@artycraftythings … just poppped by, shop is looking lovely. Do you only sell fabrics that have been rotary cut or do you also have some to list as fat qtrs, half metre etc ? Just wondering whether you might sell more if some pieces are left uncut as well as people may buy them for other crafts, dolls clothes etc as well as for patchwork.
The iris cards are lovely just one line I hope you dont mind me mentioning…you said they make lovely mothers day cards I would take that out or add to it so that people don’t think they are just for Mothers dayl
1 Like
I’m afraid there is usually a direct link to the amount of sales and amount of social media presence (I haven’t sold anything recently but that’s probably because I have really neglected social media). I like to think of Folksy as a great showcase for my work and a wonderful resource of information and support from Folksy sellers but I know it’s mostly up to me to generate sales exposure. I also think it’s a very tough time for sales for everyone at the moment and as with all new businesses it takes time to get established. Having a lots of listings in a shop is a good idea it’s more appealing to the buyer - perhaps you could split up the card packs into single cards and sell individually - that way you would have 8 attractive listings that could be sold for £2.00 each so you are more likely to make those first few sales and get the ball rolling. Take a look at other shops and see what they do and how they display items - things like tags and shop announcements are important too and a bit of background info never goes amiss. Good luck.
2 Likes
Thanks! I was confused as it was not on the initial listing page.
1 Like
Hi again,
I have fat quarters, 20 cm squares, and odds and ends bags. I have never sold as many of them as the 10cm squares though. I will try again with the other sizes on here.
I took the mothers day bit off. I agree, it was limiting.
As far as the cards go. I have noticed other people sell them as single cards. However, the postage is the same. Its a large letter size. I can sell one or 4 for the same postage, as long as it does not go over 100g. I imagine people would want to spend as little as possible on postage.
2 Likes
I am used to it being on the initial listing page from eBay and Etsy. That confused me. I have found it now. Thanks!
Hi, i agree it is a very difficult time for selling online. The economy is a mess and people do not want to buy stuff that is not essential. Maybe it will pick up a bit for Christmas gifts? Your items would make lovely gifts.
My eBay shop had about 120 listings. I gradually removed everything that had not sold in 6 months, and then each month took off everything that had not sold that month, plus the cheapy stuff that ( as you said) had become financially unviable. I now have one listing left on there!!! That’s part of the reason I came back to Folksy to see if items would sell on here. I will put odds and ends together and try and sell them as auctions on eBay.
2 Likes
Took me 9months, so don’t despair. Difficulty I now have is do I renew my Plus membership that hasn’t so far paid for itself?!
1 Like
Also - from one of the webinars this week, apparently adding your postage costs into the price of your item may make the item look more expensive, but buyers like the fact they don’t get hit with the ‘extra’ just before they are going to commit to buying. Might be worth a try. I am going to give it a go in October and see if it makes a difference.
1 Like
Good point Nancy - I’ve tried both ways and find it makes little difference to actual sales. On some web sites including the cost of postage into the total means they get more of your money as a ‘commission percentage’ so check that your not paying out commission on the postage if you include it.
1 Like
I believe this applies to Folksy as well @Fififoxi ?
I watched the webinar as well Nancy @charlescottage, and although I totally understand the point mentioned, I think there are more issues you need to take into account and see what works best for your, or even try a couple of things. One is the commission issue, where when you include your postage in your price, you pay more selling fees as it is calculated by percentage on the price. (What @Fififoxi just mentioned).
Another issue is, that as people are a lot more familiar with online shopping now, they are aware that the postage is included in the price, thus when buying more than one items, they basically know that they pay double and triple postage. Almost everybody knows it is not free.
Also, it is probably easy to include postage in the price for the “expensive” if you like items, but what happens with your “low price range” items?.
Definitely worth having a “play” in my opinion, and see what happens x
2 Likes
I like to combine the postage costs (when I can) to make it less expensive for the customer. If you have free postage you can’t do that. I think I’m also correct that if they want a refund you have to refund the entire amount if the postage is inclusive in the price. Or if the postage costs are separate you can refund just the item amount? Something else to think about x
3 Likes
Hm - hadn’t factored in the increased sales tariff. That wasn’t mentioned! Just the drop-off point when potential buyers got to their checkout basket. As you guys suggest - I’ better do some and some and see if it makes any difference or none. Not listed a whole lot so far as stock keeps changing. Now there’s another subject: how does everyone keep stock of what’ listed and what they are taking to events? Might have to start a new thread on that…
2 Likes
As everything I make has to be photographed so it can be listed, I keep a photograph on the computer of everything which is for stock, clearly and meaningfully labelled and I keep the photos of pieces for sale in my For Sale folders.
When I sell it I change the photo name to show the date and place sold and move it to my Sold folder. Simples.
Makes for excellent accounting as I am able to extract csv files of my for sale or sold pieces and turn itthem into spreadsheets.
I can use the same functionality to pull off stock inventories when i do do the occasional outside event.
I suppose i could just write it all down but I prefer modern automation.
3 Likes
Postage costs often come up for discussion on Folksy, i remember asking Camilla once what she thought about factoring it into the price or adding it seperately. Folksy (if my memory serves me right )
said if you sell low cost items it is often better to factor it into the price of the item so that the customer sees the prices and believes they are getting free postage and that offering free postage (although we know there is no such thing) often meant more sales. However, with high end items it didnt make a difference and customers didn’t mind the extra postage cost and wern’t put off by it. So although there is no such thing as free postage on small items it may be an idea to try listing with 0.00 post.
2 Likes
Joys of Glass - most impressed with your stocktaking. I copy and paste my Listings on my Folksy dashboard (ie item and picture) so I know what’s listed and if I am at an event I can then take them off the website. I keep independent lists of what sold and where but the trouble with that is when you are selling lots at an event it’s hard to keep it up to date! It is interesting to look back though and see that something that caught the imagination of buyers in one location didn’t sell as well at another, etc! So as ever, there is no easy answer to what sells!
2 Likes
My rule is… I never ever know what is going to sell. Sometimes I am astonished that things which have had have a lot of attention stay put and something I’ve had for ten years ( yes it happens) sells.
2 Likes
Highly organised Joy re your stock lists - you are a whiz with the technology. I love your idea of having a photo stock list - simple.
I have a spreadsheet on my laptop - also the stock list on my Zettle card reader and obviously my Folksy list. I have just been through a long process of making sure they all match and have been slightly surprised they weren’t too far out. But it is a lot of work managing them.
We tend to close our shop while we are at events and are usually disciplined enough to remove stock from our folksy page as we sell them at events. Otherwise when we get home in the evening and I balance the books, I double check the stock lists are up-to-date.
2 Likes
The postage comments have got me thinking through what we do.
Does anyone know what happens re postage if someone buys several things on Folksy but from different buyers? How does that work?
1 Like
I am pretty sure they will have postage added on as appropriate from each shop as obviously they will all be posted separately.
2 Likes