Hello everyone and seasonal greetings to you all
I’m brand new to Foksy, just in the process of getting everything set up and finding out how it all works.
In the meantime I have a question about customer markets: what sort of percentage would you say your sales to the EU/UK are as opposed to perhaps America?
Thanks in advance everyone
George
You got me thinking about demographics and my ‘type’ of customer so this turned into a deep dive of, like, all my sales on every platform. I hope it gives you an idea of my experience selling online and helps in some way:
Personally, my sales (combined and over on Etsy) is about 50:45:5 UK:US:EU, presumably because Etsy is US-based. I have the odd order to Germany or the Netherlands but Europe is relatively small for me. Get the odd one to Canada or Australia. Then I sell a bit to friends and family (UK only), mostly on Folksy and in person. On Folksy it’s 99:1 UK:US. Don’t think I’ve shipped to Europe, Canada or Aus via Folksy yet, even though I keep telling people that international shipping is cheaper on here and it’s a higher quality marketplace. 
If you look on https://folksy.com/selling they say that 85% sales on Folksy are UK-based, which I think makes sense as Folksy only allows UK sellers.
Take everything I say of my experience with a pinch of salt, though: I started on Etsy years before I joined Folksy and it’s an enormous Amazon-esque site these days with different traffic levels. Plus my work (stationery and accessories) is very words-based and sarcastic. It makes sense to have more native English speaking customers and fewer European customers, and a lot of my work is kind of niche and probably caters to a more westernised demographic. Customers might to think to look for my type of stuff on Etsy but not to look for it on here, as Folksy is better known for its lovely crafts.
I don’t know if that will help you with your work at all - if you make art, you might find it appeals to European customers and fits the Folksy mould more than my stuff seems to! Good luck with your shop. 
Brilliant - thank you Francesca for taking the time to respond and for the quality of your response too.
That is interesting that you say that you find its 99:1 UK:US as I had in mind that there would be more of a leaning towards selling in the UK (which suits me very well to be honest, as this is my preferred market).
Thanks again Francesca for your response and I wish you all the best with your sales.
George
You’re welcome! I’ve been thinking about stats a lot lately haha, I love a natter about marketing (I’m not insane, I work in marketing).
Yeah the UK is my preferred market too - so much less hassle. But if the customers are international I’ll roll with it.
Ah thank you!
Virtually all my sales are UK. I reckon I’ve had a couple of US this year and a handful of EU (more than normal and was during height of lockdown when their shops were closed). I think lockdown defo had an impact on habits as I also sell clothes on the popular auction site and noticed a big increase on international sales there.
Thanks for this Feel Felt Found.
Again, very interesting that you say the majority of your sales are to UK based customers. Interesting too, that you believe that lockdown has changed shopping habits for people and I can see how that would be case.
Initially, I created a free Folksy account to see how it worked out - do you think it is a good idea to initially go with the free option or is it better to upgrade to the £5 per month account with unlimited listings?
Thanks again
George
The vast majority of my sales are in the UK and I sell more to the US than the. At the moment though I’m only selling in the UK due to the present circumstances.
Normally the vast majority of my Folksy sales are within the UK, this festive season has proven a little different with USA/ Canada accounting for about 50% of my sales on Folksy (and they are buying the more expensive items). I am wondering if this is due to me improving my instagram presence which is making the fordite collectors in the USA/ Canada more aware of me.
Thanks Tina - another helpful reply.
George
Thanks Sasha
2020 has certainly been ‘different’ and not what probably anyone could have anticipated. Your comment about your USA and Canada customers buying the more expensive items, reminded me of the big recession we had years ago, when it was reported that people were purchasing less items overall but instead were buying more expensive, higher quality items.
I opened my store around September and it has been quite slow for me on Folksy. Of the 11 sales I made so far 2 were to America, 1 to Australia and the rest were UK.
Thanks for your input - I really appreciate all the replies so far. Well done too on your sales - I know I would be quite happy with 11 sales!
Hi, Mary here, really interesting question so I thought I’d have a look at my sales in more detail. Of all my online sales 97% comes from the UK (the vast majority of which (84%) from England interestingly). US makes up 0.5% and Europe the remaining 2.5% with Germany and the Republic of Ireland being the leading countries. On Folksy however they have all been UK orders so far.
Hi Mary, thanks for taking the time to respond. That is really interesting. I am wondering now if there is a relationship between a buyer and how far away the seller is based from them. When the buyer is making a decision on whether to make a purchase or not, would a buyer in America for example be more likely to make a purchase from an artist in their own country rather than one based in the UK (and vice versa of course)?
I think the cost of shipping (and whether or not they will have to pay import VAT) is a consideration that most potential customers make. If people like something enough then they are prepared to pay the shipping - one of my american customers just paid £40 courier shipping to make sure the earrings made it to them in time to be given at christmas for example. When I’m shopping I tend to go for sellers within the UK in preference to overseas because I know that if the item is over £15 I will end up having to pay VAT and royal mail’s handling charge (£8) on top of expensive international shipping.
This year particularly more people are choosing to buy within their own country due to the lengthy delays that international post has be subject to (Royal Mail has a list of countries that they still can’t ship to due to covid).
Oh I definitely think so - particularly when you consider the costs incurred, after all in theory sending something in the UK could be as little as the price of a stamp whereas sending to the US can be £20 if it’s a small parcel being tracked etc. I think that puts a lot of people off, but then I think it also comes down to your price point. If you’re selling artwork at say £200 another £20 for the delivery is quite minor. However, my cheapest item to the US was £7.50 and then someone paid £20 for the delivery which I can’t really get my head round!
Thank you. I am finding it incredibly slow on folksy. Most of my sales were from pre-existing contacts. Only two customers came direct from folksy. Hang in there. I hope things pick up soon. xx
In previous years I’d have been undecided re the upgrade unless you’ve got loads of items like me (probably also the curse of the upgrade as no need to focus :). Most years I’ve covered the cost of it but not much more, however this year has been very much better (sales wise anyway! - guess there had to be some compo from the universe). Can’t tell you how much is down to the Covid situation however and how much is down to me having more time to focus on promoting.
100 % of my jewellery was sold to the UK
That is a good point. I know when I was simply buying things online (other than trying to sell online too) that I would see something and think ‘That is a good price I will buy that’ then decide not to when I realise the delivery cost could be more than the item itself. I subsidise my delivery, in that I add a small amount into the costing of my work and then advise my buyers that recorded/tracked delivery is included in the price (I am only shipping to the UK/EU). It is also a little ‘thank you’ to anyone buying my work too.