Some of our readers are already aware of this as they have shops on Etsy - but there have been some recent changes at Etsy involving the site's forums which are open to all who come to the site, buyers and sellers. Many of the forums that have existed since the site opened are now gone. What remains are forums directed only at sellers - and this is a shame for the shopping public.
It was always possible before the change to announce a new item that went into a shop by using the Promotions Forum. This was a busy place. Some sellers felt that it was too busy - but it brought results. A shop could announce a new item or cleverly remind everyone of other items in the shop and buyers could go and see what was new and for sale. Discounts could be announced. Coupons could be offered. It was the only place on the site that a seller could go on their own and promote their work without paying a fee. That is now gone.
Many of my sales have come from the Promotions Forum. Many buyers have found me there and have come back as repeat customers. This was a way to get your work looked at and ultimately make a sale. Now this opportunity is gone.
There is nothing of any practical application that has taken its place. It is possible to pay to be noticed on the overall site - but why should the customer have to pay the cost for a shop to advertise - no matter what anyone will say - all expenses are reflected in the cost charged.
There is no logical reasoning offered for this change - at least not one that makes any sense to anyone selling on the site. Could the forums been revised to make them more manageable? Sure! But eliminate the ones that the general public would benefit from? No sense at all!
Several sites suddenly sprung up to take the place of the Etsy Forums and also provide a Promotions Forum. One of the most notable is UEF (Unofficial Etsy Forums). But it is too soon to see if this site has any effect on sales. And unless buyers find that site - it will do no good. Take a look at UEF. If you are looking to buy, you will find shops and new items promoted there.
Showing posts with label promotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label promotion. Show all posts
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Basic Product Photograpy - The Series
For the past six weeks there have been a series of articles on this site about the basics of taking product photographs to be used on a website, a web store, or in print in a catalog. To make it easier to refer back to these articles I will list the links below. If new related articles are written in the future, those links will be added as they occur.
BASIC PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY
Part 1 - Cameras, Equipment, Etc.
Part 2 - Shooting Outdoors
Part 3 - Shooting Indoors
Part 4 - A Better Way to Shoot Indoors - Light Tents
Part 5 - Editing Software
Part 6 - Image Editing
Choosing a Camera - Part 1
Choosing a Camera - Part 2
BASIC PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY
Part 1 - Cameras, Equipment, Etc.
Part 2 - Shooting Outdoors
Part 3 - Shooting Indoors
Part 4 - A Better Way to Shoot Indoors - Light Tents
Part 5 - Editing Software
Part 6 - Image Editing
Choosing a Camera - Part 1
Choosing a Camera - Part 2
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Basic Product Photography - Part 3
In our last article we talked about shooting your product photos outdoors. In this article we are going to move your photo "studio" indoors. There is more to shooting inside than putting your item down on the kitchen table and taking out your camera. Believe me, I have tried it when I have been in a hurry and there are always problems.
When shooting indoors there are three things that must be taken into consideration - lighting, shadows, and background. If you control these three things you will easily take good product photos.
While you do not have to dedicate a space for your photos full time (who has room for that?) you are going to want to determine a space that you will always come back to when you need to take photos. Look around your house - or apartment - and find a space that you can take over for the times when you need to take photographs of your craft or art work. This space needs a table or counter that is already there all of the time or a place to put a small folding table. The height of the table needs to be comfortable for you to work on so a low to the floor, living room, coffee table is not ideal. Your kitchen table will work. The table on which you create your craft will work (as long as you don't keep your tools out all of the time - you don't want to need to completely clean up and put everything away every time you need to take a photo. If you do and you are like me, you will never take any photos.) Find your space and use that space every time.
Now to start controlling each of the three variables mentioned above. First let's talk about lighting. If you see a picture of a professional photographers studio you will see that several lights are used to light the subject. Look closely at those lights and they usually are facing away from the subject and there are reflective umbrellas in front of them which bounces the light toward what or who they are taking the photo of. They do this to get indirect light focused on the subject. Another method (more used years ago than now) was to put translucent covers on the front of the lights. Indirect light or diffused light provides a soft light that will not create a glare on what you are photographing. Generally, these photographers are not using a camera flash pointed at the subject because the flash will cause a glare as well. So you want to create a situation where you can get good light on your item that is not pointed directly at it and not use your camera flash. Digital cameras can adjust to take photos with very little light. Two problems can result from that - one is that it will set the speed that your shutter opens and closes too low - so the very slightest movement will cause blur - and the second is that the camera will change the ISO setting to one that is so high that small blotch spots will result on your image called "grain". When cameras more commonly used film, the film would be sold to work at a certain ISO setting. You would set your camera to what the ISO setting was on the film box. Then as now, the higher the setting and the lower the light, the more likely you would get grain on your photos. Technology on digital cameras has pushed the level way up from what film settings will result in, but as you approach 1000 ISO and beyond you are going to have to deal with grain. Some image software has corrections for grain, but none really work as well as taking your photo correctly to start. For product photos leave your ISO setting on "AUTO" and let the camera handle it. As long as you are providing the right light this will not be an issue. Your tripod and a steady hand pushing the shutter button will stop the blur from a low shutter speed. But again, sufficient light makes this problem go away.
