As I progress through this business that is home based handmade jewelry, I am finding that Etsy, although a wonderful site to spring board your activity as an on-line jewelry seller, also swallows you up amid ALL of its jewelry sellers.
To date I have had 41 items sell in a total of 33 orders. Don't get me wrong I am SUPER grateful for the success that I have seen, but I think about how much MORE successful random home sales and workplace showings have been. There are countless other Etsians that are experiencing this same issue, many that are super talented and very personable as well. One issue is the sites traffic...although it is a pretty well known site (whenever I am purchasing beads people ask if I am a seller on Etsy) the traffic is hit or miss and many people that are on it seem to be sellers themselves. Now don't get me wrong I have no problem with sellers making purchases from sellers, but generally as sellers we are looking for buyers. So many sellers have taken to social media promotions (Facebook, twitter, linked in stumble upon...) to generate more traffic to our shops... and it works pretty well... Does the added traffic increase sales... not necessarily. Another issue with Etsy is that to buy an item you have to be a registered user.I have had more than a couple customers contact me and let me know that they were having issues with completing registration and we have had to come to other arrangements for payment. The issue is being worked out and I haven't had many issues since. Finally, and probably my biggest issue with Etsy is that they make the sale and redemption of gift certificates a real headache!!!
I sell and award customers with gift certificates, but on Etsy I am charged a double fee for selling the certificate and before a customer can redeem their certificate on line they have to contact me so that I can change the price of their items to reflect the certificate... Not fun. Gift certificates are a big draw to Etsy shops and any seller will agree with me. What customer doesn't like getting $5, $10, or $15 off of their purchase as a gift for an occasion of for being a loyal customer?!?!? But who wants to go through the hassle of redemption?
Now that I am done ranting... Here's to 33 more orders!!!
Be sure to visit me online on my Facebook fan page or contact by email if you would like to host a jewelry party in your home and receive awesome incentives!!!
