Business or Hobby? by BeadtopiaVintage

So -- you are selling on Etsy, or “thinking” of selling there.  Will you be dipping your toe into the water, or plunging in full force?  I knew when I joined Etsy, I wanted to have a business, and having had experience on another website for over five years, I knew the business could happen.  However, I was skeptical to start on another venue and knew what it takes to have a real business -- so I started out by putting just ONE item on Etsy.   It took about 3-½ MONTHS, but someone found it, and it sold!  These Isadora Duncan etched glass drops were the first item I sold.  I figured if they could find my “needle in the haystack”, if I really poured on the items for sale I could soar.

A hobby, by definition means “an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure”.  If this is your goal, then you may not be interested in learning the ins and outs of having a business.  There will be no reason to fuss, worry or calculate how you prepare your listings and how many sales you will make.  And that is just fine.

A business, by definition means “the practice of making one's living by engaging in commerce”.  If you do decide to “kick it up” to a business here are some tips that have helped me…. and have made my shop one of Etsy’s top ten vintage supply sellers.

 

Ten Etsy Business Tips  (in no particular order)

1.  Clear, sharp pictures.  If your picture does not look good to you, it does not look good to anyone else either.  You are selling on-line.   Make sure your picture looks like the potential customer is seeing it “in person”.

2.  Make your listing title unambiguous.  In the world of SEO, “blue glass antique necklace” will be found by a potential customer much quicker than “Emily’s blue dream fantasy necklace”.

3.  Use those tags!  Make sure you use a tag for every aspect of the item you are selling.  A vintage iron pan can translate in “tag language” to:  vintage cooking, vintage pan, iron pan, antique cookware, vintage cookware, antique fry pan, frying pan, iron fry pan, antique pan, iron cookware…..etc.   Use as many words that relate to your item that can be found easily in a random search.

4.  Answer convos quickly.  And friendly.  What may seem like an innocuous question can turn into a sale -- and even a big sale.

5.  Mail your items quickly when sold.  Speaks for itself.

6.  Put new items on as often as possible.  You will establish a customer base, and believe me after a while they will jump like a shark on your newest listing.

7.  Network.   Use social media…. tell your friends.   Use everything available -- most of it is free.

8.  Keep your shop fresh.  Rearrange the items.  Move stuff out that has had no views or that has sat there for three months with hardly a view.  Keep it moving.

9.  Customer service is #1.   Without my repeat customers I would not have the business I have today.

10.  Don’t give up!  It take time to establish a business, and you have to be self motivated.  

Yes, I work at least 40 hours a week.   This is my job and I love it.  Whether you choose to have a business or hobby, Etsy is a real platform for opportunity.

Written by Beadtopiavintage

Etsy Apps and Protypes

Just wanted to let everyone know about some useful things Etsy and others offer -

I know I have told everyone about Enhantsy - (which is no longer free, but for $2.49 a month it is better than paying for ads)
http://www.etsy.com/apps
apps are made by other people to work with Etsy, but are not made by Etsy
Explore the options some seem really good!

Craftcult http://www.etsy.com/apps/6290520/craft-cult-treasury-widget
Make a Treasury widget and more ...

http://www.etsy.com/apps/1660255685/1-free-bulk-listing-editor-betsi-lite
Key Features:
• Manage Active Listing Titles, Descriptions, Prices (supports Normal, Digital, and Variation Listings), Quantities, Shop Section linking, Taxable flagging, and Request Custom Job flagging.
• Flexible Filtering by Shop Section &/or Categories
• Instant Text Search by Titles &/or Descriptions as you type
• Key information at your fingertips
• Review Changes before Sending - Unique!
• Free and Friendly customer support

For more detailed information, please check out our Features page: http://www.blugrin.com/Betsi/Features

http://www.etsy.com/apps/4789429873/respondify   I would be cautious with this one - Etsy likes to be the spammer of customers - they frown on contacting customers directly - unless of course its a negative review and then you have to work it out ...



http://www.etsy.com/prototypes?ref=si_prototypes
Protypes are actually made by Etsy and it usually is something they are trying out (without running it on the entire site first) 
Taken from the Prototypes page 
Prototypes are projects from Etsy Admin that explore different ways of using Etsy.
Each prototype is released with the goal of gathering data and observing how people use them.

Note: Given their nature, these projects may come and go at any time, and they may not always work as expected. Etsy offers limited support for prototypes.

I really like the Similar Item Search http://www.etsy.com/teams/12032/similar-items-in-search-results
When I am researching something or doing a treasury I can find an item I like and this shows up and I can see all similar items

and the shipping profiles  - this lets you add upgrade charges as an item - which used to be against the rules - having shipping charges as an add on item but with this you can offer regular standard shipping and customers can add on priority or Express upgrades
http://www.etsy.com/teams/17793/shipping-upgrades-and-shipping-profile

 By Patti from Fleaosophy

Choose Your Words Carefully

Wyandotte Pressed Steel Toy Truck offered by queenofsienna

One of the oft overlooked and unsexy parts of selling vintage on Etsy is keywords. Almost everyone lets out a inward grown when it comes time to fill them in. What to choose? What will draw eyeballs? What is the magic formula? 