So what are you going to do about light. Your room lights may cause you a problem. Ceiling lights too close to your shooting space can cause an overhead glare. Try to offset your photo space out from under overhead lights. You are going to need lights to take your photos. No, you don't have to spend a lot of money. The cheapest way to deal with this is to purchase clip on utility lights at a home or discount store. These lights sell for about $6.00 each and use regular household light bulbs. The lamp has a metal clip on the bottom and a large, round, metal hood around the bulb. I use incandescent light bulbs but you could use the new twist shape fluorescent bulbs that everyone thinks are so wonderful right now. Let me caution you right here - those bulbs are EXTREMELY dangerous if they break. Read the package. You are supposed to deal with the broken bulb and the room as if a hazardous substance spilled. I am not going to get into this now, but use incandescent light bulbs in your photo lights. You are going to be moving them around and there is too much risk that something is going to fall and break and you do not want to be dealing with that so called "green" bulb if it breaks. You are going to want at least two lights. As you read further you will see why you might want three.
You are going to need to be able to clip these lamps to your table in front of the spot that you are going to place your item - one on each side. By directing the two lights you can eliminate one of the the other variables above - shadows. Two lights with their beams or light crossing each other will eliminate shadows. When two don't do it, a third light from above added into the mix usually will. Set your item down - on its photo display (just like we talked about in the last article) and start moving your lights so that there are no shadows and no glare - and, obviously, so that the lamps are in no way in the picture. Now, I talked about indirect or diffused light - we'll get back to that.
Let's move, for a moment, to the last variable - background. Look behind your item and what do you see. Whatever it is, it is going to be in your picture in some way - even if it is blurred out. Look down at your table under your item and what do you see? That too is going to be in the image. You can also get glare coming up from the table top. Let's do something about that first. A neutral solid color piece of fabric makes a nice "table" cloth to go under your item. Some colors work better than others. Avoid white because you are going to struggle more in correcting the white balance of the cloth in the picture than of the item. Light blue is good. Light grey is good. Light tan is good. If your item is very light in color you might even want to use black. I like to use flannel. It gives a softer look to the cloth when photographed - and it is inexpensive in fabric stores. It will also absorb light rather than reflect the light - which is something that you want when you are looking to avoid light where you don't want it or that you cannot control. As to what is behind your picture... A cloth backdrop works well here too. Again, the same solid colors in a cotton flannel are recommended. Do not use a pattern. Remember, you want to focus attention on the item - not what is behind it or around it. A pattern - even a subtle one will bring the eye away from the item. Attach the cloth to a board that will stand at 90 degrees to the table - and won't fall over. You can purchase corrugated plastic in many craft and hobby stores in poster size sheets. It is easy to cut with a razor knife and you can attach your fabric to it. Cut it down to a managable size but large enough to fill the background of your photo in the space that you are working in. Use the remaining plastic board to create a stand - much like the ones that you find on the back of table picture frames.
You now have your space set up. You know how to but it up and take it down - and more importantly you can put it up exactly the same way the next time that you need it. Set your item in place and start moving your lights so that you have no shadows either on the background or on the table. Now I am going to repeat what I wrote in the second article - At this point you are ready to shoot and all you need to do is swap your items in and out of this position on your table to take your photos. Set up your tripod in front of the object (or get into a comfortable position with your Optically Image Stabilized camera with no need for a tripod), set your camera to Macro mode, set your white balance to sunlight, and check the distance that you are from your object. If you are within the macro range specified for your camera then you are ready. If not, then move your tripod or yourself to where you need to be. You might even want to use a ruler or tape measure to make sure you are where you must be. Check each photo on the screen of the camera as you shoot each shot - look closely and you will see if you are ok or you need to make an adjustment. Always take several shots of each set up object. It costs you nothing and it is all disposable and you are only limited by the size of the memory card in your camera.
All of this will work, but this set up has its pitfalls. There is a much simpler way to accomplish all of this. For just a small expense you can get yourself a light tent. And that will be discussed in the next article - when we also get back to all those things that I said I would get back to.
To be continued...
When shooting indoors there are three things that must be taken into consideration - lighting, shadows, and background. If you control these three things you will easily take good product photos.
While you do not have to dedicate a space for your photos full time (who has room for that?) you are going to want to determine a space that you will always come back to when you need to take photos. Look around your house - or apartment - and find a space that you can take over for the times when you need to take photographs of your craft or art work. This space needs a table or counter that is already there all of the time or a place to put a small folding table. The height of the table needs to be comfortable for you to work on so a low to the floor, living room, coffee table is not ideal. Your kitchen table will work. The table on which you create your craft will work (as long as you don't keep your tools out all of the time - you don't want to need to completely clean up and put everything away every time you need to take a photo. If you do and you are like me, you will never take any photos.) Find your space and use that space every time.
Now to start controlling each of the three variables mentioned above. First let's talk about lighting. If you see a picture of a professional photographers studio you will see that several lights are used to light the subject. Look closely at those lights and they usually are facing away from the subject and there are reflective umbrellas in front of them which bounces the light toward what or who they are taking the photo of. They do this to get indirect light focused on the subject. Another method (more used years ago than now) was to put translucent covers on the front of the lights. Indirect light or diffused light provides a soft light that will not create a glare on what you are photographing. Generally, these photographers are not using a camera flash pointed at the subject because the flash will cause a glare as well. So you want to create a situation where you can get good light on your item that is not pointed directly at it and not use your camera flash. Digital cameras can adjust to take photos with very little light. Two problems can result from that - one is that it will set the speed that your shutter opens and closes too low - so the very slightest movement will cause blur - and the second is that the camera will change the ISO setting to one that is so high that small blotch spots will result on your image called "grain". When cameras more commonly used film, the film would be sold to work at a certain ISO setting. You would set your camera to what the ISO setting was on the film box. Then as now, the higher the setting and the lower the light, the more likely you would get grain on your photos. Technology on digital cameras has pushed the level way up from what film settings will result in, but as you approach 1000 ISO and beyond you are going to have to deal with grain. Some image software has corrections for grain, but none really work as well as taking your photo correctly to start. For product photos leave your ISO setting on "AUTO" and let the camera handle it. As long as you are providing the right light this will not be an issue. Your tripod and a steady hand pushing the shutter button will stop the blur from a low shutter speed. But again, sufficient light makes this problem go away.
