Sales on Etsy

[kritter]

Bob, how are your sales on etsy? You have some unique stuff and was wondering if enough people who are interested in what you have are on that site.

Are you also listing the same things on ebay in addition to etsy?

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2016 15:57:46 GMT kritter said:

Bob, how are your sales on etsy? You have some unique stuff and was wondering if enough people who are interested in what you have are on that site.

Are you also listing the same things on ebay in addition to etsy?

I thought that they were starting to take off ok. I was doing about 1 sale a month for a couple of months then I had 3 about a month and a half a go and none since. It is almost like since I put the sewing patterns on it died.

[Deleted]

No I haven't listed them on eBay. I have sold a few things on eBay in the past. I always seem to wind up on ebay. Honestly I have been afraid to list something on both in case I got a sale for the same item on both.

[kritter]

I have never sold on etsy but I would think there would be more traffic on Ebay. But, that's just my opinion.

I think ebay is pretty much a household word at least around here locally but Etsy not so much. I wouldn't even know about Etsy if I wasn't on the seller forums like this one

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2016 17:41:57 GMT kritter said:

I have never sold on etsy but I would think there would be more traffic on Ebay. But, that's just my opinion.

I think ebay is pretty much a household word at least around here locally but Etsy not so much. I wouldn't even know about Etsy if I wasn't on the seller forums like this one

I started on Etsy because of lower fees than eBay and much shorter wait getting your money. The last time I sold something on EBay it took almost a month before I got my money from pay pal. With etsy it ts there in a couple of days.

Years ago I did pretty well with a few things on EBay but that was back in the day before a million other venues were open.

[Deleted]

Nice! eBay has it's issues but it does seem to have more buyers than Etsy.

[Deleted]

Thanks!

I If it doesn't sell soon on Etsy I might move it to Ebay. It was wierd. I seemed to begin to be getting some traction on Etsy then I put the sewing patterns on there and it is like it died.

I also did realize that I had somehow gotten the setting on the camer on my phone to "wide angle" so it was taking everything so bit nothing would completely fit in the pics for the thumbnail.

I am going to retake all of my pics.

[Deleted]

Here is one that I just did.

It is a long long way from perfect but I think it is getting better. I know that my pics have to get better. I know that crappy pictures kill sales. If you don't care enough to get decent pictures what are you selling? That is my perspective when I shop online anyway.

[chapeaunoir]

I don't think it has to do with the patterns, Bob - Etsy has ebbs and flows and you'll feel it way more if you're really small. I stalled a couple of times over the summer with no sales for about 5 days, when I usually have steady sales. I'll never be able to live on the income, but it's a nice supplement (pays for inventory, medical insurance or whatever) and enjoyable. You could try deactivating the patterns and keep listing other things just as an experiment.

[Deleted]

Sept 14, 2016 20:36:23 GMT chapeaunoir said:

I don't think it has to do with the patterns, Bob - Etsy has ebbs and flows and you'll feel it way more if you're really small. I stalled a couple of times over the summer with no sales for about 5 days, when I usually have steady sales. I'll never be able to live on the income, but it's a nice supplement (pays for inventory, medical insurance or whatever) and enjoyable. You could try deactivating the patterns and keep listing other things just as an experiment.

Thanks Chap. I hadn't thought of just deactivating them. LOL like usual with me everything is all or nothing. I was thinking of deleting them but then after a week or two I would have to pay to relist them if it didn't make a difference.

[chapeaunoir]

Deactivating is a great feature - I use it to take listings down temporarily for whatever reason.

I tend not to list vintage on eBay - too many problems, prices are too low. The vintage market is pretty sad there now with the only people really doing well on a regular basis being the boho/hipster crowd with professional facilities and live models, large networks and the like. There are some one-off successes, but it's sparse. It used to be THE place for vintage when I was selling vintage there regularly (2000 to about 2008). I don't expect vintage to support me, it's more a hobby, so I'm not worried about Etsy being slower. If it brings in $500-1000/mo I'm quite happy with that.

[RetroMonde]

My son's girlfriend has almost 800 patterns listed on Etsy now and has been getting 3-4 sales a day for the past year. The last 2 weeks she's had about 3-4 sales total. For some reason it just stalled out. We expect the usual ups & downs but not a dive like this at the beginning of sewing season. That's just not normal. And it's been slower than usual for me too but I haven't been listing steadily like she has. 

