Hi all,
I’m pretty new to folksy, I have a lot more items to list yet so am working on that, but wondered how long it took you to get your first sale?
It took me 3 weeks. It was a needle case and these have proved to be my best sellers on Folksy. I have now sold 27 from a total of 80 sales. I joined just over a year ago.
Good luck with your shop. I’m off to have a look!
Same here, it took me around 3 weeks for my first and it was a star shape taggy and I also made a sale last week, your time will come x
It’s like the three week club!! Mine was about the same and that was really due to a fellow folkster flagging up one of my products on the forum here and saying how much she liked them 
Ha - it does seem like the 3 week club! Thank you lovelies for your responses so far, it seems nice and friendly around here 
Anyone else?
I’d say that it varies immensely. I don’t sell, I just buy (and chat!) but I’ve been on the forum at least three years now and sometimes I’ve heard sellers say they’ve sold something on the day they open their shop and others have had to wait months. I think a lot of it is to do with how much you promote, some is whether there are people out there who want to buy what you make, and some is just luck, whether someone just happens to chance upon your item in a search and love it enough to buy it.
Good luck, hope you don’t have to wait too long.
I am going to break the rule…took me three months !!!..so keep going…
It was 2 months for me ( seemed like an eternity lol)
Its well worth the wait when it comes 
Karen
It was 6 days for me, but that was because I paid for Dottie designs to promote my birds on the 19th of May, which brought me two sales - so now I’m waiting to see if I get any other sales. It’s a bit of a mystery to me how people promote their pages. I might start a thread about once my competition is finished. Unless one exits already?
It’s taken me two and a bit months! I haven’t extensively promoted though and I could do an awful lot more to reach my target customers… A couple of my birds made it onto the Folksy front page but funnily enough it wasn’t either of them that sold!
Wow I’d love to get on the front page!! Well done you
Hmm I guess I’ll keep going and hope for the best, fingers crossed… I will be over the moon if/when I get my first sale!!
Thanks all for your responses so far - any other feedback is more than welcome
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3 months for me!
Lin
I love that duck (?) that was on the front page - however, I should think your price point has had something to do with slow first sale. Lots of your work is in the larger money bracket, I know you’ve got a few things that are smaller, but most of it is around the £100 mark. Well worth it, but harder to get fast sales I should imagine?
most of mine are under £20 so I’m ok on that point! I tried to add a few bargain items as well like a few of the silver earrings that are under a fiver but no takers yet!
Started around 2 months ago and still waiting and hoping !!! Sara x x
Thanks. Yes, it means I’ll only be able to attract a certain customer so fast sales is not going to happen. I’m happy with that though, it is what it is. I should really promote myself where my target customers hangout, but haven’t done as yet.
@BigBirdLittleBird You definitely shouldn’t change what you do. How do you know where your target customer hangs out? I am currently very interested in knowing how to get the right customer traffic to my sites. Folksy promotes hanging out on the forums and having good images, but I’m not convinced letting other crafters know about your work is the way to sell enough to keep body and soul together. Yes of course some of us will buy each others work, but many of us couldn’t afford our own work, let alone some of the best stuff on Folksy. I don’t see the Top Ten Sellers of 2013 much on the forums, so they must have a different approach. I’d be interested to know what your approach to this problem would be. My main income comes from selling direct to Art and Craft Galleries - do you do a lot of that too?
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I don’t as yet - I started researching that aspect and am still considering it. I did however look at wholesale and retail pricing structure via Folksy and so at least if I do go that route I won’t have to change my prices.
As to your target customer, I imagine who would buy and invest the money I charge for my birds. What magazines they would read, where they visit, spend their time, what peaks their interest, and then looking at how to access them via those mediums. So as you say, art galleries for one. Retail spaces would be another, but have to be the right shop in the right area. Communicating with magazines and other media that my target customer listens/reads (so Twitter is pretty good, FB not so much, and I should look at doing a press release too at some point).
I just need the time to do it all really!
Time exactly - fb and forums can eat up your time and ultimately I won’t keep doing that if it brings few benefits. I think there is a difference here between those who are supporting themselves from their craft/art and those that like making stuff and enjoy selling it to cover the costs or make a bit extra. If you need a foot in the door with some galleries I know several who I could introduce you to because your work would probably fit. PM me when you’re at that stage.
Trying to get an article in magazines is tricky, that’s why I went to Seek & adore as they have more press clout, but so far no sales at all via them and they are expensive - but I’m hoping Christmas may turn that around
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didn’t include your tag so just doing it now to make sure you see my recent reply @BigBirdLittleBird