So what are you going to do about light. Your room lights may cause you a problem. Ceiling lights too close to your shooting space can cause an overhead glare. Try to offset your photo space out from under overhead lights. You are going to need lights to take your photos. No, you don't have to spend a lot of money. The cheapest way to deal with this is to purchase clip on utility lights at a home or discount store. These lights sell for about $6.00 each and use regular household light bulbs. The lamp has a metal clip on the bottom and a large, round, metal hood around the bulb. I use incandescent light bulbs but you could use the new twist shape fluorescent bulbs that everyone thinks are so wonderful right now. Let me caution you right here - those bulbs are EXTREMELY dangerous if they break. Read the package. You are supposed to deal with the broken bulb and the room as if a hazardous substance spilled. I am not going to get into this now, but use incandescent light bulbs in your photo lights. You are going to be moving them around and there is too much risk that something is going to fall and break and you do not want to be dealing with that so called "green" bulb if it breaks. You are going to want at least two lights. As you read further you will see why you might want three.
You are going to need to be able to clip these lamps to your table in front of the spot that you are going to place your item - one on each side. By directing the two lights you can eliminate one of the the other variables above - shadows. Two lights with their beams or light crossing each other will eliminate shadows. When two don't do it, a third light from above added into the mix usually will. Set your item down - on its photo display (just like we talked about in the last article) and start moving your lights so that there are no shadows and no glare - and, obviously, so that the lamps are in no way in the picture. Now, I talked about indirect or diffused light - we'll get back to that.
Let's move, for a moment, to the last variable - background. Look behind your item and what do you see. Whatever it is, it is going to be in your picture in some way - even if it is blurred out. Look down at your table under your item and what do you see? That too is going to be in the image. You can also get glare coming up from the table top. Let's do something about that first. A neutral solid color piece of fabric makes a nice "table" cloth to go under your item. Some colors work better than others. Avoid white because you are going to struggle more in correcting the white balance of the cloth in the picture than of the item. Light blue is good. Light grey is good. Light tan is good. If your item is very light in color you might even want to use black. I like to use flannel. It gives a softer look to the cloth when photographed - and it is inexpensive in fabric stores. It will also absorb light rather than reflect the light - which is something that you want when you are looking to avoid light where you don't want it or that you cannot control. As to what is behind your picture... A cloth backdrop works well here too. Again, the same solid colors in a cotton flannel are recommended. Do not use a pattern. Remember, you want to focus attention on the item - not what is behind it or around it. A pattern - even a subtle one will bring the eye away from the item. Attach the cloth to a board that will stand at 90 degrees to the table - and won't fall over. You can purchase corrugated plastic in many craft and hobby stores in poster size sheets. It is easy to cut with a razor knife and you can attach your fabric to it. Cut it down to a managable size but large enough to fill the background of your photo in the space that you are working in. Use the remaining plastic board to create a stand - much like the ones that you find on the back of table picture frames.
You now have your space set up. You know how to but it up and take it down - and more importantly you can put it up exactly the same way the next time that you need it. Set your item in place and start moving your lights so that you have no shadows either on the background or on the table. Now I am going to repeat what I wrote in the second article - At this point you are ready to shoot and all you need to do is swap your items in and out of this position on your table to take your photos. Set up your tripod in front of the object (or get into a comfortable position with your Optically Image Stabilized camera with no need for a tripod), set your camera to Macro mode, set your white balance to sunlight, and check the distance that you are from your object. If you are within the macro range specified for your camera then you are ready. If not, then move your tripod or yourself to where you need to be. You might even want to use a ruler or tape measure to make sure you are where you must be. Check each photo on the screen of the camera as you shoot each shot - look closely and you will see if you are ok or you need to make an adjustment. Always take several shots of each set up object. It costs you nothing and it is all disposable and you are only limited by the size of the memory card in your camera.
All of this will work, but this set up has its pitfalls. There is a much simpler way to accomplish all of this. For just a small expense you can get yourself a light tent. And that will be discussed in the next article - when we also get back to all those things that I said I would get back to.
To be continued...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Basic Product Photography - Part 1
For those selling on-line or in catalogs good photos of your items is essential. When you sell in person your customers can look at the actual piece, hold it, and see its beauty and value. When you must convey that with a picture you want to be sure that picture is perfect. This is just a basic guide to creating photographs that will best represent your work.
The first thing required is a good camera. There are many levels of digital cameras on the market. You can certainly do everything that you need to do to take product photos for your purposes with a point and shoot camera - one that has auto focus and auto exposure (which are basic to most). You do not need the best camera available but you do want a camera that has certain features that are required for good product photography.
