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Tunicate
May 15, 2012

Solenna posted:

Well, my work is pretty quiet, and my headspace is pretty good, and it's starting to get lovely out, so if we want to do the annual Christmas thread + banner ads I can run them again. It's always been pretty successful for me.

Sounds great! When do we want to start putting things up this year? I kind of feel like having them up for a black friday/cyber monday would be good.

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Solenna
Jun 5, 2003

I'd say it was your manifest destiny not to.

Tunicate posted:

Sounds great! When do we want to start putting things up this year? I kind of feel like having them up for a black friday/cyber monday would be good.
Maybe late October? That would make 2 rounds of banner ads before Christmas.

Mister Kingdom
Dec 14, 2005

And the tears that fall
On the city wall
Will fade away
With the rays of morning light
It looks like Amazon is moving into Etsy's neighborhood with Amazon Handmade.

Tunicate
May 15, 2012

Wow, those fees are whack.

1 dollar per item (waived if you spend 40 dollars a month)
Plus referral fees on top of that. For jewelry, 20% or $2.00, whichever is bigger.

EDIT: Oh, I see, for the new handmade section they're 'only' charging 12%, and are temporarily waiving the monthly fee. Still a lot more than etsy charges, and it goes away in august 2016

Tunicate fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Oct 10, 2015

Eodoin
Dec 3, 2014

The fees and everything is still a lot compared to other places. Only bonus is it being on amazon and the hope of making more sale. Only way I would use it is if I was able to make a ton of sales in a month but even then I don't know if I would be able to keep up with high sales and making new stuff. Doesn't seem like it's all that easy to get to either unless you google handmade items. For now I'll see how it goes and stick to Etsy. Oh! and it also looks like you have to be reviewed and accepted as a handcrafted seller. Could have it's up and downs.

blaise rascal
May 16, 2012

"Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."
Does anyone have any special advice for selling edible items? I want to sell hard candy.

How legitimate do you have to be? (FDA-approved kitchen, nutrition facts labeling, etc.)

Great thread so far!

flutterbyblue
Oct 29, 2007

I'm a little cat in a pretty hat!
Really look in to your state's/country's rules for selling food products. I know things get crazy when you start shipping across state borders and out of the country. Bottom line is most of the food sellers on etsy don't have any of the proper licenses for selling food (there's one woman who does fudge who keeps a separate commercial kitchen on her property, but she's the only one I know of.)

My friend sold cottage foods locally and that was not as strict or as stringent, but I think she said it was a headache for her to consider doing anything more than locally. There's a good chance you'll never get caught, but that's a decent risk to take. I know a lot of fines can be absurd. Just lying on customs forms can get you up to 500,000 in fines and a year in jail. Unlikely, but it's a risk I haven't been willing to take.

Edit: I don't know if hard candies are any different, but considering that the type of food is far more stable and has little to no risk of spoilage, there's a chance the regulations won't be so hard to navigate. I'd definitely look everything up though, and call your state's chamber of commerce if they have a questions line, they might be able to give you pointers on licensing.

flutterbyblue fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Oct 22, 2015

blaise rascal
May 16, 2012

"Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."
That seems like pretty sound thinking. Hard candy actually qualifies as cottage food in Ohio, so I don't need a license or an inspected kitchen to sell it within the state, but national platforms like Etsy would be legally out of the question without a license. So, I might just stick to farmers' markets and local retail sellers. Even though those are tricky in their own ways.

If I did decide to try to sell on Etsy, I think I would have access to an FDA-approved kitchen at my local church, which I could probably rent. On the other hand, things like setting up a business, getting recipes and packaging approved, and so on, seem to be very tricky.

While we're on the topic of regulations, what are people's thoughts on using copyrighted characters or likenesses in the products they sell?

Funhilde
Jun 1, 2011

Cats Love Me.
There was a guy in SAMart that made and sold hard candies but I'm not sure if he is still around. If he is maybe you could hit him
Up about it.

Davedave24
Mar 11, 2004

Lacking in love
I've started updating my shop again recently when I started making stuffed animals and little felt doodads: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Huzzahcomics



I'd join in on the banner group when we do that.

blaise rascal
May 16, 2012

"Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Funhilde posted:

There was a guy in SAMart that made and sold hard candies but I'm not sure if he is still around. If he is maybe you could hit him
Up about it.
Yeah, he's still around, and he's what got me involved in the first place. I've been talking to him a little, but he's never done Etsy, which is why I posted here. But I think I've abandoned the Etsy route for now.

