And it’s the marketing that’s key!
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Absolutely - but the downsides are that competition is much fiercer on those sites, and often much more expensive (someone has to pay for all that marketing!). So ‘you pays your money, and you takes your choice’! We’re all free to try other sites and other selling options, but we all like it here, so we stay 
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True - but E**y is actually cheaper.
I like the local element to Folksy, but I like the consistency of sales on the other site 
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I think you are spot on Christine, I normally don’t say much on these matters but have been really frustrated here of late - probably because I thought having the plus account was going to put a new spin on things and since I went that route it’s been all down hill !
I am however an optimist and a believer in the ebb and flow of things. That said I also don’t believe in having all my eggs in one basket hence I have a shop on my website and on Etsy.
I will be staying on Folksy at least for the next year … I do like it here, I’m a shopper as well as a seller 
When I started to sell my Art online 3 years ago I thought and many people said Art is difficult to sell online and as my Art is not in the main stream either I knew I would not be easy - and it’s not easy but it can be done - I’ve had over a 100 sales here and nearly three times that in total …
Let’s hope things pick up soon …
Hazel
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Unfortunately for me, I’ve never had huge success on Etsy, so my whole retail empire is in the doldrums! I went shopping yesterday and there are some really interesting, fun and inexpensive things out there. Of course I’m not saying they’re as good as handmade, but with lots of people on tight budgets I wonder if they’re having to buy budget-priced gifts. Also a lot of places have embraced the handmade look…
I like to look at figures, not be overpowered by science.
At the moment there are 5,721 designers/sellers on here as stated on the front page.
There are 7 categories listed. This makes a total of 817 approx sellers in each category.
Some will sell in more than one category, so I don’t know how that will affect my figures.
But assuming an even spread of sellers amongst the categories that’s 817 sellers in each one. That’s a lot of competition, and of course some categories will have fewer sellers and some will have more.
So to my mind I am trying to compete with lots and lots of other sellers in the categories that I sell in. Should Folksy now concentrate on a policy of one shop out, one shop in, so it doesn’t get too big. Just a thought. Marg. x
I definitely don’t think they should limit the amount of shops.
Absolutely not.
However, I do think they need - indeed should - be actively promoting Folksy as a brand, and not just via the occasional post on Facebook, Twitter and craft magazines.
It stands to reason that what worked well in the past, when Folksy was new and much smaller, will not be working as well now.
And it doesn’t seem to be building on the solid foundations it has in place to becoming as recognisable, re.brand awareness, as similar sites.
Just my opinion!
Sarah x
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I think the number of shops on here will probably limit itself naturally, with as many shops closing as opening. We already see empty shops, where sellers have either moved on to other outlets, or given up selling, and I can’t see that changing much. Many sellers have unrealistic expectations when they open a shop, most don’t do that well, and a few fortunate ones do very well. It’s the same in every venture - there will always be a few successful people and many, many more who are not. If you keep going, things may improve; if you give up, they definitely won’t!
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One thing that I will add is that for many years I did craft fairs…usually 4 a month…the minimum charge would be £10 and the maximum, in a local shopping centre 20 years ago was £45…
So even at the lowest amount (and I would do the shopping centre once a month)…that is £75 a month in fees.
To put it into context…(now not doing fairs) My bill for September was £5.07…the dark side was £2.50 and the auction site was £24…TOTAL…£31.57…MUCH less that I paid 20 years ago…
AND I would often stand at fairs with little or no sales (not to mention added petrol etc)…
So all in all, even though my sales have plummeted , I am much better off doing online selling…even despite pathetic sales at the moment…so perhaps that puts a better perspective on it
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Brenda, that was my thinking when I joined the plus account. Craft fairs seemed to be a lot of work for not a lot of return, and the cost of a plus account was, I thought, very reasonable, when I can spend £5.00 a week in a high street coffee shop, £45 is very cheap. I’m now into my second year and although my shop is “hidden” at the moment, I will return to selling next year both here and on other sites.
Hopefully things will pick up for Christmas, I notice lots of b&m stores have already got their Christmas stock, and I will be looking to Folksy for the unusual Christmas gifts. Marg. x
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Thanks for the explanation!
Since the Search on Folksy has improved immensely, do you have any figures as to how many views items get per month coming from searches within the site? And what is the ratio of those views converting to sales?
Also, I’ve read in Google site (if I understood this correctly) that if the bounce rate is high, that means that people visit the site and leave quickly. Am I right? Then Folks’s rate of 44% is ok. It is very difficult even for large companies to have a very good bounce rate.
