Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Etsy? You Betcha!

I am very tired of all the stress & nastiness at eBay and almost as tired of PayPal. Today we are going somewhere NICE.

When I started looking at alternative venues Etsy.com was one of the places I looked at. It doesn't really fit me as a seller, Etsy is limited to handcrafted items and supplies, but it really fits me as a buyer!

Etsy is different. Almost three years old, Etsy treats it's sellers like rational adults. There are rules, sensible rules which are amended from time to time with input from members of the community. An email to Etsy gets answered, by a person. The mission statement says it all:

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade.

Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.

Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice:

Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade


Here are some of my favorite things: Clicking on the picture will take you directly to that item.

From Sparkklejar ~*~ SpArKkLy ThInGs!~*~
be sure to take a look at her clothes pins too!

Rare Canadian Consumers Glass Quart Taper Retro Chic Vintage 1981 Cottage Rose Shabby Pink Lid Mason Jar

From ActiasLunaMasks: Artist, Maskmaker, Multifaceted Designer and Printmaker, I would take this home!


Silver Circus Tabby Mask

From Citypretties these earbobs caught my eye.

i told you your ice cream would drip if you held it upside down


The last item is from Emi Shimosato's shop Momonmo. I own one of her purses, my first Etsy buy, and the workmanship is exquisite as is the Japanese fabric.

Japanese blue birds tote -- Tulip shape -- free shipping

I hope you enjoyed this little trip through Etsy as much as I did, good thing we can also Shop Victoriously Elsewhere!

Y'all come back and be sure to click VICTORIOUSLY on any interesting links in the sidebar! Gotta keep me in tea bags.














'

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful new place to shop!

Anonymous said...

This may be a great new place to shop, but a horrible place to sell. I have been warned by SEVERAL experienced sellers from eBay (who defected to Etsy and are now back on eBay) not to even think of going there. Apparently, they were attacked and discouraged by several of the founding sellers. If you aren't in the clique, you aren't welcome. Say what you will about eBay, but from the experiences I've heard, these folks are wolves in sheep's clothing!

Anony Mouse

Henrietta said...

Dear Mouse,
Never heard of such a thing although it they walked in and started acting like big shots . . . I guess anything is possible.

Every Etsy seller I have spoken to has been warm, encouraging, helpful and very supportive. Maybe your 'several experienced eBay sellers' are just the kind of people who really truly belong on eBay.

Anonymous said...

I recently found the site and love it----have even bought a few items!!! A great venue..warm, friendly and easy to use!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, Mouse, I've heard nothing but good things about Etsy and their customer service.

I wonder if those on-and-off again eBayers may have gone over there with some kind of attitude that turned management off?

I've seen on a couple of the other alternate sites that management does not take too kindly to people walking in and their first day on the site all they do is complain about all the ways it isn't like eBay.

If these people you know did that, I could understand them not getting a warm welcome.

Etsy isn't eBay. Thank God!

Anonymous said...

True, a handful of ebay refugees did come to etsy, ebay bashing all the way and using the search term 'blackout' in their tags. This was a term referencing the seller as ebay fallout. This clique or group of black out sellers quickly learned how to use etsy boards, which are very liberal and allow you to say anything, and posted ebay bash after bash. This group of ebay selling refugees were quickly recognized for what they are, typical ebay sellers who profit from copying others ideas, barking and spewing ebay disdain all the way. Etsians dislike copycatters, Etsians dislike having Etsy compared with eBay and felt Etsy was just being used as soap box. Sellers using blackout tags did very poorly and IMO truly belong on eBay. Etsy is not for everyone. It is for the polite, tolerant, accepting and requires patience to get that first sale. Oh and innovative talent is a requirement. I am an experienced ebay seller wo defected to etsy, was accepted immediately and mentored by founding sellers. I have never been personally attacked, and in all honesty, tsians are so graciously nice, if you are attacked there, y9ou did something to deserve it. I make more money on Etsy and enjoy it so much more than ebay. Eat CAKE!

Anonymous said...

Computer glitch (?) swallowed my first comment (I think) so I'll try again:

Mouse: I sell on Etsy and have never had any problems with the atmosphere, it's always been friendly, helpful, and nice. So my own empirical experience contradicts your anecdotal/hearsay.

I'm sure experiences vary, but everyone I know who sells on Etsy has had a positive experience and those I know who have sold on eBay and now sell on Etsy have never looked back.

Anonymous said...

Henrietta

I am truly disappointed by your resonse to my post. Are you saying that because you've never heard of such a thing that these people must have come in acting like big shots and were therefore discouraged to leave and return to eBay? Are you assuming they are bad people who belong on eBay; yet you don't know them or have even talked to them? That sounds like something eBay would say to sellers who complain.

These sellers come from all over the country; Florida, Massachussetts, Colorado. California, New Mexico, Michigan. They, like you, are good, kind people willing to help a newbie, and like you, have helped me attain the success I have on eBay and other channels. As we've discussed so many times before, I don't hang out or talk to trash and neither do you.

Just because your experience has been positive does not mean that someone's negative experiences mean they are a bad person. Assuming that their bad experiences at Etsy means that they belong on eBay makes me wonder if you are not becoming the thing you so despise. Think about it.

Anony Mouse

Anonymous said...

actually mouse

i am implying it

founding members are very busy and dont spend a lot of time being brats.

I stand by my first post (under dspeaks)

I was so welcomed, i felt a little overwhelmed.

etsy isnt for everyone, you have to be innovative and have a unique niche.

if you ask for a critique, you get brutal honesty.

maybe that was the issue, jumping into a critique and expecting the ebay polite polish over.

nope, these are serious artisans, many who went to art school and learned a craft.

I think it's wonderful, It's a shame a handful of sellers would tell you its a horrible place.

I absolutely enjoy it and wish i'd found it at its inception.

Unless you experience it yourself, i wouldn't base an opinion on heresay.

why dont you try it, you may think it's great!

~eat CAKE!