Etsy

[Lady Day]

Its not blindly pushing, just a dedicated process. Alchemy does exactly what you do via the convos and separate listings. You dont use it, okay. I do, and Im the farthest thing from a business person I can imagine. Alchemy isnt a middleman, thats like saying Microsoft word gets in the way of me making word processing documents.

Okay, perhaps that was a bad analogy.

LD

 

[Foofoogal]

alchemy and reserved item are basically 2 different things.

alchemy someone wants you to make something special for them.
reserved is where you put something on hold for someone
(for a certain period of time)
etsy does not like avoidance of fees and you can be kicked off for it.
If they find it on etsy then they should get their portion.
I have reserved things and had things reserved. I am not too fond of it though as once it is paid for you cannot change the reserved part.
This is why you see reserved for .....
If you are wanting to purchase an item for resell (or it doesn't fit and you may want to pass it on) it sort of makes it hard.
--------
i tried alchemy 2 different times and it did not work. I finally surfed around on etsy and found what I wanted.
http://sandysfancypants.blogspot.com

 

[CherryRed]

When I do custom I don't use Alchemy. Mostly because the requests are only for different colors or multiples of the items I already have listed. I get the convo, make up the listing with the customer name in it, they purchase it and I make it for them. So I am still securing the sale in advance. I guess depending on your product and what you do it can vary.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

It's not that I see alchemy as a middleman, it's just not worth the hassle for me. When it was reintroduced, I browsed around to see what kind of requests were being made; one or two appealed to me, so I spent a lot of time designing, planning, considering materials, calculating costs, etc, submitted them, and had no word back. Not even a 'thanks for your time, but no thanks.' In my experience it's been a lot of wasted effort. I'm not that eager to pursue long-distance commissions that for the most part don't pan out.

For me, it's been much easier when a buyer sees something in my shop and contacts me with a message such as "I love that zodiac postage stamp charm you've got, but can you do one in Aquarius?" If I have the materials, I'm happy to make a custom listing, and because the customer initiated the process with me, they're most likely to follow through.

For my vintage shop, it often goes like this: say I've listed a 1960s magazine with Nancy Sinatra on the cover. Someone may buy it, and send a note along the lines of "I'm so glad to find this, I love Nancy Sinatra." Perhaps I have a couple more mags featuring her, that I've not yet listed. I'm happy to describe them to that buyer in case she'd like first dibs, and if she does, the magazines go into my shop, reserved for her. Most buyers are eager for their reserves, and tend to complete the transaction within hours of the listing.
That's why, as I said earlier, it's odd to me to find reserves that have been listed weeks and weeks ago. However, I take reserved to mean off-limits, and wouldn't think of buying one, at least without first contacting the seller to see if perhaps the situation has changed and the item might be up for grabs again. I suppose it's possible for both buyers and sellers to forget about reserves, even though I never would.

 

[Foofoogal]

It is necessary when discussing reserves with a potential buyer to give a time frame.
I will hold till someone gets paid or something but a time must be agreed on.
10 days and reserve goes off or something. I did have one from another country that could not send funds after about 2 weeks.
So I took off reserve. Thankfully they got their banking in order and came and bought it.

 

[pdxvintagette]

I've actually just gone through a major shake-up with my business, got a new model, started modeling some hats myself, and using a professional photographer to make things look sharp. I would love feedback on the new look, especially from members who know what my listings looked like before! Same vibe, more polish.

http://fabgabs.etsy.com

I'm even starting to twitter now, and I may get really bold and begin blogging. Who knows?

As of this date, I don't have many items listed, but will be putting more on every day until I'm caught up!

(I don't know if I am allowed to post a second time, so if not, please let me know and I'll add this to my original post or something.)

 

[CherryRed]

I've actually just gone through a major shake-up with my business, got a new model, started modeling some hats myself, and using a professional photographer to make things look sharp. I would love feedback on the new look, especially from members who know what my listings looked like before! Same vibe, more polish.

http://fabgabs.etsy.com

I'm even starting to twitter now, and I may get really bold and begin blogging. Who knows?

As of this date, I don't have many items listed, but will be putting more on every day until I'm caught up!

(I don't know if I am allowed to post a second time, so if not, please let me know and I'll add this to my original post or something.)

I think it looks wonderful! Your photo's are great! I have added you to my favorites. What is your twitter ID?

 

[analiebe]

pdx... your shop images look fabulous - both beautiful & show your items well ...BRAVO! to you

 

[Lady Day]

I emailed etsy on the whole reserved thing, and just as I thought, its an honor system, obligated only by the seller and buyer, not by etsy itself.

What I asked.

Hi,
I just have a general question on this reserving thing that seems to
be popular with stores.
Im curious if there is any official Etsy policy on it, or is just
listing something as 'reserved' all that is done.