I’ve also started wondering whether advertising in Crafts magazines is the right place for a selling venue. I’m suspecting a large number of people looking there are interested in crafts, ideas and that sort of thing. I’ve been contacted by those magazines twice to contribute photos of my products to include them in articles about things to make, inspiration, ideas…hhmmm…I couldn’t produce photos in the size they wanted but I wasn’t too keen for my work to get that kind of attention either so we didn’t go ahead in the end.
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I have been in a few crafts magazines and I hoped it would be good for name awareness and as hubby is a keen photographer we could do the photos OK - I didn’t notice any increase of views to my website and no sales came from them. however when I was featured in a miniature dolls house magazine in June this year I had lots of interest and it has increased my name awareness in this sector, and is the reason I am doing a fair this weekend - when I phoned to book the lady I said " my name is Hazel Rayfield and I paint… " and before I could say any more she said I know who you are !!! Scary lol
But I digress … I personally think for offline publicity Folksy needs to be featured in magazines like the Sunday supliments or things like the Waitrose or Asda Magazines which are free - I read them
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Hi Ciesse,
Good question re: conversion rates. The conversion rate in the last 30 days has been:
Organic search 1.2%
Social channels (FB, Pinterest etc) 0.8%
So social channels don’t perform as well. Twitter brings that conversion rate down quite a lot. Facebook is particularly good at converting, Pinterest is also pretty good, but Twitter far less so. But then it’s worth reading this article from Dan about why conversion rate isn’t always the thing to focus on:
Thanks,
James.
Sales are odd aren’t they. We see - on aggregate - a general pattern which is that sales increase (with the odd blip at quiet times e.g. holidays in July and August etc). However, on a micro level we see a LOT of variation. Shops go from having very few views to lots and then back to a few again. We would recommend you sign up for a free Google Analytics account and use the Google UA code (in your shop setting page) to track your shop - you’ll have a far better sense then of why you get the variation.
Re: social stuff. Yes, you are incredibly important in getting people to Folksy and we really appreciate the work that benefits everyone. We invest a lot of our revenue in content and social media marketing too which generates a lot of views and engagement. Together we’re stronger!
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So this is interesting for us. Sellers always assume their work is not being viewed yet you typically get lots of views in a week - through index pages and search results pages. We only count it officially when someone has chosen to view the product page but lots of people see your work and choose not to look at it in detail. Does that make sense?
We’re thinking of showing how many times your work appears in category views and in search results pages to show people their work is seen far more than they think it is. This is one of the reasons why good photography is absolutely critical - far more important than price or even a good description. A good photo on an index page view will get people to look at an item in detail and consider buying it.
Thanks,
James.
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Like Brenda, I only ever did craft fairs up until last year. I have to admit, I don’t like computers and I can’t really bothered with technology so doing craft fairs always had more appeal because they were more social. 2012 was a really good year for craft fairs but last year was dire. Endless weekends standing around without selling a thing and there isn’t just the cost of the stall. There is also petrol, the things you buy from other stallholders, lunch, tea/coffee etc plus the annual public liability insurance. I sell on Etsy as well as here and put the occasional thing on Ebay and sales aren’t brilliant but I have sold much more than I did last year. I think people aren’t buying because everyone is trying to save or clear debts in case the government puts up interest rates. I know that I for one no longer buy things just because I want them. Sadly my salary over the past 5 years hasn’t increased at the same rate as everything else so unless I really need something, I unfortunately can’t afford so spend money on a whim and I think that applies to lots of people.
I think there are still a lot of people spending money and the economy is on the up, but I think you’re right that people are being more careful with their money. The handmade market is also busier - more people are making and trying to sell their work than ever. So you - and everyone - has more competition. The key to being successful is finding a type of product that is relatively unique (perhaps a design angle or a way of making) that you can call your own and find the people who might like that.
In the Folksy workshops there was one lady who came with an idea to make things for the community she was involved with - the swing dance community. It turns out there are a LOT of swing dance groups and they have a strong sense of style (30s / 40s) but no one designs for them. She had one product that she was testing prior to launching but then had a few other products in the pipeline, all handmade. Marketing to this community is relatively easy - they have groups, they are online. As a business idea it has a lot going for it. I intend to write up some of the learning we shared in the workshops to get feedback on it and hopefully we can all learn from each other.
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I agree Susan, my views are way down since the new front page (which I think is quite boring). Sales had been good all year and then come September only 2 for the month and very few views. My plus account is up for renewal at the end of this month so will see how October goes.
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I’m moving on 
so I renewed my ply account only last week because I had nothing else set up. However my views have been so bad and no sales since that I’m forced to move on. I will leave all my stock currently listed on folksy until next year but will now focus on a shop on another site it’s such a shame after all effort that everyone that everyone has put in.