Business News

Just listening to the business news and reports show that sales in March for retail flat lined. So we are not alone. Unless things pick up think April will go the same way.

Keep going Folks.

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I just checked my March figures and was pleasantly suprised to see they are 20+% up on last two, poor, March figures (since Covid)…that is across all my platforms though. Folksy only managed 27% of my month’s sales.

So as Caroline says, don’t give up but I will also add, don’t keep all your eggs in one basket :grinning:

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Folksy have provided 0% of my sales for the last 2 months

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Oddly this year has seen my best sales for a few years x

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It was even on the last show of the latest series (just finished) of BBC ‘Dragons Den’ that on lone shopping has dropped considerably over the past year! One dragon reported you can social media all day long everyday, but it will not make any difference no matter how good your product is. People are now either not shopping due to the economic climate on line or they want to actually see what they are purchasing before parting with their money.

I’m going to listen to the experts, they know what they are talking about. Our lack or drop in sales is nothing to do with our goods or Folksy.com. I only hope things improve for us all.

I am not going to even think about moving over to the dark side because the horror stories I have read about being a seller with them puts me right off. Other online selling platforms are even worse with poor sales records.

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The Dragons are not all infallible. There’s been a few bad decisions made there in the past. If they are all such good business people why are they all still working for a living
?

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I do think with everyone struggling financially and watching every penny, the rise in postage costs has really made things worse. I know I’m not buying much online as I simply need that postage (extra cost) for something else. Not sure what the answer is…

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I’ve left my postage prices the same. No point changing them as still waiting for Royal Mail and the Post Office to agree when the post office counters can imprlement the Tracked option planned and published for April 3rd. I have written to my MP who is contacting the Post office to find out what they are playing at.

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It needs someone good to start delivering Mail better. We finally got a delivery yesterday, so erratic cannot rely on them at all.

I charge a flat rate now, wondered if would put people off but does not seem to have done. Did a bit of research, well my friend did in the Cotswolds. She is in various groups Horticultural, national trust, ladies who lunch and shop etc. all of the. Prefer online and would prefer a flat rate as know that is all they are being charged. They felt free p & p was not free. Just waiting for Folksy to have an option for free postage over a certain order total, refunding looks unprofessional. John Lewis do not refund under £50. They charge a fixed rate and use them all the time.

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As for the Dragon’s Sara is in trouble with her losses.

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I have found that in person selling at markets has started to pick up. It’s still not great but so far April has been my best month this year. I think it is true that people like to see what they are buying.

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To be honest I think lack of sales definitely has ‘something’ to do with with folksy because I have never come across anyone who has ever heard of Folksy and 17 years is a long time for a British craft shop with hundreds of sellers on it not to be known. It has been mentioned on here before that people still have anniversaries , birthdays , weddings, births and Christmas presents etc to buy for , they are not going to stop buying any gifts at all because of the economic climate. I love so many things about Folksy but their lack of visibilty is frustrating after all this time.

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Love this, it did make me laugh! :rofl:

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I think online people can feel very swamped at the moment. A lot of social media and websites are full of advertising, to an extent I think people zone out after a while, and that includes skimming over other posts. It’s hard for people to get their work seen, and overwhelming to the end user.

Even email marketing, which is supposed to be better, I have an inbox stuffed with things I just delete. I think it will reach a critical mass, particularly because people can now generate stuff via AI, which just adds to all the noise, and other ways to get things seen will emerge. I know if I was looking to buy something I’d rather come to a marketplace like Folksy or I’d google search, maybe Pinterest also. As a creative your USP is you, so it’s thinking of ways to attract people to you and your work.

One of the things I appreciate a lot about the Folksy design so much is pages aren’t cluttered or distracting which can make people click away.

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This is one of the reasons Folksy need to offer sellers a video facility on here. Sales can increase by 80 percent if you have a video of your product. It gives buyers a more accurate vision of what you offer. I know it can certainly influence me.

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I’ve been over there for years and never ever had a problem. I do have regular sales though.

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Your items are lovely and so beautifully photographed. Keep persevering and perhaps up your social media presence if you haven’t already.

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And your things are indeed lovely and you promote them so well and of course you Do sell them on other platforms without a problem :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

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Every new year I start to go through subs on email and unsubscribe as far too many.

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I agree with the video, have often had immediate sales when posting a video to insta or fb. People can then actually see the item as real.

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