Hi, hope everyone is well. Sooooo…I’ve noticed that the ‘Other Place’ has recently put another nail in its own coffin by changing it’s policies to allow not only handmade but also ‘sourced by’ etc. Which now makes it even easier for people to drop ship any old thing they like. The new CEO wants to compete with the likes of Temu. Like the world really needs that!!!
This means that Folksy is now even stronger in its endorsement of truly handmade items. I really hope this platform can make the most of this and really promote us especially in the next 6 months until Christmas!!!
Sue xx
I saw that too, I mean ‘sourced by’??
I have a shop there but have never got around to listing anything as I’m not comfortable with their whole ethos these days.
I feel sorry for the genuine artists and makers on the other site, it really isn’t about handcrafted anymore, just a way for those at the top to make more money. I’m pleased Folksy is a handmade site and fingers crossed it will stay that way.
The more the other site makes it awkward for those selling on it the more sellers will move over to Folksy which could be a good thing as folksy will continue to grow as a UK handcrafted platform and the Folksy name will become more recognisable.
The ‘sourced by’ is supposed to be for vintage items and craft supplies but you know it’s going to get abused.
One of E’s own adverts advertises items you can buy on temu
Last year they changed all the categories and now it’s near impossible to find ORIGINAL hand crafted / painted / drawn artwork. Plus they removed the filters so you can’t now drill down for a more specific search result. Add to this the bonkers AI search engine they now use which brings (for example if you search ‘green chair’ it also brings anything and everything green under the sun at the same time - effectively 99.9% of stuff you’re NOT actually looking for. It’s just a pity there wasn’t more traffic here. This is a much better site for hand crafted goods, but sales are once in a blue moon - even with all the changes for the worse I still get sales on the other site. hardly ever here.
Again, the big bully (that’s what I refer to them as) decides they ‘own’ the market for selling. I try as real as I can to block the E and the T and the A from my search engines where I can. It’s not easy, but I try. Always looking for any new Ad blockers. They work for a wee while but the annoying script writing peeps find out and change their algorithms. Onward and upward.
I joined Folksy because I didn’t like the policies on the other site and closed my E shop as they sent me an email more or less saying if I offered free postage my items would get seen, if I didn’t they wouldn’t. I couldn’t offer free postage as I would have had to increase my prices by £20 plus to ensure overseas post was covered but it wasn’t fair on my UK buyers as it meant they would be paying more.
I did leave because of their policies but I do understand what you are saying and a lot of people will stay especially if they are getting regular sales.
On this very subject, there is a way of blocking some of those sites we really don’t like. Now, I’ve only tested this a couple of times and it seems to work… see the photo below for blocking sites - Google is my search engine.
Now, this is a prime example of Google having no idea of how to promote my shop. Why for the love of the wee man would I spend £42.00 for an item that is priced at £65.00 DOH
Tips for your Page
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You could reach up to 4.1K more people daily when you spend £42 to boost this post.
Sadly, when you have to make a living out of what you do then you have to go where expediency dictates. So long as my E shop gets good sales I won’t leave. I buy quite a bit off E, simply because I can’t find what I want on here. Folksy is always my first go to for gifts, but this place just doesn’t have the diversity because it doesn’t have as many sellers. When I’ve asked the sellers on E why they don’t sell on here it’s either they’ve never heard of it or they know the sales are slow. Until Folksy ups the game, this place will never be serious competition to places like E.
Yes I completely understand, as a business you need to be where the sales are, but I live in hope that the more people that join Folksy the more the Folksy name and everything it stands for spreads, it would be great for all of us if it could become a household name.
Yes it is definitely better known and most people who have shops on both do seem to sell more on Etsy, hopefully one day Folksy will be a name people remember whilst still keeping it Uk handcrafted only as it is now.
That’s really a shame. I’ve only been here a month, I’m hoping Christmas will bring some results. At the moment I’m trying to work on promotion on social media and networking. Plugging away and hoping!
Sooooo…I’ve noticed that the ‘Other Place’ has recently put another nail in its own coffin by changing it’s policies to allow not only handmade but also ‘sourced by’ etc. Which now makes it even easier for people to drop ship any old thing they like. The new CEO wants to compete with the likes of Temu. Like the world really needs that!!! 
