I'm approaching my 500th order (woo hoo!) in my Etsy shop, Exceedingly Well Read. I've made my share of mistakes running my business, but I've learned a few things along the way as well. I thought I'd share a short list of my best tips for selling vintage on Etsy.
- Maintain an inventory that sells. Pay attention to what sells, not necessarily what you like best. Do your research and figure out what the market wants.
- Sell what you know and find your vintage niche. If you never read, don't sell books. If you've always loved and collected pottery, sell that. You don't have to only sell within your niche, but you'll be most successful there.
- Don’t get on Etsy’s bad side, even for a second. That second can equal weeks of closed shop. Make sure you read all policies before you set up shop and then review them from time to time.
- Marketing is all about getting your name out there and getting people to your shop. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and the gazillion other social networking sites are great venues for this. Make a social networking plan and stick to it.
- Use Google Trends to make sure your item keywords are relevant. To me they are "children's books", but to the internet community, they're more often called "kid's books". So now to me they are "kid's books" too.
- Make treasuries of other people’s work, but don’t spend hours and hours on them. Treasuries are nice to make and nice to look at. They’re nice for making friends on Etsy. However, when it comes down to it, they take a lot of time and don’t usually lead to sales. I look at them like a source of good karma: If I don’t ever make treasuries, how can I expect to have my items treasured?
- Run Search Ads. I spend very little a week for a lot of exposure. I noticed a big jump in sales when I started running search ads.
- Etsy on Sale is a great site for handling all your Etsy sales needs. And sales are great for sales!
- Pay attention to packaging. Customers like to receive a package that’s been wrapped with care. Make it like Christmas for them and you’ll be rewarded in feedback.
- Be prepared for success. Although you may not make a lot of sales right away, have shipping supplies, and any other supplies you need in excess so that you’re not caught with your pants down.
- Make an effort to reach out to customers on a personal level. Etsy is really all about the personal touch. I love hearing about why a customer chose a certain product and they often have stories to tell. And the personal touch is what keeps those customers coming back to Etsy.
- Make sure you give customers reasonable expectations when it comes to estimated shipping times. This will spare you lots of time, will save you from having to refund to clear a case, and will keep your approval rating high.
- Accept credit cards. It's easy to set up and will definitely increase your sales.
Warmest regards,
Laura
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