Solenna
Jun 5, 2003

I'd say it was your manifest destiny not to.

Davedave24 posted:

I've started updating my shop again recently when I started making stuffed animals and little felt doodads: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Huzzahcomics



I'd join in on the banner group when we do that.
I have PMed you!

Solenna
Jun 5, 2003

I'd say it was your manifest destiny not to.

Aaaaaaaaaand thread is live!

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3749553

there's a banner ad that'll be up right away too

Fatkraken
Jun 23, 2005

Fun-time is over.
Got my store updated with some custom orders

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Krakenkritters?ref=l2-shopheader-name



There's gonna be a bunch more stuff soon

What's the process for getting in on the sponsored thread?

Funhilde
Jun 1, 2011

Cats Love Me.

Fatkraken posted:

Got my store updated with some custom orders

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Krakenkritters?ref=l2-shopheader-name



There's gonna be a bunch more stuff soon

What's the process for getting in on the sponsored thread?

I love these fuzzy hats. Have you thought about adding "Burning Man" to your keywords? I think it would go over great.

Cover my Eyes
Mar 31, 2011
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DiannsEclecticAvenue
Most of what's listed now is what I'd consider "generic" gift items. I'm working on getting more genre pieces like the absinthe necklaces listed.

Tinydryad
Aug 13, 2004


This newb claimed by ChlamydiaJones; remember, bad things happen in theaters sometimes.


Solenna posted:

Aaaaaaaaaand thread is live!

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3749553

there's a banner ad that'll be up right away too

I want in again! Shall I send you tenbux?

Solenna
Jun 5, 2003

I'd say it was your manifest destiny not to.

Tinydryad posted:

I want in again! Shall I send you tenbux?

sure! I will message you on etsy with info!

Cover my Eyes
Mar 31, 2011

Solenna posted:

Aaaaaaaaaand thread is live!

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3749553

there's a banner ad that'll be up right away too

I'm interested in participating also.

Blackish Sheep
Feb 3, 2007

Even cartoon me doesn't know what's going on.
I would also like in. Where do I send you my monies?

Tinydryad
Aug 13, 2004


This newb claimed by ChlamydiaJones; remember, bad things happen in theaters sometimes.


Solenna posted:

sure! I will message you on etsy with info!

Done! Can you just copy my bits and pieces from last year's thread? It's all the same.
Thanks for volunteering to run it this time around. :)

Goons are great customers!

Blackish Sheep
Feb 3, 2007

Even cartoon me doesn't know what's going on.
My Etsy shop is https://www.icecreambreakfast.etsy.com would you send me info as well? I don't have PMs.

Tinydryad
Aug 13, 2004


This newb claimed by ChlamydiaJones; remember, bad things happen in theaters sometimes.


So, how were Etsy sales this holiday season for all you folks? Mine were really really dead. The least I've sold since I opened my shop.

Tunicate
May 15, 2012

Really good. About double a normal month :kimchi:

Might have been because I just started using promoted listings.

DavidAlltheTime
Feb 14, 2008

All David...all the TIME!
Confused about how Promoted Listings work. You name your price for them, and then what happens?

Tunicate
May 15, 2012

DavidAlltheTime posted:

Confused about how Promoted Listings work. You name your price for them, and then what happens?

Basically it works as follows

You set a maximum cost per day. Let's say $10
You set a bid amount for a listing. Let's say 5 cents.

Based on how much you bid, you get put at a different height on the search page's promoted listings tab. A guy who bid 10 cents shows up earlier than a 9 cent guy, for instance.

If someone clicks on the listing, etsy records the search terms they used, and charges you 5 cents. If they don't click, you don't pay anything. If someone clicked on a promoted listing and buys an item from you in the next 30 days, etsy notes down what they clicked on and what they bought, so you can see how effective promoted listings are.

So if you have a maximum of 10 dollars and pay 5 cents a click, each day you get 200 clicks before you're spent out and your items stop appearing in promoted search slots.


You can also set up an autobid, with a maximum cost per click, or combine that with setting costs on an item-by-item basis.

Tunicate fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Jan 4, 2016

Funhilde
Jun 1, 2011

Cats Love Me.

Tinydryad posted:

So, how were Etsy sales this holiday season for all you folks? Mine were really really dead. The least I've sold since I opened my shop.

