How are sales? Posted by flights of fantasy on October 8, 2011 at 9:11am in Chit-Chat View Discussions Here in the UK online sales seem to have been pretty thin on the ground on Folksy - and for me non existent on Dawanda and Zibbet. So I wondered is it just in the UK things are quiet or is it slow on your side of the ocean too?
I did a charity event yesterday which was a real disappointment - this time last year - at the same event - I took several hundred pounds, this year I struggled to tot up my table money and fuel, with nothing much left for materials/time etc etc.
It has pretty much made me decide there are few fairs worth going out for unless they are true craft fairs where buyers come becasue they love handmade items. I'll give it a year on the internet, otherwise may just have to litter the house with the mountains of stuff I make! At least when the Christmas season is over and life calms down I can finally get my wedding designs listed for the new business and hope that is a bit more in demand.
In the meantime, I shall be listing again in the coming week, time allowing, now that my crashed computer has been rebuilt.
Tags: craft, downturn, fairs, gift, retail, sales, slowShare Twitter Facebook
xg.addOnRequire(function () { xg.post('/main/viewcount/update?xn_out=json', {key: '3935368:Topic:513262', x: '04ad3ec'}); }); Views: 1032
? Reply to This
Replies to This Discussion
Permalink Reply by The Stitch And Fold (Stasya) on October 17, 2011 at 5:57am I had one sale on Etsy in August and none in September or so far this month; no sales so far here at all. In comparison January-March is year was great for me. I do hope that sales will pick up again in time for the festive season. Hang in there, I know how you feel xx ? Reply 
Permalink Reply by Alana Purple on October 17, 2011 at 6:23am Yes, it is very slow on this side as well. Hoping that the holidays will cause a pick up in sales tho. :) ? Reply 
Permalink Reply by Diane Svete-Noxon on October 17, 2011 at 6:37am Sales are slow. No doubt about it. Not only is the US economy in a twist but the Europeon economy also. "Occupy Wall Street" has now gone worldwide. Many Americans (like most of us) are upset that the government bailed out Banks fearing an economic failure and those Banks are flourishing while the average American is paying more not only to drive a car but to buy food for their families and utilities have skyrocketed. This is definitely eating into the 'wants' of people as their money goes for their needs. That doesn't mean that I'm going to slash prices in my shop. I will offer other alternatives that are less expensive to get Folks to my shop and view it's contents. ? Reply 
Permalink Reply by Illusions by Donna on October 21, 2011 at 9:12am The truth that people are failing to see is that yes they did bail out the banks.. But the banks have paid all that money back with interest.. I agree that people are afraid to spend, but that is more a fault of the media.. A lot of people I know have the money, but they are afraid to spend it.
The bottom line is, when we have a national media that keeps hammering that there are no jobs and the economy is sooo bad, people stop looking for a job.. The other issue is that when people are on unemployment they don't start looking again til they are faced with the benefits running out. They feel entitled to that unemployment check and want to collect every cent they can. Meanwhile jobs are going left unfilled. People also feel that some jobs are 'beneath' them..They don't see the value of taking a lesser paying job and try to hold out for what they feel they are worth. Unfortunately for a lot of reasons 'what we are worth' can be an inflated number.
I've sold over $200 worth of stuff online in the last week, but that is because I do so much Facebook promotion. I got custom orders yesterday for 4 more hats. That's another $100 when I get the listings up. I'll just keep plugging away.
? Reply
Permalink Reply by flights of fantasy on October 18, 2011 at 12:41am I'd agree that slashing prices is NOT the way to go - I watched people doing instant 'sales' at some of the craft fairs and it made no difference at all.
I have items from a few £s to £50+ and it is definitely the things under £5 that are selling (sorry not sure what the conversion rates are, but you get my drift, I am sure!
Best of luck to everyone for the next couple of months - if we can't sell before Christmas, what hope is there for next spring?
