Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you all are well rested, and ready for a new daily challenge! So today I want to focus not on selling things gleaned from your home, but items that can be made from items you have on hand. I am speaking of ETSY.
Today, I would like you all to consider all of the homemade crafts, recipes, items, and crafts that you have a knack for making, can easily make from the items you have on hand at home, or items that can be made quickly! Are you a painter, knitter, crafter, good at wood working? Can you make candles, wax melts, or boot cuffs? Then my friend, this is the post for you! As today I want you all to consider opening up an ETSY Shop.
So, why ETSY?
- If you’re an artist, jeweler, soap maker, knitter, baker, or you simply have a house full of vintage items, then you might be in a perfect position to start your own business on Etsy.
- Etsy is an online marketplace designed exclusively for people selling handmade and vintage items.
- The site allows people from all over the world to sell their homemade goods, and anyone, from stay at home moms to well-respected gallery artists, to have an open market to sell their work.
- Currently, Etsy has over 400,000 sellers, 7.7 million listed items for sale, and over 7 million customers. In 2010, the site sold more than $300 million worth of goods.
What Can I sell:
- Crocheted items
- Soap, lotions and candles
- Handmade clothing
- Jewelry
- Paintings
- drawings,
- sculpture
- Handmade furniture
- Books and magazines
- Vintage items (20 years or older)
- Quilts
- Bags and purses
- Baked goods such as cookies, cupcakes, bread, jam, etc.
- Yarn and other supplies catering to the handmade/crafting crowd
- Blown glass
- Handmade paper items
- Upcycled goods
- Nearly anything!
How to Sell:
- You should first start by figuring out what you will create and sell.
- Next inventory what supplies you have on hand to create your products.
- Setting up a Seller Account on Etsy is an easy, two-step process.
- First, you’ll need to have a Paypal account, and a valid credit card.
- Next you need to enter your billing information. You will need a valid credit card so Etsy can verify your identity.
- You’re now an official Etsy seller.
- Setting up your shop is going to take more time. You can create a customer banner for your Etsy store, and you’ll want to upload a picture or logo so customers can put a face or image with your shop.
- Next create a prototype of several items.
- Next, you’ll also need to photograph all your items, and create a listing for each one. You’ll also need to insert “tags,” or keywords, that will help customers find your items.
- Cross list items; For instance, imagine you’ve just listed a turquoise necklace. You would use tags such as “necklace”, “turquoise necklace”, and “blue”, all which will help your item get noticed when customers search for those specifics.
- Pay for your listings.
- When items sell, be sure to quickly ship, usually within a business week, and mail all parcels withsignature confirmation delivery.
- Payments will be added to your sellers account within 48 hours of payment clearing.
- All listings will need to be renewed seasonally!
- You’re now a seller!
Sellers Tips:
- Fees are charged per sale; a flat 3.5% fee will be added to your sellers account only if an item sells.
- Fees are refunded on returned items.
- Be sure to create a clearly expresses return and shipping policy.
- Be sure to create a detailed customization policy, if you plan to allow changes be made, per order.
- Consider changing stock seasonally.
- As your store grows, your sellers account ceiling will grow accordingly; the larger the shop the more charges can be added to your account.
- All account fees are due the first business day of each month.
- You can charge shipping costs to your account, up to your limited account cap.
- Account caps are evaluated and adjusted bi-annually in July and December; you are emailed if your account cap changes.
- Be sure to create an email account to go with your shop name; i.e. etsyshoptobenamed@gmail.com.
- Always use USPS’s Media Mail option, for shipping heavy books.
- Be sure to create a Facebook fan page, to advertise your goods.
- You can create in-app ETSY coupons for customers; be sure to include a thank you card with your coupon code enclosed with each order to promote return business.
- One week after delivery, you can politely ask buyers to leave you ship feedback.
- Never list orders for items that you cannot fulfill or have stock to prepare!
Support:
- One of the most amazing aspects of Etsy is the amount of support and the sense of community you get through the site.
- Etsy has a lot of helpful tutorials to help sellers get more exposure and earn more money.
- The forums are extensive and Etsy’s thousands of sellers will help answer any question you have about setting up your shop.
So today I challenge you to sell items on ETSY! Moreover, do you already sell on ETSY? What has your experience been like? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! Be sure to come back this evening to see how my daily challenge went, as well as how I was able to additionally save around my home!
As an ETSY shop owner myself, I am partial to this site, and hope that you all could consider this site! It’s beyond awesome! Please feel free to check out my shop, here! As for me, as I already have a seasoned account, so I listed ten new seasonal items for sale; items for Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter, Spring, Mother’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo.
My Selling Goals Were:
- I am going to list 10 seasonal items.
- All items will be listed for one season.
- The items cost $2.00 to list, which was paid with funds from iBotta, in my paypal account.
As well today I was also able to accomplish:
- As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
- Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
- I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
- I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
- Read my daily devotional.
- I waked two miles.
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- I read part of a new review book.
Today I saved:
- I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $6.95.
- I scored a free 1-year subscription to Midwest Magazine, a savings of $16.00.
- I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag.
- I cooked three meals from my home pantry, saving $6.81 in the process.
- My family drank water today, and saved $0.69, the cost of a 2-liter of soda.
- I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.
- I earned $5.00 from Receipt Hog.
- I mailed off a package of coupons for Coups For Troops.
Total amount I saved my family: $45.38
This months savings goal remaining: +$73.95
Please be sure to check back tomorrow for another way to save for this months No-Spend Challenge!
Here’s to saving,
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