The Whys and the Wherefores

hand embellished Sodalite Pendant necklace

For the past few days I've been trying to figure out the whys and wherefores of Etsy.  Why do some shops find almost instant success while others languish, floundering in a sea of invisibility ?   Why is it that 2 shops selling almost the same items will have such disparity when it comes to views and sales? 
I've been trying to build up my shop inventory as I've heard that the more items you have the better are your chances of being found by search engines and therefore found by potential customers.  But seems that the past week or two, as I've added more items, my views have fallen from 30 or 40 views a day to about 10 or less a day.

 

I made the black nylon cord adjustable so necklace

can go from very short to very long

 

I recently listed this Sodalite stone pendant that I embellished with sterling silver wire work and sterling silver beads.  The cord has my handcrafted  sliding, macramé clasp on it making  it very adjustable. 

 



After listing I tried promoting, yes  used all the old standards that I could think of :   facebook, teams, etc.   Now, a day later, I find it has a total of 5 views and 9 admirers (meaning  that 4 people must have given it a heart without even clicking on its etsy link).

In the past I tried opening a shop that was just for my jewelry and one shop for other items but found it spread my attention too thin and neither shop was profitable.  This time I had some of my soft textiles listed, such as the pair of crochet potholders-trivets-dishrags.

 

Above trivets etc. in hot pink-red and white are about 9 inches across

Below trivets in crisp white on dark apple green and white on tomato red.

 

 

I also listed some of the cute Ruffled Boas that I made.  My daughters loved the ones I gave them at Christmas and said I should put a few on my etsy shop - they thought they would

sell quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 They got a number of views and hearts for awhile but have dropped down to zero lately.  So much for my daughters' intuitions.  :D

 

I feel like I'm neglecting so much lately trying to crank start my old etsy shop.  Granted etsy has far more shops now and a lot more unscrupulous resellers selling their items way below market value.  Trying to rid etsy of these shops is like a never ending game of "Whack a Mole".  They "conk" one out and a dozen more pop up.

 

Anyway, like so many mornings before, I took my mug of coffee and went to check on my etsy shop.  There were no orders and I noticed that I had garnered all of 1 shop view since I had turned off my computer yesterday.  How, Why, What ?  Just a whole lot of questions and I haven't an answer.

Over the Rainbow...somewhere

Today my trip through Sarasota’s Local Etsy shops brought me to page 10...the languishing last page...the finale chapter before listed items reach their 4 month expiration and fade from the roll call. These shops would soon pass into oblivion. Had their creators lost hope or had they merely grown disheartened, bored, or decided to pursue a different path? Etsy is such a big place, it is far too easy to slip through the cracks, unnoticed, forgotten.
The last store on this last page is a tiny shop "MsDollFace" by a young lady called Joanna. A very pretty girl who does modeling on the side, she has a full time job, after all one does have to eat and rent must be paid. Joanna fashions custom purses...of which her tiny shop only showcases 2. A well fleshed out shop is more inviting but sometimes that can be an impossible goal, if Joanna had fabricated 50 purses where would she stash them, not many people have enough storage space in a small apartment. If one has time please give Joanna’s shop a visit and perchance, if the whim strikes, tag her as a favorite, I’m sure it will help boost her spirits.
Http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6666519

Another shop lost on page 10 is NinaSnail, teetering on the brink of the abyss. Too bad that there isn’t a course on Etsy 101...Nina’s shop needs work, perhaps she became disillusioned and began to break it down or perhaps she just never understood the need for a shop banner, a profile page and virtual store shelves that carried more than just 3 items. I’m sure Nina is fairly young and full of dreams and aspirations, her art is an ancient one, crochet. I’d love to be able to sit down and talk with her, tell her there are so many things she could offer with her art; crocheted handbags, belts, decorative flowers that one could pin to a dress or the lapel of a suit or on the brim of a hat, pot holders, little crocheted appliques that one can sew onto garments for embellishment. Perhaps someone out there can offer her a glimmer of hope.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6327143

Maybe someday we can all find our dreams, somewhere over the rainbow ?
Above photo was taken from the front of my home, if one looks closely they might be able to make out the faint second rainbow above the brighter, dominate one.