selling on etsy
 

I was looking for someone who might have some info on selling products on etsy. I am not real familiar but was thinking about selling some quilts on there and wasn't sure if it was a good idea or if it was kind of expensive so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

I don't think it is very expensive at all.

I have sold on Etsy for a couple of years. It is not expensive. I think well under a dollar dor 3 months listing. I have not had any problems. I if d it better in all ways than selling on eBay.

Mucky,

Are you actually selling much? I've thought about selling baby quilts and tablerunners.

Suzanne

Yes, that was another question too, do you sell much? Seems like so much competition and I don't want to give my work away so I wasn't sure how that would work.

20-cents for a 3 month listing. Just fyi, i have had 115 item views in the past 30 days .... With one sale. Not a huge venue for sales, but it is inexpensive to do the experiment.

yep I agree with all..it does not cost much but not much is sold...........I have listed 9 items and only sold one in 4 mo

As with selling anything anywhere, you have to market your items in order to sell them. Here's a fee calculator that will help you figure your profit, or use the reverse one to compute what you might want to charge.
http://www.rolbe.com/etsy.htm

It is not hard to sign up to see how to do it, or to buy on there. I know they have a lot of hints to help you advertise your shop. May be worth looking into. I don't know anyone selling on there, but have bought some beautiful fabrics off of there. Go on Etsy and search some things and see how others do it and look on their page for how many feedbacks and sales they have had in the categories that you want to sell in, may help out.

I've been on etsy for a while. It's super simple to list. However, I don't sell much.

Ladies I am a marketing manager and here's a piece of advice - just because you build it does not mean they will come. Its like throwing a small rock into a large pond - unless you have a compelling reason for people to buy, it will sink to the bottom. You need to target your market and drive traffic and float that rock to the top. Use your community outlets to let people know what you have to sell - community newpaper advertising is cheap and easy. Good pictures are a must. Segregate by application, for example "looking for a unique handmade baby shower gift?" Or "Wouldn't you like a more attractive grocery tote bag?". Use bulletin boards at your local grocery store or college campus. Post your link on Facebook and let people know about your ongoing projects. Leverage what the Etsy experts provide for tools (I looked - they have some good advice). Tell everyone you know that you sell on Etsy - just like job networking, you need to spread your expertise to as many people as you know. See if you can link up with others who sell different things (like jewlery or Avon) and see if they would be willing to do a combined dem.

JNCT thank you so much for that. I have a store on etsy as well have sold two items. I self-sabotage myself by not advertising. If we want to sell our stuff we have to get it out there and seen. This is my new years resolution---way out of my comfort zone for sure. Put business cards up at store, started advertising in our local high school newpaper but the getting out there and meeting people is my downfall, I am super shy.

Thank you so much for your inspiring words.

If you have a store make sure to put it up so others on this board that are members can circle your store, it all helps.

Good Luck to all fellow etsyians I am off to get my store stocked.

Happy Sewing
Tammy

I was on etsy a few years ago and nothing. I started again last summer. I have less than 12 items on at once usually, mostly small quilt tops. I just checked my stats, I have had 13 sales since last June.

I agree, you can't just list items and then sit back. You have to work the system. Put people in your circle. Find similar items to yours that you like, favorite the item, add the seller to your circle. I don't know how but this works. When I see an Etsy link in a signature here on the QB I add them to my circle.

Several times people have put one of my items in a treasury list and it sells within days. I am quite happy with Etsy and am selling more on etsy than on ebay lately.

ETA - waving at Tammy, you are in my circle!

Waving back at ya Barb, you are in my circle too!!

ETA I really need to go study the treasury thing and how to make one. Have a great weekend!!!

I sell on ebay and don't sell much either. I also have a store and don't sell a lot. The right person with the money has to see your item no matter where you try to market it. Etsy looks like the best place right now!

Etsy is a great place for buyers, but it's really hard to sell anything because there are so many listings that your item is not easily seen or found. If you have another venue to link people to your shop, that helps your items get seen. There is a ton of competition there, and it's not a matter of having the lowest price, it's a matter of getting seen.

I keep about 50 items in my shop, and sell maybe one every other month. If that much...

I keep my etsy address as my sig line on sites like this, hoping people might go take a look at what I have to offer... On the old website it was a hotlink, but on this new site it doesn't come out as a hotlink, which makes it harder for people to use it. They can't just click and go, as they did on the old site.

