If you could share one tip with new sellers, what would it be?

Heather, you mentioned this a few years ago and it’s always stuck in my mind. In fact, I quoted it to a new designer that I met a couple of days ago.

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Always stay ahead of others with your designs. If they are worth pinching then someone will do just that so you need to be a leader not a follower. Also, be prepared to keep dreaming up new designs so that you will be the first with that particular idea (before someone pinches it). That sounds very bitter of me but it isn’t meant to at all. It’s happened to me a few times and I’ve learnt not to moan about it but simply move on to the next piece which will hopefully be better than the last.

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Always, always be nice and constructive on forums!

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I love this quote SO much… I always come back to it when I’m in need of inspiration : )

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I know this thread says ‘one tip’ but I couldn’t resist sharing this too. Such great advice from Andy Warhol. it applies to all art/ craft. I must print this out and pin in on the wall of my printing workspace. I get so hung up on if I think a piece is ‘good’ or not - I should just get on with it and make even more!
Emma x

  • Both pics come from Pinterest, I can’t find the original source of artwork- sorry.
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Never give up …at times you might have to make a small change of direction !

Gerda x

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mine would be: respect your customers – the items they’re buying from you are usually a luxury rather than an essential. happy customers will often return (again & again) and/or tell their friends about you.

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Lupin gave me that advice back when I first opened on etsy - in 2008! I pass it on all the time.

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Treat every single customer the way you would like to be treated as a customer yourself, whether they spend £3 or £300, customer service is a top priority in my book, and will hopefully earn you regular customers.

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that’s brilliant. I’d never seen that quote before, but he’s quite right.

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Communicate with your customers !! I have just last week made a purchase from another seller. On last Friday very early morning, so I thought I may get the item by Monday Tuesday latest . But no, I have no communication from seller at all the order isnt marked as shipped. So I message the seller. The seller did reply, apparently the item is made to order ( this is not stated anywhere in the listing or shop policies) even though the listing clearly says shipped within 3 days. The seller also said that they were waiting on a material which is the delay. So, why not message me and tell me this when I purchased. Really annoying. I wont buy from them again.
So my biggest tip is, dont spam your customers but please please please let customers know if there is a delay or anything else they may need to know that isnt stated in the listing or your policies.

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You’re so right, Helen. I can e very patient when I know what’s going on, but if they just don’t say a word that really bugs me and I try to communicate feely with my own customers.
One thing I purchased on Etsy over a year ago has still not been marked at dispatched even though I received it. How can people run a business that way?

My piece of advice is to be very thorough with product description - advice I find it hard to follow myself. When buying online it is a great comfort that the seller has taken time to give a proper description. Sometimes the pictures aren’t enough or they can even deceive as to colour an size.

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I agree about descriptions especially sizes when there is no point of reference in the image its so important. I know I have seen an item i like usually jewelry on numerous occasions and not purchased because there is no clue as to size. Sometimes I have messaged sellers to ask and sometimes not which means that the seller is losing a potential sale.

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a visual reference is really useful I think, as long as it’s not a flipping american coin (my hobby horse over on etsy!)

I once bought some earrings where the size was clearly written - but I missed it. the picture, of course, showed them up nice and big. now I’m not completely stupid, I didn’t expect them to be the size of my computer screen -but in my imagination, they were much bigger. so if they’d been shown with a hand, I’d have known immediately they were a quarter the size I wanted.

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I agree that good photos are so important. I regularly see what are almost certainly lovely items, where the photos are really poor - stuff like busy backgrounds (and often no thought for a background at all - we don’t want to see their kitchen and the washing up!), or items obviously displayed on a crumpled duvet on the bed, or even photos where the picture is sideways - all those get used as the main photo… If you are taking time and trouble to make beautiful items, then you must also take the trouble to get the absolute best photos you can.
There are free pieces of software, which enable you to edit and improve your pictues, even if taken with a simple camera (try Gimp, it’s similar to photoshop, but free!); there are lots of tutorials and bits of advice out there on the Internet (and at Folksy - see the blog!), on how to improve the quality of your photo-taking.

I’ve just invested in a new camera, which I plan to use to upgrade the photos in my exisiting listings and to take much better pictures for new stuff too.

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‘Do what you love and the money will follow’ . . . . eventually!

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I don’t think that one works for everyone, @IddyBiddyBoutique
I’ve seen many a thread over the years from people who are making stuff they love…but sadly, nobody else loves it enough to pay what their time is worth!

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Yes, I agree. I try to use a normal-sized pen or pencil in at least one of my book photos, so it is obvious what the size of the item is. They can all look the same size in the photos, so that is a good guide for the customer. As Nifty says, it’s not always obvious from the measurements - they’re useful, but customers don’t necessarily grasp a real idea of size from that reference only. With my books (as my best example!), I can say “it’s about A4 size” and most Folksy customers will know what I mean. Combined with measurements and a pen/pencil in one of the photos, I hope they will be sure what to expect (it is disappointing if something turns out so much smaller than we expect - or even if it’s too big!).

A4 is another of those obvious measurements that Americans don’t know - they use something else!

I read somewhere that a buyer bought dollshouse miniatures of something or other and thought they’d be full size. shows how good the modelling was!

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In USA the nearest equivalent to A4 is 8.5" x 11". They call it “Letter Size”.