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de Corbin
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The Etsy Experiment
I set up an independent webpage last year to sell my jewelry and stuff on line, but the sad truth is that business sucks.
I've tried everything I can think of or that my reaserch has pointed out to draw traffic to my site, but business still sucks.
There are a couple of possibilities why this may be:
1. My work is crap, and nobody wants it (ouch. This hurts. If this is the case, I'm totally lost)
2. People prefer to buy jewelry when they can touch and hold it (this is why I need to try selling at fairs).
3. The internet is so huge that it is very difficult to get the right people to visit an independent site, and when they do, they're not sure if they can trust the seller.
4. People using the internet want buy by pointing and clicking, and I don't take credit cards on my site.
In case the problem is the third and/or fourth one, I've decided to try selling some pieces on Etsy. Etsy is a very popular site (owned by eBay) which specializes in selling handmade goods (http://www.etsy.com ).
Etsy already has a big client base, and I can easily set myself up to take credit cards on Etsy. The fees for both credit card transactions and for using Etsy are not that big, and I can easily raise my prices enough to cover them.
I'm thinking that I can offer some selected pieces on Etsy, and then use any sales I might make to direct people to my independent website (I'll probably add an option to buy by credit card to my site when I get the credit card thing worked out). It seems that people who are already happy customers would be more likely to make repeat purchases...
I've compared my work and prices to the work and prices of ieces that have been sold on Etsy, and it seems to me that I can make a favorable showing there.
So, I'm in the process of getting things set up. I need to set up a seperate checking account for my business, and a seperate credit card account, as well as set up the credit card buy thingy and the Etsy shop.
I'll report back here to let you know how it goes...
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3/14/2009, 8:41 pm
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TexasMadness
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Re: The Etsy Experiment
Well, having made and sold jewelry as well as having bought my fair share of handmade as well, I can offer some insight into the possibilities you surmise:
1. Certainly not this. I've shown your site to a couple of different people and everyone has like your stuff a lot.
2. Well, there is certainly a component of this. Everyone wants to try stuff on. But there is still a large group of people that have grown accustomed to buying things online.
3. I bet this is an issue - I've certainly felt weird about buying something from people without paypal, etc.
4. Very true!
Can you set up paypal on your personal site as well? Or will Etsy give you the ability to sell with a credit card on your own site?
I've heard good things about Etsy. It's still a big place to explore so I don't quite know how you go about getting noticed on there. I guess good reputation and nice layouts are probably the best way to go.
Good luck!
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3/16/2009, 11:13 am
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de Corbin
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Re: The Etsy Experiment
Actually, as I'm researching both Etsy and PayPal, I'm finding out that once I have an account with PayPal, I can set up so that I can take credit card payments though my own site as well.
I didn't want to work with credit cards before because, for a small hobby/business it's way, way too expensive. However, going through PayPal makes it affordable because there are no fees unless or until something is sold. So this may be a good thing...
I've used Etsy for research a lot in the past - looking at what people are making, how much they're charging, things like that. Currently, I'm looking at what items are selling, and for what prices. It looks like this is a very active venue. As soon as I can get my finacial stuff in order, I'll be setting it up (hopefully in a few weeks).
Getting noticed might be a bit of a problem - there is a lot of jewelry for sale there, and I think most people search by using the "newest - oldest" listing feature, which means that, if something doesn't sell quickly, it gets buried in the back pages.
However, the workaround is to space out the listings so that there is something new listed frequently. Once a person looks at one listing, they are more apt to look at the other listings for the same store (easy for them to do as there is a button on the page for that). Also, once there are a few clients, they tend to come back. And I can always take an hour to make the odd pair of earrings here and there to keep in the new section...
One of the things I really like about Etsy is that they will allow you to sell pretty much anything that is handmade - from jewelry to knitting to soap and more. I was looking at their fine art - which is a hard sell over the internet because people who buy fine art tend to prefer going to galleries - and even that is selling on Etsy. I'm hoping that I can sell some of my woodcuts there as well.
I'm thinking, TexasM, that if this goes well, I might mention it on The Pagan Porch as well - people who are making soap and candles might find this useful. I've noticed that people are even selling honey on Etsy (hint, hint...  ).
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3/16/2009, 2:40 pm
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TexasMadness
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Re: The Etsy Experiment
Selling honey...do the bees get the profit for making it!??! 
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3/16/2009, 5:05 pm
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sutistoy
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Re: The Etsy Experiment
PayPal certainly seems a must these days. I have zero business experience myself, or web site experience, either. If I ever get enough stock to make it a worthwhile venture, I'll probably explore it though. I'd sure like to know how these folks are shipping stuff like this for only 13 bucks when UPS was going to charge me 35 bucks to ship a fresh water fishing rod from here to within the same state....
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3/19/2009, 5:13 pm
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sutistoy
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Re: The Etsy Experiment
Most of the time yes, right around there, give or take.
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3/23/2009, 9:14 pm
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RiverSnake
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Re: The Etsy Experiment
Cool! I plan on getting an etsy soon too! I will have to check out your sight. And I can't imagine anything but option 3 and 4 being the main thing holding you up.
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4/6/2009, 3:06 pm
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de Corbin
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Re: The Etsy Experiment
Very good, RiverSnake! Let me know when you're set up... We'll talk nice about each other's shop in public, and send business to each other!
--- so what will you be selling?
I'm going to be listing a few items by the end of the week, and then more in the next couple of weeks as I get the photos ready. Shooting good photos turned out to be the hardest part of the whole thing. I spent about 8 hours shooting pics last Saturday, then threw them all out on Sunday because the lighting stunk.
Oh well, live and learn... (which I've been doing a lot lately)
What's involved in setting up for Etsy
Setting up the shop was easy - you just need to fill in blanks on a form. You also need to create a banner header, which is easy enough if you have photo editing software (like Photoshop), or can lure somebody into making one for you.
Listing items for sale is also easy, as long as you have good photos ready (pay attention to the specs Etsy gives for size and resolution). The hardest part for me was in figuring out shipping costs, but I've gotten a cheap postal scale with which I can weigh an item and the packaging and then figure out shipping, so I'm set there.
I also downloaded a free shipping cost calculater and label printing program form the USPS site (called "Shipping Assistant") which should make that even easier.
Fianlly, I had to set up a PayPal account so that I can take credit cards on the Etsy site. This too was fairly simple - just type some info into fields - although I connected it to a seperate business bank account to keep all my business finanaces seperate from the family finances for tax time.
That's roughly what's involved. It sounds like a lot more of an involved process than it actually is when you get in there and start doing it.
One of the big virtues of doing busines this way is that it doesn't cost much to get started.
There is no fee to set up an Etsy shop, or a PayPal account.
Each item you list on Etsy costs $0.20 for a 4 month listing.
If (when) you sell an item, Etsy charges you 3.5% of the selling price as their fee (on a $20.00 item, you'd pay them $0.70 as the fee, plus the $0.20 listing charge, for a total of $0.90).
If it sells through a PayPal payment, they charge a variable fee - the more the item costs, the lower the fee is. On that $20.00 item, the PayPal charge would be about 3.5% - so that would be another $0.70.
Total cost of selling that $20.00 item ends up being about $1.60.
That's not so bad...
I did have to get packaging materials, though, and that postal scale.
Maybe someday, in the far and distant future, I'll actually start to make a profit. Until then, well, its all tax write offs.
Sutistoy - Sorry! I forgot to check on the shipping for those staffs. I'll take a look when I get home tonight.
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4/7/2009, 1:08 pm
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