I'm not the type of person who feels comfortable jumping up a soapbox and boasting about her products at the top of her lungs.  But, one of the characteristics about myself that I actually like ;-P, is that I crave new knowledge about anything and assimilate it very quickly.

Both of these two dissimilar topics are the reason why I really enjoyed today's Etsy Virtual Lab on Promo Mojo with guest moderator jstephens13.

rOxy goes to the DOG park by jstephens13

As a fellow bag designer, I really wanted to hear her formula for success on Etsy.  My first impressions were open, friendly, honest and straightforward.  She makes her bags how she likes, prices them how she wants and offers no apologies about not using Twitter, Facebook or joining Etsy teams, outlets most sellers use to promote their business.

Her top four points of advice (and tips I paid close attention to) for other sellers were:

1) Shop packaging

- shorten your descriptions to 3 paragraphs max (we're busy people!)
- shorten your shop announcements

Basically keep the chatter to a minimum and let your items speak for themselves!

2) Quality

- don't settle (if you aren't happy with your item, don't list it until you are)

Jen said a very important thing - most people automatically assume that a handmade item is superior to a mass produced one, so quality it very key.  She said to not leave yourself open to a situation where people question the quality of your item.  Good advice.

3) Range of items in your shop

- a wide variety of items with different price points appeals to various segments of Etsy buyers

Jen has a variety of items: couture bags, samples with "birthmarks" (slight imperfections), other handmade (handsewn items), original sewing patterns and a sale category.  Her perfect number of  items in her shop is 80, but you don't necessarily have to follow that number to keep your shop full.  She says that Estians are DIY oriented people, and if they love your bags but are out of their price range, perhaps a pattern they could use to create one of their own might sell instead!

4) Pricing

A tricky and sometimes touchy subject for sellers, there is no right formula for setting the price of an item.
Most formulas include multiplying an hourly rate (what you feel your time is worth) by the number of hours it takes to create the item, plus the cost of materials. 
Jen's formula is a little more organic.  As an example, she said if she wanted to contribute $100 to the household income, she knows that she can make 4 large tote bags in a day.  $100 divided by 4 is $25.00 so she would price her items at $25.00 each.  If she could make 25 small items per day, then she would price them at $4.00 per item.  It obviously works for her, as she has very reasonable prices and LOTs of repeat customers! 

Some other great pearls of wisdom were that she feels family comes first, and if there are family matters that need her attention, the shop gets put aside.  She also thinks that success on Etsy is a combination of karma and luck (that raised some eyebrows from some sellers but I thought it was a great, positive way of looking at the big picture).

...and isn't that really what it's all about?

Happy (and karmic) selling!

Bobbie
ShimmeringSky.etsy.com

Thanks for posting!

thanks for sharing!

I missed this lab and I'm so happy to see your synapsis. I like the way she prices things, you're right, very organic. I also love that she does admit there is some karmic mojo to success on Etsy. Happy Karmic selling to you!:)

Thank you for sharing and summing up the virtual lab workshop. I missed it too but can benefit from the tips!:)

Thanks for the great recap - definitely some useful advice and reminders!

Thank you so much for making your notes available... very helpful. It was a great lab!

Missed this lab..thanks for sharing your notes..any and all help appreciated!

Thanks for posting this. I had was unable to attend the lab and I appreciate the opportunity to read these tips.

Thanks for sharing this very practical advice. I missed the workshop and I really appreciate reading the pearls you took from it.:)

Thanks so much for posting this! I found it very encouraging and helpful. I especially found the last part great about the pricing of items and how family comes first. :)

EXCELLENT post! The part about pricing was fantastic and very timely as I am about to restock my shop...thanks for the overview!:)

Thank you for the summary! Great advice here!