My Etsy Shop and all that it entails

Some of you may know that I have a shop on Etsy. VintageBarbaraToo . I may have mentioned it once or twice.  Now here’s the thing. I’ve promoted it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. I get nice steady sales, so that’s good, pretty much all through Etsy or interweb searches occasionally. I have a few friends who love vintage (thank you, you know who you are xxx) and occasionally treat themselves or gift to friends.

I’ve sold all sorts of jewellery, china, and glass. The most nerve wracking was sending some of my mum’s Clarice Cliffe china (tureens and plates) to New York. I learned from that to pack well and it will pay off. It’s lovely to know that some of my favourite star cut glass (I had way too much of it!) is being appreciated somewhere else now and loved and used.  The buyers appreciated the careful packing.

The thing I absolutely love about My Etsy shop is the kind words I get from buyers, a lot privately, rather than on the shop site.  I may have to find a form of words which explains how to leave feedback, but it’s always good to know that an item is well received however I hear about it.

Some of my favourite feedback :

“Barbara is the most professional and reliable of sellers on top of selling a product that is as beautiful as it looks in the photos.
The merchandise was sent out promptly, packaged carefully; queries and questions were answered quickly.
Barbara’s “shop” is a great find!”

“Make gravy great again! Gorgeous piece, so special. Thanks.” (this for a Royal Doulton gold lustre gravy boat – probably my favourite and made me laugh when I saw it!)

I ship all over the world, and always pack appropriately and wonder what the person on in the USA, Russia or Thailand thinks when they open their parcel. Unboxing really is a thing so I use tissue, ribbon, boxes (often recycled and upcycled) where appropriate and just hope it’s well received.

I was wondering the other day just how many countries I’ve shipped to so far.  Here’s the list, in no particular order:  USA, Canada, England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland, Ireland, Australia, Slovenia, Norway, France, Russia, Spain, Belgium, Isle of Wight, Israel, Italy, Japan, Denmark, Netherlands, Japan, and today – Thailand.

Every now and then someone makes an offer which really just means giving the stuff away for the amount I paid for it.  “Will you take $20?” when the item is £25 (do the currency conversion and that’s around 30% off at the moment).  It’s hard to balance what you paid for an item against a bit of profit and the maximum price you’ll get for an it (especially if it’s out of my private collection, which means I may have paid a higher price of it originally). People seem to feel most comfortable at around the £20 to £30 mark but there are many things worth much much more.

 

I run a site which has end user prices, selling to someone who wants to wear or collect or use an item themselves.  Selling between dealers is a thing, obviously, but getting stock is also a great challenge. So you see, I sometimes wonder if I just let something go, even if it’s just breaking even, or less. I’ve not been tempted so far beyond the 10% off sale.

I always worry that an item will be received safely. Once the address in the order was incorrect because the buyer has moved and forgotten to update their records in Etsy.  That’s so important.  Also people often just buy and don’t realise their item is coming from abroad.  I give the option for tracking upgrade but base postage prices on standard international airmail. So far so good and people rarely pay the higher price (it triples the postage cost, so that’s understandable). Fortunately standard airmail has been reliable.

It’s always fun to have a repeat customer, and chat privately about jewellery, likes and dislikes and plans for a special event. If a customer lets me know what they are looking for or I get an eye for the things they like then I’ll be sure to post more items in that style.

Now it’s a quieter time of year for sales as everyone is out and about enjoying the summer. Christmas and Easter are gone as is Mother’s Day, although there are a few weddings that people need an item for but really it’s quieter, which is fine as I get a chance to catch up on gardening and sewing.  I’m keeping an eye out for goodies for Christmas so watch this space! Listings will start to go up in August believe it or not, as I’m away for the whole of October in Australia and I doubt my OH will be prepared to run my business and his!  Plan early for Christmas – sorry if that’s too early for you!