The first feature that is a must have is Macro mode. A macro is a close up photograph. A camera lens has a set range of distance at which it will take clear images. This range determines how close you can get to the subject to take a focused image. Generally the shortest distance most lenses on point and shoot cameras will focus on is about three feet. While this may seem close it is really not close enough for product photography where the aim is to get close detail of the product. For this you need to be able to focus as close as six inches or closer and that is what the Macro mode setting on a camera will do. What is important to understand about macro mode is that this has a set range of distance also - and that range will change at different changes between the wide angle and telephoto range of your lens. So, if you set to macro and you are set to full wide angle you are set to the closest distance that you can get an image in focus. This range will always be specified in your camera's manual. If you move the telephoto control on your camera you will change that range and you will need to move the camera further away from the object in order to get a focused photo. Again, these ranges are stated in your camera manual. Some cameras add a Super Macro mode along with Macro mode. The Super Macro mode will allow you to get as close as a fraction of an inch to your image. This will make a remarkable image but generally this is way to close for a product photo. Remember, you want detail but you don't want your work examined as if under a microscope.
A second feature to look for on a camera is the ability to change the white balance on the camera. Most cameras come with auto-white balance, but there are situations where the auto setting will not do what you need it to do. White balance is the adjustment of the photograph to the light that it is taken in. Incandescent lights give off a yellow glow and when an object is photographed under regular room lights the image tends to look yellow. Auto-white balance should correct this but it does not always do so. Many cameras - but not all - will allow you to set the camera to the light you are shooting in. The type of light is indicated by little pictures - a light bulb for standard incandescent light bulb light, a bar with little rays coming from it for fluorescent lighting (which tends to give off a blue tint), a sun for sunlight, etc. When shooting under room lights you will want to set your camera manually to the incandescent setting to get a balanced, non-tinted image.
A third very valuable feature to look for on a camera is a good optical image stabilization system. This is a system built into the camera that will compensate for any movement of the lens when a photo is taken. This is especially important when macro shooting because when shooting that close even the movement of the camera button will blur the image. Canon Powershot cameras excel in Optical Image Stabilization. Other cameras offer this feature as well, but many rave over the results from the Canon cameras. This has been my experience as well. If you have a camera without this feature then a must have is the next thing to get for product photography.
The second thing required (unless you have a good optical image stabilized camera) is a tripod. As stated above, when shooting in macro mode the slightest breath of movement will result in a blurred image. A tripod will hold your camera solid and steady. It also has the advantage that it sets a fixed distance between the camera and the object that you are photographing. You want a decently made tripod that will hold your camera steady. They attach easily with a screw knob to a screw hole that is on the bottom of most cameras, put there for just this purpose. A floor standing tripod is best, but you will see small tripods and similar gadgets that will hold your camera on the table you are shooting on. These can be just as good, but they are not as steady as a good floor tripod.
To be continued...
The first thing required is a good camera. There are many levels of digital cameras on the market. You can certainly do everything that you need to do to take product photos for your purposes with a point and shoot camera - one that has auto focus and auto exposure (which are basic to most). You do not need the best camera available but you do want a camera that has certain features that are required for good product photography.
The first feature that is a must have is Macro mode. A macro is a close up photograph. A camera lens has a set range of distance at which it will take clear images. This range determines how close you can get to the subject to take a focused image. Generally the shortest distance most lenses on point and shoot cameras will focus on is about three feet. While this may seem close it is really not close enough for product photography where the aim is to get close detail of the product. For this you need to be able to focus as close as six inches or closer and that is what the Macro mode setting on a camera will do. What is important to understand about macro mode is that this has a set range of distance also - and that range will change at different changes between the wide angle and telephoto range of your lens. So, if you set to macro and you are set to full wide angle you are set to the closest distance that you can get an image in focus. This range will always be specified in your camera's manual. If you move the telephoto control on your camera you will change that range and you will need to move the camera further away from the object in order to get a focused photo. Again, these ranges are stated in your camera manual. Some cameras add a Super Macro mode along with Macro mode. The Super Macro mode will allow you to get as close as a fraction of an inch to your image. This will make a remarkable image but generally this is way to close for a product photo. Remember, you want detail but you don't want your work examined as if under a microscope.
A second feature to look for on a camera is the ability to change the white balance on the camera. Most cameras come with auto-white balance, but there are situations where the auto setting will not do what you need it to do. White balance is the adjustment of the photograph to the light that it is taken in. Incandescent lights give off a yellow glow and when an object is photographed under regular room lights the image tends to look yellow. Auto-white balance should correct this but it does not always do so. Many cameras - but not all - will allow you to set the camera to the light you are shooting in. The type of light is indicated by little pictures - a light bulb for standard incandescent light bulb light, a bar with little rays coming from it for fluorescent lighting (which tends to give off a blue tint), a sun for sunlight, etc. When shooting under room lights you will want to set your camera manually to the incandescent setting to get a balanced, non-tinted image.
A third very valuable feature to look for on a camera is a good optical image stabilization system. This is a system built into the camera that will compensate for any movement of the lens when a photo is taken. This is especially important when macro shooting because when shooting that close even the movement of the camera button will blur the image. Canon Powershot cameras excel in Optical Image Stabilization. Other cameras offer this feature as well, but many rave over the results from the Canon cameras. This has been my experience as well. If you have a camera without this feature then a must have is the next thing to get for product photography.
