buyhandmade.org is an alternative way to sell handmade products. Buy handmade has a pledge for customers to buy handmade, and is an outlet for artisans to publicize their blogs, etsys, or webstores specializing in handmade goods.
folksy.com is a website which allows you to buy and sell similar to Etsy. In addition to the commerce features, this website also has many tutorial sections with features about making your own goods.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Finances
Business Growth
1. I think it is an important point to separate your finances. I have noticed that the more money you start making, the more overwhelming it is. You forget where payments are coming from and who needs to get paid.
2. I definately think a business checking account or credit card is vital. It is very tempting to just use the same one for everything, but that makes it harder to actually see what your expenses and profit are.
3. I hope to be able to get bookkeeping software as recommended in this article. The closest I am to financial documentation currently is a file with each ebay order and the correlating shipment receipts. However, if I could have a system for doing this all electronically, it would easier to keep track.
Tax Tips
1. I like that this article makes it a point to mention the most important things about tax for Etsy, and make it know that taxes aren't as scary as they seem.
2. Many people take organizational skills for granted, but I believe this was the most important thing in the article. Being organized makes all the aspects of managing your etsy business better. However, it is most important for taxes because you have your bases covered. This way, even if you don't know what you are doing, you have concrete documents you can bring to an accountant or someone more knowledgeable in tax rules.
3. I was unclear about what the hobby loss deductions were. I wasn't sure how this worked, or exactly who this applied to. The article could do more to explain this, because it seems like an important thing for etsy sellers to know.
Holiday Tax Tips
1. Time management is very important during the holidays. Not only do sellers have to deal with a seasonal increase in business for their shop, they will also likely have a busy schedule because of their own shopping and holiday obligations.
2. The holidays will mean you will need more inventory. It is wise to make sure you have budgetted the funds early so that you can maintain inventory levels throughout the holiday season. These are sales you can't get back until the next year, so it's important to be able to sell and strike while the iron is hot.
3. It is also important to make sure your store is in customer's minds during the holidays. Budgetting to increase your advertisting efforts is also important during the holidays.
1. I think it is an important point to separate your finances. I have noticed that the more money you start making, the more overwhelming it is. You forget where payments are coming from and who needs to get paid.
2. I definately think a business checking account or credit card is vital. It is very tempting to just use the same one for everything, but that makes it harder to actually see what your expenses and profit are.
3. I hope to be able to get bookkeeping software as recommended in this article. The closest I am to financial documentation currently is a file with each ebay order and the correlating shipment receipts. However, if I could have a system for doing this all electronically, it would easier to keep track.
Tax Tips
1. I like that this article makes it a point to mention the most important things about tax for Etsy, and make it know that taxes aren't as scary as they seem.
2. Many people take organizational skills for granted, but I believe this was the most important thing in the article. Being organized makes all the aspects of managing your etsy business better. However, it is most important for taxes because you have your bases covered. This way, even if you don't know what you are doing, you have concrete documents you can bring to an accountant or someone more knowledgeable in tax rules.
3. I was unclear about what the hobby loss deductions were. I wasn't sure how this worked, or exactly who this applied to. The article could do more to explain this, because it seems like an important thing for etsy sellers to know.
Holiday Tax Tips
1. Time management is very important during the holidays. Not only do sellers have to deal with a seasonal increase in business for their shop, they will also likely have a busy schedule because of their own shopping and holiday obligations.
2. The holidays will mean you will need more inventory. It is wise to make sure you have budgetted the funds early so that you can maintain inventory levels throughout the holiday season. These are sales you can't get back until the next year, so it's important to be able to sell and strike while the iron is hot.
3. It is also important to make sure your store is in customer's minds during the holidays. Budgetting to increase your advertisting efforts is also important during the holidays.
Entrepreneur: make your own product or have people do it for you?”
My ideal type of entrepreneurship would involve me being heavily involved in the design or creation process. My future goal is to open a vintage store. While this doesn't involve a lot of design directly, I still would want to be the main decision maker with regards to what types of clothing and products we would carry.
More than likely, my ideal boutique scenario would be that I was directly involved in the buying of merchandise. If it is not physically possible for me to be present during purchasing trips, I would like to be personally involved in making specifications for what types of products I need.
More than likely, my ideal boutique scenario would be that I was directly involved in the buying of merchandise. If it is not physically possible for me to be present during purchasing trips, I would like to be personally involved in making specifications for what types of products I need.
Etsy Reflection
I have learned a lot of new things in FM 438. At first, I was skeptical simply because I was already somewhat familiar with online selling. However, Ebay and Etsy and are totally different. Ebay is a lot more like regular retail, and customers already know what they want. There is a specific demand, and they will seek out your product if they want it. On Etsy, it is different. You must make your own demand, because most of us in the class made products that were unique or out of the box. While similar products exist, you had to make your product stand out and really speak to the possible customers. This made elements of promotion so much more important for Etsy.
