Success stories, when did you really start selling stuff?

I'm looking at prints and canvases.....but that listing fee is slightly intimidating, especially since I don't know if it will sell....

12/27/2008 7:30:13 PM

my friend sells a little on etsy. he also has his own site and a gigposters site. he's been doing screenprinting for over ten years though. success takes time. and i'll plug an awesome local artist:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5310392

he does more business off of in-person sales at shows and whatnot and off of his website.

[Edited on December 27, 2008 at 9:13 PM. Reason : saw his etsy sales]

12/27/2008 9:11:58 PM

isn't the listing fee $0.20?

i'm actually going to start one with my father this week for some woodworking stuff... i mean Woodfootworking stuff

[Edited on December 28, 2008 at 12:10 AM. Reason : $0.20 per item for 4 months, not too bad - http://www.etsy.com/fees.php]

12/27/2008 11:55:55 PM

Yeah not so bad after I realized what it actually meant. But always list one (1) of the same item to sell even if you have multiples because it charges .20 cents for each. If you sell one just list it again instead of racking up all that money in the forefront.

Sorta learned that pretty quick....

Plus 3.5% transaction fee when it's sold.

[Edited on December 28, 2008 at 1:26 AM. Reason : oh]

12/28/2008 1:25:36 AM

meh, list things 5 at a time and spend one dollar

and as long as you're pricing things right, 3.5% isn't much at all, considering the ease of just showing up and being like "this is what i'm selling..."

12/28/2008 1:57:50 AM

i know someone that does

12/28/2008 2:01:56 AM

^^^that makes sense. I was wondering why every item on there had only 1 listed as the quantity.

12/28/2008 11:41:57 AM

Prints?

Like, your photography?



Don't bother. There are a lot of people trying to sell mediocre-at-best shit on there, and even a few people trying to sell some relatively good work. You most likely won't sell anything.



(Seriously, not trying to be a dick. I thought about trying to do this briefly, but the point is no one really buys photos unless they are personal or absolutely spectacular. No one is going to want a picture of your dog. That website isn't a good place to try and sell photos.)

12/28/2008 5:15:55 PM

I like getting into arts and crafts too so we will see. I do paint as well.

Some of my photography can be "stock" stuff so I'll throw it up there just to give it a shot.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

12/28/2008 11:01:48 PM

if you want to do "stock" stuff

join sxc.hu

if your shit gets downloaded (for free) then you can start putting stuff on the pay sites

12/29/2008 12:45:14 AM

my gf dyes and sells knitting yarn on there sometimes

12/29/2008 1:04:50 AM

My wife does

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=3138§ion_id=5483667

12/29/2008 9:36:54 AM

Quote :

"if you want to do "stock" stuff join sxc.hu if your shit gets downloaded (for free) then you can start putting stuff on the pay sites"

Yeah, no one is going to pay for "could-be-stock" photography.
Sorry, but unless you whore your shop out to only friends and family (see: people you can guilt into buying your shit), I am pretty sure this will be a dead end. Good luck though.

12/29/2008 9:48:28 AM

Ronny you are wrong that this is a dead end. Tons of people lookt at Etsy and my wife has sold alot of her stuff on Etsy. In fact Etsy got her a huge order from a major store opening. If nothing else it brings people to your web-site to see all your items. At least that is what happened to my wife :-)

12/29/2008 10:54:44 AM

^is she selling photos? if so thats awesome.

but i have to side with ronny on this.

Quote :

"no one really buys photos unless they are personal or absolutely spectacular"

[Edited on December 29, 2008 at 12:23 PM. Reason : now crafts and paintings and clothes and whatnot is a different story]

12/29/2008 12:22:33 PM

No I am talking about Etsy in general and my wife's Jewelry in particular.

12/29/2008 12:28:37 PM

Then there's the conflict, Ronny is talking purely about photography.

12/29/2008 12:33:08 PM

Photos...Got it, but people started talking about other arts and crafts, and I was just saying it works well for other arts and crafts like my wife' s stuff. Etsy sales help buy Christmas presents for this little guy !! :-)

12/29/2008 12:38:35 PM

I dont know about Ronny's photog skills but he is the most accomplished troll ive ever seen.

12/29/2008 1:10:35 PM

^lol

^^and yes i think etsy is the BEST place for jewelry. omg i bought over half of my christmas presents on there

he's so cute! DUDE I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS YOU!!!



[Edited on December 29, 2008 at 1:33 PM. Reason : hi ]

12/29/2008 1:32:38 PM

Yeah, I thought I was clear. I'd say no to anyone trying to sell photos on there. Crafts and whatnot is a completely different story, as has been said. My girlfriend is in the process of setting up an account on there, and I've ordered several items from there. I'd highly recommend for pretty much anything but photos.

12/29/2008 4:47:57 PM

Just had my first sale and it was a PHOTOGRAPH

booya

12/29/2008 11:03:04 PM

i told you so!!!!!1

12/30/2008 12:49:28 AM

link or it didn't happen

ps - i started about 10 rings today, some made from veneered wood some from solid blocks

i gotta sand etc tomorrow then i think i'm good to open up shop...
i'm trying to figure out if you have to declare yourself a "collective" from the start, or if it doesn't matter, because my dad (who is a much better Woodfootworker) is probably going to sell stuff through my "Store"

[Edited on December 30, 2008 at 4:28 AM. Reason : congrats if its a real sale]

12/30/2008 4:26:09 AM

I got my "save the dates" for my wedding from an etsy shop

my husband and I got married in Vegas and I found a girl on etsy who also got married in Vegas and was selling her "vegas themed" save the date postcard templates.


they turned out fantastic. the seller worked with us to make sure we had the wording exactly how we wanted it.

12/30/2008 10:14:43 AM

you gonna show us your shop, or what

12/31/2008 2:55:30 AM

Dunno...tired of tdub ripping me apart.

12/31/2008 1:32:32 PM

pm yo

12/31/2008 1:43:31 PM

Kiwi - congrat's on the sale. Hope you have many more in 2009.

12/31/2008 5:16:59 PM

Thanks

12/31/2008 6:57:46 PM

Quote :

"I got my "save the dates" for my wedding from an etsy shop"

I have a friend who got hers from Etsy too. I was kind of surprised when poking around Etsy that there's some quality stuff on there.

1/1/2009 7:12:36 AM

^ You're correct like:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=3138§ion_id=5483667

1/1/2009 1:15:05 PM

soooo kiwi, hows the shop gone, you made any sales thanks to that 14 page thread?

1/18/2009 12:57:37 AM

no, just the one sale so far

1/18/2009 2:41:31 AM

there are so many etsy shops it's hard to find a good one. the ones that make the most money are the vintage shops.

1/18/2009 11:27:33 AM

this thread reminded me that i need to work on my website

1/18/2009 12:14:25 PM