Folks tell etsy to get their search game on.

Should successful sellers leave etsy?

No, because some folks make stuff like prints or soap and so they can sell a lot of that, and if they left, then when we want to buy their prints or soap, we have to go all the way someplace else to find them, and that's a hassle. Also, sometimes I go and make say, ten pairs of earrings a day and list them on etsy because I just don't wear earrings. So some people are just fast.

And I bought from dennis anderson, just because I wanted to buy some of his soap. Is that really so wrong?!

Must tag and retag stuff for etsybead section.

[SO NOT MY PIC!]

Now we got protest soap on etsy.found from morganartfire's twitter . Sadly, I worry I am losing my ability to do stuff. I'm so jealous of people who are focused.

I need to tag for etsy fest.

Etsy shouldn't encourage people to have sales! I usually can't afford free shipping because my prices are not structured to include shipping- I include shipping in the shipping price, and it costs me 1.50 every time I ship out a 2 ounce package[this does not include the cost of packaging, just the cost of shipping 2 ounces. even if it was down the street, it would cost the same]

Only 15 pictures taken today.

Money saving tips are hurting our sales!

But seriously...I'm not the only person spending money out there, you know. ;_; Many people actually have money, and spend more than me, but this is what I've bought this week:

$5 soap

$16 napkin rings.

and I don't even work. People with jobs probably spend way more than me.

I want to go to the trashion sale at 7 PM etsian time on the etsy virtual labs but I'm worried that I'll be late because of dinner. I guess the rest of you can come down, even if I'm not there.

Don't spam the forums,please!

Again, please don't spam!

I don't think etsy can control people being dicks on the internet. Let's imagine we are the admins for a moment. They have to fix the search, get resellers off the site, and pick items to be on the gift guides. If etsy had to go after every single person who was a jerk to an etsy member, no one would ever sleep, and they'd start putting items that no one could tell what they were in the gift guides, and then what would happen to etsy?

More forum combing- background on the latest drama that's made it into legal circles[other sides not available]

Ebay bashing and OMG! I just saw this site!!! combine.

This is the prize for my mailing list giveaway! Every month, someone is drawn from the postcard list to receive free stuff! Yay for prizes!

Dear people on the internet, my etsy shop will have a BOGO earring sale on black friday. Gentlepeople, start your hearting.

Rob white explains that threads about doing unetsylike things to the etsy admin and how glad you are that your legs haven't been eaten by rats go in etc. So if you're particularly glad that someone set up a website, put it in etc.

Is handmade just a fad? We've got to push for people to see the value here! We need to push our durability to customers!!!

abalone squares

abalone squares
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

I'm really piling on the crafting for the holidays. I've got plenty of supplies! Although I'm supposed to be writing a paper instead of making earrings...oops.

The favoritism on the front page is tearing us apart.

"Because we so profoundly personalize success, we miss opportunities to lift others unto the top rung. We make rules that frustrate achievement. We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail"- Malcolm Gladwell on p 32-33 of Outliers.

The gift guides continue to pit seller against seller, as I continue to be annoyed about having to pay the postman.



JPAT realizes she just can't win!

Funky forum fun thread on etsy.

I'll be on own the hour in just an hour or two. I'm excited.

I was featured on indie finds from etsy on sunday.

better than expected

better than expected
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

was today's photo shoot. 2 new items photoed and a rephoto. I also updated my dawanda shop. I'm so not looking forward to baby proofing this room with my computer in it. There's jewelry with small parts everywhere!

11:25 pm CST- time machine 2 is on the top of the front page!! exposure for the rest of us!!!!!!!! sorry for the multiple exclamation points there. I made two items, but it's super late at night for me, and I should be in bed.

also, the thread of dooom about the front page.

We finally got the ability to flag more easily on etsy. I wish they had random pounce, then all of us could get more exposure.

Another neatostuff brand feature!

I like this necklace from shupg's shop!

We can now look at who has been featured time and time again. I guess we can search for our own names to see if we've been featured in the gift guides or the front page, but maybe that's a fool's errand..

Neatostuff brand feature!

Renewed resources is a supply shop that sells everything from feathers to dice and more. You might want to check it out.

Now I have a rss feed of my shop with pictures. Wonder where I'll try this baby out...

Rivka's mom gets boing boinged. I die of pure envy!

Put the mature gift guides back, says abitabite.



I tried to take a few photos and do some packing, but I didn't do much today. I got some amazing beads, though.

Etsybead theme sale section up



Finally got my etsy bead theme sale section up!

It seems that majaba has a new face and a new name. Now it's craft cult.

I made three items and took 27 pictures. A few turned out OK. Now it's time to promote, promote, promote.

Etsians discover there are 700k jewelry items on etsy. I myself have over 170 items to choose from.

look, I found a brooch

look, I found a brooch
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

Today's photo shoot was two necklaces. It was cold and windy and the winter light wasn't amazing. I need to buy more snake chains. Making pendants is a lot of fun.

Etsians read things they don't understand and freak out.

