I am happy to announce that I am a newly accepted member of the EtsyBloggers team! They are a group of nice people who both sell things on Etsy, and love to blog about their craft. In celebration of my acceptant to this group, I will be writing a little bit about my experiences on Etsy as a seller and buyer so far.
For those readers who are unaware, Etsy is like ebay for artisans; it is an online shopping site, where members list their homemade and vintage items as for sale. Etsy has allowed thousands of people to sell to an audience once inaccessible to them. My Etsy shop consists of some artwork, some jewelry, some accessories. As a crafts person, I have a huge skill-set and many interests and so not all of my work fits into one neat little category.
I spent a lot of time over the summer building up my shop and promoting it on my two blogs, website, and wherever else was relevant but it took a while for things to take off. Ironically enough, my shop has recently started getting a lot more attention, and I’ve been making many more sales, now that I am away at school and don’t have time to make more items for it!! My super helpful parents have been helping me ship out each new sale because I am 106 miles away from all of my merchandise for the next few months. Thank you, parents! This January I will be on winter break and will once again have time to expand my shop, but at the moment it is looking a little bare! Yikes.
I have only bought a few things off of Etsy but I will say that everyone I’ve dealt with has been nothing but pleasant.
More than buying or selling on Etsy, I use the site for inspiration; I never copy anyone’s work, but I may get an idea for a color scheme from someone else’s outfit, or an idea for a painting from someone else’s homemade socks. You get the idea. I love to browse through the hundreds of gorgeous listings and wish I had limitless funds with which to purchase everything!
So far I am pleased with my Etsy experience. The site provides very affordable means to make a little extra money and spread my crafts across the globe! My advise to any new seller on Etsy is to be patient, and be as detailed about your items as possible. People want to know exactly what they’re getting before they send you their money. So make sure you include every little detail about each of your items. That means well-lit pictures from multiple angles. Buyers want to feel like they have the item in their hand before they make that important purchase decision.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my little Etsy update, and if you haven’t, be sure to check out Etsy for yourself! It is super addicting, I promise.
