I was wondering if any one has sold jewlery on etsy? I'm almost 15 and really love beading. I was thinking about asking my mom if I could give it a go, but I wanted to see if any one else has had any luck first :)

thanks for the feed back!

~A

Hi ladybug,

I sell on etsy.

I mostly got an etsy website to display what I made and how much I want to sell each item for.  I made business cards with the my etsy website on it so that when people ask me about my jewelry, I can refer them to my website.  I have alot of people that purchase jewelry from me without going through etsy.  There are alot of people that sell jewelry on Etsy.  Some say that if they relied solely on Etsy, that they wouldn't survive. Others sell a ton of jewelry on etsy.  You can go on the site and search the forums if you haven't already done so and you can get alot of information that way.

Janine

there is a new site available called artfire.com.  there are no fees to sell there as compared to etsy. it might be worth looking at. i have looked at the site, but not used it. anyone else familiar?

I also sell on Etsy and have my work displayed on Yessy and ArtFire, as well as a few other sites.  I have received the most sales from Etsy, though I wouldn't say I've done well.  I joined these other sites as a way of drawing more customers to my own website.  I found the price to be a lot less than paying large fees to Google, Yahoo, etc. in order to be near the top of the search result lists.

As for ArtFire, I joined as soon as they started and did my best to assist them with their testing.  You can list up to ten items for free.  The fees after that are a bit steep.  I have yet to have anybody contact me about my work.  At least I have received some emails (and sales!)from customers who have seen my items on Etsy and on Yessy.

There is a large volume of jewelry items on Etsy.  If you choose to display your work on this website, come up with good keywords.  Etsy allows up to fourteen.  One defines the category - "Jewelry".  Use terms like the color(s), materials (you also define this in another section when you are creating an item for display), occasion (i.e., "wedding", "holiday", etc.), shape(s), etc.  The more information you can offer, the better the chance of the right customer locating your work.

Like everything else in life, you just never know where that right customer(s) will find you.  One customer, for whom discovered me on Etsy, told me that she gets up at 5:00 a.m. to surf the Etsy jewelry for two hours every morning.  She admitted that the amount of items listed are overwhelming, and she is a self proclaimed "jewelry-aholic"!

Good luck to you!

Pat

Yes, I am listed as a seller on Etsy.  My sales are nothing to brag about, but I am thrilled to be a part of something so creative.  And, as one other responder said, when people ask if you have a website, you can use your Etsy connection as your website, and you seem a bit more professional and there is no additional cost.  And it does look good on your business card. 

Etsy charges only 20 cents to list each item, so the cost is like nothing.  It may be worth it for you to get involved.

My website is Nikiskorner.etsy.com  I do glass fusing.   

I have had a shop there for 2 years.  I wish that I had more sales there - but there are so many people selling jewelry.  Today there are 854,000 jewelry listings!  The challenge is how to get your items seen by potential buyers.  The default search on etsy is the newest listings, so if you listed something a few weeks ago, it is hard for anyone to find it thru a search.

Hi LadyBug.....The one problem with using Etsy is that there are little fees all over.  Fees for relisting especially, fees for selling, etc.  .20 doesn't sound like much but you have to do it often just to keep your pieces in the forefront..it does add up. Go to their forums and read about how unhappy a lot of people are.  I personally do not have an Etsy shop because what I have heard is that there are way too many sellers out there....too much competition.

Since you are just starting I want to suggest a couple of options.  On ArtFire...you can list up to 10 items absolutely free.  No cost for selling or listing.  You can upload 4 photos of each item.  If you choose to upgrade, they are currently offering a special for only $7 per month and that is for life.  That fee will never go up and you can list as many items as you want....never have any other fees for selling.  In Feb. I sold 9 necklace sets......The economy is slow so selling is down wherever you go.

There is also another new site...ArtistryArts.com.  They only charge $5 a month, unlimited listings...no fees of any kind.  They also guarantee the fees will never go up.

Do you homework and check out all of your options.

I love to see a young person getting started like this...

GemKitty;

That is so wonderful that you sold nine jewelry sets on ArtFire last month!  Congratulations!  Maybe it proves that it is best to pay the $7/month fee as opposed to listing ten items for free.  My nine "free" items have received very few hits.

Also, thank you for the lead on ArtistryArts.com.  There is also another fairly new website that I recently discovered via another artist.  It is 1000Markets.com.  I have to admit there is a lot of jewelry there already, but not like Etsy.  It is free.  You can have unlimited postings.  When you make a sale, they keep a commission of 5.5% + $.50.  Currently, they accept payments only through Amazon.com Payments.  Not PayPal.

They are also a very "quality" oriented website.  It took me three times to be accepted.  Photos need to be top quality.  You have to have a banner and a photo representing you.  The first time, the issues they had were that I needed to create collections for my initial five pieces that I posted and that they didn't like my banner.  I created "collections" and I spent a few hours designing a new banner (truthfully, I'm glad I did :)).  I created my jewelry collections in alphabetical order.  I was rejected the second time until I placed my "Evening Elegance/Wedding" Collection first.  In other words, they are a bit persnickity.  However, the results of my shop and the look of this website shows that it is a quality website.  I've only been on this site just over a week, so I can't offer any information on sales.  I will just state that it is another avenue to consider for selling our art.

I hope this lead is helpful as well.

Pat

Update....in order to help with the economy  Artistry Arts has reduced the monthly fee to only $3 per month..unlimited listings, no other fees of any kind.  Check them out!!

www.artistryarts.com

Hi, i have a shop at etsy. havent sold anything. i also have one at artfire.com. havent been there long. but have had alot of looks at my jewerly. its a nice site.

I also have a site on Esty.   I have yet to have a sale in almost 3 months.  I am going to check out some other sites.

Hi Laurie,

Just an update on mine....so far I have 3 sales on Artistry Arts in March..--they are the new site that is only $3 per month...no listing or selling fees.

On ArtFire I have 27 sales since last August....1 so far this month.  They are larger and are $12 per month...no listing or selling fees.

 Just a little FYI to help you in your decision making.....

Hi there..I have the same issue with Etsy,,I have been on there for about 3 months and nothing,,I have tried the "showcase"your work,,you pay 7.00 for your items to be featured,,I have done this twice and I am not happy with the response. I find that there are so many people selling the same or similar item,,it is hard to compete with people that have been there for a while.

When I tell people what Etsy is no one has heard of it..I think I will do what the previous posters suggest and try other sites with little or no fees..Good luck!!

I now have a store on the ShopHandmade website and one on Esty.  I really like the ShopHandmade website for several reasons

1 - They charge you when you sell an item, not when you post it.

2 - The fees are up to you...you  get to select a percentage that you want to give them

3 - It was easy to set up my site

4 - They have all kinds of ways to help you advertise.

5 - Part of your proceeds help the environment

I will be letting my items on Esty expire.  I have not had one sale in the six month that I have been on the site and I have tried all the "extra" advertising with the extra fees.

 I would definately recommend ShopHandmade.com  Good Luck.

Laurie

I sell on etsy - gemaddict.etsy.com, but just supplies- silver findings and gemstones. I actually do okay - could be more, but no complaints.

 I wanna try it, but have to get business Id and bank account and all.

i started selling  on etsy in July and i'm 16. it's really great and i've gotten sales =) i think you should definitely go for it! i've been having a lot of fun on etsy... but sometimes it interferes with school work... if you wan't to check mine out here it is catchalljewelry.etsy.com