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Merski
6-13-11, 7:18am
Has anyone done this and wants to share some advice? A friend wants to open a site for vintage items and wants another person to go in with her. I'm always coming across great little vintage things at goodwill or yard sales but had no venue for selling them. I thinks this may be a way to earn extra income from home in my upcoming retirement. DH already sells books on amazon & alibris. Thanks for any help.

fidgiegirl
6-13-11, 8:24am
I sold a few items a few years ago. It's not hard to get started and is similar to other online sites it sounds like you are familiar with. You do pay an upfront fee as well as a percentage fee at the end if I remember correctly. But as far as the marketing aspects, I'm not so sure of that. Some people are more eclectic, some are more focused. Etsy is amazing!!! Good luck!

Float On
6-13-11, 8:47am
The thing about Etsy is you have to add something new every day or several things a day to stay up top in the search. Blogging helps, give aways thru other blogs helps. Having two people work on it daily would probably be a benefit because it takes quite a bit of time with posting and marketing. I do better on there in the fall and christmas.

Merski
6-13-11, 9:32am
Hey, thanks fidgiegirl and float on!

Jinger
6-14-11, 3:25pm
I sold some baby quilts I made by hand...but I am not a business person and didn't keep up with promoting my items. Then they fall to the end of the list and really aren't seen. I think the quality of work sold on etsy is amazing. Good luck!

http://iliketomakethings.blogspot.com

Mighty Frugal
6-15-11, 9:22pm
The thing about Etsy is you have to add something new every day or several things a day to stay up top in the search. Blogging helps, give aways thru other blogs helps. Having two people work on it daily would probably be a benefit because it takes quite a bit of time with posting and marketing. I do better on there in the fall and christmas.

How exactly does blogging help? I have some vintage greeting cards (valentines, Christmas, b.day, etc) that I would like to one day sell on etsy (am waiting for the proverbial blue moon) And I need all the help I can get.

Would I set up my own blog about vintage cards and gab about them daily? I just don't get it. And how would I blog on someone elses site to divert traffic on to my etsy sale items? Please, if you can answer any or all of these questions I would greatly appreciate it!!

Float On
6-15-11, 10:54pm
How exactly does blogging help?

I've noticed that those who blog and create a persona that a buyer can 'get to know' seem to have better sales. You can offer to do a give away on someone else's blog and it will drive traffic to your blog and your etsy site. The host blog goes something like this "Artist XYZ has the coolest jewelry made from vintage finds. She sent me a sample....and one to give away. Visit her blog and her etsy site and come back and comment on what item you like best and why by Thursday night and picking a random number I'll post the winner on Friday morning. Meanwhile she is going to do a guest post today on yard saling for vintage finds."

Etsy is all about 'word of mouth'. So in this case you've blogged, been a guest blogger and had to give away two items. It's a lot of work.

I quit blogging about our art after we had a stalker so when I do sales on Etsy I post 3 items a day, and mention it on our "Like" page on Facebook. That's been better 'free' advertizing for me since I've lost interest in trying to blog or rush around searching out other blogs to be mentioned on. Actually I've made more money thru Facebook than I have thru Etsy.

Etsy is easy and kind of fun and I've been following a few people on there who have incredible sales numbers. I'm not sure if you can read the Etsy forums until you have an account but those are well worth reading when you are getting started. Lots of good ideas and lots of people willing to answer questions and give pointers. Photography of your products are really important.

Selah
6-17-11, 4:00pm
I don't know much about Etsy myself either as a seller or a buyer, but two months ago, I think, Inc. magazine had the founder of Etsy on its cover and ran a very interesting article on the business' growth and some of the comments from fulltime Etsy sellers. Some are doing great...others, not so much.

Mighty Frugal
6-18-11, 9:34pm
I've noticed that those who blog and create a persona that a buyer can 'get to know' seem to have better sales. You can offer to do a give away on someone else's blog and it will drive traffic to your blog and your etsy site. The host blog goes something like this "Artist XYZ has the coolest jewelry made from vintage finds. She sent me a sample....and one to give away. Visit her blog and her etsy site and come back and comment on what item you like best and why by Thursday night and picking a random number I'll post the winner on Friday morning. Meanwhile she is going to do a guest post today on yard saling for vintage finds."

Etsy is all about 'word of mouth'. So in this case you've blogged, been a guest blogger and had to give away two items. It's a lot of work.

I quit blogging about our art after we had a stalker so when I do sales on Etsy I post 3 items a day, and mention it on our "Like" page on Facebook. That's been better 'free' advertizing for me since I've lost interest in trying to blog or rush around searching out other blogs to be mentioned on. Actually I've made more money thru Facebook than I have thru Etsy.

Etsy is easy and kind of fun and I've been following a few people on there who have incredible sales numbers. I'm not sure if you can read the Etsy forums until you have an account but those are well worth reading when you are getting started. Lots of good ideas and lots of people willing to answer questions and give pointers. Photography of your products are really important.

Thanks for all the information. Definitely something to do ONLY if I find myself unemployed. But it could be fun. Thanks again

Float On
6-19-11, 7:37am
Yes, it can be fun. I hope I wasn't much of a downer about it, just trying to be truthful about how much work it takes. It's not something to quit a job to do but can be a nice little side line. Very few are making their entire living on there. You are competeing with a lot of hobby types who don't know how to properly price things and are basically covering their expenses with their price. If you start selling things set your wholesale price first (which should include wages among costs/expenses) and then double that for retail. We set our wholesale and then x 2.7 because that is what most of our stores do to cover their shop expenses and shipping, etc. They get upset if they find out we are selling retail for less than they are so we try to stay at the same level. Many people set their retail price first and then say they can't afford to wholesale.

Merski
6-19-11, 7:53am
Good advice Float on. Thanks! That and book selling online would only be sideline businesses to supplement income. I also do irish genealogy but that has slowed down considerably.