Etsy search & other questions

[somany]

So far I have not sold on any other venue than ebay, but I am considering trying some other sites.  I looked at Etsy tonight and have a few questions.  

I searched for "vintage Eileen Fisher" but the items that came up on Etsy for my search were not always Eileen Fisher.  Is that common?  Does anyone know what Etsy bases the search results on other than brand name?  Also, the dollar amounts were in green; I'm assuming those are the items that are still for sale right (i.e., green doesn't mean sold like on ebay)?  Is there a way to see items sold on Etsy?  I didn't see a way to search on sold but maybe I'm overlooking it or maybe it's because I don't have an account set up so am not signed in; would that make a difference? 

Some more general questions--is there anything that would be helpful to know about beginning to sell on Etsy?  Do they have limits, hold funds, or anything like that?  Any thoughts on the way sales have been going on Etsy--are they the same, better or worse than say a year ago?  Do you find it's worth your time to list there?


Thanks,
Peggy

[Pantlandia]

Feb 5, 2015 4:12:34 GMT somany said:

So far I have not sold on any other venue than ebay, but I am considering trying some other sites.  I looked at Etsy tonight and have a few questions.  

I searched for "vintage Eileen Fisher" but the items that came up on Etsy for my search were not always Eileen Fisher.  Is that common?  Does anyone know what Etsy bases the search results on other than brand name?  Also, the dollar amounts were in green; I'm assuming those are the items that are still for sale right (i.e., green doesn't mean sold like on ebay)?  Is there a way to see items sold on Etsy?  I didn't see a way to search on sold but maybe I'm overlooking it or maybe it's because I don't have an account set up so am not signed in; would that make a difference? 

Some more general questions--is there anything that would be helpful to know about beginning to sell on Etsy?  Do they have limits, hold funds, or anything like that?  Any thoughts on the way sales have been going on Etsy--are they the same, better or worse than say a year ago?  Do you find it's worth your time to list there?


Thanks,
Peggy

Hi Peggy. From what I understand Etsy's search engine is horrible. I've heard that from many different people as both buyers and sellers. 
I don't think there is a way to search for sold items, which means that if it comes up with the search, it's available and not sold.
As far as I know, they don't do holds, limits or anything like that. 

I just started listing there (1 item so far!) and plan on getting up several hundred a month. We'll see how it goes!

[val2525]

I've heard that about their search function, too. I do manage to find things easier over there than on eBay, but I think it's more because eBay's jewelery category is beyond skrewed up.

[Deleted]

Etsy search only shows items that are currently for sale, however you can find links to sold items through Google using this search:

     "Eileen Fisher" "Sorry, this item sold" site:etsy.com

Etsy puts "Sorry, this item sold" on all sold listings. The price isn't shown on the screen, but you can find it in the source code. Look for this string:

    <meta property="etsymarketplace:price" content="$78.00 USD" /> 

Etsy lets you add a bunch of additional keywords (tags) to your listings. These don't show in the description but they do get picked up in search. Here's an example:

   www.etsy.com/listing/113700230/90s-victorian-gypsy-silk-paisley-maxi

Scroll down to Related to this Item and you'll see the "Eileen Fisher" tag (right next to "steampunk"

[Deleted]

So etsy encourages search manipulation. That's gotta drive buyers crazy. Makes me wonder how much bigger they could be if they fixed their search to pull up only the items it's suppose to.

Thanks for the tip on how to search completeds I wondered that myself.

[Deleted]

Adding tags made a lot of sense in Etsy's earlier days, when it was just handmade and vintage stuff (not so brand-driven). It was great to be able to use "Pucci" as a KW for a vintage dress that had a similar pattern. But too many sellers now abuse the KWs. Also, Etsy has more large-scale international selllers and sellers who don't know (or do know but don't care about) what is actually vintage.

When I try somany's search for vintage Eileen Fisher, I get a lot of EF items that are less than 5 years old, as well as some no-way-in-hell-is-this-even-remotely-close-to-EF-style stuff.