Creative Corner

Etsy vs Your own Site

This is the question that I have been asking myself for awhile now. I opened up an Etsy shop in September of 2008 and have had no success at it. For those of you who don’t know what Etsy is, it is a site that allows any artist or crafts person to open up a shop and sell your handmade products. It is sort of like Ebay but for arts and crafts. 

Before opening up my shop, I had bought items from the site so I knew how the site worked. I also heard from other crafters and artists that Etsy had worked for them, so I decided to try it for myself. I opened my shop, advertised on everything like my blog and personal Web site, and passed out business cards. Etsy does not advertise for you at all, and there self promotional tools are limited. I still to explain what Etsy is to potential buyers. Now I love Etsy and feel it is a great place for some people, but I just don’t seem to be selling on there. 

I have sold my items before, but this online thing is new to me. So my other option is to close the Etsy shop and just directly sell from my personal art Web site. I can add a shop to my site with pay pal so buyers can go directly to my site. Also there are no fees except for the pay pal fees. I am still torn at what to do. I guess I will still have to contemplate.