Thursday, October 25, 2012

Creative Space: Ticking boxes

Things are going well with my Month of Finishing. The tote was the first 
box ticked, and since then I've finished off the neon yellow cushions...



and the two pin cushions...



I'm listing everything in my Etsy shop as I complete them. The pin cushions,
though, have sold already to a friend. 


I'm starting to wonder if Etsy is the right medium for me as I seem to be
always selling things outside these parameters... ie. people message me
and we work out other ways for the sale. My sales stats on Etsy are so 
appalling, but are not a reflection of what I'm selling. Anyway, it's something 
for me to ponder... what do you use? Do people like using it or do you have
the same experiences as I do? I'd really appreciate knowing.

You can see more creative spaces here.

18 comments:

  1. Yay for MOF! they look fantastic! Always such a great feeling to finish something hey!

    Hmmm Etsy...my little etsy shop is ticking along quiet well, a few sales a week which is fine for me as I don't have a huge amount of spare time! I also get lots of family and friend requests, so that keeps me busy too!
    What about Madeit or maybe craft markets? It's all still a bit of mystery to me to whole etsy thing! But I am loving it and learning as I go :)

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  2. Ahhh that old trick of online selling - I have tried etsy and madeit but after all the costs involved and time spent uploading I dont think I will be doing them anymore.
    Adore the cushions by the way :)

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  3. Love those cushons!

    I find that I am not doing well on any selling forum this year, probably due to the fact that most of my customers are Australian and the GFC seems to have finally hit Australia. I do have lots of lovely friends and acquaintances who message me for private sales away from these sites, so perhaps I'm a bit like you. Lots for me to ponder too.

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  4. Hey Kylie,

    I started on Etsy many moons ago and have now switched to Big Cartel. I have my store connected to my facebook and blog. I've done much better having a stand alone shop. Not sure why that is. That said, 50% of my sales are still private, custom orders (through PayPal invoices).

    Rosie

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  5. Man you've been busy!! Looks gorge Kylie!

    I get mainly interest for custom orders through Etsy.
    But the best advice I've had is to relist one item per day,
    to keep your items up there and noticed. (and more likely
    to get in a treasury!!)xxJ

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  6. Your cushions (big and small) are gorgeous Kylie.
    Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I've managed to track down a pair of bug earings (very similar to Suzy's in Moonrise Kingdom) for my daughter (her favourite movie) for Christmas. I can send you the details if you're interested...

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  7. Wow, you are so busy at the moment. Great to see you finishing so many projects.
    Love those pincushions!
    You know I'm an Etsy fan so I'm sorry to hear its not doing it for you. I always think its a nice way of seeing all your projects together and for people to find you, and works as a good motivator for me for new work.

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  8. It's hard to know what to do if people don't want to pay through the Etsy system. Etsy does seem to be working for you as a showroom though if customers look at your range of product that way. Maybe you'll have to work out your own boundaries regarding payments...be comfortable about what you will or won't accept.
    I particularly love your geo square cushion this week!

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  9. Wow Kylie, so much going on! Love those pin cushions the colours are devine.
    Big Cartel? Made It? I can imagine your products being snapped up in boutique stores. Alisa x

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  10. i saw these on facebook ~ love!!
    etsy does take time. you could try a big cartel shop, i like the clean look there. not really sure xx

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  11. The colours are just magic! Best of luck finding your perfect niche :)

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  12. I love them all, especially the pincushions.
    You know I also up selling alot away from Etsy people emailing etc, , my sales rate on Etsy doesn't really reflect how much i'm selling. I have a lot of people contact me through Etsy to order something, but then sell it privately off Etsy. But I still think it's worth it. It's being in the public realm and out there if you get what I mean. That as a front or sort ad I suppose I end up feeling it does it job even if not directly. I feel like if I had my own site/shop, only people wanting to come there, or who know me already would do. WIth etsy it exposes you more I feel.
    But that's me, and everyone has to be happy xo

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  13. Very Very cool colours. well done on your grand finishing :)

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  14. Look at you go, finishing off all your bits and pieces! I'm glad someone's getting on top of everything!!! Cause I'm sure not!

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  15. love these cushions Kylie! I am also wondering the same thing about Etsy...

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  16. Wow, good for you! Everything looks great.

    I guess you have to analyze HOW your sales are being made and what, if any, other options there are to accomodate those types of sales. Or, better, analyze WHERE those sales are coming from. Are they being generated by views of your Etsy shop? That might be most helpful in determining whether the Etsy shop is necessary or not....

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  17. Love the cushions Kylie! I think etsy takes lots of work. It's important to create relationships and to get your stuff seen. It's such a huge market it's easy not to get noticed and it has nothing to do with the quality of your products. It's just that there is so much volume for people to browse through. I haven no idea what Big Cartel would be like. Good luckXX

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  18. I love the colours of your first cushion! I'm yet to list anything etsy so I can't really help with that. It would be interesting to know what you find out though!

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