsy, BUT, I just put a few items up and then ignored it for months, nor have I promoted my store to any significant degree, nor taken advantage of the "featured item/store" function available. What I'm hearing is that, like any business, you get out of it what you put in.

It's free to set up a store. It's 20 cents to post an item with just the basic set up, which includes up to 4 pics, lots of key words to associate with the item, and the ability to add your own keywords. A listing is good for 4 (or is it 3?) months, after which you can repost, for another 20 cents, or not, as you like. You can also repost itmes that have sold, to simplify things if you have or make another one. There are various "featured item" categories you can buy into, for as little as $7, or maybe even less, and I hear that doing so significantly increases visits to your store, by an order of magnitude.

[firecat]

Thanks! Once I have a bunch of items up I will look into buying some advertising on there. It certainly looks as if there's some fierce competition...