For the most part, I enjoyed the class materials. A lot of the tutorials were funny and interesting. Using these types of learning materials makes it a little more fun to do your work. Because this was a class based on equal parts entrepreneurship and creative ingenuity, using a boring textbook wouldn't have made much sense. The only criticism I have is that some of the reading articles tended to repeat themselves, especially the articles pertaining to shipping and packaging. I would personally pare down these sections a little bit, and maybe expand more on promotion. I found firsthand that simply having a neat product isn't enough to generate sales. While we did cover things like promotion through blogs and social media, I think this is the most key element to Etsy success. This also parallels the real world of entrepreneuship. Having a good idea isn't enough; people have to see that idea also.
I found the assignments ok, if not a little long. I would recommend breaking these up into smaller parts and spreading them out a little, especially since there aren't many of them. However, they do a good job with getting you comfortable with Etsy.
I really enjoyed our guest speaker time. I especially liked going downtown to the various boutiques. It is very helpful and motivational to know that entrepreneurs start exactly where we are now. Having someone break down how things work also helps you realize that while it's a lot of work to start a boutique, it is definately doable.
I would not recommend changing a lot for future FM 438 classes. I found it a nice change from most business classes. It was also great because it gave real world applications to so many of the concepts we've talked about in other classes. I also gives you a way to gauge how "in tune" with you entrepreneurial side you really are.
The one recommendation I have, other than the minor concerns with the structure of the blogs and assignments, would be to address product options for students who are not artistic or creative. While I didn't have a hard time deciding what to make, I think some other students ran into problems and got in over their heads. It might be good to have some resources/information available for craft classes or possible mentors.
For the most part, I enjoyed the class materials. A lot of the tutorials were funny and interesting. Using these types of learning materials makes it a little more fun to do your work. Because this was a class based on equal parts entrepreneurship and creative ingenuity, using a boring textbook wouldn't have made much sense. The only criticism I have is that some of the reading articles tended to repeat themselves, especially the articles pertaining to shipping and packaging. I would personally pare down these sections a little bit, and maybe expand more on promotion. I found firsthand that simply having a neat product isn't enough to generate sales. While we did cover things like promotion through blogs and social media, I think this is the most key element to Etsy success. This also parallels the real world of entrepreneuship. Having a good idea isn't enough; people have to see that idea also.
I found the assignments ok, if not a little long. I would recommend breaking these up into smaller parts and spreading them out a little, especially since there aren't many of them. However, they do a good job with getting you comfortable with Etsy.
I really enjoyed our guest speaker time. I especially liked going downtown to the various boutiques. It is very helpful and motivational to know that entrepreneurs start exactly where we are now. Having someone break down how things work also helps you realize that while it's a lot of work to start a boutique, it is definately doable.
I would not recommend changing a lot for future FM 438 classes. I found it a nice change from most business classes. It was also great because it gave real world applications to so many of the concepts we've talked about in other classes. I also gives you a way to gauge how "in tune" with you entrepreneurial side you really are.
The one recommendation I have, other than the minor concerns with the structure of the blogs and assignments, would be to address product options for students who are not artistic or creative. While I didn't have a hard time deciding what to make, I think some other students ran into problems and got in over their heads. It might be good to have some resources/information available for craft classes or possible mentors.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Transferring Ebay Policies to Etsy
I feel somewhat prepared to deal with the financial responsibilities of Etsy because of my experience with ebay. However, there are a few things that differ. With Ebay, I must try to either get items cheaper because my margin of profit must be higher. Ebay takes nearly nine percent of each item's selling price. For Etsy, this percentage is much lower. Therefore, I have marked my items up about 60% of their cost to produce, not factoring the work time into this cost.
ecause of this difference in selling fees, I plan to use more of the promotional resources Etsy offers. I have scheduled for one of my banks to be a front page listing. I think this will be a valuable way to attract customers to my store.
I do plan to keep some of the elements of financial management I already use. While I will be using my same paypal address for Etsy, I plan to use the paypal card to purchase all my Etsy supplies. Using this debit card rewards you with 1% cash back for your purchases. While not a lot, this little bit helps. I have chosen not to get a different paypal simply because I like simplicity. Because I am not yet selling a lot on Etsy, having two addresses could become confusing. However, I may consider this if the Etsy store is successful.
ecause of this difference in selling fees, I plan to use more of the promotional resources Etsy offers. I have scheduled for one of my banks to be a front page listing. I think this will be a valuable way to attract customers to my store.
I do plan to keep some of the elements of financial management I already use. While I will be using my same paypal address for Etsy, I plan to use the paypal card to purchase all my Etsy supplies. Using this debit card rewards you with 1% cash back for your purchases. While not a lot, this little bit helps. I have chosen not to get a different paypal simply because I like simplicity. Because I am not yet selling a lot on Etsy, having two addresses could become confusing. However, I may consider this if the Etsy store is successful.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Shipping
Seller How-to Shipping
1. It is important to remember to take into account holiday shipping schedules. During the holidays, many people will be purchasing gifts. It is important to check with the USPS to see what delivery estimates are, and make sure your customer knows this. This will help make sure you don't have problems with items being delayed because of the holiday rush.
