Dont Get Lost In The Crowd! (etsy.com)

Member Name: raspberrycupcake

Product:	etsy.com
Date:	13/11/09 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge amount of traffic, cheap to use for selling, great items to purchase

Disadvantages: Very big, not always easy to find what you are looking for

As a crafter myself, I can review etsy from both a buyer and a seller's perspective.

The website is easy to find - www.etsy.com, easy to navigate and has lots of help sections and an online community to help you get the most from the site. If you are feeling uninspired you can use the "pounce" function which brings up the shops that have just had a sale, or the "time machine" function which brings up the most recently listed items.

Etsy has three main categories - handmade, vintage and craft supplies. Handmade is the main purpose of the site, and has a huge selection of categories within it - from accessories to geekery (?!) to woodworking.

Items are sold on etsy in a similiar way to the buy-it-now facility on ebay - purchases are instant and most sellers usually prefer you to pay with paypal. Unless you have bought a custom item, most etsy sellers are fast at shipping, and even international purchases arrive pretty promptly.

You do have to be aware that prices are in dollars , but this doesnt mean you are always buying from a US seller - etsy allows sellers to attach tags to their listings, and a lot of UK sellers use UK as one of them, so if you want to buy for example a clock from a UK seller then searching clock uk will bring up any that are tagged like that.

From a seller's point of view, etsy is easy to use but it is a HUGE site and your lsistings soon get lost among the millions of others. There are lots of hints and tips for improving your sales, from obvious things like having an eye-catching photograph and title, to promoting your listings elsewhere yourself. Some things etsy sellers use include posting on the etsy forums regularly, maintaining a regular blog with links to their etsy shop, and advertising off site with leaflets, business cards etc.

It isnt very expensive to list an item on etsy - 20c - so it is worth giving it a go, but you may also like to consider other ways of selling your crafts as it can be difficult (but not impossible!) to make a living from selling on etsy! There are also other similiar sites worth a look - for example the UK based www.misi.co.uk which although still quite new is rapidly increasing in popularity.

Overall, a fantastic way for crafters to share their work and meet like-minded people, and a great place to look for unusual Christmas presents!

Summary: A great website, it should be in everyone's favourites!