The second thing required (unless you have a good optical image stabilized camera) is a tripod. As stated above, when shooting in macro mode the slightest breath of movement will result in a blurred image. A tripod will hold your camera solid and steady. It also has the advantage that it sets a fixed distance between the camera and the object that you are photographing. You want a decently made tripod that will hold your camera steady. They attach easily with a screw knob to a screw hole that is on the bottom of most cameras, put there for just this purpose. A floor standing tripod is best, but you will see small tripods and similar gadgets that will hold your camera on the table you are shooting on. These can be just as good, but they are not as steady as a good floor tripod.
To be continued...
Saturday, April 11, 2009
ETSY
There are a number of internet sales sites and I have tried several of them. The best that I have found so far is ETSY. This is a site that you list your work of art or handcraft and it is offered for sale to the thousands and thousands of buyers who know and visit Etsy regularly.
Setting up a shop on Etsy is easy. You register first as a buyer and then convert your account to a selling account. There is no fee to register and it is free to have a shop on the site. You pay a 20 cent fee for each listing you create. The listing will remain for four months for that one 20 cents fee. When the item sells you pay Etsy a very small percentage. Buyers may pay through your Paypal merchants account or you could just accept checks or money orders. Etsy is an international site but all sales are transacted as US Dollars.
This is not an auction site such as Ebay. You set a price for your item, list how much the shipping will cost for that item and it sells for the amount that you have specified.
Of course, the greatest question is do shops make sales on Etsy? The answer is yes. I cannot say that for other sites that I have tried that are similar. Are sales guaranteed? Of course not! But if you make an effort to get your shop and your items noticed you have a very good chance of making sales.
On Etsy promotion is key to success. You can open a shop, list items, and walk away and wait and you will not make any sales. If you work at getting found you will make sales. The simplest and free way to do this is to use the forums that Etsy provides to both buyers and sellers. The promotions forum is the place to start with forum threads calling attention to what is in shops for sale. The promo forum can move fast on some days and at certain times. The secret to using this fforum successfully is to start a thread with a title that will not only get buyers to look but that will also get other sellers to add thier listings to that thread. This is OK because that thread will stick around for a while on the first forum page and each time someone clicks on that thread YUOR item is at the top and is the first thing that is seen.
Other Etsy forums will bring you attention as well. Answering questions, adding your opinions, aksing questions will get those on the site to notice you, look in your shop and maybe make a sale. Participating in the forums is FREE advertising!
Of course, as with all sites and venues, Etsy has its drawbacks. There are not only thousands of buyers, but there are hundreds of thousands of sellers. Now, often sellers are buyers too so that is ok, but with that many sellers you can figure out how many things for sale there are at any given moment. Shop design is very limited to one standard Etsy template with no way to modify that.There is no way to rearrange the order of your items in your shop - they remain visible in the order they were listed. This is something that has been requested over and over again, but the Etsy administration has yet to change that. The checkout process on Etsy is lacking in that it reaures two buttons to be found and clicked to complete a purchase all the way to payment through Paypal. This is a stumbling block for many first time and even experienced buyers and will result in lack of payment that requires the seller to contact the buyer and explain the remaining process so that the item is acutally paid for. Etsy claims to be working on this.
Does Etsy work? Yes! Have I made sales? Yes! I cannot say that for other sales sites that I have used.
If you would like to see two different examples of Etsy shops come and take a look at
Past Perfect and Q Branch Ltd.
Setting up a shop on Etsy is easy. You register first as a buyer and then convert your account to a selling account. There is no fee to register and it is free to have a shop on the site. You pay a 20 cent fee for each listing you create. The listing will remain for four months for that one 20 cents fee. When the item sells you pay Etsy a very small percentage. Buyers may pay through your Paypal merchants account or you could just accept checks or money orders. Etsy is an international site but all sales are transacted as US Dollars.
This is not an auction site such as Ebay. You set a price for your item, list how much the shipping will cost for that item and it sells for the amount that you have specified.
Of course, the greatest question is do shops make sales on Etsy? The answer is yes. I cannot say that for other sites that I have tried that are similar. Are sales guaranteed? Of course not! But if you make an effort to get your shop and your items noticed you have a very good chance of making sales.
On Etsy promotion is key to success. You can open a shop, list items, and walk away and wait and you will not make any sales. If you work at getting found you will make sales. The simplest and free way to do this is to use the forums that Etsy provides to both buyers and sellers. The promotions forum is the place to start with forum threads calling attention to what is in shops for sale. The promo forum can move fast on some days and at certain times. The secret to using this fforum successfully is to start a thread with a title that will not only get buyers to look but that will also get other sellers to add thier listings to that thread. This is OK because that thread will stick around for a while on the first forum page and each time someone clicks on that thread YUOR item is at the top and is the first thing that is seen.
Other Etsy forums will bring you attention as well. Answering questions, adding your opinions, aksing questions will get those on the site to notice you, look in your shop and maybe make a sale. Participating in the forums is FREE advertising!
Of course, as with all sites and venues, Etsy has its drawbacks. There are not only thousands of buyers, but there are hundreds of thousands of sellers. Now, often sellers are buyers too so that is ok, but with that many sellers you can figure out how many things for sale there are at any given moment. Shop design is very limited to one standard Etsy template with no way to modify that.There is no way to rearrange the order of your items in your shop - they remain visible in the order they were listed. This is something that has been requested over and over again, but the Etsy administration has yet to change that. The checkout process on Etsy is lacking in that it reaures two buttons to be found and clicked to complete a purchase all the way to payment through Paypal. This is a stumbling block for many first time and even experienced buyers and will result in lack of payment that requires the seller to contact the buyer and explain the remaining process so that the item is acutally paid for. Etsy claims to be working on this.
