Etsy

[Lauren]

No problem
Oh, I know! It's always cheaper to make something from the stash of doom
I get requests for custom, but generally they don't follow through once I quote cost. Is ok- more time to make things I want to make, I guess. Somewhere out there is the market for people who want to pay for that special something- they just need to find us! Etsy seems to be a good avenue for that.
Congrats! Your hat up there is so darn cute!

 

[CherryRed]

Etsy keeps me so busy with custom orders I rarely get time to add new items to my shop. Am I complaining? No way! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Etsy!

 

[Lady Day]

Has anyone else put their site in Google analytics?
You will be looking through the info all day! lol

LD

 

[CherryRed]

Has anyone else put their site in Google analytics?
You will be looking through the info all day! lol

LD

I have had mine on there for nearly 2 months. I am not sure how to use all the info right now but I do check it nearly daily. I like seeing where I get my hits from. My top two places are here (Fedora Lounge) and Google.

 

[C-dot]

I had to post this wonderful lady's shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/bowsbychristy

"Silly, those are for children."

Yes, I know, but I adore hair bows and these are too cute. I bought the Rudolph Christmas hair bow, and I've a list of more to buy.

 

[Lady Day]

I have had mine on there for nearly 2 months. I am not sure how to use all the info right now but I do check it nearly daily. I like seeing where I get my hits from. My top two places are here (Fedora Lounge) and Google.

Whats cool are the traffic sources, because you get to see how you are getting exposure. I apparently have been in an etsy finds email and on their front page 'handpicked items' for the brief time they have those up lol
Its a start at least

LD

 

[cecil]

Reserving?

Hi ladies,

I plan to sell stuff on Etsy starting around next week (have to take all the photos etc first) so at this stage I just have a buyer's question: How does 'reserving' work? I see lost of things on Etsy that have "reserved for xxxx" in the title.

Basically I am madly in love with a dress but am at the end of my pay cycle. I have explained this to a seller and offered to pay a holding deposit on an item and square the balance on my payday, one week from today. I know it's a bit silly asking for advice after I've sent it but I suppose I'm still after some reassurance. Is this an okay thing to ask? Did I do good? lol

 

[Lady Day]

I honestly think its an honor system thing. You contact the seller and they often put 'reserved' in the listing, but Ive looked at reserved listings, and there is nothing special from keeping someone else from buying said item.

I generally deactivate a listing for a short time period if someone requests a hold, then re activate it when they are ready to buy it.

LD

 

[cecil]

Hi ladies,

I plan to sell stuff on Etsy starting around next week (have to take all the photos etc first) so at this stage I just have a buyer's question: How does 'reserving' work? I see lost of things on Etsy that have "reserved for xxxx" in the title.

Basically I am madly in love with a dress but am at the end of my pay cycle. I have explained this to a seller and offered to pay a holding deposit on an item and square the balance on my payday, one week from today. I know it's a bit silly asking for advice after I've sent it but I suppose I'm still after some reassurance. Is this an okay thing to ask? Did I do good? lol

Thanks Lady Day!! I must have done something right because it is done! WAHOO!

Here's hoping nobody else buys it, that would suck.

 

[SayCici]

Hi ladies,

I plan to sell stuff on Etsy starting around next week (have to take all the photos etc first) so at this stage I just have a buyer's question: How does 'reserving' work? I see lost of things on Etsy that have "reserved for xxxx" in the title.

Basically I am madly in love with a dress but am at the end of my pay cycle. I have explained this to a seller and offered to pay a holding deposit on an item and square the balance on my payday, one week from today. I know it's a bit silly asking for advice after I've sent it but I suppose I'm still after some reassurance. Is this an okay thing to ask? Did I do good? lol

When an item is reserved for you, it's an agreement of a sale. If someone goes through checkout with that item despite the seller saying not to, they *should* notify that person, refund them if they have paid, and the item should still be yours to purchase.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

I've listed items as 'reserved' when they were custom made for someone. Example: a person likes my style, & convos me with a request for a particular image or size of something. Because they found me via Etsy, the right thing to do is list the completed item there, rather than avoid fees and do a private, on-the-side sale.
So, when the custom order is finished, I list it as "reserved for xxxxxx, please do not purchase unless you are xxxxx", and alert the buyer that it's now available in my shop. People have always completed the transaction within a day or two.
Having said that, it does baffle me to browse around and find reserved items that have been listed for weeks, or even months.

 

[Lady Day]

But thats what an alchemy request does, ThesFlishThngs. Agreement is set, the person is obligated to pay, etsy gets their cut, and once you finish, the item shows up in the sold listing and completed alchemy listings.

LD

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

When I joined Etsy, the original alchemy had been disabled, and really, the very few times I've bothered to answer a 'new and improved' alchemy request have been complete wastes of time.
I think when someone knows what they want, and from whom, they tend to bypass alchemy and deal directly with the artist/seller. At least that's been my experience.

 

[Lady Day]

When an item is reserved for you, it's an agreement of a sale. If someone goes through checkout with that item despite the seller saying not to, they *should* notify that person, refund them if they have paid, and the item should still be yours to purchase.

Is this listed in etsy policies, or just a goodwill sort of thing? If etsy does not take responsibility for this, then the completed transaction is just that, no matter who buys it. I guess that is why I deactivate the listings I hold, to avoid this type of situation because knowing my luck, this is totally what would happen to me

LD

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

Let me add, there are certain artists who will say something to the effect of "if you'd like a different size/design, please let me know." In that case, that person will create what you've asked, they list the item as a reserve in your name.

 

[Lady Day]

When I joined Etsy, the original alchemy had been disabled, and really, the very few times I've bothered to answer a 'new and improved' alchemy request have been complete wastes of time.
I think when someone knows what they want, and from whom, they tend to bypass alchemy and deal directly with the artist/seller. At least that's been my experience.

I get what you are saying, but Im all for covering my own butt, and despite good intentions from people who want to buy, if there is no tangible agreement, there is nothing keeping them from just bailing on a custom item. Alchemy provides me that security.

LD

 

[cecil]

When an item is reserved for you, it's an agreement of a sale. If someone goes through checkout with that item despite the seller saying not to, they *should* notify that person, refund them if they have paid, and the item should still be yours to purchase.

Oh cool. That's reassuring. Thanks love!

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

If I were to accept a particularly complicated, likely unsellable to others, custom order through Etsy, I'd definitely require a certain up-front deposit. So far, though, all the custom creations I've had requested have been happily accepted by those who ordered them. And were of a nature that I could probably have sold them either on Etsy or here locally, had the requester changed their mind.

Lady Day, have you sought out and accepted alchemy requests? I ask because the few times I've taken the time to compose a realistic, feasible response to any requests, they've been completely ignored. Not even a 'no thanks'. Talk about waste of time....

 

[Lady Day]

I have.
The only part where it got confusing was the re negoiation of the price. I made a counter offer, which in turn made a completly new request :eusa_doh: (I do hope they fix that) but once we figured that out, and I declined the earlier offer, the item got made and was sent (shes waiting for it now).

I found the process very intimate. Convos were consolidated, I could upload progress pictures, and it was all accessible from that one request that only *they* could see. I guess thats what I liked about it.

LD

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

I guess what I like best is people contacting me directly with their requests. I don't think I can undercut every person eager for a sale, answering an alchemy request. Having always been more a creator than a businessperson or a solicitor, it suits my comfort level to have people come to me with their ideas, rather than blindly pursuing them through alchemy.