? Reply
Permalink Reply by Faye Kilday on October 18, 2011 at 1:07am I had two sales in September on Etsy, but I hadn't had any for 4 months before that. I'm just starting back on Zibbet so no sales here yet. But things are tough everywhere at present. I live in New Zealand and the craft shop in my town is closing its doors in November due to lack of customers and sales. They celebrated being open for 30 years earlier this year, so it's sad news they're closing :-( ? Reply 
Permalink Reply by Valerie Reeves on October 21, 2011 at 5:20pm oh, that IS sad! I hate to see long-time shops close. Happening in my town in Central Florida, too. ? Reply 
Permalink Reply by Joyananda (ADKoP) on October 18, 2011 at 2:42am I have to say i'm very pleased with traffic and exposure on Zibbet. I am very pleased with the cost of Zibbet vs. the benefits. So far i have saved so much money by switching, because the flat fee for the year on Zibbet is as much as what i was paying monthly at another venue. ? Reply 
Permalink Reply by Heronkate on October 18, 2011 at 6:23am I have been in Zibbet for almost a year and have only sold one ACEO. Yes, the economy IS slow, however I have been making sales on my other online site and in my B & M gallery. I just don't think many people are looking for fine art here. ? Reply 
Permalink Reply by Wilma Herenius ( grandma62 ) on October 18, 2011 at 6:48am I have over 600 listings now in my zibbet shop. http://www.zibbet.com/grandma62/artwork?artworkId=619471
Only 14 sales til now.
Startet last week week listing on etsy again and 5 sales. I keep going on zibbet but i have to list on etsy because i need the sales.
I have a premium account for one year here . Good pay for it with the money from my sales on etsy.
I ques we have all to promote @zibbet more on twitter. I twtter every day a few of my listings and RT the listings from other Zibbeters by using the hashtag #zibbet
I keep hoping that zibbet growing rapidly. Together we can help. Good luck all and happy sales.
http://twitter.com/postcardtrain is my twitter accont. Please follo and i follow back.
Permalink Reply by Rebecca West on October 18, 2011 at 7:41am It IS slow over on this side of the ocean also! I have made a few sales each month, but not as many as I would like to!! My yearly membership has definitely been paid for with my sales, but would like more sales! The craft fairs here are extremely slow also, I see people discounting their items and it just makes no difference to buyers. There are a few buyers that come out, but they aren't buying like they used to! We just all need to hang in there and keep promoting, for when folks do have extra money to spend they will remember those that they see promoting!!
Body & Soul
~ Becky
? Reply
Permalink Reply by Needful Things of Salem on October 20, 2011 at 3:48pm I am glad that you asked this question and that I could hear how others are doing. Sales have been really slow at all of my shops, but views here and at A have been surprisingly high. I am trying to keep in mind to be grateful for both the slow times and the busy times and to use this lull to build my inventory. Since I am not rushed with special orders, I can take time to study new techniques and develop new patterns. I hope you are able to find a silver lining in your cloud across The Pond as well! ? Reply ‹ Previous 1 2 3 … 7 Next › Page RSS
Welcome to
Zibbet's Community
or Sign In
You can also sign up with:
Trending Topics Edit
1
Magazine Advertising Suggestions? 2 
Asking for Prayers/Positive Thoughts 3 
How are sales? 4 
Wearable Business Cards! 5 
October 2011 New Listings Promote Them Here RSS View All © 2011 Created by Zibbet. Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service
var sources = ["http:\/\/static.ning.com\/zibbet\/instances\/shared\/js\/set_common.min.js?r=1319852302","http:\/\/static.ning.com\/zibbet\/instances\/shared\/js\/set_shared_c0.min.js?r=1318453282","http:\/\/static.ning.com\/zibbet\/instances\/shared\/js\/set_forum_c0.min.js?r=1318453283","http:\/\/static.ning.com\/zibbet\/instances\/shared\/js\/set_sidebar_u.min.js?r=1314648663"]; var numSources = sources.length; var heads = document.getElementsByTagName('head'); var node = heads.length > 0 ? heads[0] : document.body; var onloadFunctionsObj = {}; var createScriptTagFunc = function(source) { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.type = 'text/javascript'; /** * The code below was changed to accomodate the fact that IE9 is the first browser to support both onload and onreadystatechange for the script tag. * This was resulting in a couple execution of the callback, and thus many inconsistencies with respect to when we executed our addOnRequire code. * The change checks for the presence of readyState on the script object (all IE browsers, including IE9) and uses onreadystatechange when it's present. * For other browsers, onload is used. * * This change was made in concert with a change in head.php that uses the actual set names as object properties * and deletes those properties upon completion of the loading callback. This data-based approach ensures consistency by creating a 1-1 relationship between * asynch request and callback execution. */ var currentOnLoad = function() {xg._loader.onLoad(source);}; if (script.readyState) { //for IE (including IE9) script.onreadystatechange = function() { if (script.readyState == 'complete' || script.readyState == 'loaded') { script.onreadystatechange = null; currentOnLoad(); } } } else { script.onerror = script.onload = currentOnLoad; } script.src = source; node.appendChild(script); }; for (var i = 0; i Sign in to chat! 