ptquilts

I would be suspicious of someone who wanted to move the conversation to private email. What would be the point of that?

I started selling on Etsy about 2007, nothing. I started again a few years later and took the time to figure out how it works. It is not enough to just put up listings and sit back and wait for the sales. You have to do a lot of interacting with the website. Look at other seller's listings, favorite them, favorite shops, join teams, participate in the forums, follow other people (and other people will follow you). Also if you have Pinterest, when you put up a listing, there is a button to put it on Pinterest as well (other social media too, I just use Pinterest). I have had over 350 sales since I started really working at it.

Then when you have a lot of people following you, and you list something new, it will show up in their feed (New items from your favorite shops).

Mitty

I don't know about Etsy, but I would guess that it's best to stick with the tools provided. I'm guessing that if there's any kind of dispute, the company is only going to look at the communication done through their tools. If you disclosed something only in private email, they won't be able to see that and take it into account.

Ariannaquilts

Watson as a buyer I would want there to be a record of any and all conversations with the sellers. So personally I would only have conversations on Etsy.

luvstoquilt301

I don't sell on Etsy but am a buyer. I love it for wool fabric in small quantities. I use the search button.

Innov8R

I have had an Etsy Shop since 2015. I believe it takes a while to get established because without some customer reviews others are afraid to buy from the shop. I have a steady business that does not make me rich, but does give me a creative outlet and helps pay for my quilting habit. I enjoy it and do not participate in other online media to push the shop forward. I realize that I could probably double my sales if I spent more time online, but I would rather sew.

Watson

She sent me an e-mail that is obviously a scam.

Watson

Swannie

I tried with No luck! Find Amazon and Ebay better sites.

klswift

I've had an Etsy site for years. I sell both fabric items and wood items. Both sell fairly well. And I pay very, very little for any advertising. I will do a daily click ad when I release a batch of new fairy/gnome houses for the exposure, but it rarely is over $20 for the month. I have helped several people open sites because I believe Etsy works very hard to help you. They have some of the best tutorials and hints. The biggest problems result from folks not pricing their items correctly, not taking good photos (do not need to be professional!) and not filling out the info correctly. You must approach it like a business and use their help with coming up with descriptive words and titles. You need to research similar items and make sure you are within a reasonable price point and shipping costs (often better to increase your price a couple bucks and offer free shipping). If interested, go to their site, click on selling and watch their tutorials. You can set up a shop and only post a couple items to see how you like it. It costs 20 cents to post an item for 4 months! And you can edit this item for free on a daily basis if you choose. Worth trying it out. Also, make sure that any item you post also posts to pinterest and to facebook. The goal is to let folks know you are there and then they will come directly to your site and look around. Good luck. (BTW - I usually only take one day a week to do any admin stuff - new posts, editing, renewing, etc - so it is not an overwhelming thing. I do check each morning for orders and if I have any, I pack right then and ship that morning on my way to work. Becomes routine, not all consuming.)

quiltedsunshine

I have an Etsy shop. I do pretty good with my digital pattern downloads. I don't do as well with the physical product. Whenever I get an order, I send a personal email, letting my customer know that they should feel free to email me with any questions.

If I get a custom order, I will create an Etsy listing for that particular person. That way it goes through Etsy, and everything (money wise) is safe.