It's time for a huge ebay update. I hope that there will be enough sun tomorrow for me to get some pictures in. I made a recycled brooch necklace this week but haven't been able to take pictures of it.

The USPS raises rates. I may have to raise my shipping prices a quarter and if anyone complains about 2.25 for direct service to their door, well...be my guest to drive up $5 worth of gas trying to find something as nice at the mall.

Etsy brings the wank to the yard! BTW: I think they should improve the search. Thanks to everyone who acknowledges the photos, product and work of the other 99% of etsians!

Etsy bitch thinks hard about the sales numbers on etsy. I think the majority of folks not selling anything is even sadder than normal places since people are working so hard.

Today's etsian guide to life is welcome to the internet! or why people say such mean things on the internet. You may have heard in recent days that people on the internet don't think everything on etsy is truth and beauty. In fact, they think some of our stuff is ugly and say so! Shouldn't etsy shut them down!? How dare they say this! Actually, welcome to the internet! There's a book on the internet called Here Comes Everybody- and yes, the internet is everybody. It's that jerk down the street, that gossipy chick over at the next cubicle, and even worse, furries and fanfiction writers galore. It's you too. It's you when you look at gofugyourself and laugh. It's you when you write really bad poetry and post pictures of your awful hairstyles on the internet. So in a nutshell, that's why people are mean on the internet- because they are people.

But what can we do about it? How can we sleep with all that negative energy out there? Basically, we can do nothing about it. You can whine but then that's just inviting mockery. There are many corners of the internet I don't go. I don't want to know about the deep love between a man and his wife, a horse. So if you want to ignore human nature, try to hide in cupcake land. Sure, reality will occasionally intrude, because noone can be nice all the time, and sometimes people really might have to say that your Popsicle stick and glue crafts may not exactly be marketable.. . but if that happens stick your fingers in your ears and say la la la or maybe just yell in faux outrage. Because that's going to keep people from being mean. on the internet.

Today's Etsian Guide to Life is... how to sell items in your sleep!

It can be tiring to do all that promotional footwork, but there are some things you can do to sell items without doing much work at all!

1)Make your titles google friendly. When someone is looking for something to buy, they usually don't type in something fanciful like 'Maria Maria Earrings' it's probably more like like 'Sterling Silver with Red Stone Earrings'. Take advantage of that tendency. Have what your item is, what it's made of, and other relevant things in your title so that google can pick them up.

2)Use your tags. In etsy search, it's title and tags as the default. If you have many descriptive tags that people will search for, your item is more likely to pop up than if you have three tags with words like pretty wonderful beautiful on them. No one searches for wonderful but people do search for colors, occasions, and people. If your bow looks like something a little girl would wear tag girl tag children tag kids.


3)Have plenty of items! It's much harder for people to find one of your three items than one of your hundred items. People may go into your shop to see one item but something completely different catches their eye. The more items, the more opportunities for people to come into your shop!

The storque publishes an article on Obama items. I'm sure somebody will complain that customers might be turned off by having Obama in the storque or on the front page, but think about it, folks. Not only has one of the huge book retailers had 30% off all Obama themed books lately, Obama is big news around the world. People will be googling Obama, wanting t shirts and art. This is a great opportunity for etsy to ride that wave, to get more publicity for all of us by showing up in those searches. To ignore the big Obama trend to appeal to some old saw about not talking about politics? That's just bad business!

No search improvements, but a weird voting thing. I voted for dippylulu.

Man, we have some weirdos there on etsy. People fear the refresh!

And no, you can't get someone's twitter shut down for saying that people's items on etsy are ugly. I think the next etsian guide to life will be welcome to the internet

Today's etsian guide to life is what do they mean promote, promote,promote?

I think that there are several different things people mean when they say promote, promote, promote- advertising, social networking, and promotion.

Advertising is like someone taking out an ad in a magazine or an ad on a blog. It's paid, and everyone knows what's going on. Promotion is like when you put your site address in your email signature or put a business card in an ebay package. It's usually free. Social networking is when you have your twitter account with a link to your shop or comment on everyone's flickr accounts. This is less about selling and more about getting to know people and have a community. All can be good and have their benefits and drawbacks. Advertising can be expensive and may be a waste if you don't target correctly. However, if you do target correctly, it can yield big returns. Promotion can be time consuming, and cost some money[such as buying business cards or stickers to put in or own packages] but can pay off with greater awareness and sales. Social networking can take a long time, with relationships developing over months, but that can yield much fruit as people feel more comfortable and opportunities come your way.

There are as many ways to promote as there are people, and everyone will have a different way to do it. For example, you'll never see me handing out business cards, and you may never see someone else on twitter.

The controversy continues. Can people sell paddles to spank children with on etsy? The problem here is that we have so many different cultures here. For example, my mom works at a school that allows corporal punishment. My mom is OK with this, I think it's too extreme, and that other methods should be used. There are also religious groups that approve of spanking. It is unknown whether this is allowed on etsy or not

Alwaysamy tries to improve her business

CidTalk has an important message for all of us about branding.

