Friday, October 17, 2008

Riding the Etsy Roller Coaster

Today we have a guest author on my blog! I met Babble and Blush last week when she started a thread in the etsy forums about how she made 6 sales in one day. I was, of course, intrigued! So I started chit-chatting in the thread, talking to B&B and finding out what the news was all about. I loved reading what she had to say so much that I decided to ask her to write about her experience last weekend for my blog. Enjoy reading it!

Earlier this week I wrote about how I made 6 sales in one day in my online Etsy shop ( http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5853995 ). Basically I camped out on the couch for most of the day in my pajamas and fuzzy socks determined to figure out the secret to making a sale on Etsy. My sales have been pitifully sporadic and I realized that
at this pace I was never going to be a top seller (or even make enough money for my weekly pig out session at Taco Bell). I therefore decided to try and step up my game. My strategy was to get myself out there as much as possible. I figured the more I was "seen" by potential buyers, the more I might sell. I spent the day (literally 8 am to 4 pm) doing
the following constructive things:

1) renewed items that were fixing to expire
2) posted new pictures in flickr groups
3) posted in the forums
4) made a treasury
5) commented on other treasuries
6) listed new items (every few hours)
7) posted in critiques and promotions

and the following non-constructive things:

1) Warned husband to "step off" so I could continue my all day obsession with Etsy
2) Lurked in a self-destructive, argumentative, downward rage spiral of a thread where I marveled at how many Etsians possess the ability to hurl an insult for no apparent reason while at the same time trying to convince you that they are only trying to help you

At 4 pm I shut down my computer and hoped for at least one sale. When I got back
on Etsy around 7:30 pm I had made 6 sales totaling about $125.00! Great right? .... well yes, but then reality hit me. Is this really what it takes to make a lot of sales on Etsy? No one could do this on a daily basis! When would you create and list new items? Package and ship orders? Promote outside Etsy? Sleep?

As I sit here eating my Steak Grilled Stuff Burrito (payed for with my hard earned couch
sitting money) I think about the ups and downs of selling on Etsy. Part of me wishes selling online was easier. The other part wonders if it was easy, would I appreciate it? Who knows. I would like to think that selling a large amount without promoting so much would be great. But thinking about it too much only manages to give me a headache.

So will I try it again? Maybe (especially if I am craving some pintos and cheese). But realistically, I still think I need to discover a much more time efficient way to increase the sales in my shop. So here I sit, busy brainstorming again to see if I can figure out this crazy
roller coaster called Etsy. If I figure out the secret I will be sure to share it with you but in the meantime I only have one question:

My sofa or yours?


Don't forget to check out her shop!



9 comments:

agoodwitchtoo said...

Great ideas! But then again... I'd never sleep :)

I say your couch!

Pamela Baker said...

Thanks Rose for posting this article and Babbles suggestions for selling on Etsy. Somehow, I think a lot is luck, and word of mouth. Through my youTube videos I have done a lot of custom orders, so one never knows what to expect!

Anonymous said...

Great blog and article. I remember reading that post on etsy about the 6 sales and about asking the hubby to step off so she could 'camp on the couch' that was so funny! Thanks for sharing.

Mannie of MannieMandible said...

GREAT post! Following you now!

<3 Mannie
MVincent.etsy.com

CoconutPalmDesigns said...

I read that thread on Etsy too. It's great advice! Thanks for sharing it again!

BeadedTail said...

Interesting post! It's hard to balance Etsy promotion, creating and life in general and I enjoyed reading her view after a day spent promoting. Thanks for sharing!

storybeader said...

great post - and thank you, B&B for sharing. So, consideringf her experience, it looks like 8 hrs = $125.00, minus materials, labor, shipping, fees, etc. Weigh that against staying at home, eating, and making lots of etsy friends.

Live, Love, Laugh, Write! said...

Glad to get your guys feedback! I have a lot more planned :)

Chelsae said...

Great little write up! Well written with a lot of "I've done that" moments for me.

It is a challenge selling online and I've often wondered the same things. Is it really necessary to be online 8 hours a day to sell and be successful?

**sigh** Back to the roller coaster with me! :)
Thanks for the awesome article!