Tuesday, April 9, 2013

what to do...where to sell

Morning all.   I normally try to share some family life with you on Tuesdays, but with the new ducks and chicks, and the garden going in, I've been sharing family a lot lately.  So today, I am asking y'all for help.  You see, due to resellers and poor customer service, I have decided to let my shop on Etsy fade away, and I started a shop on HandmadeArtists last year.  I love HandmadeArtists, and I have made many good friends there, but.....I have only made one sale there this whole year.  I'm getting great views on all my items, and the customer service is beyond amazing.  And like I said, the people have been great, and there are so many social aspects to choose from, but....I have only made one sale there.  Now I have some difficulty understanding Google Analytics, so don't ask me about driving traffic or any of that stuff, all I can base my decisions on is the bottom line, sales.  I've debated whether it was the economy, but I see other people making sales there everyday.  Then I wonder if it's just my items, that they are not good enough.  People talk about niches, but every niche seems to be filled already.  I'm even looking for a "real" job, but at my age, despite my experience and ability, that is not working out too well either.  So, here are the choices in front of me today, and I would love your advise (or just encouragement).  

Stay with HandmadeArtists at $5.00 a month, which is a great price since I can't afford to advertise?

Try a different venue?  I've tried Zibbet and didn't like it, and Artfire is just too expensive.  I have an account at The Craft Star which is a possibility, and it's the same pay set up as Etsy.  $.20 per listing and then a small percentage upon sale.  Has anyone tried TCS before?

I did a google search for handmade gifts, and at the bottom of the first page was ShopHandmade.  I only did a quick browse (it was late and I was getting tired) but it's free to list there.  Anyone try that site yet?

And if I leave HandmadeArtists for another site, I plan to spend that money on web hosting for my own site. I figure if I'm going to have to spend even more time and money advertising and on SEO, I may as well promote my own site.  That way I can keep my handmade items, and vintage items, on the same site.  If you have your own website, that you actually sell on, what web hosting sites do you use?

Well, that's it for today.  Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Be blessed,
Debbi

16 comments:

Colette said...

I have my own website. I figured, instead of putting my efforts into promoting Etsy, It would be better to do it for my own website; In the long run, it's better for me. As far as other selling venue, Unfortunately I don't know of any other. Besides HAF and Etsy, I am not currently using any other. I tried Artfire once, but did not last too long.

Unknown said...

I don't have any suggestions. But wish you lots of luck.
Dee

Unknown said...

I don't have any suggestions. But wish you lots of luck.
Dee

Trina Prenzi said...

Hi Debbi,

I have tried Artfire and Zibbit, neither lasted very long. My Etsy shop has always done the best in sales. I recently re-opened my new and improved website, and am working on a store front for it. Right now my store on the site takes customers to my Etsy shop. I have gotten quite a few sales from customers coming from my website, so my plan is to continue to have both. It's difficult to say what would work for others, because some really like and do well on the other sites. I think for me it was trial and error and it has always let me back to Etsy.

I wish you much good luck whichever way you go!!!
~Trina

Libellula Jewelry™ said...

Hi Debbi-
It's so hard finding a venue that works in all the ways that we need. One gets the traffic but we have to hold our noses to sell there and others have higher standards but the low traffic makes it hard to persevere. I think that shows and markets will be a good option for you. A banner with your HA shop would help get the word out about where you sell online. The markets and a banner have really helped me--a lot. I wish that I knew more ways to help but I'm really new to all this and still finding out what works. I wish you the best of luck! :)

2justByou said...

I've tried Zibbet, but it didn't last. I never tried ArtFire, but I know people that like it. The Craft Star is one that I had signed up for, but then I changed my mind. Other sites just don't get as much overall traffic as Etsy, because Etsy is more widely known among the public. There is another venue - Storenvy - and I know it's free to list items there. I've seen lots of Etsy users migrate there in the past few months. But I think it might be better to just try hosting your own domain. The biggest drawback is that it will take more work to drive people to your site, because you won't have the help of an already established seller's community like Etsy, HA, ArtFire, etc. This means that you'll really have to do some homework about Google Analytics and have a marketing strategy. There's also the cost of hosting your own domain too (which can turn out to be pretty costly, being more than $5 a month).
So here's a question for you: You like HA, but you've only made one sale in one year. What do you do to drive traffic to your HA shop?
Email me and we'll chat about this some more. =0)
~Kim

Sumaya at Evocative Vintage said...

Hi Debbi, I truly hope that you get the help and advise you need to improve your sales.

Good luck!

Hugs
Sumaya

Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie. I have a couple suggestions for you: one is to try Bonanza. That allows you to 'import from Etsy' and has a percentage based fee structure. It breaks things down to 'For Him' "For Her". The other is my own site just launched a little over a month ago. It's carlaban.org and is to promote bloggers such as yourself. You can also promote your items with pics. This is free and your listing is up for one year. I have also started a blogazine which the first issue will be out at the end of April. You can get more info on the site (carlaban.org) or contact me.

The other thing I would suggest is to look for patterns in what you sell and who buys from you. Also, contact those who did buy from you and check in, let them know about new things you've got or ask for a testimonial.

Google Analytics is not hard to use/understand. Though, at this point it would be more beneficial to directly connect with your customers and prospects. Hope this helps and you should get some good advice from 2justByou from above.

Unknown said...

that's the way I've been thinking...promote my own site...but I just don't know...ugh. lol

Unknown said...

thanks Trina...but your items are so great, and a specialty niche, so I can see why you keep getting sales. :0)
I need to find a niche, ahahaha
Debbi

Unknown said...

hold our noses, bwahahaha, ain't that the truth! I am excited about doing shows this year, but it just gets SO DANG HOT here during the summer. :0P

Unknown said...

I'm going to check out storenvy, but I will definetly email you.
Thanks!

Unknown said...

thank you Ryan...and advise is welcome. I will surely check out your site.

Unknown said...

wow, these are all great comments. I've found one other site -- Craftori.

http://craftori.com/

I registered but then realized that I had to spend money to get my stuff on the front page. I need to think about it. I don't know if it's worth it.

Does anyone else have an opinion on this or some experience to share?

Miss Val's Creations said...

Hi Debbi,
There is so much to consider when starting your own website. Mine is a lot of work to maintain as far as updating, SEO, etc. I use Prostores which is an ebay company so it automatically links with my ebay store. This is a life safer! However all the extra work as me thinking about shutting it down and focusing on ebay which is my bread and butter. They are also changing to free listings for stores May 1st and lower final value fees making which will mean more money in my pocket at the end of each month. So I am in a dilemma too! Part of me thinks it is better to be on a site like Ebay, Etsy, Artfire, Bonanza, etc. since they handle part of the marketing for you.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Val

Eyelah said...

Hi Deb!

Your post is interesting because I actually just started on a new website called Goodsmiths. It is a growing handmade website similar to Etsy. They offer up to 25 listings for free and no listing fees. It is very new so there may be some work to getting views but that also means it's not saturated. I have been on the site for 3 weeks and though I haven't gotten a sale on my items was actually featured in the staff picks email which helped shop views. I would definitely consider it if you are looking for other venues.

hope this helps!

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