Hi all,

At the end of January I will be out of a job I have had for 13 years. As a way to earn funds for my many hobbies I considered selling some items I have made on Etsy.

Do any of you sell on this site? It is very overwhelming as to how to list items. I am afraid my items will be over looked. Do you have any tips and suggestions? How can you tell on someones site what they have sold in the past?

Thanks for any information

Have you considered ebay?

I have been thinking about doing the same.. wondered how it was...how returns where done if someone didn't like the item once they bought it..Haven't had time to read up on it..

Sorry to hear about your job. After thirteen years that is a really tough one.
Although I only had my job for 4 plus years, my job and 7 others was terminated 13 months ago. I ended up going back to school full-time. Lost all retirement benefits and health insurance.

Have never sold or bought on Etsy, sorry.

Good luck.

I have an etsy acct, and it is for photography, which really isn't the best venue for that.

it doesn't really get much exposure, you need to WORK it...

I have kept it though, as it doesn't cost unless you add something to it...

I am thinking of using it when I finally commit to eliminating some of the stuff in the studio...put together packets and selling...but I may do ebay instead....
(or i may keep it all, lol)

I list both on Etsy and Ebay - both of which have been slow for me since December. I seem to sell items at the beginning of each month and then nothing. Etsy is a lot cheaper than Ebay, with a $.40 per item good for 4 months, whereas ebay charges you for listing and selling. I tend to put my stuff on the "bay" first and if it does not sell, transfer it over to Etsy. Hope this helps a little. Bea

I just put some garbage bag dispensers on Etsy what i did was search for the similar items and see what they listed theirs on and that is what i then listed on I just been on there about 3 weeks and no sale, I went there because i have a friend that lists all the time and she sales all the time she have different crafts plus quilts and she got 4 orders on a memory quilt in 1 month. so between ebay and etsy i went to there i also had items on Ebay and sold there but it was other items. I think handmade items do better on Etsy. now this is my opinion. search for seller fabicmom and look at her items and see what she have that might give you a idea

please keep us posted on this.

As a buyer, I give a different weight to ebay and etsy purchases. I like purchasing from crafters on etsy, its a much cleaner look (which is helpful for the artistic bunch). But it also makes it easier to look at the crafter's entire collection of work.

I sell on ebay, I looked at etsy, but looked to confussing to me.

I have bought several things on Etsy, but have never sold on there. I have sold on Ebay, and it's fine. I still find on Ebay that things are slow there, as with everywhere in retail right now. I hadn't thought about the first of the month issue, as someone mentioned, but that is good to note.

I had a business for 15 years, my husband is a retired lawyer. Always both self insured,etc. no benefits. I have had to drop my insurance now. We are just simply cutting back in ALL areas. I've cut our grocery bill in half, cancelled things like netflix, anything not necessary. Selling things in our home that we don't need on Ebay. Just living with less and spending less all around. NO FABRIC shopping! ITs' great that I have such a HUGE stash. I could quilt for years and never run out. It was a great investment that I'm now using.

Thanks for the info everyone.

Sandra, I can relate, I thank the Lord I have the stash I have now. I will only have to buy batting and backing. I have also been stocking up on books and tools. things I want to try but haven't had the time. I would like to take a class now and then so selling some items would be great for that.

not sure how long i will be without a job, our county unemployment is the highest in the state 16.3%, but I sure will keep busy.

thanks and best of luck.

i'd recommend you check out all the advice the Etsy site offers to people selling there. it may give you some fresh ideas for moving your merchandise. (go to the Blog tab and check the menu down the left side of the page.)

I have bought on Etsy and really enjoy supporting the artists. There is another site, The Bright Side Project, that gives away items. Most of the links are to things on Etsy, so that may be a good way to advertise. One free could mean a lot of people looking at your items.

There's also a place called onlineauctions that I just read soemthing about in the Readers Digest this morning. Haven't checked it out tho'.

I've bought on etsy before and really like what I got but I do find it hard to narrow down what you're looking for. I found things through other ppl's recommendations (not quilting related anyway)

Good luck! :)

I have never sold anything on Etsy but I have bought several quilt patterns and other items without any problems. Have you ever thought about listing your items here on the Quilting Board as well as trying Etsy? I'm sure there are a lot of us on this site who would be interested in your items.

If you don't have a blog, you should consider starting one -- lots of traffic comes to etsy sellers through their blogs. I'm sorry to hear about your job and I hope things work out smoothly during the difficult transition.

I had an Ebay listing back in November and their prices are outrageous to sell. I sold 3 things and Ebay charged me $115.00 for listing. A lot of people are getting out of Ebay because they changed the rules and put the prices up.
How about Creig's List? I have heard a lot of good things about that site. I have never used it though.
Good Luck. I took Ebay right off my computer. Won't use them anymore.

I have material listed on Etsy but it hasn't sold. I listed alot of batiks that I thought would sell. It seems to me that you need to list something everyday to keep your page in the forefront or else you keep getting pushed back to where no one sees it.

