I was wondering how you decide what to sell on Folksy. I have been looking at the Folksy Charts 2014, and it says this:
The average order value across the site was £18.27; the average order value of the top 20 shops by revenue was a little higher at £19.92; while the top 20 best-selling shops by units sold had an average order value of £10.22, which reflects the fact that many of these focus on low-value, high-volume items like cards and supplies. Interestingly, the average selling price has increased year on year, and is up £2.43 on the 2011 average of £15.84.
So, do you only list items that are around these price points, or do you list things that are quite a bit more expensive?
I am new to Folksy, and a lot of my work sells for £30-£90+ and I am wondering if I am too expensive for the Folksy market, or if I should start making items that are more aimed at lower pricing too?
When I first started out on Folksy I was given the advice to list a good mixture of inexpensive items as well as higher priced items. So I took the advice and it did certainly help with sales. At the moment though I haven’t got much in my shop due to having a few craft fairs coming up etc and been quite busy doing other things. I will be however listing again later in the year.
Your prices are very reasonable and I’m sure you’ll have lots of sales but it does take a lot of promoting to get noticed so be prepared to do just that.
I recently has to have a good long hard think about what I sell. Most of my items are at £40+, but I had sold very few on here. I know some people out there are prepared to pay the asking price as I had sold some, but they are few and far between.
I decided recently that I had to make some items that were lower priced that people still felt was a treat for themselves, so I made a bird that retails at £12. I sold 5 in the first 12hrs of listing! I think a range of prices is what I will now be aiming for as it will reach far more people that way and hopefully grow a “fan-base”.
I think for me to reach more of my ideal customers for the more expensive items I will need to build trust in my brand with some smaller ones and build from there. Not least because I also need some cash flow going!
Edited to add: it’s very much how we as sellers market ourselves too. My ideal customers read design and lifestyle mags, but I can’t currently afford the advert space, some hopefully if I keep the momentum up with the smaller items and build cashflow, I will.
Having a range of prices works. I sell quite a lot between £15 -£35 and then quite a bit between £68 - £120. Often people will treat themselves to a smaller item, then when they see the quality they will come back for more expensive items for special occasions.
My average sale value on folksy is currently almost £30 with the items I have sold ranging from £10 to £70. The items I have in my shop vary from £6.50 to £150, since the lower priced end of the jewellery category is well represented I am slowly removing those items (I still sell them at craft fairs) to focus on the less well populated, more expensive, price brackets. If you can produce lower priced items that would draw customers in who could then, at somepoint, buy a more expensive item as a treat I’d do it.
Good luck.
I agree with other about having a range of prices. Buying online always has the risk of poor quality that is not immediately obvious and people may wish to buy a lower priced item to check quality before committing to one that is a bit more expensive. My prices range from £2.50 to £65 and I am now starting to work on some higher priced items. Most of what I sell is around the £10 - £25 price range.
I think you decide by trying it. Whatever you’ve got to sell, just add it into your shop. For 18p, you’ll have a whole summer, for 36p (relisting after the first 4 months) you’ll have near enough up to last posting for Christmas covered. If it hasn’t sold in that time, but you’re selling other items, then it might not be right for here, but at least you’ll see a pattern in price or type of item you’re selling if you’ve got a full range for sale. With any item you list here though you’re going to have to promote to get people into your shop, But if they see something lower priced promoted and like your style, when they get to your shop for a browse they might be tempted by something higher priced instead. If it’s not there, you can’t sell it
Funnilly enough I was reading a blog about this earlier today I forget the website but it’s pinned on my pinterest in starting up http://pinterest.com/sarahleese0202
I’m also new. My shop hasn’t got much in at the minute but when I decide what I’m going to sell and crochet I shall think about two things. Firstly what can I make quickly that might sell and secondly what can I make to a high quality that will look fabulous. I always say when thinking of the handmade product that those that are maybe priced a bit higher are of really good quality nicely finished and will last. It’s so much harder to handmade something than have it mass produced so don’t undervalued yourself. Like I say I haven’t much in my shop yet but I listed an amigurumi bunny earlier in the week for £7.45 and I did think is this pricey? But the hours and materials used warranted it. Sell what you feel is true to you I say but don’t undersell your hard work.
The other way I decide what to sell on folksy is to have a quick search and see how many other people are already selling it - how much competition do you want for the sales to people who are just browsing? If I was going to make and list a pair of amethyst earrings it would be one listing in 500, if I did ruby in zoisite earrings it would be one listing in 3 (I should hurry up and list those) but I accept fewer people will be looking for ruby in zoisite compared to amethyst but hopefully you get my point.
