Etsy Sellers- How was your Holiday sales??
@creationsbyrobin (3071)
United States
December 14, 2007 9:53am CST
I set goals for my shop each month since my start on ETSY back in August. My goals for the holiday season weren't extremely lofty, especially since the number of shops listed were approaching 100,000 ( a fairly high% of those listed shops were not actively selling anything) and I knew from reading the forums that the competition would be fierce.
New items were being listed rapidly each day, as the competition to be seen by new vistors to the site grew. Etsy decided to voice their own opinion on what the "best of Etsy" was with a Gift Guides section. The section wasn't entirely well-thought out, as items for young girls (age 3-7) contained toys with small pieces and in one case an item that was listed in the girls 3-7 was also listed in the Grandmother section...lol
Many of the sellers felt that Etsy's attempt to drive new visitors to the site hurt their sales. That might be a bit of a reach, as I really can't complain about my December sales (actually my sales from the time the Gift Guides made their debut were acceptable, according to my goals) but I guess the Gift Guides didn't help my sales, because for whatever reason, my items haven't been included as far as I know. There is far too many catagories with so many pages and I really don't have the time to look throught the whole Guide to see if I was included (unlike the Treasury listings, when you have a star next to the treasury to indicate an item of your has been included, Etsy didn't do the same for their Guide)
So overall, I'm happy with the number of sales I had for the month of December. I had 2 custom orders and a couple multiple piece orders, coupled with a couple of shows that weren't total losses (many vendors were complaining about the turnouts)I was able to to have a decent month.
My sales paid for my listing fees, table fees and supplies... so I operated for another month in the black.
How were your craft sales on Etsy or at the craft shows? Were you able to cash in on the holiday buying frenzy or did it miss you?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@twilight021 (2059)
• United States
26 Feb 08
My holiday sales we not good at all. In fact, I sold nothing on etsy....though I did much better at local craft fairs. I've been on etsy for 2 years now and the holidays are usually slow for me. that said, I am doing better now after the holiday rush is over. Werid huh?
@creationsbyrobin (3071)
• United States
27 Feb 08
My sales were the same... very good October (actually my best month on Etsy in 2007) and a disappointing Novemeber, despite a bit of a late rush at the end of the month. I thought December was going to be busy, but it was sporadic and again a late rush after Christmas helped my sales figures form the month.
January & February have been very good months, far exceeding my expectations. I guess when it comes to Etsy, never plan, just create!
Thanks for your response!
@ky1119 (698)
• United States
5 Jan 08
I haven't ever really tried Etsy. I did once with one item, but I haven't been back. It just seems really overwhelming. There are so many sellers and so many sellers selling the same thing, I'm not sure how well I'd do. I'm contemplating putting some of my jewelry on, but I'm not sure yet.
@creationsbyrobin (3071)
• United States
6 Jan 08
There are many jewelry shops on Etsy and it isn't easy. I'll be the first to admit there are many jewelry makers much better than I, but I do sell jewelry on the Etsy and some of those pieces were just a pair of earrings with a few beads on them. They weren't expensive at all ($4 + shipping) but I sold a few of them and it helped me build up my feedback, which gives buyers confidence in my work.
The best thing about Etsy is the free promoting in their forum. Buyers do look in these forums and I've sold a number of items that I've promoted. Even though the sale may be hours after I promoted the item, buyers find it and make the purchase (I funny how many of my sales were to people who signed up earlier that day or just a couple days earlier)
IMO, a .20 listing that lasts for 4 months and free promoting... it's a decent investment, especially to have a 24 hour a day online presence.
If you decide to go back to Etsy, send me a pm and I'll give you a few suggestions to maximize your your listings and get you in front of the buyers.
Thanks for the response!
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
5 Jan 08
To be honest I visited Etsy a few months back but oh the compition just seemed too much for me at the time as I've just started the crafting business. We did manage to get to one craft show before the holidays but afraid other vendors who had been to the same show in years past all said that sales were down. We didn't make back our space fee but it was a good experience and I got some great ideas for future shows - displays and products.
I would really like to find more shows in our area for the coming spring as right now we have nothing lined up and I do believe the shows are going to do better than the online sales.
@creationsbyrobin (3071)
• United States
5 Jan 08
I also do shows and I have one coming up in March. I've found that most shows do real well from mid-autumn to just before the Holidays.
I do ETSY because it's an online store that allows me to have an online presence. I've had show customers use me for custom work over other vendors because in their mind, I appear to be more professional with a shop.
Listings on Etsy last for 4 months, for a .20 listing and I can promote my items on Etsy in their forums and that free promoting has led to numerous sales.
I didn't feel that comfortable listing my creations on Etsy, but after I made a few sales, I was hooked.
There's no better feeling, after an hour or 2 of promoting, to wake up the next morning to find you made a sale while you were sleeping.
It is competitive, but I feel my items are much more creative and I "steppped-up" my itmes to compete with many of the very talented crafters on Etsy.
If you think your items are worth selling in shows, you should list a couple on Etsy during the slow periods between shows and do some promoting. You may be surprised one day when one of them sell!
If you decide you're interested, LMK and I'll give you a few tips about getting started.
Good Luck with your crafting and your 2008 shows!