Does Etsy work? Yes! Have I made sales? Yes! I cannot say that for other sales sites that I have used.
If you would like to see two different examples of Etsy shops come and take a look at
Past Perfect and Q Branch Ltd.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Selling Wholesale - Part II
We continue the article on Selling Wholesale - Look in our archives for Part I.
When you sell wholesale you are going to sell in quantity. You determine that quantity. It may be determined either in number of pieces or a minimum dollar amount. For example - wholesale order is a minimum of 12 pieces. This means the retailer must by 12 pieces from you at the same time. If your work is uniquely one of a kind for each piece then these 12 might be completely different. If you make earrings and bracelets you may require that the order be 12 pairs of earrings or 12 bracelets, but not mixed. If you wish to offer them mixed you might do that as well. If you can duplicate items and make several the same then you could offer the order as 12 of one design. This is all up to you as the wholesaler. You set the terms. The other example is by dollar amount - wholesale order is $100.00. The retailer may buy anything that they want from you at wholesale as long as they purchase a minimum of $100 in merchandise.
It is this bulk buying that can make it easier for the craft artist to lower the price needed for any item. Often you can make two items in the same time that you can make one. You have the same tool and work area set up time, the same equipment to set up, etc. but you now can use that one set up for two items - you have just cut your labor time by a significant amount. Sometimes you can make three or four or even six items in almost the same time as you could make one or two. Now you have decreased your labor time even more. Supplies in bulk often cost much less than supplies purchased a few at a time. You have just reduced your materials costs to fill a bulk order. See where this is going. Of course, with some things you are not going to save very much time or expense money, but whatever you can trim on your end will help you offer your work at a wholesale price that is attractive to a retailer. Also keep in mind that the time that you put into selling your work is time that may not be compensated for. By selling in quantity you are putting much less time and effort into selling a dozen items at one time than selling each of the 12 one at a time. Here it is worth your while to make that wholesale sale - even if your prices are a little lower than you would like. (Don't lose money, however. No sale is worth losing money over.)
Now that you have established good wholesale prices you are ready to make wholesale offers. I am not going to go into finding retailers to sell to here. Rather, I am going to concentrate on retailers who find you and ask if you will sell your work to them wholesale. Before we go on, understand the difference between wholesale and consignment. A wholesale sale is an outright sale - you receive the money for the goods up front, deliver the goods, and the transaction is over. A consignment arrangement is not a sale - it is the opportunity for a sale. When you sell "on consignment" the retailer takes your goods and you get no money until each item sells. You will then get a percentage of the sales price - which is generally 40 to 50%. You need to offer your work to the consignment shop at full retail and then you must be satisfied with the 60% or 50% of that price as your sale. Consignment is a whole other complex area and we will go into it in detail in a future article.
So, a retailer contacts you and says that he/she would like to buy from you wholesale. What do you do? First, you want to make sure that this wholesale offer is from a legitimate retailer with a sales venue - either a brick and mortar store, an established catalog, or an active internet sales site. You want to verify that this is not someone who is just looking to buy your work at a discount. If this is a store that is local to you visit it. If this is a catalog retailer, get a copy of the catalog. If this is an internet site, check it out. When you speak or email with this shop get as many details up front as you can. Always be polite. Never be demanding. Try to be as diplomatic as possible. Flatter them and be discrete at finding out what you need to know. If this is a brick and mortar shop and you can see it you do not need to ask anything - your proof of legitimacy is in the concrete - as long as it is a store that actually sells the things that you are wholesaling. If you sell jewelry it is unlikely that a plumbing shop is going to be selling jewelry retail. So just be cautious and you won't be scammed.
When you are satisfied that you are in a legitimate situation, present your wholesale pricing and minimums to the retailer. If this is a local shop you might answer the initial inquiry by making an appointment and going in to meet with the wholesale buyer. If not, then you are doing this by email, mail, or over the telephone.
If you are dealing with a retailer in your state and you are in a sales tax state, you are going to also present to the retailer that you require a signed copy of their business's sales tax form. This will cover your wholesale sale obligation with your state's sales tax requirements. If the store buyer has a problem with this there is something seriously wrong with this transaction. This is standard retail buying procedure. It is expected and any buyer who is unaware of this or refuses to provide this is doing something wrong. This is a warning signal to walk away!
When you present your prices also present your shipping and "handling" prices. This should not surprise the retailer either. They are seldom offered free shipping and expect to pay shipping costs as a day to day cost of business. Shipping in bulk is cheaper than shipping one item at a time. Know what it will cost to ship your items before hand including the costs of your packaging. You may be able to "sweeten" the deal by offering free shipping if you need something to close the sale. Keep in mind that what you establish on the first order may effect future orders so if you cannot afford to offer free shipping do not - or establish up front that future orders will require shipping charges.
Your retailer may ask you about reorders. Some wholesalers offer no minimums on reorders. Some offer no minimum on reorder but raise the wholesale price if less than X is ordered. This, again, is up to you the seller to determine what you will offer. For example - on one item that I wholesale I offer free shipping on quantities of six but on reorders if less than six are ordered the price is slightly higher and I add shipping charges. It is worth the retailers while to reorder six or multiples of six at one time.