There must be a way to make it a clickable link cuz that's the way mine is.

With QuiltNNan's help I was able to fix my hyperlink problem!

Sewbizgirl, I went and looked at your etsy shop and you have very lovely things on there. I noticed one item had over 570 views! I think it is a lot easier to just click on the link. I usually have to copy and paste, but the hot link is nice.

I usually look for fabrics on there or things that I have noticed from searching through. Can't figure out why things don't sell on there.

Etsy is VERY economical. They target a specific market (unlike Ebay) of consumers looking for hand-made goods. If you go to their website, you can look up the rates. I highly recommend them.

Unfortunately they are starting to get clogged with non-handmade items from mass producers. They don't police it very well.

Selling on Etsy is easy and you can help your sales out by sending links to friends, family and such that you have items for sale. Hopefully they in turn will forward to others and then you will see some sales. Of course being competetive in your pricing is important also.
Give it a try it can't hurt and it really dosn't cost very much

Just FYI: I clicked on your ETSY url and it took me right to your site. GiGi

Good question, my husband has been talking about it with some of his wood work. Nice to know it would probably be a waste of his time. Thanks.

Fyi
 

A friend of mine sells jewelry on Etsy, when she adds new items she shares it on facebook as well as a blog. It does it automatically and spreads the word to more people. Also, being on Etsy got her several invitations to set her work up at some really good local craft fairs. They saw her work on there and knew the quality.

Well I just put together my own Treasury List on Etsy. I tried to include items from some QB members. It was fun!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTYxMTE...ef=pr_treasury

I also tried to include items from new sellers, knowing how happy I was when one of items was featured in a treasury. Paying it forward!!

I have been selling on Etsy since last July, you just have to find out whats popular. And the key is to not give it away, they actually tell you to price your item higher. It's 20 cents to list each item.

I have an etsy store and only have a few items listed right now. It's funny how customers shop. I might go months without a sale then have 2-3 in one month. It just depends on who's looking for what and how they hit your shop.

As JNCT says, marketing is the key. One thing I've learned from the Etsy handbook and tips from successful shops is to list something at least every other day. I know they've changed the way items are searched but it still seems to work for me. For some reason, this type of listing items brings your item to the forefront. Photos and tags are extremely important too, again learned this from Etsy's handbook. They do have a lot of help for success, although I some times feel overwhelmed will all their emails and documentations on the subject.

My goal this year is to get more items listed and spend more time learning the tips and techniques for successful sellers.

Did not understand your 3rd sentence.

I too have an Etsy shop and it's not exspensive to list there. My sales have been pretty good. My products are mostly winter items so my sales are pretty much seasonal. I have my shop linked to my facebook page, so whenever I list new items, my facebook friends know.

Dianna in mid MI

I believe she means: I find it better in all ways than selling on eBay.

I've had a small shop on Etsy for a few months...kind of testing the waters after being on eBay. I definitely think that Etsy is more economical. I've had a few sales, and if I really invested more time into the marketing end, I think it would be a really good way for extra sales. I'm just putting more energy into our storefront and website than Etsy at the moment, but any place that our shop name is out there is a good thing.

Christine

I was going to play and actually did set up a etsy acct, but then I realized I would have to pay taxes on this, correct me if I am wrong, I feel we pay enough in taxes in Illinois and maybe paying more. . So I can sell on ebay as is without the tax headache, however I am too lazy to do that due to lack of interest. I think it would be fun to do though.

Huh? How can you sell on one and not pay taxes and sell on the other one and have to pay taxes? What taxes are you talking about?

I've thought about etsy, but when I looked there were over 4,000 listings for quilts

Iwas wondering if the people who have been on etsy but aren't selling much are selling premade items like quilts, tablerunners, etc. or fabric and new patterns. I was considering it for selling patterns which are new and unused and some lqs fabric so I was wondering if these items sell there very well. Thanks

I got the impression that everything for sale was to be homemade. I haven't been on for awhile did it change?

Homemade, supplies, or vintage.

Supplies are allowed. I get some of my fabric on etsy and some supplies like zippers and purse parts and get some good deals. I also use the link to Facebook and that generates orders for me.

I have been on Etsy for a long time-my sales are very small but it is not that expensive to be on there.I keep plugging along hoping to sell a few things.