Time For a Quick Rant
By koopharper
@koopharper (7601)
Canada
March 17, 2024 9:57am CST
I'm a little bit cheesed off with Etsy. They are trying to get us to do a Mother's Day sale and I don't trust them. Even though they made some reassuring noises in the invite.
Last year they announced a big sales event for the end of the year. Told us sellers that it was going to be big. Later they announced it to all the customers and told us what this was going to be. A fifty percent off sale on all participating shops on Etsy. I choked on that. How many small shops on Etsy are making fifty percent profit? That isn't part of my profits that's all of it and then some. If I want to give my work away, I've got lots of friends and family.
The final result for me was that because I elected to not participate I spent the entire last quarter of the year (usually the best time to make sales) without a single sale. As you might guess. I'm not very happy and I don't really trust the site's promotional efforts anymore.
I am looking for another platform to sell on but as it stands I haven't found anything better for me out there.
Just getting that off my chest.
6 people like this
6 responses
@kareng (59107)
• United States
18 Mar
@koopharper So set your price at the minimum you would want to sell it for. You get free re-listings there now too.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
17 Mar
I've been on Ebay for other things. I find the bids on my stuff way too low if I even get bids. I've actually had better luck on Etsy.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
17 Mar
We can hope. I won't dump Etsy until it starts costing me more than I'm getting out of it. If nothing else I'm still getting some exposure to potential customers there.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160658)
• United States
2 Apr
I have heard that the more well known it has gotten the less profitable and craftsmanlike. Lovely vase. I agree that was a totally unfair "sale".
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
2 Apr
I wish it wasn't true. Unfortunately, they keep doing things that encourage mass-produced stuff. I'm still looking for a legitimate alternative.
@RebeccasFarm (89882)
• Arvada, Colorado
17 Mar
Totally hear you. Etsy's sales can be a double-edged sword. Have you considered building your own website alongside Etsy?
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
17 Mar
I do have a website but it gets neglected. I'm always squeezed for time and that is one thing that gets sacrificed. I don't have my own web store though. Part of the issue is charging taxes for sales in states or provinces where that needs to be charged. Etsy does take care of that for us.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (339930)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Mar
What a blast from the past to see your name again. 
May I ask - what wood is your lovely vase? It looks like our sandalwood but I wouldn't have thought that would be readily available there. It also looks a bit like Tasmania sassafras (blackheart sassafras) which is a different species to North American sassafras. I've added a photo of a sandalwood bowl.
May I ask - what wood is your lovely vase? It looks like our sandalwood but I wouldn't have thought that would be readily available there. It also looks a bit like Tasmania sassafras (blackheart sassafras) which is a different species to North American sassafras. I've added a photo of a sandalwood bowl.1 person likes this
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
18 Mar
It's spalted Grey Birch which only grows in the Maritimes of Canada and maybe a little into New England in the USA. Primary range is New Brunswick. The spalting makes it look completely different.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
17 Mar
Evidently, Etsy isn't the only platform doing stuff like this. It'll stick in my craw for a while.
The spalting on that little piece of wood was pretty amazing. Mother Nature did the hard work on that one for me.
1 person likes this
