Sunday, September 20, 2009

Entry One - Why the D List?

What is the Etsy "D" list you may ask. Well, I am an etsy shop owner (soulstone321.etsy.com), who is not having much luck selling or getting attention for that matter. I am realively new to Etsy and I've been on the hunt for guidance on making my site successful. Right now, I would consider my shop to be "on the "D" list".

Why is soulstone321 on the D list? Well, as much as I think my site is super cool the reality is:

1)I only have 17 items for sale ( I work full time and have a very busy life and put as much time as possible into my shop without getting the look of neglect from my husband for the time I am spending making, photographing, listing, researching etc...)

2)More importantly, I only have 2 sales, and pathetically, one of them is a mercy sale from a friend of my mother-in-law. A very nice gesture, but still, it's kind of like kissing your brother, if you know what I mean. Still, thank you so much Martha for making my day!

3) My items are NOT all that unique. I love to make beaded jewelry, I love natural semi-precious stones and I love the idea of wearing them on my body and seeing them worn on others. But let's face it, I am but a grain of sand in the Sarah of beaded jewelry sellers.

4)As I research how to make my shop successful, I am realizing I know nothing about selling on Etsy. Creating, setting up a site, taking good pictures and pricing well is only a very small part of being successful.

I have accepted the sad fact that I am a "D" lister. And I say to myself... is it worth it? Wouldn't it be easier just to shut down, sell all my supplies on Ebay, and go to the beach? Well, it would. But I'm not doing it! I'm starting to realize that as much as I love making jewelry and love people wanting to buy my jewelry, I love the game too. I love the challenge of trying to get my "sales" number up. I love the idea of climbing out of the "D" list and actually having a successful shop. I dream of being one of those on the forum who posts that they had a "really good day today and sold 5 items and made the FP!" FP: Front Page... the holy grail of Etsy.

And so... there is my ultimate challenge and goal. I want to make it to the FP! Then and only then will I feel like I have made it out of the "D" list.

So there you have it. I'll be writing on the topics that I learn will help me be a success on Etsy and the changes that I make to make it to the FP.

Stay tuned, this will be either very interesting or very sad. ;-)

17 comments:

  1. hahaha, this make my day, I'm kind of in the D list too. My first two sales were from my brother... :S. I will follow you and let see if I can make it too to the holy grail (aka FP)

    Hold in there!!!

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  2. I hear ya Enid. We "D" listers have to stick together. I'll follow you too!

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  3. I am a D lister too by most of your counts. I make buttons for the sheer love of it. I give them away to everyone around me and I've only ever had one sale. Like you -- 17 products, though it is easy for me to increase the number of items whenever I want. Anyway, I think this blog is a great idea and I will certainly follow it.
    Dare I say it... you can always check out my etsy shop too
    http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7787449

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  4. RJL, already checked it out.. It's awesome. Very unique idea. We can get you some sales, let's take the journey together!

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  5. I like the idea on the "d" list. I don't know if I qualify since I do have some sales but the FP is still far away :)

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  6. Piccoladonna2006, no worries, all are welcome. I look at it this way. If you are selling you can give us "D" listers pointers and promot at the same time. And yes, FP seems so far away, but we can try to help each other get there. Welcome!

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  7. great idea for a blog, your first post is great. Looking forward to crawling off the D list together! I'm following!

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  8. Nicolita Love! Welcome. Stay tuned, I'm getting tons of great info. And we are talking of starting a team! We need you.

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  9. I love your blog and soon we will be crawling out way out of the d-list. Hopefully we'll be sprinting but lets take it easy and go for baby steps to start out with. I read your first post and it made me smile because I definitely relate although my first two sales were from someone I don't know...so that was awesome. I about passed out when I woke up and saw that! Although on a semi-negative note that person did not leave me feedback which is like a kiss of death for the etsy seller seeing as though we thrive off of positive feedback and it helps sway those "on the fence" sales. I just keep trying my best and like you I love the challenge of making this become successful :) Thanks for all that you do and i'm really looking forward to working with you and everyone else and the success that we will have in the future!

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  10. I hear you pain and I've been through that too in my other shop... Now I know much more but still miss something that makes a success. A big one... Don't give up. You can do it. You have beautiful stuff and it will sell eventually.

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  11. Ingo, thank you so much for your kind words. And, if you have any good suggestions or resources, please comment, and I'll list them in my blog for followers. We need experienced mentors.

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  12. Hi,

    I am in the list D too. Most of my sold items were from friends.

    I am with you if this is good or sad as you said hahahahaha

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  13. Hi! Love this blog and will be following. I started on Etsy a little over a year ago with jewelry and have quickly learned that my self taught skills are not anywhere near where they should be to compete with the other jewelry artists.
    I have since gone into business with my Dad and started up a new shop, http://sandshooters.etsy.com, and we are doing great so far! Lots of time spent patroling Alchemy!:)
    Look forward to the rest of your posts!

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  14. oh boy, I can relate..... with a demanding day job and no camera (I have to rely on the kindness of friends who let me borrow theirs) I am so limited in how many items I can list and how much time overall I can spend on my shop. Plus, I get SO overwhelmed reading about all the different ways you are supposed to promote yourself -- twitter, facebook, myspace, flickr, blogs. If I did all that, when would I have time to actually make stuff?!

    Great blog so far -- I'll be following!

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  15. Darlene, I know, it can be overwhelming. But, jsut do what you can and the rest can wait. And, join in the community of like minds. Maybe we can help each other. PS, go to the pawn shop for a used camera. I use a low budget digital and it works fine if I set the setting just right. It will help relieve your stress. Hang in there.

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  16. oh my, so excited to find this blog! zero sold items as of this moment, but i'm hoping to change that! new goal is to do a little etsy every day! i have a feeling this blog will help me along that journey! thanks so much for inviting us to come along!

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  17. Wow I love this idea :)!! Such a great blog! I Hope that we all get the exposure we deserve.

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