curious about etsy.com

[curell5]

I am still what I consider a newbie to the "virtual world". I hope this is the right place to ask this question and I hope it is appropriate to ask questions about other websites. If it is inappropriate to ask this question here, I apologize in advance!

 

I was wondering about how etsy works. Is it an auction or do you list your sale price? I have searched their website and haven't found any answers much. I like to make pieces that are customized to the receiver and thought that would be a great "business". I was thinking about having a website to do just that, but a friend suggested that might be a bit involved for a gal who isn't very internet savvy! She suggested etsy. She doesn't know anything besides that it is for handcrafted items and she said she thought it might be similiar to ebay. If anyone is familiar with that site, I would love to know your thoughts on it. If anyone else sells their crocheted items and have ideas for me, I would love to hear that, too. I enjoy crocheting and knitting so much that I figured it would be great if I could do more than just make beautiful gifts for my friends. What a great way to spend a day to sit and do something I really enjoy and know that I can feel guilt-free doing it because I would be contributing to our income!

 

Thanks for any ideas!!

[JoAnn]

I know you sell your own things (not an auction) and, I believe set your own price. There are quite a few from C'ville that have Etsy shops. My only connection is I buy stuff!!!!!! I'm sure you will hear from others. Good luck!

[RoseRed]

You set your own prices. There's so many people trying it that until you're established it's really hard to get anyone to actually find your store. You really need to 'work' the net and advertise and whatnot. You might have better luck doing high end craft shows.

[JenniferN]

Hi! I am still new here, so I hope you don't mind my popping in to this topic. RoseRed is totally correct. It is a worthwhile marketplace that caters to those who create handmade items, but make sure you advertise and promote your site everywhere you can. If you have a blog, add your link. Even in the signature of any of the forums you might be a member of is a GREAT place to add your link, as RoseRed has And do not be afraid to ask others if they would like to 'swap' links with you - they add your link to their pages and you add theirs to yours.

[RoseRed]

Starting a blog is a great advertising tool also. It just has to be interesting enough to have a following.

 

Thanx Jenna - it's good to have you here.

[Amy]

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Make sure you advertise and promote your site everywhere you can. If you have a blog, add your link. Even in the signature of any of the forums you might be a member of is a GREAT place to add your link, as RoseRed has And do not be afraid to ask others if they would like to 'swap' links with you - they add your link to their pages and you add theirs to yours.

 

Just be careful when adding business links in signatures. Some forums and email lists have guidelines/rules that state this is not allowed. You can end up getting banned quickly from some sites for violating their guidelines. It's always a good idea to read each individual site's guidelines before posting ANYTHING on that site that might be construed as advertising or self-promotion.

 

Here at Crochetville, it's okay to put a link in your signature, but it's not okay to start threads about your business. Although, since the OP wants:crocheting to sell finished items, a site full of other crocheters is probably not where she needs to be advertising anyway!

[curell5]

Great thoughts, Everyone! I have been on the etsy site now and realize how huge it is! I had not thought about not being very "visible". Hmmm, how can I promote myself... A blog might not be my best interest because I only get onto the computer a couple of times a week. I guess if I considered it as a "job", maybe I could whittle out a little time eslewhere to fit it in. One more question, though, AmyS stated something about the "OP" - still learning all the virtual lingo! Can someone help me out with that abbreviation? Other than not knowing what that is, your info is good to know since as I said, I am a virtual newbie and need to know all the rules. I don't want to be evicted from any community, virtual or real!!!!!

[trin]

I sell (and often buy) on ETSY, I love LOVE love it....

I'm doing 100X better there than on Ebay, and my work is appreciated.

When I started out there, I was under pricing my work (not really understanding what my work was worth) but gradually my prices (and fame) have crept up... and I have commissions coming in semi regularly, as well as selling things made just for my shop regularly.

 

Last month I made enough to pay my cable bill... from selling amigurumis!

It took a while to be discovered, and I do a LOT of little things to promote my work and my shop. The folks on the forums there are VERY helpful, and it's also a lot of fun.

 

The main things I've done to promote my Etsy shop are sigs with a link to my work, on non-crafty forums where I indulge my non-crafty interests. I've added a sig with a link to my emails.... I had cards made and give them out at parties ("Hi, long time no see...email me...." and "I'll have your photos up *here*" as they also have my flickr site on them.) Oh and join group blogs, street teams, and FLICKR.... flickr is a great place to show your work. (just read their TOS very carefully, you can't mention your shop in your photo description, but you CAN in your tags, and in your profile... also on flickr take photos of other parts of your life, pets, wild life... local festivals etc... and share them in appropriate flickr groups. Fans of my cat photos have gone to look at my craft work after seeing some of it on my flickr.)

 

Oh and HAVE FUN.

 

 

 

Gotta go send some packages off this afternoon. Yay!

[Amy]

Great thoughts, Everyone! I have been on the etsy site now and realize how huge it is! I had not thought about not being very "visible". Hmmm, how can I promote myself... A blog might not be my best interest because I only get onto the computer a couple of times a week. I guess if I considered it as a "job", maybe I could whittle out a little time eslewhere to fit it in. One more question, though, AmyS stated something about the "OP" - still learning all the virtual lingo! Can someone help me out with that abbreviation? Other than not knowing what that is, your info is good to know since as I said, I am a virtual newbie and need to know all the rules. I don't want to be evicted from any community, virtual or real!!!!!

 

Sorry about that! OP means "original poster." Just a shorthand way to refer to the person who started the thread.

 

You'll find some internet communities (message boards, email lists, groups, whatever) have very lax rules about promoting/advertising a business while others have more detailed rules. Generally speaking (although this isn't true all the time), the larger a site is, the more rules it will have to have in place.

 

When you join a new community with the intention of using it to promote your business, it's very important to not post right away, but take some time to read all the guidelines and a good number of regular posts to get a good "feel" for the community.

 

My best advice is don't use your posts to promote your business. Take advantage of what the community allows in the way of signature links and so on, then just participate as a regular member of the community would, and NOT with the sole intent of promoting your business. Don't even bring up your business in most cases. Just participate in regular threads and become a known member of the community. Once people get to know you, they'll naturally check out the links in your signature.

 

Depending on the types of things you'll be selling, you may find special interest groups where it might be beneficial to actually pay to advertise on their site. For example, Crochetville now has nearly 20,000 registered members: we're a great site for businesses who are selling things to crochethers to advertise (pattern designers, hook makers, yarn dyers, etc.). But since all the people here crochet, if you're selling finished items, this probably isn't your target audience so it wouldn't make sense to advertise here. However, if you were selling crocheted items for children, you might find some sites targeted to moms to advertise one. Or if you're selling crocheted items for pets, you might want to find some pet sites that accept advertising.

 

Hope that helps!

[curell5]

You guys have given me a great start! I am almost embarrassed to admit that I actually had to think really hard about some of the things you were talking about. I'm really still learning the terms (like threads and forums!!!!) Okay, so I know those terms by now! My next goal for today is to find out what TOS, tags, and street teams are! I hope I don't sound too ridiculous. There is just so many new terms to learn in this land of the internet!!

[RoseRed]

there is no reason to be embaressed. We all had to learn it at one time. I felt like a total idiot when I first got online. (I was a late bloomer on the internet.) I learned more from my friends on the computer than anywhere else.

 

I also spent a lot of time thinking about and learning how to use different sites. Etsy if a world of it's own and there's a lot of reading and learning. It's a steep learning curve but once you get it you've got it.