How's your Etsy shop doing? 2011-2013

[snlfreak83]

I first set up shop back in 2005 and immediately became more of a buyer than a seller at the time. I didn't have a good camera and not enough heart was into making my shop successful. So far in 2011, I decided to go full force at it and really focusing on building up inventory and I went from just 6 sales to 23 sales total in must a few months. For me that felt like a huge accomplishment. It may not be as many as other shops but I feel a lot better about my shop now than I did before.

I think that as more and more people find their way to Etsy and also with the continuous improvements the site continues to make, will overall make it an easier site to navigate and possibly bring more traffic to all the shops.

[BeaG]

Yay for you, snlfreak83!
That is a huge accomplishment indeed!

Etsy has grown so big that it is very hard to make a reasonable amount of sales (that is: of unique handmade items; all top sellers sell supplies or prints).

[BeaG]

(Mods: I hope this is okay to post here. If not, please let me know.)

I am celebrating my 5th Etsyversary by the end of this week, yay!

I've also been busy for a month in a row now, updating pictures, policies, item descriptions, tags, sections, tags, etc. I'm still working on it, but I'm happy with what I have achieved so far.

[I Sew Cute]

Congrats BeaG!! 5 years...wow!

[BeaG]

Thank you!
It sounds like a long time, doesn't it?

[Modus Operandi]

BeaG! I still have my chapstick holder keychain I got from you in 2007/2008 (I havent posted on Craftster in years either!), that seems like SO long ago! 5 years is a great accomplishment. Congrats! I remember when you first opened your shop and only had a few sales 

I opened my 2nd Etsy shop in January of this year. My traditional shop which has been open since 2006 has been very slow lately, but I don't nearly invest the amount of time I would like to or that I have time for anymore, which reflects directly with the amount of sales. Most of my free time is consumed, mainly due to my full time job and the HUGE amount of success I have had with my 2nd shop, which is wedding related. Looking forward for things to pick back up (as they do every year) before Christmas rush in shop #1.

[BeaG]

Yay, Enamor, great to see you again!
Thanks for the congrats.
And how wonderful that you remember the start of my shop (you and others here on Craftster inspired and pursuaded me to start my shop back in 2006) and that you still have the lip balm holder that you bought from me in 2007.

Same here on the large drop in sales. From an average of 50 sales per month in my first years on Etsy to an average of 5 per month since last year.
I do sell outside of Etsy too (wholesale orders and such), but business in general is slower, with lots of people having less money to spend.
And, like you, I didn't put in as much work as in the beginning (busy picking it up again though). Plus I increased my prices and stopped selling myself short. Plus Etsy has grown from 10,000 shops then to over 700,0000 shops today...

Congrats on the success for your second shop!
Sounds like starting that second shop was a very good idea.
I wish you many many more (holiday) sales!

[Knittingjo]

Hi Everyone,
I only realised tonight that Craftster has an Etsy section! I have had my shop open since Feb, but only seriously getting the hang of it in the last 3 months or so. I'm really hoping for some Christmas sales as so far my shop has been dead in the water!

[I Sew Cute]

Over this past weekend I hit a milestone of 700 sales! I'm very excited as I never thought I'd be etsy-ing this long & making that many items. I get such a kick out of knowing people all over the world can have a little piece of something I made. That's the biggest reward! 

[BeaG]

Yay, congrats I Sew Cute!
And I agree with you. That is my biggest reward too.

When Etsy introduced Teams etc., I took some distance, since I strongly dislike the direction in which Etsy is turning (social networking site instead of selling platform).
My sales decreased from an average of 50 items per month in my first 2-3 years on Etsy, to an average of only 5 items in the first half of this year.

But since September I dedicated a lot of time to search engine optimalisation, returned to the Etsy forums and joined several teams.
As a result I already sold 28 items this month (and the month isn't even over).
I am happy to see that my hard (but fun!) work is paying off.