Etsy

[Foofoogal]

Does anyone sell on Etsy? I love the place. Not sure I could get any work done if I did though.

 

[Joie DeVive]

I have a friend who does. She mainly sells crochet and jewelry. Her store is bytami.

I'm still thinking about doing it, but haven't put the effort into finding out what I would need in the way of official paperwork (business license, tax paperwork etc) that I would need to begin.

 

[CherryRed]

I have a shop on there but have yet to sell anything.

 

[ehappy]

Some other vintie sellers are/have transitioned over to etsy. I set up shop, with one little item for now. lol.

I browse too much there, that's for sure.

 

[Smuterella]

hmmm, I'm considering moving my shop over to Etsy or even Specialist Auctions - but I'm just not sure,...

 

[Foofoogal]

I am debating between Ecrater and Etsy. Some days they look promising, some days not.
People are scattered to so many places is the problem now. dealers have always been the main buyers.
Etsy is a delightful site and so tempting in so many ways.
I have 2 sites I need to work more. lol
Helps to stay off other places to get work done like FL. Naw...

 

[ehappy]

When eBay started doing all their junky stuff, the advice was to diversify.

So I opened at Specialist Auctions...it's great there and I love it but can be slow going at times. And I opened on ecrater, where I feel lonely. And then I opened to sell on etsy. And went and created my own standalone, which is hard work!

Note to self: if you diversify too much, you feel overworked

 

[Smuterella]

oh my god and exactly what have they done to eBay now! The search function has become entirely unmanageable.

*weeps*

 

[Audrey Horne]

Just a note as a consumer, I love Etsy and I've never heard of Ecrater or any of those other places.

 

[Foofoogal]

oh my god and exactly what have they done to eBay now! The search function has become entirely unmanageable.

seriously. took me 5 minutes to find the gallery option and I had a store at one time on ebay.
I used to have 5 stores in various places and my egg basket got way too full. lol

 

[ehappy]

Oh, yes. eBay's Best Match simply isn't. Ugh.

They created a best match default sort, which is based on some algorythm/formula to deliver results based upon what eBay thinks would best match. It's stinky.

You can still choose to sort by time ending soonest though. You just have to do it in the pull down menu on the search page.

 

[Vintage Betty]

Oh, yes. eBay's Best Match simply isn't. Ugh.

They created a best match default sort, which is based on some algorythm/formula to deliver results based upon what eBay thinks would best match. It's stinky.

You can still choose to sort by time ending soonest though. You just have to do it in the pull down menu on the search page.

Yes, but what's horribly annoying is that the search function resets itself to Best Match each time you go to ebay. No problem, I'm just so annoyed that I now use ebay less and save more money.

Vintage Betty

 

[Lady Day]

Had an etsy store for over a year, only sold one $8 item. Closed it last month.

I use to sew with a gal who worked on their team. Its mainly a place for crafters to buy crafting supplies, as thats what makes the most sales on the site, that and ad space in their 'promo' areas.

Their search is horrible and if you have art work over $100 good luck selling it. Their main category is $40 and below.

All in all I was seriously disappointed with the site for selling. And I never see stuff on there I would want to buy.

LD

 

[Foofoogal]

I was thinking of more lower end of my vintage stuff and crafters supply anyway.
Thank you all for your answers. It is just tough everywhere now but usually slow this time of year anyway.
I guess I like to look at etsy as I am an artist at heart. I love creativity and that place is loaded with it.
Thank you all for your answers. I do appreciate it. Sandy

 

[DimeADanceQueen]

Etsy Store

I have an etsy shop. i'm slowly building it up and working on it.
i've shopped on the site for ages. I love it! I find a lot of vintage stuff there and a lot patterns, buttons, notions, etc.
Everyone I've ever worked with on etsy has been wonderful.

I highly recommend it.

 

[Lauren]

I also have an Etsy store and love it. The best thing, I think, is that it's very managable. They set it up easy for selling and I love the flat listing fee. It's great for selling as you can set the price of your item and not just "hope" it goes for what you think it's worth.
You sell a lot less. I've sold three items on my shop so far, which is less than the ebay sales, but I find the clientelle on there a lot nicer in general than the ebay people... a lot of who buys from me or messages me are also crafters/collectors/artists who appreciate what you're doing and like working with you. And I really dig Etsy's idea behind their site... they have a pretty cool video on there explaining it.
I started on ebay in 1999, and since then I've seen a lot of changes... some for the better and some for the worse... but now it just feels like a big corporate selling machine, which is looking to sell your product at a larger cut than they used to do. For them it's only win/win. They provide a platform for marketing at a fee, extras are additional fees, and final values an additional fee... it's up to you to pay fees for accepting payments, do the legwork to find the items, do your business in a timely manner, figure out shipping and sometimes customs, and provide the expectations which the average consumer expects. I think I have pretty darn good customer service, but sometimes it is difficult because I think a lot of buyers forget that it's coming to you from your home and not usually a big warehouse somewhere by a guy that's totally disconnected from the grand scheme and will not feel anything if you have unreasonable expectations.
Phew. Rant over. But yes, I love Etsy.

 

[Lauren]

I just recieved my etsy bill and was mistaken about the final value fees... there is a 3.5% sale fee plus the $0.20 listing fee that is good for three months. Still not too shabby.

 

[Foofoogal]

I should ask on the site but figure since we are on the subject. If we join and open a store how do we pay. .20 and item. Do we pay an amt. like thru Paypal ahead of time and then upload till we are used up or do we get charged at end of mo. or what? Also I thought it was .20 for 4 mo. Thanks. Sandy

 

[Lady Day]

FooFoo...The Etsy FAQ is very helpful...

That sales fee must be new Lauren, cause one of their touts is that the only fees they has were the listing fees.



LD

 

[Lauren]

I think you must be right! I didn't remember a final value fee...

You make payments though a credit card. They're not set up to accept etsy payments through Paypal yet even though buyers can pay for them that way.. go figure...

And you are correct! It is four months! Nifty!
For more on Etsy's fees here's a link on their site:
http://www.etsy.com/fees.php