Considering.

[velvetpage]

I've been pointed by several people, most recently toad_hall, to www.etsy.com as a way to sell my crochet work. It has some advantages. I can set the price to retail because there's no middle person. I can reach a wider market. They seem to be fairly unique - I didn't see anything on the site that looked like the same pattern (as I'd expect, since it's an original pattern.) Listing doesn't cost much - twenty cents per item, but I can do prototype items and list available sizes so I wouldn't actually pay twenty cents for every hat I listed.

Downsides include an absolutely massive site - about 12 000 listings in children's clothing, the oldest of which go back to May and June. I scrolled through about six pages before I got back to the stuff posted on Wednesday. While this indicates that people do shop there - otherwise why would so many sellers list there? - it also indicates an awful lot of competition. There's one lady who appears to specialize in hats almost identical to my little ear flap hat - only hers are lined with fleece and edged with fun fur. I may keep that one against a future baby shower. It's a pity everyone I know is having boys! (I should look into a pattern for a boat hat that would work for a boy. After all, boys need protection from the sun, too.)

I'll need my own paypal account. Elizabeth's cabbage patch kid served as a model today, but I need to develop my photography skills. Here's my first really good picture:



So, what do you guys think? Is this worth pursuing?

Comments

[beetiger.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of folks who use etsy with a lot of success. It's mostly a place people shop "in-community", ie crafters shop from each other. and most people direct people to the shop with informal advertising on the outside. There aren't that many people who just browse etsy as far I know. But it's a very low-cost way to do a storefront for one of a kind items, and some people do really well there.

You might also want to consider Hyena Cart, which I think is $7.50 a month with no listing charges, and is a parent-focused site. I've just joined a congo (group shop) there.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Seven-fifty a month would mean I'd need to sell at least two hats per month to make back my cost - but there weren't a lot of crocheted hats on that site, so it might work. Would I need to use organic cotton or wool in order to qualify over there?

[beetiger.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. I think you just have to make the finished items yourself. Organic's a feature there, certainly, but I'm pretty sure not a requirement.

[firesign10.livejournal.com]

I listed some things there this fall. I haven't done a lot of business there but it's pretty low cost so I figured it was not a big loss if it didn't work out. I want to make some new things but just haven't had the time yet. I'm going to keep my shop open until I try new stuff out and see how it goes. You sell a couple of things, well then you've covered your listing fees and then there's no real risk :-)

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. At that listing price, selling any items at all guarantees a profit, and it's not like I'm spending much on materials.

[neebs.livejournal.com]

That's what I was going to say, too.

Allow yourself $X to invest in this and if you've put that in and nothing happens, look for the next opportunity.

[melstra.livejournal.com]

I had never heard of etsy so I took a look--you're right. It's massive. I was also curious about the organization--if you list under childrens-->baby-->hat , then do you still get listed under clothing-->hat and under crochet? On Ebay, if you want to list in multiple categories, you pay extra. I would hope you didn't have to do that here. Then again, you would probably get the most "foot traffic" under "children" anyway.

I'm dubious about just how much sales people generate from sites like this, but I suspect that with such low listing fees, it's worth having it up there just in case. As someone else said, it only takes selling one thing to recoup your costs. I would go ahead and try it. You never know. I would also consider just making up a name for yourself ("Velvetwear" "Crochet Bouquet" "Petits Anges" or some such thing) so you appear professional and putting an ad in your local "Craigslist" (http://hamilton.craigslist.org/) -- absolutely free and you never know who might reply to that.

Btw, the pic is cute, but didn't you have a really adorable one of Claire in the hat?

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Yes, but I'm not sure if I want to use those ones. I may use the girls as models, but for a first attempt, the doll held still better. :)