Today's etsian guide to life is can you still sell items if you complain/ don't stay positive?

Yes, you can. Even if you notice that your items are on page 100, that your pictures aren't showing up, or some weird search glitch makes it so your items can't be found and say "what? I'm paying good money for this! Fix this crap!", this has nothing to do with sales or how hard you work or the value of you as a person.

I think that assuming that anyone who has anything but the most glowing remarks about everything isn't working or doing anything is an error in thinking. Let's say that Sally Etsier complains in the forums for thirty minutes a day. They still have hours and hours to build up their business! Sally may even have in another tab[in internet time, tabbed browsing is 25 years old.] all sorts of promotional stuff! So when we assume that people who may be more aware of situations than others aren't working, we're being a lot more negative than the person who is aware and talking is.

Another issue is that you're on the internet. Maybe in real life you do have to be a used car salesman, but online, good pictures, good promotion, good product wins over thinking happy thoughts every time. I buy things on the internet all the time, and everything pleases or displeases me when I get it in my mailbox based on the merit of the product, not whether people act like they smoked something they weren't supposed to. In fact, I prefer people who are down to earth and realistic.

On etsy bitch, there is wank. Personally I think if you say something like rice ride and folks say yo, that's racist and you still do it, you can't whine if folks call you racist. That's the breaks. Offend anyone you want, but no crying is allowed! All offensive people need to suck it up!

Cheap Offs Vs Change

I love a good cheap off! Competing to see who can save the most money- I bought a scarf for 50 cents! I bring tea in a thermos to work! I don't have a TV!- can be an exciting and fun high. The problem comes in when we start thinking that cheap offs can actually solve problems for others. Thinking our credit card debt problems can be cured by taking tea in a thermos or that poverty would be wiped out if only folks didn't smoke cigarettes. In these economic times when people are charging groceries on credit, talking about tea in thermoses as if the debts were caused by Starbucks misses the point completely. Not to mention the many other debts people incur- car break downs, medical debts, and the high cost of educational testing nowadays[folks are trying to charge me $300 to take a test!] So when we ignore all those issues, and focus on whether people should smoke a cig or drink starbucks, we're getting off point.

But you may say, my cousin Niecey goes out and smokes all the time and is always asking for money for diapers! There's a saying in legal circles- hard cases make for bad law. Your cousin Niecey may in fact be an idiot. But have idiots ever improved through lectures? When we're focusing on those few unrepentant cases[ or even worse, focusing on a fifth hand story about someone you don't know] we could be focusing on real ways to make a change in people's situations.

Being a cheap bastard is a lifestyle choice and is a lot of fun, but let's not kid ourselves. If you're 10k in student loan debt, not going to starbucks isn't going to make your situation that much better. If your rent is $1000 a month, cutting out that $25 a month cable not going to make a huge dent.

I think we talk like this because it's reassuring. In these tough times, it's nice to think you'll be protected from financial disaster merely by taking your lunch to work. We don't want to think that virtuous people like us could have bumps in the road. It's also nice to think that people who aren't virtuous like us will be punished. Sadly, the world doesn't work that way and the faster we realize that, the faster things will get better for all of us.

Seems like a bunch of etsy drama going on!

I am hoping that we have some good light today. Maybe make some items and take photos of them. Good procrasination.

I saw a google ad for etsy and was so amazed, I had to go right out and post about it on the forums. The mention of vintage was a nice touch. I probably should buy my own google ads- the holiday season is here!

Heh, thetinyfig's got gag gifts on her blog!

Popular seller Aussiepatches is closing shop.

I changed out my etsybead theme of the week section. New items are featured too. Got to change out my shop window occasionally!

Sherry Truitt tells us about the importance of having your own website. I have had my own website for a long time!

Business cards in packages cause wank.

People have very specific ideas about what you should call the winter holiday seasonal event. Now, I'm not consistent on this point- I'm in the Jet Holiday Sale, some things are marked christmas, some are marked holiday. Maybe I should mark somethings xmas because people might search for that. I live in the south, where we have churches on every corner eager to help you celebrate religious Christmas, so I don't worry too much if someone in a shop writes 'xmas'. I have never heard of anyone who says 'I'm going to put Xmas as a tag to put down Christians'- they probably are just covering all their bases as far as search tags are concerned.

I guess this ended up being a mini etsian guide- why people put xmas or holiday as tags or titles on items. Protip: nothing against Christianity.

An etsy seller has died. let's surround her family with thoughts and prayers.

Today's etisian guide to life is how do you get time to blog?

You see, I take time that others use to match socks, clean the baseboards and iron t shirts, and blog instead. It takes me about 15 minutes per day. Then I use the time others use for asking how others find the time for things commenting on other blogs or promoting mine.

Good ol' stuck categories on etsy! I plan to go yard saling- yesterday I found the best supplies- a huge chain and a enamel butterfly for $2.50! And I should update my ebay too.