Thinking of opening an etsy shop..

I've been selling my jewellery locally for about a year now and it's a great success so I want to take it to the next level, but now my problem is that I'm in South Africa, so I don't know how I can make it go further except by opening an etsy shop. I'm not entirely sure how etsy works though and I don't know how I'd work out the prices of my items. Suggestions please?

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7 replies since 14th November 2010 • Last reply 14th November 2010

Reply #1:

Hm, I hear you. I would suggest trying out a free site at first, like shophandmade.com. (It's what I currently use.) I say this because many of the ladies here have lots of success selling locally, but don't sell much--or anything--online. I, so far, am one of them. I wouldn't suggest going to Etsy first, because I believe they have a listing fee, and you don't want to lose that in case you have the same problem.

Of course, that's just what I have to say, and I only began to sell recently, so if I were you, I'd go with what the more experienced craft sales ladies have to say. Happy

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Reply #2:

Thanks! I'll check out the site you use. I saw that Etsy has a listing fee but it's not that much. I'd rather try something free first though =]

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Reply #3:

The site you gave also has a listing fee by the looks of things..

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Reply #4:

I would go with etsy, its well known and I have never has any problems with it

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Reply #5:

I used Etsy for awhile...unless you are already established it's tough...Lots of people I know start one, never sell, and just quit when their craft time ends.
You pay a monthly fee for each object you post. So it's a good idea to make several of the same thing rather than alot of diff. things.
Your objects are allowed to remain for a couple months than they need to be re-posted and repaid the posting fee (if i remember correctly). You get billed monthly for the posting. Other than that it works like ebay.com

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Reply #6:

I don't think you have to pay a fee for shophandmade.com this is from their web-site.

ShopHandmade is Free. Really.
There is no monthly charge. There is no listing charge. There is no mandatory sales commission. There is no "professional" option to upgrade to. You don't have to get your friends to pay $70 a month so your account can be free. There is no limit on the number of listings you can have.

Our service is free because it is advertiser sponsored. When you list an item you choose from one of several sponsors who will pay us the 25¢ listing fee. The more items you list, the more money we make…but not from you.

There are a few things that do cost money, but none of these are really required:

* Commission: You can choose any commission you wish. 0% is fine. You pick what you think is fair. We thank you if you do.

* Rainforest protection: Choose to pay 10¢ or 25¢ to help protect the rainforest…which you pay only when your item sells. It's optional, but it's a good thing.

* Galleries: You can list items in our Galleries. Items sell well without being listed in them, really. Our strong advice is to not list in galleries until you have become an experienced seller. They are not necessary.

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Reply #7:

Thanks, I will try shophandmade.com. I'm just having problems registering for PayPal now =/

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