75th Sale Sale!!!!

So I was going to do a Saturday Night Special, a regular forum thread for specials on Saturday night, to celebrate my 75th Sale on Etsy but I decided to just keep it between us. So for the remainder of the weekend I'm going to have a little celebration for my blog readers. Lets make it through midnight Sunday. How about free shipping in U.S. and 15% off. Just put "75th Sale Sale" or whatever you want to say to me in the message to buyer. If you want something out of my 1000 Markets shop just let me know and I'll adjust the price and reserve it for you. For Etsy you can either check out and wait for a revised invoice or go ahead and pay and I'll refund the difference.

I always struggle with sales to be honest. Pricing in general is my least favorite part of the business. I know when I'm shopping sales on Etsy I look for the big deals like 50% off or BOGO but I feel guilty about it afterward. I know that the seller has to be practically giving it away and I hate that for them. So I know I'm not offering a tremendous special but hopefully you can still respect me in the morning! If you have been eyeing something in the shop please join me in celebrating my 75th. I just listed the linen blend scarf above. It is perfect for cool mornings and those who have wool issues.

What's New Wednesday: Neutrals

If you hadn't noticed I'm a bit of a color fanatic. I love combining different colors in fun ways. The brighter the better. I know not everyone shares this same color obsession and even I have days when I would rather hide in a gray ensemble. But in general my wardrobe consists mostly of deep, rich colors with a few bright pinks thrown in. This is what I prefer to knit as well and I get bored pretty quickly when working with one color at at time.

My plan for next year is to get into as many indie shows in the area as possible. One thing that really jumped out at me from the Big Ass Indie Show was that all of my primarily black or gray scarves sold out. So this has led me to the conclusion that I need to include more neutrals, primarily blacks, in my repertoire. Here are two recently added items to my etsy shop and one scarflette from my 1000 Markets shop. The black and white scarflette has a fun twist, the white yarn is glow in the dark. If you hold it under the light for a few minutes it will glow. How cool is that? I bought some more of it in yellow on sale at Michaels a few weeks ago and I'm debating what I want to do with it. I like how the picture came out for the short scarf above but unfortunately the cool Asian, black and white beads that are on the bottom got lost in the rocks. I have some other close ups in the listing that show them off.

So it may be hard for me but look for more black in my collection next year. I have to keep all my goth buyers happy!

1000 Markets: I'm In!!

So I waited anxiously all day yesterday to see if I was approved for 1000 Markets and I finally found out that I was in. Please check out my shop here. Now I just have to figure out how to get some attention. Every site has its own system to be learned.

First let me explain the process to get in. I had to do the regular registration thing and confirming my e-mail. Then you have to download all the pictures you want to use. You can be downloading multiple pics at the same time which is nice. They all go into the same place and then you choose which pic you want to use for each listing or for your banner, etc. Setting up a listing was a piece of cake compared to Etsy. It's all on one page, you can choose from a list of tags that are commonly used and the pics are all right there, super easy. You can then save it as a draft or make it active.

You have to set up your shop policies and a short profile. Be sure that you don't just cut and paste from your Etsy shop because there are a lot of differences between the 2 venues. For one 1000 Markets just uses Amazon Checkout so any reference to Paypal needs to be removed. And they don't even notify you of a sale until the buyer has gone through the checkout and the money is in your account so you don't have to say anything about non-payment. They insist that you have a written return policy so be sure you give some thought to that. I used my standard you have 7 days if it is in unworn, unwashed condition and buyer pays shipping both ways.

The biggest pain actually was setting up my Amazon business account, which had nothing to do with my market shop. Amazon is very particular about your answers and I spent 30 minutes trying to get everything correct before I finally went to the FAQ's to see what the heck I was doing wrong.

I ended up not using my banner or avatar from Etsy. For one thing they are sized wrong and they would have come out totally pixaled and I'm going to be using different inventory for the Market shop so I figured I'd just use a product shot for now. I like how the cashmere blend scarflette shot above came out so I used it for the banner. They let you put text over the top of the pic and then they size it for you. I will probably play with it as I get more comfortable with the setup.

