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Anyone interested in an Etsy / folksy / dawanda / Not on the high street - chat thread?

40 replies

Steaknife · 06/07/2009 14:53

I'm on etsy and wondered if anyone else that had used etsy or one of the other sites wanted to have a thread about it.

or I'll just hang around talking to myself....

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tigerbear · 06/07/2009 15:29

Oooohhh, yes, I'm interested!
I haven't actually bought anything from Etsy, but I do love it!
I'm thinking of selling a couple of things on there soon - what does your shop sell?

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FromGirders · 06/07/2009 15:40

I'm on Folksy, but although I've had lots of views, absolutey nothing has sold (yet). Ever hopeful though!

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tigerbear · 06/07/2009 15:57

Hi Girders! What do you sell?
I've got no idea what to price my products at (felt toys)...

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Steaknife · 06/07/2009 16:09

Aha - glad I'm not all alone.

Tigerbear - I sell baby clothes and maternity clothes and patterns. Though I've neglected it for a while - DD just gone 10 months so I've had my hands full.

I have a Dawanda account too but haven't done anything with it. It was more to bookmark my name rather than to set up a shop, maybe when the etsy one is going well.

Fromgirders - what do you sell/make?

I think there are a couple of approaches to pricing - depending on if you view it as a hobby or a business.
Looking at similar shops on etsy I see pricing that is clearly to cover materials and not to make any money.
I price to include all costs and my time to make the product while trying to keep competitive for what I sell.
tis tricky for sure.

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moonmother · 06/07/2009 16:30

Ooohh Moonmother waves frantically

I' have shops on Folksy, Coriandr, I also have accounts with Etsy, Dawanda and Artfire but haven't actually set my shops up with these yet.

I design, make and sell my own jewellery range, and sadly jewellery is usually the most sold items on these sorts of sites. So it's an uphill struggle to make yours stand out amongst the others.

Folksy's ok , I ve been on there since it started , and have had quite a few sales. Sadly though it seems all the owners promises of great promotion and marketing of Folksy have come to nothing.

I will remain faithful though , in the hope that it actually does get some good promotion, and turn into the type of place that gives Etsy a run for it's money.

Coriandr is nice too, although it hasn't been up and running that long, so not many people know about it. The owners seem to be pushing it 'out there' in the 'handmade' circles.

Etsy, Dawanda and Artfire- I've been a member for a good while but have only recently opened a seller account. The only concerns I have is that my jewellery will get swamped amongst the rest.
I hope to get my shop up and running at the end of the month.

As for pricing I cost for the materials, the time it takes me to make the item, and a % on top of that. If that price is reasonable for the item then I put it up for that price.

I don't whack a great deal on, and to be honest probably could charge more but it's hard finding the right balance, price-wise.

In my case though my jewellery making and selling is a business though, not just a hobby, which adds stress to the equation, although the designing and making gives me great pleasure.

My biggest problem is having the time for the upkeep of all the shops, as well as my own website. Taking the pictures, writing the information and the posting of each item takes up a LOT of time

It's a good job I enjoy it !!

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Steaknife · 06/07/2009 16:46

hi moonmother

tis true here is a lot of jewellery about butthere are also some very successful sellers too.
It is difficult isn't it with so many sites all with different admin. I struggle to find the time just for etsy.
I think I am just going to stick with one and maybe set up my own webpage too.
I am also planning on taking a stall on my loclal market and to stock it with my things and complimentary stock from other sellers too.

My goal is to make this my main job - well I dont have another one at the moment and maybe one day have a boutique.

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Steaknife · 06/07/2009 16:48

i'm signing off for the day, dd learning to crawl and the computer cables are the main attraction today so better go entertain her.

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FromGirders · 07/07/2009 21:37

I'm afraid I'm one of the jewellery makers, and I don't really price myself very highly. The thing is, it doesn't cost a lot to make, and I really can't bring myself to put a several hundred percent mark-up on it - i don't quite know how some of the sellers justify their prices! I guess it's in the time.

