Etsy is useless how do you get your products seen!

[Steven P]

Etsy, I have sold a couple of hundred ££ worth this year - all firewood turned into stuff. By the way does anyone want to buy any stuff? No? Oh well, asking on Arbtalk if people wanted wood is a waste of time?

 

What I have found is that fees, they take a flat 10%, plus a listing fee, plus if they feature it on an advert (at their discretion) and it sell there is another 10%... so I count on them taking 20%. What I make is small stuff, Royal Mail small parcels at £4 a time, which can be another 10 to 20%. Then there are incidental costs to me - wood finishes (varnish, oil, wax), packing and so on which are harder to cost per item, and of course tools (got to count for them, they will need to be replaced).

 

So finances, I think taking 50% of the sales price as cash into my pocket is reasonable. E-Bay is similar, a bit cheaper but not a lot. The platforms do advertise, so you don't need to do that so much. What I do is just for fun.

 

They are a congested market, got to find a niche, but a niche market isn't popular. My gran isn't going to want a hand cart, be tricky Christmas present too (however the owl should sell?). A niche market can be more profitable (I have 2 similar lines, one is a niche, one competes with mass produced from India and China, niche adds 25% extra just because).

 

Last word from my experience is I am avoiding international sales like the plague just now. Wooden projects and have to check each country import laws (US for example needs heat treated certified wood... apparently), but for what I have sold, 4 international orders, one got as far as the front door and delivery driver just gave up and went home, 1 was lost completely and replaced (FOC) - a £25 product gone, plus another lot of postage and the last I screwed myself with the postage (made 20p in a £35 order!).

 

So I am going to stick with it, make projects for fun, and if they sell they sell but I am not banking on paying the mortgage off it.

[Squaredy]

The bottom line is there are way more people making nice things than there is a market for.

 

 The end result of this is only the top one or two percent of sellers will ever do well.  
 

Making nice things is skilful.  Selling things is a skill as well, but most people forget this and assume their nice stuff will somehow sell.

[Steve Bullman]

1 hour ago, Squaredy said:

Making nice things is skilful.  Selling things is a skill as well, but most people forget this and assume their nice stuff will somehow sell.

We rent shelf space in our shop to a few local people. Its a recurring theme that they set up a website then don't understand when their stuff isn't flying off the shelves. Explaining to people that its just not as easy as that can be quite deflating for them.

[Steven P]

Just spent the afternoon taking photos of a few things, doubt the photos will do them full justice but that is another aspect, nice things in a shop and people can pick them up, turn them around, see them, but a good photo is needed online - a great photo even better (got plans to make a case with lights for better photos... after the new year now though)

[Stere]

Got a link to your etsy shop?

[lux]

I make things as a hobby. I do blacksmithing and woodwork for fun. 

One of my regular Tree customers was event planning for a local country house / gardens and asked if I would take a stand at their Christmas market. 

It was running for two weekends so I just took a Sunday on the second weekend, cost £40 for the 'pitch' inside the Great Hall. 

I kept things simple and made stuff at prices that would be easy Christmas gifts, stocking fillers etc. 

I didn't have much expectation and was hoping just to cover the fly press I had bought to speed up smithing production but I pretty much sold out and took about £750 , I was pretty chuffed. 

I Put a poster up for the tree work and gave plenty of taps on phones with the new digital business card so maybe a couple of enquiries to come out of that too. 

 

Maybe give the local farmers markets and craft markets a punt with your work

[william127]

11 hours ago, lux said:

I make things as a hobby. I do blacksmithing and woodwork for fun. 

One of my regular Tree customers was event planning for a local country house / gardens and asked if I would take a stand at their Christmas market. 

It was running for two weekends so I just took a Sunday on the second weekend, cost £40 for the 'pitch' inside the Great Hall. 

I kept things simple and made stuff at prices that would be easy Christmas gifts, stocking fillers etc. 

I didn't have much expectation and was hoping just to cover the fly press I had bought to speed up smithing production but I pretty much sold out and took about £750 , I was pretty chuffed. 

I Put a poster up for the tree work and gave plenty of taps on phones with the new digital business card so maybe a couple of enquiries to come out of that too. 

 

Maybe give the local farmers markets and craft markets a punt with your work

Sounds good to me, that's exactly what I want to do. I did 2 more board glue ups this evening, just because I enjoy doing it but it's all adding to the Christmas stock.

Next Christmas that is 😆 🤣