Once you have everything looking the way you want it to you just submit your shop for review. They say it takes less than 48 hours to hear from them. It took me around 2 hours, not counting the Amazon annoyance to get it all set up. And I heard back from them about being approved to go live with my shop within a day. Pretty smooth process in my opinion.

From what I can gather you get noticed by joining different markets. There are markets for sellers from a certain region, or type of product, or there are ones for like minded people. The one I'm most drawn to initially is the Bohemia Espirit which says it's A Place for the artistic...bohemian soul... Sounds like home to me!

And I think I will either apply for Wear It Out, which is Clothing & Accessories for the Modern World, or Art You Can Wear. You have to apply and be approved to each individual market by the curator of that market. But then you are on that market's home page which appears to be how most people shop on the site. I haven't figured out how the search function operates yet. I don't think that it is based solely on listing date like Etsy but I'm not sure what it uses.

They also have their own blog system. I'm debating on how I want to use it. I don't know if I will just cut and paste from here or do separate postings specifically for that site. That sounds like too much work but since it is right there on your shop page I want it to be appropriate to the site.

Someone asked me about the wall on my shop page. This is a place where anyone can leave a comment on your shop. At this time they seem to have no feedback system in place. I'm feeling a bit unloved so if you would like to leave me a note it would make my day!

I'll let you know how it goes in my new home! So far I really like feeling like I'm a part of something new and exciting.

1000 Markets vs. Artfire

I hope that my last post didn't come off as bitter. I really do love Etsy but I'm not what they call a cheerleader any more. I have what I think are legitimate concerns and I just wanted to get them off my chest. So, I've been investigating the different venues for selling on-line since November when I blogged about all the other sites here. At that time I was leaning towards starting another shop on Dewanda, which is an international site out of Germany. I did some shopping and made a purchase from a seller there. I found the whole check out process very cumbersome and having to convert everything in my mind from Euros was also very distracting. I know you can't judge a site by one transaction but I found the whole process annoying and so I've decided it's just not for me.

So that lead me to the other two venues that I was attracted to, 1000 Markets & the new comer of the bunch Artfire. There is so much buzz right now about Artfire and their incentive to sign up is intriguing. For the first 5,000 sellers that sign up they are offering a $7 a month package for life. No listing or processing fees, just $7 a month as long as you stay active. After doing some shopping and buying some supplies I realized I might as well be on Etsy. The experience was really exactly the same for me. It is a very similar set-up and you can tell that the creators were very much inspired by Etsy and were in many ways just trying to be an option for those who are wanting to get away from etsy for one reason or another. I just don't see how putting the time and money into Artfire really makes sense right now for me. There are about 6 months out of the year where I get very few sales and continuing to pay the $7 a month would be a pain for me just to get exposure to much the same audience I'm already reaching at my etsy shop. I can see how it is appealing to so many others but I am speaking just for myself here.

I have to say that I really like the look of 1000 Markets. It has a very upscale boutique feel to it. I also like the fact that they are juried which keeps the resellers out. They also only sell handmade items, not supplies or vintage. I like that Etsy includes these sellers but I kind of like the exclusivity of 1000 Markets. It's like walking into a funky gift show in Clayton, and the prices are reflective of this. They do tend to have higher price lines which would allow me to get some of my more expensive pieces a real show place. I also like that it is free to set up shop here, they charge 5.5% plus a .50 fee when an item sells. Another reason to stick to more expensive items. I really think that 1000 markets has the potential to open me up to a different market so to speak. I went ahead and "opened shop". It is remarkably easy to set up listings compared to Etsy. The entire process is all on one page and is very smooth. I will put up a link once I have it all figured out. As I said it is juried, so I will then have to go through the process of getting accepted. I will use the best of last weeks pictures and see how it goes.

If I don't get in then I will give Artfire another go but as of right now I'm hopeful that 1000 Markets will be the next phase of Lenox Knits for the new year.

