Etsy advice (selling, not buying)

tlv204

I'm considering opening an Etsy shop this summer since I won't be working until the school year starts again, then if it goes well I'll keep it up. I make random craft stuff all the time, so I figure I might as well make some money off of it.

Anyway do any of you Etsy sellers have any advice? Do you use paypal for everything? Is it worth the fees? Have you been sucessful? How do you decide how much to sell things for? Is it difficult to keep track of everything for tax purposes?

I have never sold anything in my life (except a few things on craigslist), so this is all new to me. Any other advice?

Nebb

This might not be totally helpful but once you open up a sellers account, you get regular emails with tips and suggestions on how to run your shop.

TheSaltyPeanut

Etsy is awesome.  One thing I would suggest is to open a separate email account and link it to your paypal account.  That way your business account is completely separate from your personal accounts.

Good luck!

BTW - ygpm soon

tlv204

Thanks! I spent most of the afternoon yesterday reading the "dos and don'ts" and FAQ. I'm one of those people that gets an idea in my head and then obsesses about it for days, so I'm trying to cover all of my bases

danieliza1127

I opened a shop for my handmade cards but got zero hits on it, even from family and friends.  I ended up closing it because it just wasn't worth the money to keep relisting.

I wouldn't say not to give it a try, but I would say don't get your hopes up as far as making much money.  Everyone and their brother has an etsy shop and is selling every little crafty thing you can think of, some mediocre and some amazing.  You have to really stay on top of advertising and relisting your stuff if you want any chance of success. 

kate51485

What kind of stuff would you sell?

tlv204

Thanks dani, I think that's what I needed: a reality check I would sell a variety of things, mostly paper related (which is why I'm nervous since there is already so much on there). I'll probably give it a try since I won't be working over the summer anyway, but I'll try not to get my hopes up too much!

danieliza1127

I would go ahead and pay the extra money to get your stuff advertised, I forget what they call it, but it's whatever they offer you that makes your stuff get shown in the main page rotation.  I also know that a lot of successful sellers have blogs where they write about the stuff they're making, show tutorials and pictures, etc.  If you have a blog and do that, then you can put your blog in your Nest siggy (if you use the Crafts board on the nest for example) which would then lead people to your shop.

TheSaltyPeanut

I would have to disagree with you Dani.  I have had phenomenal success with my Etsy shop and I rarely relist.  I have a handful of friends who have also turned their shops into a good side business.

That's not to say that it isn't work!  I'm pretty active on the forums over there and that alone gets my shop a lot of hits.  I do notice a dip in my sales once I stop posting on the forums. 

A lot of sellers have repeat customers and those customers in turn refer their friends

Edited - wording

tlv204

I've already picked out free business cards from vistaprint if I go through with this

danieliza1127

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_etsy-advice-selling-not-buying?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:08bbe4e0-5864-4b3d-93a8-09e88ecbe3abPost:acefaaf9-9102-4fc0-a85b-ef5d43b29ba0">Re: Etsy advice (selling, not buying)</a>:
[QUOTE]I would have to disagree with you Dani.  I have had phenomenal success with my Etsy shop and I rarely relist.  I have a handful of friends who have also turned their shops into a good side business. That's not to say that it isn't work!  I'm pretty active on the forums over there and that alone gets my shop a lot of hits.  I do notice a dip in my sales once I stop posting on the forums.  A lot of sellers have repeat customers and those customers in turn refer their friends :) Edited - wording
Posted by TheSaltyPeanut[/QUOTE]

Right, I totally realize everyone will have a different experience.  My point was mainly that you have to be really active in getting your shop out there to have success, like you are by being active in the forums there (which I wasn't).  Basically if you just open a shop and list your stuff and advertise on FB and to friends and family, don't expect a lot of success.  You have to really get the word out in a lot of different places.  There are just SO MANY etsy sellers, so many selling the same thing, you have to do something to make yourself stand out.