Although I am closed for Christmas I’m still popping on to Folksy every day and just spotted that Best Selling Shops are on the front page…when did that happen?
I think it’s a great idea so we can see what sort of items are selling, although from my point of view it’s disappointing to see there is very little in the way of stitched items there.
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I’ve just counted 6 entries, out of the 40 , which are roughly fabric related and a couple are definitely “stitched” so not so bad really.
This time of year it is often dominated by prints and jewellery but I do find that there is always a fair mix of stuff included (often a couple of glass shops too 
)
I must have missed a couple, I could only find 4 sellers with sewn items, plus 3 knitters…
I haven’t done so well this year sales wise on Folksy as I have previous Christmases and most of my sales have been the cheaper end…decorations, small purses etc. I’m not complaining, I’m just thinking I may have to re-think what I make next year.
Maybe my style of items just isn’t so popular at the moment…or maybe I need to look at my prices. I do have new things to make, planned for next year, but may just have to research a bit more to make sure that these are items that have a good chance of selling. 
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To be honest it’s a complete mystery to me what I will sell from one day, week, month to the next. On here and when I do my occasional fairs.
I just cannot guess.
I can Not sell a horsehead for 18 month then sell 3 in a week. That of course could be down to the promotion when I make a replacement for the sold one so people see the new one and buy that too.
This indicates that promotion is exceedingly important.
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Prices are not the issue, I would say tote bags may be fair but the purses could stand a rise in price, they are excellent hand made items, not pound shop purses. If you do not value your work highly enough then why would others? Let the price reflect the skill and time they take.
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I was chatting to a customer at a fair the other day.
He had a friend who made brilliant plywood models but when he tried to sell them at craft fairs and markets he sold nothing. His friend advised him to double the prices as people probably thought what he was selling was not very good. He did and he nearly sold out next market.
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The best selling shops chart has been around for a long time, it was removed from the front page a while ago but I am kind of glad it’s back it was a useful little extra thing to be part of and was nice to be charted if you are having a period of good sales and it’s another route for a customer to find you if you have charted in the 7 days.
If it’s still the same as before as I remember it’s based on monetary value, it’s not about having x amount of orders, you could have 1 high value order which put you on there compared to possibly someone who sells lots of lower priced items who would chart lower even though they’ve had more sales. I’ve done well on there before by releasing a new print so lots and lots of lower value orders but been ‘beaten’ to number 1 by a furtniture maker who had 1 large, high value sale.
It’s not selected or curated like some of the other lists and gift guides etc, it is literally a best seller chart of who has sold the most and it will change daily like a folksy top of the pops except it’s handmade not records, so it will change constantly and one day it could be lots of sewing the next could be print making etc
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Yes, I know it’s been around for a while. I have been selling on here for about 4.5 years now and used to find it by Googling ‘Folksy Best Sellers’. I have even been in it on a few occasions, so I know what it’s all about. I was just commenting on the lack of my type of product being in it, at what is for most of us, the busiest time of the year. It just makes me think more carefully about what I’m making, price points etc.
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My apologies your initial post didn’t read as though you had been aware of it before now/how it was put together as you were talking about the lack of items from the same field in which you work which makes it sound like it is curated. I think as always you have to sell at price points that work for you, taking into account all costs and what your customers will pay too. You can underprice or over price easily enough and people can either see it as value or valueble.
I would definitely be aiming for valuable over value.
Although I mostly sell prints on Folksy which are all the same price I can’t even tell you one week to the next what design will sell and I am often surprised that when I release a new design I get an order for something that’s an older design but I think it’s sometimes just down to promotion of the new thing leading to someone going to my shop and seeing what else is there and placing an order.
I would aim for traffic and sales on a regular basis and then a best seller chart place being a little cherry on top of a good week
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I know, it’s all a bit of a minefield really. I’ve had items in my shop for 18 months, with hardly any interest and suddenly they sell and I get requests for more. No rhym or reason. My post was just me thinking out loud really as I try to decide what to make and what not to make in the new year, and the Folksy Best Sellers appearing on the front page just gave me more to think about as I hadn’t checked it out for a while.
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I think anyone who sells anything in this period of just before Christmas to end of year has a good chance of hitting the list even if they can’t normally hope to get there,.
I am often in there and am indeed in there at this moment but as I haven’t now sold anything for 7 days tomorrow I will very shortly drop out.
I need to sell one thing between now and the end of year to better my December sales of last 2 years so here’s hoping !
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I like to see the best selling shops and to see what is selling. I don’t think I will ever feature there, but I am very happy with my sales. I’m looking forward to making new items for my shop next year, and to getting my crafting head on again.
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I’m at a lose end at the moment. Soldering iron broke last Saturday. Was supposed to have new one arrive Christmas Eve but something has gone wrong and will be Saturday at the earliest now. My glass fingers are twitching. I really like to ‘refreshh’ my shop as often as I can with something new and I can’t when I can’t solder. 
Oh dear…that’s disappointing @JOYSofGLASS I hope it gets here soon for you…
YES YES YES That means I’ve now beaten last 2 years December Folksy sales
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I have looked through the best Folksy sellers on Google regularly since I set up shop and also noticed there are usually only a few shops listed who sew, especially high end items (sales wise locally and on FB I do well but Folksy is slow in comparison) such a shame as there are some beautiful textiles/stitched items on here. My bears take an average of 5 days to make so definately not over priced as I don’t even charge for my time, the mohairs etc are so expensive I wonder if it is really worth it sometimes.
I think quick makes seem to do better as obviously they are more affordable for customers but not what I would like to make…difficult deciding which way forward is next 
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Aww thank you, that’s kind of you, I had a bit of a sell out few days before christmas by local customers so nothing much left now. Think I need to get making but I am still in Christmas mode lol…Santa brought me a die cutter and I have other ideas as well for next year, hopefully some smaller bits to add to my shop…but my bears will always be my main makes.
Thank you x😊
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Oh that sounds good then as they are not chosen by Folksy but generated by sales, will be interesting to see, also there will be shops appearing that are never found in the gift guides etc.
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I was reading some of the discussion and realised that no one can predict what will sell from one week to the next or what will be popular. I think we should make what we enjoy and keep our fingers crossed lol. I had a quiet period at the end of the summer with bear sales, the first in 4.5 years but it gave me chance to go back to embroidery and introduce pincushions which I have really enjoyed so now embroidery will be a permanent addition to Bearlescent. I am also hoping to add some small items later in the year and different to my usual makes, I am quite excited about doing something different again. …I realise if I’m happy making I don’t worry so much about sales 
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