[Deleted]

I've been on Etsy for almost two years and had approx. 250 listings-I'm letting most of them run out and not doing any more auto re-lists.

I finally looked at my monthly fees and I'm not making enough to warrant continuing there for a lot of items. I was doing around 1-2 sales per week; then some weeks I'd have 4 within a couple of days or so. Then back to my usual 1-2.

I thought it odd that last weekend I had 4 sales in one day even with my decreased listings-I figured the Etsy "gods" noticed I stopped re-listing and decided to inspire me. I did have a nice sale last week but am not terribly optimistic. And, I do double list some on eBay and frankly feel I do as well or better there with vintage. 

I used to do well with vintage lingerie and slips but like a lot of categories prices have dropped . Unless you want to wait in perpetuity to sell something. I marked down a lot of my items and put Sale! in the title and that moved some things out. But overall I'm not impressed with selling there. 

[Deleted]

Hah! Retromonde got Pope John Paul dog and I got a leopard Louboutin:-)

[val2525]

You got the butterfly bulldog. The shoe is your default avatar. Admins got tired of looking at the baby alien egghead default avatar You can customize the avatars here, though. If you need help, just post. Denise and Shirley change theirs up daily so they'll know the answers to any questions.

[Deleted]

Sorry-know I need an avatar. I tried posting photos through Photobucket but it was an epic fail.

[val2525]

I dunno, I'm kinda getting used to the leopard pump now

[kritter]

I am liking the leopard pump too and now know it is Sue posting when I see that shoe.

[Deleted]

Sept 19, 2016 2:46:07 GMT @sue said:

I've been on Etsy for almost two years and had approx. 250 listings-I'm letting most of them run out and not doing any more auto re-lists.

I finally looked at my monthly fees and I'm not making enough to warrant continuing there for a lot of items. I was doing around 1-2 sales per week; then some weeks I'd have 4 within a couple of days or so. Then back to my usual 1-2.

I thought it odd that last weekend I had 4 sales in one day even with my decreased listings-I figured the Etsy "gods" noticed I stopped re-listing and decided to inspire me. I did have a nice sale last week but am not terribly optimistic. And, I do double list some on eBay and frankly feel I do as well or better there with vintage. 

I used to do well with vintage lingerie and slips but like a lot of categories prices have dropped . Unless you want to wait in perpetuity to sell something. I marked down a lot of my items and put Sale! in the title and that moved some things out. But overall I'm not impressed with selling there. 

Sold a carved Santa two weeks ago. It is almost kije you get ready to quit and you sell something.

Sept 25, 2016 19:11:32 GMT kritter said:

I am liking the leopard pump too and now know it is Sue posting when I see that shoe.

[chapeaunoir]

I'm pretty happy with a 2-3 sales a week and then a cluster - I usually have 150 items. On eBay my vintage sits and sits with watchers, and then I get low-ball offers. It just sells on Etsy with no bother. In fact, I hate to think of all the vintage I let go for a low price on eBay because I didn't have the sense to open an Etsy shop. I don't mind having a wait for it to sell as eBay is my main source of income, although Etsy is starting to provide more and more.

[Deleted]

Oct 12, 2016 20:56:16 GMT chapeaunoir said:

I'm pretty happy with a 2-3 sales a week and then a cluster - I usually have 150 items. On eBay my vintage sits and sits with watchers, and then I get low-ball offers. It just sells on Etsy with no bother. In fact, I hate to think of all the vintage I let go for a low price on eBay because I didn't have the sense to open an Etsy shop. I don't mind having a wait for it to sell as eBay is my main source of income, although Etsy is starting to provide more and more.

If I ever have enough inventory on that I am getting 2 to 3 sales a week I will be thrilled

[chapeaunoir]

Finding vintage 'stuff' around here is tough - it either goes online (the big thrifts) or craigslist, or the aggressive pickers are all over it and having punchups in the aisles. Clothing isn't so bad. A lot of the vintage 'stuff' I have doesn't do well on Etsy, anyway - old bike parts and the like.

[frakinfashion]

Still waiting for my first sale. I have 64 items up and 4 admirers (I think they may all be boardies  ). 

