Hello! I am still new to Folksy. I opened my folksy shop maybe 2 months ago, but only made 2 sales (my item was featured so i believe that’s why I sold the item) I added more items since then … but haven’t made any sales for months…
I was wondering If I should upgrade my account to Folksy Plus to increase my chances of selling? I understand that in long term it is worth the money, but I’m just afraid that I won’t make any sales even if I add more items to my shop.
1 Like
Hello!
I would say that unless you are going to be listing a few hundred items a year it’s not worth the Plus account.
The key to sales it to attract people to your shop from elsewhere online (or offline!) - I use Facebook to promote my shop on my business page, also link to my shop from my website, and advertise on relevant forums.
A lot of people use Twitter, Pinterest etc. You need to find which works for you.
Also, try and get the word out about your goods to non-crafters - these will be your best potential customers.
Your crochet items are lovely, and I’m sure they will sell well once you have worked out how to direct people to your shop 
I like your crochet flower so much I just bought some LOL
Two sales in 2 months is a lot better than many people are managing at the moment!
I believe it costs 18p per listing on folksy and folksy plus is £45 per year. With each listing lasting 4 months (so renewing 3 times a year) you need to have 84+ items listed to make it worthwhile. I’m not sure being a folksy plus seller brings more sales, just more hard work keeping the listing numbers up! If you have lots of items to list then go for it but if you only have low numbers then don’t. One advantage is that you can also list items that you’re unsure of without it costing anything. I sometimes make things that don’t always come out the way I planned or that i dont particularly like but sometimes I still list them as everyone’s taste varies and you never know!
Beautiful flowers btw
1 Like
Just a quick one and not related to your question… your flowers are so pretty and beautifully constructed we think you are selling yourself a little on the low side.
The poppy style flowers in your shop avatar are especially lovely 
1 Like
Thank you for saying that… I started doubting my work when it wasn’t selling on different platforms like Etsy and Ebay… So I lowered my price. Also other crochet sellers here sell their flowers so cheap…
@TheHawthornHeart
@crochetappliiqueforyou
The best way to get potential customers to visit your shop is via Google.
You need to pay attention to your SEOs (Search Engine Optimisation) in both your Titles and Descriptions.
Craftjuice is an excellent way of getting Google to notice you and if I had to choose one method of promotion then it would definitely be Craftjuice.
There is a monthly thread where we post our links to items submitted on CJ and we vote for each other.
As long as you get 5 votes CJ will post to their Facebook page,
BUT more importantly it gets you noticed on Google searches.
Shirley x
1 Like
Thank you for your advice… I never heard of Craftjuice… will have to take a loot at it!
@EmmaCurtisDesign
@crochetappliiqueforyou
Do not make the mistake of trying to be competitive with sellers who are obviously not making a profit.
Selling too cheaply will not help you. Customers are prepared to pay for quality and unique items.
If customers see that you are pricing very cheap they will assume that your goods are of low quality and “cheap”.
You need to aim for customers who have more disposable income than you do.
A crafter cannot normally afford to buy their own goods!
Emma it is difficult to get your titles right for SEO. There are so many people selling jewellery.
However I do think that maybe you would be better putting “pendant”, “necklace”, “earrings” etc at the beginning of the title.
If I was searching for some earrings I would be very unlikely to put: "Vintage Style Green Riveted Flower earrings"
However I might put "Vintage Green earrings"
or "Vintage Flower earrings"
But it is difficult to decide which is the best way - I still play around with my titles all the time and tend to describe them in many different ways.
If you have a Plus Account then use it.
List as many items as you possibly can, it is not cost effective for a few items.
Also relist some every day so that they stay near the top of Categories.
Shirley x
3 Likes
Re Pricing, I did start a thread on this a while ago. It is absolutely true what WhimsyWooDesigns said about selling stuff too cheap. You see it on the high street all the time - whilst we all love a bit of Primark we would covet and value something from say Liberty!
I would also take some time to think about who your target customer is and then thinking about where they shop, what they read, where they visit. Think about their lifestyle and how you can feed into that.
If you haven’t already, read the stuff on the very wonderful Handmade Lives blog by Dixie Nichols.
4 Likes
Some of the replies above say that it’s not worth paying for a Plus subscription, unless you’ll be listing a lot of items.
For myself, I disagree. I currently have 38 active listings (ie. not “hidden”, “expired” or “draft”) in my shop. I make hand-bound books, many of which take me many hours to make. I don’t have a great deal of time to work on my products, as I care for an elderly relative, who had a stroke. However, I do have a Plus subscription and feel it’s worthwhile for me.
