etsy is vexing

[jeliza]

Every time I think I know which way I should jump with Etsy, they change something again and it is so irritating. They are now requiring we sign up for Etsy 'Direct Payments" which means that they get to hang on to the money for up to a week (and make interest on the float, natch.) rather than it going straight into the bank, and if you don't agree they'll shut down your shop.

I already hate the nickel and dime fees, and know that at this stage in the game, Etsy pretty much doesn't bring customers to you, especially in a hyper-saturated field like jewelry. But people at the shows also always ask if I have an Etsy, and some have started to "follow" me there.. so I am torn. And frankly, if I want to make this work without having to expand into outdoor shows, I need to get online sales going like gangbusters. Apparently one of the keys to Etsy success is to have, like, 100 listings? And I have seen the phenomenon that when I sent someone to my artfire shop to buy an accidentally abandoned con art show piece, she ended up buying an additional one, so that makes sense. But... listing fees. (I don't pay listing fees on Artfire, and listlings don't expire, either.)

I will probably eventually set up a proper shop on my website, but my first attempts were non-optimal, and people do trust Etsy... gah.
 Business is annoying. Marketing is stupid, I just wanna make stuff.

Comments

[garpu]

I've heard a lot of legit beefs with Etsy. :( It sounds like they've gotten too big for their earlier business model.

[jeliza]

They went corporate ages ago -- they actually did their IPO in 2015. At least they finally gave up on the "must not link to any non-etsy net presence" bullshit, but they still drop more actual makers who complain about cheap factory-good sellers than they do the factory sellers. (There is now "Etsy Manufacturing" yay. not.) I am rather sad Artfire never turned into an Etsy-killer, though I think Amazon Handmade is starting to cut into their near-monopoly a bit. Not that Amazon Handmade is an option for me.

[garpu]

Ugh...hadn't realized they had gotten that bad.

[boonedog]

I can totally relate to that. I just want to make stuff too. Not worry about marketing.