2. Insurance is a good way to provide customer service for customers and protect yourself. If an item is lost or damaged, insurance ensures that you will be reimbursed by the shipping service. This means the customer will get their item, and you won't lose any money. Tracking numbers or postage receipts are also important. They provide proof that you have shipped an item, in case a paypal dispute is brought up.
3. If you are selling internationally, it is important to know what you can and cannot ship to certain countries. This eliminates delays at customs or items being returned because they are not allowed through.
Non Delivery Complaint Process
1. Etsy's non-delivery complaint handling system can help buyers who have not recieved an item they've paid for. It is useful if you have purchased an item and have not recieved it nor heard on any progress from the seller.
2. Etsy will send notification emails to the seller to alert them to the issue. These are good, because sometimes a seller was simply away from a computer, or a response to a customer email went unnoticed. Often, these notifications will help rectify the situation simply because there was a miscommunication or error in reporting an item shipped, etc.
3. Making sure to always have either a delivery confirmation or proof of shipment also protects sellers. These documentations can show etsy that an item was shipped, in the case of an item lost during mailing or a customer who is trying to scam a seller.
Shipping Costs and Paypal
1. It is useful to know how to override shipping costs between Etsy and Paypal invoices.
2. Sometimes, an item costs less to ship than you have listed on the listing. This may be because you have generic shipping costs, or found a new way to ship.
3. Accurate shipping helps you show customers that you are not trying to rip them off.
Pretty as a Package
1. Because Etsy is all about artists, handmade goods, and community, taking extra care in packaging is a n inexpensive way to show how important your customers are to you.
2. Using a fun address place stamp, or a stamp to show that a package is fragile, is a very cost effective way to personalize packages. Because so many people use email or texts now, snail mail is more of a nostalgic experience.
3. Including freebies, like stickers, seeds, recipes, etc. also adds to the Etsy experience. It is another way to show your customer that they matter and you appreciate them. This is also a way to help your customer remember you.
Packaging Ideas
1. This article had some very cute ideas for packaging.
2. Simple gift wrap looks very nice, but it also looks great to add more details to the wrapping.
3. Packaging is an opportunity to be eco friendly, using recycled paper or reappropriating some other type of paper for wrapping.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Store Policy and Bio
Store Policy
Payment
Currently, the only form of payment we accept is Paypal. We appreciate payments recieved within 3 days, but if you need a slightly longer amount of time please contact us.
Shipping
I ship all items USPS priority mail, which generally takes 2-3 business days to arrive in the United States. All packages with a delivery confirmation tracking number. Generally, I ship within one day of recieving payment. If you live somewhere that we don't have shipping listed for, please contact us. We can calculate shipping and send you a revised invoice.
Refunds and Exchanges
We are happy to exchange any item within 7 days of you recieving the item. If the item is defective or breaks, please let us know as soon as possible, so that you can get a replacement. If item arrives damaged, we will pay return shipping. In all other cases, we are not responsible for the cost of replacement shipping.
Contact
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have a question, comment, or request regarding an item or purchase. We respond in a timely manner to all etsy convos.
I chose these policies by basing them loosely on the policies I already use for my Ebay shop. The paypal and contact policies are actually identical. At this point in time, almost all Etsy shoppers use paypal. The three day rule is also good in my opinion. Immediate payment is somewhat strict. However, a week creates too much delay. It essentially ties up your money because you can't sell the reserved product.
I also think it is important to note that while it is good to have official policies, I have been okay with breaking them in the past. This is especially important in cases where the customer has bought from you before, or they are just slightly out of the return window. This makes them feel taken care of as customers, and makes them more likely to view you positively.
Bio
My name is Minta, and I can pretty much assure you that I will be the only Minta you ever meet. Having a unique name may have made me so preoccupied with things that are different and new and a little special.
I am a fashion student by day, thrifter by afternoon, and crafty lady by night. I love little treasures. A vintage ashtray full of change, or a Victorian Dresser Set. Little details make your day more beautiful.
Each jewelry display and mosaic I make is inspired by a desire to make the ordinary surprising, quirky, and memorable. Each sparkly, whimsical piece is created nightly by me, with a little company from my Rat Terrier Busy.
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I have had a lot of trouble writing my bio. This is only a first draft. While the readings help, I think it is just really hard to write about yourself without feeling either very self conscious or like you're just being "ME ME ME".
I tried to write my bio in a way that was light and conversational, conveying my personality but still being well written and professional. However, I am afraid that parts of it sound silly. I wanted to add personal details, and things that I think make me unique as a person. I also wanted to add a little bit about where my inspiration comes from. However, I couldn't really find a way to do this and explain it. I don't want it to be rambling either.
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