Also, if something is 'reserved' and another party buys and pays for
it, is this solely up to the store owner and their policy, or is there
an official etsy policy on a transaction like this?

I guess what Im asking is, is this reserve gesture purely an honor
system type of thing?

Thanks

What etsy said.

Etsy's Support Team (Claire) wrote on 11/20/2009 05:35 PM:
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Etsy's Support Team. You've got the right idea about reserved items. Basically, it is a transaction and contract between the seller and the buyer, an honor system like you mentioned. Each seller reserves the right to enforce his or her own policies, and we encourage both parties to any resolve situations on their own. Please let us know if you have any other questions!

Best,
Claire
Etsy's Support Team
http://help.etsy.com

LD

 

[exquisitebones]

I've actually just gone through a major shake-up with my business, got a new model, started modeling some hats myself, and using a professional photographer to make things look sharp. I would love feedback on the new look, especially from members who know what my listings looked like before! Same vibe, more polish.

http://fabgabs.etsy.com

I'm even starting to twitter now, and I may get really bold and begin blogging. Who knows?

As of this date, I don't have many items listed, but will be putting more on every day until I'm caught up!

(I don't know if I am allowed to post a second time, so if not, please let me know and I'll add this to my original post or something.)

I noticed your etsy pictures were changing. I like the use of more props. as I have found that all my pictures with props have a LOT of views. its a good idea. etsy is more about the art-y picture than ebay is.

 

[pdxvintagette]

Exquisitebones and Cherry Red and analiebe, THANK YOU for your kind comments! My twitter ID is fabgabsvintage, I'm still getting used to doing it. I forgot all about it today, but I was busy with photography.

EB, you're exactly right about the props. Because I have to hire a photographer and his lighting kit, and because I'm about efficiency, it doesn't work for me to have lots of different locations and changing sets. Also, I dont' want to copy anyone else's particular style of displaying the clothes, I want my own look. It took a long time to figure out precisely what I wanted, and I'm pretty darn pleased with the result! I'm shocked at the change in my views. Completely shocked.

 

[cynroux]

pdxvintage, your sales approach is certainly working on me. I've bought 2 dresses in as many weeks. Thank you!:eusa_clap

 

[Lauren]

I agree, your new photos are stellar! Looks great! I've got my eye on a dress or two!

 

[cecil]

I've actually just gone through a major shake-up with my business, got a new model, started modeling some hats myself, and using a professional photographer to make things look sharp. I would love feedback on the new look, especially from members who know what my listings looked like before! Same vibe, more polish.

http://fabgabs.etsy.com

I'm even starting to twitter now, and I may get really bold and begin blogging. Who knows?

As of this date, I don't have many items listed, but will be putting more on every day until I'm caught up!

(I don't know if I am allowed to post a second time, so if not, please let me know and I'll add this to my original post or something.)

I noticed this! Heaps of new stock too. Yummy. Your store is one of my favourites, you always have heaps of items that I want, which is rare for me (I'm picky and only I wear one colour).

 

[pdxvintagette]

Is that one color black? If so, you have the pick of the litter of everything ... the best things always come in black. Thanks for your comments, I had no idea so many people on the lounge were already aware of my shop! Gives me all sorts of warm fuzzies.

 

[cecil]

Is that one color black? If so, you have the pick of the litter of everything ... the best things always come in black. Thanks for your comments, I had no idea so many people on the lounge were already aware of my shop! Gives me all sorts of warm fuzzies.

Yes! lol

It's true, if you're only going to wear one colour it's definitely the easiest one to do!

 

[pdxvintagette]

Wow! I just learned a new trick. For those here who are selling on Etsy, are you aware of etsyhacks? I had no clue... it's a freebie that only works with Firefox, but has some nifty little applications to help smooth out the listing process. "Copy Listing" "Edit Listing" - from the actual item page and "Bulk Upload Photos" so you add 5 photos at once!

I'm so totally stoked... I was never ready to make the "move" from IE to Firefox til now.

 

[sixsexsix]

oh thanks for sharing! i didn't know about these, they make things soo much easier!

 

[Miss 1929]

Wow! I just learned a new trick. For those here who are selling on Etsy, are you aware of etsyhacks? I had no clue... it's a freebie that only works with Firefox, but has some nifty little applications to help smooth out the listing process. "Copy Listing" "Edit Listing" - from the actual item page and "Bulk Upload Photos" so you add 5 photos at once!

I'm so totally stoked... I was never ready to make the "move" from IE to Firefox til now.

Oh gosh, I just started using Safari INSTEAD of Firefox, as it works better for the Iphone, so now I need to go back to Firefox for all the Etsy stuff! Oy!But it sounds like it will save time, thanks for the tip!

 

[exquisitebones]

YAY! I have always used firefox on my apple, so I am stoke to try this new widget out! that sounds so nice and time saving