Vintage Red Hat with Fruit offered by alexsandras

The trick is crawling into that searchers head. Once you've figured out what the item is and who made it, you can start to put together a tag. A McCoy bowl from the 1930s would have tags such as: McCoy, bowl, mixing, kitchen, baking, etc. Now if the bowl is blue, don't use blue as a tag. It's far too general and clogs up the search. Instead put blue in the title where it will also be picked up. Using blue bowl in the tag would be a good compromise. 

Wood Fruit Crate offered by CheekyChicVintage

Study your own behavior: how do you try to find items? When you're making treasuries, how do you search for specifics? For example, when I need to find items for a farm based treasury, I often search under: country, farm, farmhouse, kitchen, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, baking, etc. 

Vintage Toy Telephone offered by ArtfulVintage

Be thorough in your titles & keywords. Be sure to include information in both, to increase your odds in the Relevancy search. For example, if I'm selling a 1940s Dennison Halloween decoration, I'll be sure to put Dennison, Halloween, 1940's, pumpkin, etc in both places. Then in the tags I'd continue on furthur including: vintage, holiday, denison (spelled the wrong way to grab those searchers!), etc. 

1970s GlasSnap Tumblers offered byVioletQVintage

Don't forget the Materials tags. Is your item made of pottery? Then in the Materials tag put in: pottery, clay, ceramic, etc. Try to include different names for those basic materials. Brass=metal, Book=paper, cardboard, cloth, Silk=fabric, etc. etc. 

Angel Christmas Tree Decoration offered by EmeliasCupboard

Try and see if your item is a cross collectible. For example, if your book is a ratty falling apart copy of Alice in Wonderland consider marketing it as a book, prints, baby nursery decoration, etc. That would produce a very different set of tags than just a book would. 

Wood Buddha Statue offered by kricketts17

Capturing the eyes of the searching public is no small task. We want our items to be found via Google, Etsy, and any other search they might be using. By narrowing down your search to the essentials, you'll be found by the right audience who is looking just for what you have. 

The Biggest Distinction Between Shops

Fabulous photography: lighting & cropping are excellent. By tippleandsnack

There is nothing more important regarding your shop than photography. Forget worrying about the economy: If your photos are good, they will be featured endlessly in treasuries, showcased in blogs, your shop will be favorited often, you'll be added to circles daily and best yet, your items will sell. 

Clear lighting, lots of detail & clear white space cropping by beppiebags

I know, because my old photos weren't great. Things sold when I began my shop last year, but slowly. I adjusted my prices, made treasuries, joined teams, offered killer items, and still just did okay. Then I ran across tippleandsnacks shop and was blown away. I saw her items featured on the home page often. I saw her items selling. I adored her shop because of the clean contemporary appearance-it felt like a Pottery Barn catalog. 

Flawless photo: balanced cropping, strong light & visual interest. By birdie1

It took me a while to get off my tail. But I finally ordered Ott lights, set up a photography space and began rephotographing my items. Keep in mind, my photos weren't terrible on their own. But when they were paired next to bitofbutter or mascarajones items it was really noticeable. To be honest, I didn't really realize how poor my photos were until I saw them in treasuries. 

It's an ongoing process and I'm still not done. Every time an item expires I rephotograph it. All new items are of course photographed with the new system. 

Let's look at the difference between the two photos above. The first photo shows detail, has a white surround and is clear. But the lighting is off. I see lighting as the problem in many listings on Etsy. While buyers can still view the item, it won't sell them on it like clear spectrum lighting would. (Tip: Buy Ott lights today) The first photo certainly doesn't say: Magazine photo shoot! 

Great cropping, clear lighting, detailed shot by TPBVintage

The other thing that's vital is cropping. My photos were all big on detail-I was so close you couldn't help but see it!! Most of the shops in the vintage categories really suffer from too closeitis. Crop your photo for the thumbnail and leave whitespace around it. The thumbnail is critical because it the #1 view most buyers see. Much of the time I can't even tell what the item is without reading the title-which is NOT good. Customers should never have to work to see your item. If they can't see what the item is in a glance, you risk losing them. 

Well cropped, ready for it's thumbnail closeup

Poorly cropped, too close. Horrid thumbnail

That first photo is your biggest pull. If it's a good photo buyers may click through to view it. If it's not, many will pass it up. That photo should provide all the necessary info: true color and what it is. 

Look at the photos that get featured on the front page-for the most part they have white space around them. If you're not sure how big they'll be, switch your shop from gallery view to list view. This is how many people see your shop-especially if they're viewing it on a phone. 

Well cropped, natural lighting, great photo by thecreekhouse

Cropping & lighting are the single two biggest factors that influence the success of your shop. These factors are even more important that what you sell. I have seen the most average everyday run of the mill items sell fast when photographed well, and likewise have watched under priced gorgeous items languish for months due to poor photography. Don't put it off. You'll be so glad you did after you have a booming holiday season.