A quick search shows only a couple of people selling merino tops (and you were the only one selling single colours) so you should do a good job at cornering that market (if you can get people here to look for merino tops). More people are selling felt art but it is still a small subject area so you will be more visible in those areas than if you went into say felt coasters or brooches.
I think that the advise about having a range of prices is the best advise there is! However, I would add that the Folksy figures are the mean average, and that they remark themselves that a great many low priced items like greetings cards are sold on this site, which could be pulling the mean average down. I would not necessarily focus on £18 or £19 as a price point because that might be wrong for your category. I would look at the price of other items in your category and also how much time and money you spend making it-you will then find a number that feels good to you!
Well done Samca for doing your research. It’s hard to know what to do at the start.
I sell on several sites, at craft fairs, and gallery/ shops too, so I am happy with my item pricing, but my Folksy sales were dropping. So I upgraded to the Plus account last year so I can throw everything on here regardless of price just to see what happens. Results are: none of my higher priced items have sold here since mid 2013, and in the last 12 months nothing over £20. (Elsewhere about 30% of my orders last year were over £20, and several were over £50)
I’m going to continue the experiment until my Plus account expires, but it may be that the average Folksy customer only wants to spend £15-£20, and listing anything else here is a waste of effort.
@rosesworkshop I don’t think its fair to say that the average folksy customer only wants to spend £15-20, of my last 10 orders 8 of them have been over £20, the last one was for £70. My average selling price here is higher than my average selling price at craft markets (although I think that is lowered by people treating themselves to a cheaper priced item when they were meant to be just browsing and I sell alot more at craft fairs than I do here). My last purchase here was for £65 and that crafter is now doing a commission for me (which will end up costing more). People do spend money here. You say you are happy with your pricing but maybe here on folksy your pricing isn’t quite as competative as else where because you are up against people who under value their work? I’m getting rid of a lot of my listings for cheaper items because they aren’t getting looked at let alone bought because that part of the jewellery market is flooded with people who under value their work. As you say you need to run the experiment to see what sells and at what price point and then make a decision based on the data.
This is the thing with trying to match what the ‘average’ customer is going to spend. What you’re selling, your price range, where your customers are finding your promotion and are coming here to buy from, all these things make your pricing individual. You can’t match other people’s prices in the same category unless you really are using the same amount of materials, and taking the same amount of time to make things. You have to see your shop as an individual thing, not as part of a whole site. You’re aiming for your customer to find you through browsing the general internet, or through social media, and then coming straight to your shop via the link you’ve put in your promotion to buy, not wandering off to browse the site to see what else there is.
Wow thanks for all the responses! Do any of you use the Folksy widget and embed it on a website? I have tweaked the widget for my website (website is live, but very under construction really to be honest) so on my website I have a ‘shop’ tab, and on that page I have my ‘Latest Items’ which shows my latest 6 items, and then my full shop, which currently shows up to 60 items I think (I don’t have that many in my shop at the moment, but it is set up to show the first 60)… that way people can buy from me via Folksy who go direct to my website (and therefore will hopefully pay the higher prices?)
@SashaGarrett I was just saying that my own sales over the last year seem to be in line with the average statistics that @SamcaDesigns started with “The average order value across the site was £18.27 . . .”
If your figures are better then that’s great news
It may well be that some people here under value their work - I don’t intend joining in a race to the bottom. If an item is selling elsewhere but not here, then I’m not going to drop the price just for the pleasure of supporting Folksy (sorry Folksy, but I have bills to pay)
But meanwhile the experiment continues. Maybe this time next year my average sale will be £100, who can tell?
I agree with having a range of differently priced items and I seem to do as well with my higher priced dolls as I do with my mice, which are less expensive. Also, when you’re established, you tend to have customers who come back time and time again, if they’re happy with your work, nomatter how expensive it is. I hope you do well on Folksy. I love having my shop on here and I’m sure you will too.
@rosesworkshop I love your comment about a race to the bottom, it is difficult to match prices with people who run their business as a hobby and those for whom it is our full time occupation. Vat at 20% that we have to charge often makes our products even more expensive but we have no choice in that.
Folksy is just one of our platforms at present it is the worst performing for sales but it is often higher ranking than others on google. For less than £1.00 per week using a plus account we can display as many items as you like so why not offer across the price spectrum it is the cheapest form of advertising we have found so any sales are a bonus.