[chapeaunoir]

It will take a while to get your first sale - don't worry. Jewellery overall is super-saturated, but vintage jewellery is a better category and you have a great selection. For some reason it takes a while to get traction on Etsy - you need to list something most days of the week to keep the pot boiling, and do the marketing, etc. It's super cheap to list there but we have to do more of our own flogging. You have four months for each listing so at least you don't have to keep relisting.

It took me about two weeks to get my first sale - I had a couple of sales then stopped doing anything with my shop, and about six months later started up again, but this time I listed daily and worked on SEO - save for a couple of spots, sales have been steady since then.

[Deleted]

If you had to compare, which is better, Etsy or Ruby Lane? I have all these cartons of costume jewelry.

I've tried etsy twice and it seemed that you had to make buddies or something? It seemed like a pain--too much work interacting and becoming (I don't remember the term) with other sellers and that somehow promoted your listings.

I downgraded from an ebay store in June because I can't afford the increased store price and I didn't have much inventory. It was stressful trying to keep 100 items and then they increased it to 250. What I'd like is to list these brooches and SELL them. But I look at ebay Completeds and costume jewelry doesn't sell--overly saturated market. It has to be something spectacular or underpriced.

Is a shop on etsy more trouble than a store on ebay? If you had 100 items listed, which would be more work?

[chapeaunoir]

I sold on Ruby Lane about a million years ago, well, in 1999. It's expensive and you have to be approved. I much prefer Etsy.

Etsy is less trouble than eBay for me in some ways, and more trouble in others. You have to do more of your marketing on Etsy, but to be honest, I don't do much at all, save to take care of my SEO (tags, titles, etc.). I use Pinterest some, but not a lot.

You may be thinking of Instagram for followers and the like.

Etsy is cheap to list on - no store fees.

ETA: I think it's a mistake to list every single thing all at once on Etsy - even at 50 listings I was having sales, but I had to keep listing to keep the pot boiling. So I listed about that much, then added about 2 a day, 4-5 days a week. When I got to 100 my sales increased noticeably, but I wouldn't put everything up there and then wait - people like to see new stuff.

[Deleted]

Just popping in here to say that I'm finding some things do seem to do better on etsy. Not my costume jewelry so much but embroidery kits that I had listed on ebay for years. I just sold an embroidery kit today. Before that my only etsy sale was a low priced brooch that was of a figure. I think owls and frogs and cats and dogs, for instance, would sell.

So I think it's a good niche for certain types of things. What I'm doing is double listing. It's on ebay and I just C&P it onto etsy. Listing on etsy is so simple and fun and the site is so much cleaner and straight forward than ebay. It's like a breath of fresh air.

Until I run out, I'll keep adding an embroidery kit every day or an unusual brooch. If I find other old or crafty items, they'll go on etsy rather than ebay. That's because I no longer have an ebay store so I'm limited to 50 ebay listings.

Even if I just break even, it's a decent place to park my listings until I can get them onto ebay. (Now that they're taking turbo lister away--which didn't work most of the time anyway.) 20 cents/listing is worth it to park something and if it sells, that's a bonus. I only have 28 listings, maybe one of these days I'll get up to 30!

[chapeaunoir]

Listing on etsy is so simple and fun and the site is so much cleaner and straight forward than ebay. It's like a breath of fresh air.

Isn't it, though? You're doing fine. It takes a while to get into the 'mix' so to speak. Just keep listing stuff and keep working on SEO and tags, too - it's actually a nice brain tease/puzzle so it's good for the mind.

Anything old I find? Goes on Etsy.  I've had 223 sales now in about 11 months. Rounding up to my first Etsyversary.  And man I knew NUTTIN' about what I was doing! Susie who used to post on Kevin's board was so helpful, and so was Retro here and some others, but Susie really helped me step through some thorny things and was a source of comfort. She's a total Etsy pro. Doesn't post on Kevin's forum anymore, though. But I can pass along her tips to me.

[chapeaunoir]

Oh yeah - all supplies, sewing stuff, kits, etc. - I list them there. I've sold fabric all over the world that I couldn't budge on eBay.

[frakinfashion]

Still waiting for my first sale. Truth be told, though, my stuff's not cheap. So, still waiting...    I have 71 items up and have been too lethargic to list there lately, or most anywhere. I have some nice cufflinks I should throw up there, and gobs more other jewelry. I get people who "like" stuff but nobody who wants to pay for it. A couple of the pieces there were sold on eBay so were taken down though--including my fav scarab necklace that I priced high hoping no one would buy it.