Yeah this. I had 4 total orders and one was from a friend.

flutterbyblue
Oct 29, 2007

I'm a little cat in a pretty hat!
My sales were pretty terrible as well compared to other years. It's good to know promoted listings might work. I've been considering my advertising options as I need to drive some more traffic to my shop. I've had one purchase so far this year and it was part of a deposit for a custom order. Soooo, not great really.

Beffah
Jul 8, 2010

I'm kinda glad to hear I'm not the only one tanking a bit on sales, I haven't gotten anything of any value, and the holiday was a bit abysmal. For those using them, are using promoted listings worth it?

Molly Bloom
Nov 9, 2006

Yes.
I've started a shop and hope to get some more stock in soon- husband and child require attention, apparently.

https://brummagems.etsy.com

Tunicate
May 15, 2012

Beffah posted:

For those using them, are using promoted listings worth it?

In the last 2 months since activating them, I spent $320 and got $1880 of sales through promoted listings.

Overall seem to be a pretty good deal, but hard to tell how much cannibalization there is of other sales.

Noricae
Nov 19, 2004

cheese?
The changes they made to ads in late 2014 really messed with promoted listings, I think. They always used to be worth it, but last year sometimes I paid much more than I made in orders. Then again I funnel people to my main shop if I can, so it's hard to tell sometimes if it works. Google ads work much better for the money, I've found (so it may be worth setting up a secondary non etsy shop and testing out how it compares).

13Pandora13
Nov 5, 2008

I've got tiiits that swingle dangle dingle




I can't remember who here makes nail polish of if what I want is possible/feasible from a cost standpoint so feel free to shoot me down if this is stupid because I know nothing about polish: I'm looking for a gel style polish (no light curing, but goes on in layers and has a shellac-y kind of look) that looks like blue goldstone. I found on on Etsy that's close (https://www.etsy.com/listing/245096615/carpe-denim-05-oz-full-sized-bottle?ref=shop_home_feat_4) but I want silver micro glitter only, no different size flacks and not holographic. Opi's Alcatraz Rocks was suuuuuper close but it's more of a true polish than a gel type so you don't get the same "depth" of the fleck as with multi-coat gel. Is this possible to do? In the $8-10 range?

(edit)

The Llarowe one might be right on, I'll look into it, thanks!

13Pandora13 fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Feb 4, 2016

Anne Whateley
Feb 11, 2007
:unsmith: i like nice words
Like Essie Starry Starry Night? It was hard to find for years, so there are a ton of dupes. Do you like Llarowe's Twinkle Twinkle? Any of these?

Noricae
Nov 19, 2004

cheese?
Actually Essie just re-released Starry Starry Night recently, with just one size silver glitter, no holo. Worth taking a look at that.

13Pandora13
Nov 5, 2008

I've got tiiits that swingle dangle dingle




Thanks to you both, I just ordered some of the Essie, if it's not perfect I'll be back to the Etsy custom drawing board!

(edit)

It sucks. It doesn't retain any "depth" of the glitter flecking with multiple coats. I think it has to be a gel type to look right.

13Pandora13 fucked around with this message at 03:49 on Feb 9, 2016

AltruisticNemesis
Nov 7, 2007
tra la la
Opened my etsy shop about 3 months ago. Going ok, sold a little bit.

Let me know what you guys think about my poo poo and the prices, like if I need to adjust them or whatever.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ambienoise

huhu
Feb 24, 2006
https://www.etsy.com/shop/EsaFoto

Any suggestions of glaring issues with my shop? I might have just picked terrible products to sell or have bad pictures. Not really sure. Thinking I might leave my shop up for like a few more weeks and take it down.

FateFree
Nov 14, 2003

https://www.etsy.com/shop/videogameshadowbox

Hello, I just opened my first shop yesterday. I discovered I had the ability to make pretty sweet shadow boxes made from nostalgic video game scenes. I'd love to hear any critique about the shop, I worry that I may need more angles on the pictures to show the 3D effect of the layers.

FateFree fucked around with this message at 12:52 on Jun 30, 2016

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Asiina
Apr 26, 2011

No going back
Grimey Drawer
I'd say you definitely do. It's almost impossible to see straight on, and the side shots are fairly far away and the glare from the glass obscures it. I'd suggest getting in really close on some of the details (without the glass if you can) to show that they are different layers.

If you didn't say they were layers and that they were shadowboxes, from those pictures I'd think you just framed some really nice screenshots.

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