Other Options On-line

When I first discovered Etsy there was definitely a honeymoon period where I could see nothing wrong with my new beloved. When people talked about looking for other selling venues I thought I would never cheat on Etsy like that. I realize now that it just doesn't make sense to put all of my scarves in one basket. I know that Etsy is the biggest handmade market out there but I've decided that I am going to pick another to pursue as well. It will make for more work but I really like the idea of reaching another market. I want my other venue to reach people that I'm not necessarily reaching at Etsy so that is my main criteria for narrowing down my options. It is amazing how many Etsy knockoffs there are out there right now. I've spent the last week doing my own research and reading a few of the threads on Etsy about the competition. These are entirely my own observations and if you are looking into other options I would encourage you to explore on your own. It really comes down to what you feel comfortable with and like the feel of.

Next to Etsy the next biggest venue would have to be DeWanda. This is a European based website so they list the prices in Euros. This is the one big negative that I can see at this point. I'm not good at math and I can't find a conversion tool on the site but I was quickly able to find one on google. I really like the look and feel of DeWanda, which is similar but yet distinct from Etsy. Sign up was easy and searching was relatively intuitive. I like how you can narrow down the search not only by color but also pattern and style with just a click of the mouse. The good thing about DeWanda is that it really will open me up to a whole new market with much more of Europe using it than Etsy at this point. If I can get my brother to translate my listings to French than that will open me up even further since they have the option to list in English, French and German. It is currently free to list and they charge a 5% commission fee. They use Paypal and it is not juried so anyone can sell.

The next one that I really liked was a fairly new one called 1000 Markets. From what I read they are still getting some of the bugs worked out but I really like the concept and look of their site. It is not just handmade but all about the small independent business owner, mostly artisans and they are really working to build a community. I have read that a lot of Etsy sellers are joining 1000 markets and I'm afraid that it would mostly reach the same group of buyers that I'm reaching on Etsy so it doesn't have the same appeal to me as DeWanda. It is juried so you have to go through a process to get approved. They charge 5.5% and a .50 cent listing fee when the item sells and they use Amazon checkout which charges no fees so that is nice. This one is definitely on my list of places to watch and I'm interested to see how it develops. Of the ones I looked at closely it is the one most in line to take over Etsy's dominance in my opinion.

Another very new site jumping on the handmade bandwagon is Shop Handmade. This one is the most reminiscent in just about every way to Etsy. They do have a much better search but than doesn't everyone. They have a very do-gooder vibe and a complicated system for planting trees for every item listed and sold. I honestly didn't get their fee structure and it appears you can actually choose how much of a commission you would like to pay. I really don't see how listing items here would be of any advantage to me and I have a feeling they may be gone before too long.

I signed up for Lov.li a long time ago and still get weekly e-mails from them. I really don't like the look of their site. As I said it is a personal thing but I find their site cluttered and pretty messy looking. I'm not crazy about their search either so it really isn't a site I feel like investing any time into.

A few months ago there was quite a commotion on the Etsy forums about Handmade Fusion. I believe it was actually started by a few disgruntled Etsy sellers. Along with every other seller I rushed over and applied and was very quickly rejected. I tried not to let this affect my opinion of the site but I have to say their really just isn't much listed there yet. I searched for scarves and got less than one full page. It has a very clean look and the people that made it in obviously take good pictures but it is very limited right now. It is definitely not someplace I will be pursuing or shopping with right now.

Handmade Catalog has a very different look and feel and has a much more homey and craft show vibe to it. I could see primitive and other rustic items doing really well there but I don't think it is the market that I'm looking for. They have a more complicated membership process and don't charge on a commission basis that I'm used to.

Lollishop is marketing itself as the frou-frou friendly marketplace and I like the idea of it, but not for myself. They actually haven't opened their doors yet but it should be a nice alternative for the whimsical and playful sellers out there.

Update: I had a chance to check out ArtFire, which a few commentors recommended. I do like the look of it and they appear to be committed to making a go of it. I don't like that it is in Beta and using Acrobat Reader but I'm sure that is all temporary. They have a healthy approach to helping the environment without confusing me with mumbo jumbo. I am intrigued by their fee structure and membership plan but I am not ready to make any commitments. I really like their plans for stats which we all know is Etsy's big downfall. I would put them in the category of one to watch with 1000 markets at this point.

This is certainly not a complete list but these are the ones that I found the time and inclination to research. Right now I'm leaning towards DeWanda but I would love to hear other people's experiences. If you have positive or negative feedback on these or other sites please let me know.