It depends on many factors, not just how many items you list. If you only list items that are relatively inexpensive, and there are not many listings in your shop, then you may not benefit from Plus membership.
If you only have a few items, that are higher priced, the same may be true.
But - for instance - if you intend to re-list your items frequently, in order to keep them in the “recently listed” lists and at the top of any “Gift Guide” features etc, then you may want to invest in Plus, in order to avoid big bills for re-listing.
And if you plan on listing a lot of items - even if they are only inexpensive - you may save quite a bit of money over the year, by forking out £45 up-front and listing for free whenever you wish (remember you will still pay a fee when you make a sale).
It does depend on how you want to run your own shop.
It’s complicated and may need a bit of thought and research, before you make a decision. Perhaps do this:
Find out about SEO and other ways of bringing visitors to your Folksy shop. Maybe use Google Analytics to find out where your customers/views are currently coming from.
Try optimising your listings for Google searches etc, as well as for searches within Folksy.
Sign up for Folksy mailings and pay attention to trends and seasonal promotion (eg. Fathers Day, Summer / Autumn trends, Christmas etc etc…).
Maybe run the shop for a couple of weeks, doing all you can to get more views (bearing in mind it takes a little while for Google to pick up your changes), then see what it is costing you, re-think your strategy, work out if you want to sign up for Plus (yet).
I think it is a personal thing, depending on you and how you wish to run your own business. I am pleased to have Plus membership - as are many people, but some others are not.
Good luck!
Lizzie
2 Likes
I love my Plus account - and although it seems a lot to pay out in one go, it’s only once a year, and I could do just a couple of craft fairs for that price (not up market ones either) - and probably be sat on my bum for a day, selling a few items, and wishing I could be at home painting. For £45 you reach a much larger audience, your shop can be open 24/7 every day of the year, if you want - when you look at it like that it seems a really good deal to me 
4 Likes
I too love my Plus Account.
It costs less than £1 per week!
I can list as many items as I like, as many times as I like (subject to the once a day rule for each item).
What’s not to like?
However I do not have a Plus Account for my miniatures shop because that only has 8 items in it and it’s not my main shop, more of a long term project for the future.
www.WhimsyWooMiniatures.folksy.com
Shirley x
2 Likes
Fiona I love your flowers and have just bought some. Good luck with your shop. I’m trying crochetting, and wish I could make such beautiful flowers, maybe one day. Marg. x
thank you for saying that… It means a lot. I just received your order… i will dispatch it later today. Hopefully you’ll like the flowers!
Hi. I love your crochet work. So pretty 
I too am pondering whether to upgrade to Folksy Plus.
I added up my listing and relisting fees since I joined last August, and they do mount up.
I think the cost of upgrading is quite reasonable for a years membership.
I’ve always quite fancied the bold, eye catching featured items section. It looks great.
I didn’t sell my first item for a few months, and now it seems to be an item a month on average. Not great, but a start. Im still a novice at this selling lark so hopefully things will pick up as time goes by. I do make jewellery though so I know there’s an abundance of competition out there, but I do love it here and really want to make a go of it.
I will let you know if I take the plunge 
Karen🍭
1 Like
Unless you give it a try you won’t know how it will effect you and your shop. Even if it won’t work for you, you will be richer in an experience, if not in sales. I bought it when it was £30 and I still made a loss for that year. Some people swear that renewing everday brings them sales, for me it hasn’t worked. When I sold something it was an item I forgot I had in a shop.
The listing fee on here is 18 pence and it does add very quickly but I have decided to only list handful of items. Also if you have 10 of the same items available Folksy charges listing fees for all of them (£1.80) which is rather poo considering the lisiting lasts just 120 days wether it sells or not. Because of this I do not list more than one anyone of the items. However if your items will tend to sell few at a time, then it might be worth taking this into consideration.
If you do decide to make a go of it, make sure you give it your best shot for the whole 12 months, rather than give up on it after couple of weeks.
1 Like
Thanks Fiona, the flowers are really beautiful and the colours are just what I wanted. If anyone wants crochet flowers as embellisments I can recommend Crochetappliqueforyou. Marg. x
I was just going to ask the question about whether it was worthwhile to upgrade to a plus account? I am new to Folksy within the last few weeks & I only have about 20 listings but will be adding more but no sales yet. I wonder about whether they get more coverage or whether it is just because they have more items for sale & therefore more exposure? I find google & SEO & this pay per click really confusing any tips re. that & increasing my chances of sale? x
Hi Karen,
Having the plus account doesn’t give you any more exposure or coverage.
As was said above it is only really worth it if you have a lot to list or relist.
Personally I would see how you get on , you can always go for it in the future if sales warrant it.