When should you get paid? If the retailer is a major business - a large department store or a known business you should be safe accepting payment by check after the shipment is received. With a big business you know that they will not run away and they really cannot hide from you or your attorney (if it ever came down to that). To protect yourself always have something in writing - a sales agreement that they sign and return to you (with that sales tax form) or an email that clearly states the agreement of the sale and the name of the person who is making the arrangements for the store. Get this no matter how big the business is! Your agreement in writing is what is known as a "Letter of Credit". This is something else that real businesses are fully aware of and have no problem with.
If you are dealing with a small business - even a brick and mortar store - especially one that is out of your local area, get paid up front before your ship. Tell the business that it is your policy to be paid on all first orders (or all orders) before delivery. If they have a problem with this, find out why. Do they not trust you? Should you then not trust them? Do they not have the money right now? You are not in the business of making loans. Be sure that you are paid - and when you get the check, deposit and make sure that it clears before you send your shipment to them. You may also want to place into your written agreement that bounced checks will require a $25 fee. Your bank is going to charge you a fee if you deposit a check and it bounces. Cover yourself in advance. Stores have no hesitation to have this policy when they take your check.
What happens if you are dealing with a local brick and mortar store and they want to hand you a check when you hand deliver the items. For the most part you are going to just take the check and hand over the merchandise and take a chance. Here is another example of knowing absolutely where they are and that you and your lawyer can find them if need be. Let's hope that shops have some integrity. Most do!
So you have made your first wholesale sale! You now know what to do and the best thing is that usually you will hear from that shop again wanting more!
When you sell wholesale you are going to sell in quantity. You determine that quantity. It may be determined either in number of pieces or a minimum dollar amount. For example - wholesale order is a minimum of 12 pieces. This means the retailer must by 12 pieces from you at the same time. If your work is uniquely one of a kind for each piece then these 12 might be completely different. If you make earrings and bracelets you may require that the order be 12 pairs of earrings or 12 bracelets, but not mixed. If you wish to offer them mixed you might do that as well. If you can duplicate items and make several the same then you could offer the order as 12 of one design. This is all up to you as the wholesaler. You set the terms. The other example is by dollar amount - wholesale order is $100.00. The retailer may buy anything that they want from you at wholesale as long as they purchase a minimum of $100 in merchandise.
It is this bulk buying that can make it easier for the craft artist to lower the price needed for any item. Often you can make two items in the same time that you can make one. You have the same tool and work area set up time, the same equipment to set up, etc. but you now can use that one set up for two items - you have just cut your labor time by a significant amount. Sometimes you can make three or four or even six items in almost the same time as you could make one or two. Now you have decreased your labor time even more. Supplies in bulk often cost much less than supplies purchased a few at a time. You have just reduced your materials costs to fill a bulk order. See where this is going. Of course, with some things you are not going to save very much time or expense money, but whatever you can trim on your end will help you offer your work at a wholesale price that is attractive to a retailer. Also keep in mind that the time that you put into selling your work is time that may not be compensated for. By selling in quantity you are putting much less time and effort into selling a dozen items at one time than selling each of the 12 one at a time. Here it is worth your while to make that wholesale sale - even if your prices are a little lower than you would like. (Don't lose money, however. No sale is worth losing money over.)
Now that you have established good wholesale prices you are ready to make wholesale offers. I am not going to go into finding retailers to sell to here. Rather, I am going to concentrate on retailers who find you and ask if you will sell your work to them wholesale. Before we go on, understand the difference between wholesale and consignment. A wholesale sale is an outright sale - you receive the money for the goods up front, deliver the goods, and the transaction is over. A consignment arrangement is not a sale - it is the opportunity for a sale. When you sell "on consignment" the retailer takes your goods and you get no money until each item sells. You will then get a percentage of the sales price - which is generally 40 to 50%. You need to offer your work to the consignment shop at full retail and then you must be satisfied with the 60% or 50% of that price as your sale. Consignment is a whole other complex area and we will go into it in detail in a future article.
So, a retailer contacts you and says that he/she would like to buy from you wholesale. What do you do? First, you want to make sure that this wholesale offer is from a legitimate retailer with a sales venue - either a brick and mortar store, an established catalog, or an active internet sales site. You want to verify that this is not someone who is just looking to buy your work at a discount. If this is a store that is local to you visit it. If this is a catalog retailer, get a copy of the catalog. If this is an internet site, check it out. When you speak or email with this shop get as many details up front as you can. Always be polite. Never be demanding. Try to be as diplomatic as possible. Flatter them and be discrete at finding out what you need to know. If this is a brick and mortar shop and you can see it you do not need to ask anything - your proof of legitimacy is in the concrete - as long as it is a store that actually sells the things that you are wholesaling. If you sell jewelry it is unlikely that a plumbing shop is going to be selling jewelry retail. So just be cautious and you won't be scammed.
When you are satisfied that you are in a legitimate situation, present your wholesale pricing and minimums to the retailer. If this is a local shop you might answer the initial inquiry by making an appointment and going in to meet with the wholesale buyer. If not, then you are doing this by email, mail, or over the telephone.
If you are dealing with a retailer in your state and you are in a sales tax state, you are going to also present to the retailer that you require a signed copy of their business's sales tax form. This will cover your wholesale sale obligation with your state's sales tax requirements. If the store buyer has a problem with this there is something seriously wrong with this transaction. This is standard retail buying procedure. It is expected and any buyer who is unaware of this or refuses to provide this is doing something wrong. This is a warning signal to walk away!
