There is always a debate in any community you're a part of. For photographers, it's Canon vs. Nikon. Social Networks, it's Facebook vs. Myspace. etc etc. For the handmade community, there is a big talk about which is better to sell on, which brings in more traffic, with Etsy, Artfire and Zibbet.
I remember signing up with Etsy about a year ago. My mom seen it mentioned on Good Morning America and called me right away to tell me. I missed the report on it but I was on the internet looking it up within minutes. At the time, I was only selling on my website and on eBay. I was very disgusted with eBay at the time because of their pricing schedules and their new policies. So, the thought of paying a flat $.20 per listing and a minimal final value fee was like a breath of fresh air to me. I started off slow, just as I did when I started with eBay, start with a couple listings to see if I get any bites. Then add a few more and a few more. I was afraid of putting too much money into it and not get anything out of it. So, that way, obviously took me a while to get started. But as I started adding more, I noticed I got more contacts through Etsy than I did on eBay and eventually the sales weren't even close. I'm so happy to say I've gotten rid of eBay as of a couple months ago. I'll probably go back around Christmas time and snag some sales for the holidays too.
I'm not exactly sure how I heard about Zibbet but it didn't take me long to sign up for $7/mo and start accumulating referrals to get closer to my free premium account for life. In efforts to find my referrals for Zibbet, someone mentioned Artfire to me. Again, I found someone with a coupon code for a discounted price at Artfire and within days, I had a premium account. I'm a bit of impulse buyer you can say but, I don't feel bad since the fees for my three accounts don't come close to the monthly fees I was paying with eBay alone.
i know!! paypal should totally do it too! if they did etsy technically wouldnt have to. but itd still be cool. zibbet? artfire? never heard of em. im gonna check em out right now!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't sell, but I'm obsessed with etsy!!
ReplyDeleteI love Etsy! I started off selling on there and I was so concentrated on my own shop and how things work that I didn't pay much attention to what is actually up there. {Bad Taryn!} But since I've started talking with a lot of new artists, every time I think of something for the kids or myself I want, I check Etsy. LOL I'm already planning a handmade Christmas for 2010.
ReplyDeleteI don't sell, but I'm obsessed with etsy!!
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