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Steaknife · 08/07/2009 13:48

I guess if you are happy with your pricing then its all good. I just remember seeing baby dresses priced so low that the seller could only be covering the costs of materials, which is fine for them but people might then wonder why my dresses are several times more expensive when it is simply that I am costing in my time.

There isn't anything I can do about it, other than lower my prices, so now I try not to worry about it too much and just concentrate on making my dresses the best I can.

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vInTaGeVioLeT · 08/07/2009 14:55

i have a shop on Etsy and Folksy i think Etsy just has the edge on sales for me , but folksy is cheaper as they just have a listing fee at the moment, depending on what you sell it is very easy for your stuff to get lost on Etsy as it is such a large market place.
my blog has links to my shops BLOG

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Steaknife · 09/07/2009 09:22

Vintage - oooh preety things. Great blog by the way, mine is here but as you can see it has been a while since I posted. So I'm trying to get back into things.

Do you find your blog helps you get views and sales?

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Steaknife · 09/07/2009 09:25

Vintage - just added you to my blogroll.

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vInTaGeVioLeT · 09/07/2009 11:48

hi steakknife - thank-you TBH i don't think my blog does help with sales but twitter certainly does - there is a huge ammount of crafters and mumsnetters on there, {i'm on there same user name}- i'm a little bit addicted to it now!

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Trikken · 09/07/2009 12:01

I love looking for jewellery on Etsy. loving these at the mo

www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7979982 can I pursuade dh to buy them for me do you think?

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Whizzz · 11/07/2009 13:18

I'm on Folksy & have had a few sales (Izzy Wizzy Beads). I need to update though & add some more of my stuff.
Sadly my crafting has been a bit neglected of late - I spend most of my time on there, drooling over other crafty stuff - there are some very talented & original people out there!

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meridian · 12/07/2009 14:32

I have an etsy shop. here and have sold 22 items there which isn't alot but I don't craft for the money I craft for the love of crafting.. I have paintings, jewellery and sewn items in my shop. I did try Folksy but never sold a single thing on there so shut the shop and stuck with etsy. I would say I have gotten sales via my blog and twitter in equal measure.. oh and a sale through flickr too which I'm quite pleased about. I don't make a profit though all the moeny I make goes straight back into trying other crafts or getting new beads/fabric.

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middymo · 13/07/2009 13:57

Can anyone tell me, as a buyer on Etsy, can you search for only those items in the UK?

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meridian · 13/07/2009 17:17

middymoo- on the front page scroll down to Explore.. and in the box is a "shop local" option!

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middymo · 13/07/2009 17:37

Great thanks, I really didn't want to look at over 5,000 pages!

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middymo · 13/07/2009 17:45

Just had a quick look, can you search for example - for bags in the UK. I can search on all shops in UK but can't seem to find where you can search for an item in the UK. Thanks.

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steaknife · 31/07/2009 18:43

How are all you crafters doing?

Big bombshells in my world so looks like DD and I will be moving back to UK.
I had wanted to spend Aug designing and making samples for Autumn/Winter but instead I am packing boxes.

But I've had a couple of sales so not all bad.

Does anyone do seasonal lines - Halloween, Chritmas etc? And if you do how long in advance to you plan?

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baytree11 · 03/08/2009 13:51

thanks steaknife, my mum loves knitting and shes very good at it, i am just doing my bits to help her selling her stuff on etsy and folksy...you can visit my shops

etsy here

folksy here

Thanksx

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baytree11 · 16/10/2009 20:29

bump

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JudeD · 03/11/2009 23:12

I'm on Folksy and Etsy selling artwork, though haven't sold much on either - partly my own fault I think as I don't make the effort to promote sufficiently - also I'm struggling at present to find the time to make anything - all very frustrating!

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nevergoogledragonbutter · 24/11/2009 21:19

I've just opened my Folksy shop.

I've got 2 people who like my shop apparently.

Are they just random people or moderators or what?

www.folksy.com/shops/virgomosaics

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