When you present your prices also present your shipping and "handling" prices. This should not surprise the retailer either. They are seldom offered free shipping and expect to pay shipping costs as a day to day cost of business. Shipping in bulk is cheaper than shipping one item at a time. Know what it will cost to ship your items before hand including the costs of your packaging. You may be able to "sweeten" the deal by offering free shipping if you need something to close the sale. Keep in mind that what you establish on the first order may effect future orders so if you cannot afford to offer free shipping do not - or establish up front that future orders will require shipping charges.
Your retailer may ask you about reorders. Some wholesalers offer no minimums on reorders. Some offer no minimum on reorder but raise the wholesale price if less than X is ordered. This, again, is up to you the seller to determine what you will offer. For example - on one item that I wholesale I offer free shipping on quantities of six but on reorders if less than six are ordered the price is slightly higher and I add shipping charges. It is worth the retailers while to reorder six or multiples of six at one time.
When should you get paid? If the retailer is a major business - a large department store or a known business you should be safe accepting payment by check after the shipment is received. With a big business you know that they will not run away and they really cannot hide from you or your attorney (if it ever came down to that). To protect yourself always have something in writing - a sales agreement that they sign and return to you (with that sales tax form) or an email that clearly states the agreement of the sale and the name of the person who is making the arrangements for the store. Get this no matter how big the business is! Your agreement in writing is what is known as a "Letter of Credit". This is something else that real businesses are fully aware of and have no problem with.
If you are dealing with a small business - even a brick and mortar store - especially one that is out of your local area, get paid up front before your ship. Tell the business that it is your policy to be paid on all first orders (or all orders) before delivery. If they have a problem with this, find out why. Do they not trust you? Should you then not trust them? Do they not have the money right now? You are not in the business of making loans. Be sure that you are paid - and when you get the check, deposit and make sure that it clears before you send your shipment to them. You may also want to place into your written agreement that bounced checks will require a $25 fee. Your bank is going to charge you a fee if you deposit a check and it bounces. Cover yourself in advance. Stores have no hesitation to have this policy when they take your check.
What happens if you are dealing with a local brick and mortar store and they want to hand you a check when you hand deliver the items. For the most part you are going to just take the check and hand over the merchandise and take a chance. Here is another example of knowing absolutely where they are and that you and your lawyer can find them if need be. Let's hope that shops have some integrity. Most do!
So you have made your first wholesale sale! You now know what to do and the best thing is that usually you will hear from that shop again wanting more!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Featured Artist of the Week
This week we feature a fiber artist who calls her shop Kunklebaby. Here is our interview with the artist -
Describe what you make?
Unique, Luxurious, Handmade items tailored to babies and toddlers. Custom Slings, Clothing, Blankets and great gifts.
What mediums do you enjoy working in most?
I love colorful, fun fabrics. Prints that excite me, texture-I only sell things that I would personally use, and love! I like to use 100% cotton, because I think it's important to use soft fabrics for new sensitive skin, and it's easy to care for.
How long have you been creating craft?
My entire life. I'm also a painter and cannot remember a time in my life that I wasn't drawing or finding new uses out of objects. I started creating my baby line after my children were born about four years ago. I had always loved sewing, but it became so much more important to me then. Personal.
How did you get started?
After the birth of my children, I could not find children's items out of the pastel range. I wanted vibrant, fun, unique and elegant. Many of my friends were starting families at the time too, and I was tired of having all the same clothes and accessories as them. Just because I had children didn't mean I was no longer stylish. I wanted to stand out and started creating my baby line then.
Where does the name of your shop come from?
My two children are very important to me. They are 12 months apart and have this super close relationship. When my oldest was two, they started creating and speaking their own language. Kunkle was one of their words. They used to tell me you could buy anything from the Kunkle Store-bread, toilet paper, even mermaids. My line started because of them and I knew the name needed to reflect that.
What would you most want people to know about your work?
They are easy to clean and will last through all the baby messes and toddler mishaps! I know how tired and busy mothers of young children are. The last thing you want to worry about is dry cleaning or hand washing. No time for that! I take great pride in the quality of my pieces.
What words of advice do you have for other artists?
Love everything you make. This love will set you apart. When people see how devoted you are to your creations, how cherished they become-they will see the quality you bring to the work. Also tell everyone you know, promote everywhere!
An artist and a mom - go over to her shop and see the great things for children and moms!
Then go on over and visit us at
Thursday, May 24, 2007
New Art Marketplace Website Launched
We are launching a new craft and art marketplace for craft/art web sites and on-line craft sellers. The site is called THE ART OF CRAFT just like this site. It is located at url, http://www.artofcraft.net.
This site is just getting started and in the process of offering free trial ads right now to those with Etsy shops and soon invitations will go out to other quality craft artists on the Internet. With these free one month trials we are hoping to build the site's traffic and establish the site as the first stop when looking for fine crafts and unique gifts.
Once established the marketplace will offer promotion and advertising to screened craft artists at very reasonable monthly rates. Keep checking back often at the site to see how it develops and to shop at the exciting artists that you will find there.
Those interested in advertising may contact us via the new site.
This site is just getting started and in the process of offering free trial ads right now to those with Etsy shops and soon invitations will go out to other quality craft artists on the Internet. With these free one month trials we are hoping to build the site's traffic and establish the site as the first stop when looking for fine crafts and unique gifts.
Once established the marketplace will offer promotion and advertising to screened craft artists at very reasonable monthly rates. Keep checking back often at the site to see how it develops and to shop at the exciting artists that you will find there.
Those interested in advertising may contact us via the new site.
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