You should put your fbrics on here. They will go fast, I'm sure. Especially the batiks.
Good luck and Welcome
Bev

What is the way to your Esty site for the fabric for sale?
Bev

It's: http://www.etsy.com/shop/quiltedmemoriesbypam

I haven't listed all of my blue/green batiks because I just don't know if it's worth it! If you have any feedback on anything, let me know! Thanks so much!

Denise, Sorry you lost your job. I have a friend that sells on Esty and she does real good.

Cookie

Jerrie, in order to sell on Etsy, there is a little trick they don't tell you. You need to list 1 item each day in order to keep your items current and within the first couple pages when a customer is looking. By listing the one item, if someone looks at it, it will show what else you have available. Hope this helps, Susie

Sorry to hear about your job! That's tough after 13 years. I've sold on eBay off and on for almost 10 years. Have been recently considering Etsy but haven't really researched it yet - didn't know they charged you to list items. There is another auction site, ebid.com that doesn't charge you to list anything, you only pay when it sells. It doesn't quite have the exposure of eBay but they are a competing website. We've had some coins listed on there for quite some time and just recently sold two of them. Just like with anything on the net, you have to keep updating (whether it be adding new or changing things) to refresh the indexes.

Before you try e-bay Read E-Bay for Dummies. The library can get you a copy. It is gret. Thanks for telling me about all the other sites. I will be looking and maybe listing. These are all so helpfun.

i have bought several times off of etsy. i love the fact that some of the sellers accepts money orders because i do not have a paypal account. i can commit to buy and send money order and then they ship item to me.

Thanks for the info Susie. I have an etsy account and have tote bags and purses listed. There are so many in that catagory that by the end of the first day my things are on about page 70 of over 6000 pages with 20 or 30 items to a page. Everyone tells me I should sell my projects, but I just can't figure out how or where. I will try your suggestion.

I sell on Etsy, too. (ID: charmpacks) It's not that hard to do. Just read the section on their website about selling. Try listing one item just to get the hang of it. You can revise the listing if you need to. The key to selling on Etsy is to have a lot of different items listed and if they don't sell within a week or two, delete and relist. Etsy's default viewing is by newly listed items so if you're in a category with a lot of other sellers your items will be on page 100 within a week or two. It only cost .20 per item to list for 4 months plus a percentage of the sales price. I think it's 3.5%. Research what sellers in the same category are using for tags (keywords) right under the description.

Ebay veiwing is opposite of Etsy by default. Most people will search by items ending soonest so if you list for 30 days it's best to wait it out. Ebay listing fees are higher than Etsy and the fee depends on the asking price. The higher the price, the higher the fee. The selling fee is also higher - 12% - but they have a lot more shoppers than Etsy.

I hope that helps!

Thank you so much for this information.

You have to add something new almost every day for it to get noticed and not lost. After my first initial posting no one ever looked again.

But I know two people who sell successfully on Etsy by posting new merchandise nearly every day.

What about on consignment at some local shops near you? I have sold quite a bit of stuff on ebay, but never tried etsy. I was thinking though that if I wanted to sell quilting type items or even totes...that I would take them to a couple of the small boutiques/gift shops here in town. I used to sell that way when I was a teenager looking for spending money... :lol:

I have had things listed on etsy.com for 1 year now and I finally sold my first item ! wow, did that take a longgggggggggg time. You might want to see if some of the little stores around where you live will let you put your things in them, I know a lady at work that started out that way now she makes a ton of money though her stuff is NOT hand made. But, its still a good idea. Also, I find I have sold way more by having "Craft Fair" at my home. Get a few friends together and have one every other week, the ppl will get use to you being there and become return customers. Also, make a binder of all of your work so if you dont have something finshed, they can order it. That was another thing I did. Good luck !

You make me feel better because I have a huge stash. I keep telling my husband that I will use it when I don't have the money after retirement. I look forward to crafting a lot!!!

Its my fabric 401 k!!!

I love that , fabric stash is my 401K. I sure hope so, as my 401K pretty much went down the tubes about a year or two ago. Then hubby just 3 years from retirement got his job downsized due to budget cuts. He still hasn't found a job and he is 60 with tons of experience. Well, I guess there are a few millions others with tons of job experience too and also looking. I do have been thinking of looking at Etsy to sell. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see how it comes about.

its bad, isn't it??
I hope he finds work soon....
If you go to my blog, (below) and search for quilts in the catagory section you can read it...

I have a shop on ETSY and have sold some things. I put what I don't sell at craft fairs on there when I don't have a craft fair. Things do get lost among all the items, but if people want, they will find as I have seen. My Aunt does wonderfully on the site. It all depends on what you make and how much of that is already offered on the site. The fees are A LOT cheaper than EBAY.

:lol: That's a good one! I suppose I don't shop correctly. Everytime I try to put something together from my stash, I have to run to the store because I need something else.