Teach Soap

OK, this is controversial. so, don't y'all freak out on me ok.

has anyone else wondered......has etsy reached saturation
point for bath categories?

what about artfire

what about ebay

what about?

i have my own website and it is great albeit software is very hard to understand, upload products, etc etc etc.

i am wondering what everybody else thinks about this.

glad to see that sliceofdelight sold something the very first day!
that is so wonderful! go for it, girl!

katw0man - thanks for the response. Appreciate that.

I'm by far the last expert on etsy - but I will say that for a quick and easy way to have a shop up and running it seemed fairly smooth to me. I'm still working out a few kinks as I discovered from this first sale but that was the point of only posting one soap. I spent time reading useful articles on etsy to help me determine all the components/tasks that needed to be done. And spending the last few months crafting, learning and attending 2 fairs to get a sense of that scene. Also realized how necessary it was (even with my flickr account as a temporary solution) to have this sight up before going to any more fairs. Once I put my mind to it - it was done in a day - voila! G

I think for simplicity sake - etsy keeps the effort in maintaining a website down to nothing which for some getting started (like me) allows me to spend more time crafting soap or (very soon) maketing to people so I can steer them to the site or spending my time maybe even doing other non-soapy things.

As you point out there can be additional activities to have to stay on top of with your own site. Is it being hosted by someone else with basic formats? Or are you totally in control of the entire website? These are activities people probably think about when they get started. At least I did. I did not want to spend anytime designing a site (or paying someone to do it). I figure after I see how things go and I do the numbers given the cut etsy gets - it will certainly be appropriate to decide what move to make next. There is plenty of time to see how that plays out.

I can't say anything about ebay or artfire at this point in time.

Hilary

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http://www.asliceofdelight.etsy.com

Not freaking out but I do have an opinion.
Artfire has a whole lot of etsy people selling now because etsy can't seem to get away from being total control freaks in the wrong areas. I've been with etsy for 2 years now. Well, up until a few days ago when I finally had enough. As many are learning quickly.
With Artfire it seems to me that unless you are on the forums a lot of your items just sit there. I could be wrong but I personally don't know anybody that has ever heard of Artfire...or etsy for that matter.
Having my own site is complete freedom for me and I am the only one in control of my business. Never again will I ever allow someone to control what I do with my own business.
Etsy is very easy to start out with and get your items listed but a bunch of us have learned from being there, you get what you pay for and etsy isn't worth it for me.
As for ebay...I was with them years ago. YEARS ago.*L* Never again.
Saturated...yes on all accounts in my opinion. Any of those venues worth the time & ridiculousness (is that even a word?!)?
Not for me.

kat0woman-
there you have it from FOHO - a seasoned seller who has figured out the numbers and perhaps also determined that etsy has lost sight of how to keep their customers/sellers happy.

I'm personally not detered but could eventually see how this could come to pass.

Hilary

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http://www.asliceofdelight.etsy.com

well, i'm going to disagree.

yes, there are some flaws with the venue. i think there are flaws with every venue, and whether those things work for you or not is entirely your decision. i know there are some things about etsy that make me pull my hair out, so i do understand your viewpoint. i'm on artfire also, but it doesn't generate the traffic or the sales that etsy does - it's a new venue, so that's understandable (as long as it changes eventually, lol).

now, oversaturuated is a different question entirely. here's the thing - if you're looking for a spot on the internet, any venue or your own website, where you can sit and let traffic come to you, you're going to be disappointed. you'll have to drive traffic to your spot, no matter where it is. depending on how things work for you, that could be live shows and pushing repeat buyers to your website, it could be online advertising, it could be forum promotions... there are endless possibilites.

there are lots of buyers out there. you have to go get them though - you can't wait for them to come to you. and there are lots of sellers out there as well, so be prepared to compete.

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http://www.magichandsworkshop.com
http://www.magichands.etsy.com
http://www.magichandsworkshop.blogspot.com

I have to agree with magic_hands to - while I'm all new to etsy and havn't obviously figured out it's issues yet - you can't be complacent. You have got to *work* and drive people to your site. I did a quick peak at Art fire. They are clever - free for limiting yourself to 12 free postings (initial get started aspect) and then upgrade to $12/month for unlimited. Again, you certainly have to do the numbers at some point.

The other day I picked my kids up from their 'messy day' at camp (since it's a new camp I had no idea how messy, messy was) - I only wish I had some sample soaps with my business card and etsy site ready - those mothers/fathers *definately* needed some soap. - I just absolutely love these ideas that just crop up at unexpected moments. I'll be ready next time for sure.

Hilary

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http://www.asliceofdelight.etsy.com

You're right magic, I swayed from her actual question. Sorry about that kat.
As for saturation on etsy...there are a lot of sellers of B&B on etsy. However, it's pretty easy to set up and list and that in itself gives some people confidence which is always a good thing. Even better is when you start selling. So I'd have to say yeah, I think etsy in particular is saturated but also for the first time seller it's a pretty easy place to start. No matter where you put your products online you will have to work your butt off for traffic. I wouldn't let the saturation bother me over there. if your soaps are good, word gets out and people will buy them. If your soaps are bad, word gets out even faster.

Asliceofdelight, since you're new to etsy I hope you don't mind a little friendly advice. If you go into the forums, just be yourself and try not to get into anything too personal. Always remember when you are in the forums there that buyers do go in there as well. And don't be too shocked when you see someone else selling soap that looks exactly like yours within a week or so. I just know some that were disappointed when they first started out over there and within a week or so someone else was selling the exact same soaps. You can always look at it as flattery though and always be one step ahead by making yours better. Try not to get wrapped up into what everybody else is doing. Do what you do and do it well. I sincerely wish you all the best of luck over there. I'm sure you'll do great, it was just time for me to move on and be in control of my own business. If you plan on staying on etsy for awhile, maybe think about joining one of the soap teams. There are a lot of soapers there that are very helpful and really nice. You'll end up in treasuries, you'll make treasuries and people will start to recognize your name. It'll probably be great for you for quite some time, just don't feel bad when you realize one day you've outgrown it.

Thanks FoHo.
I'm far from deterred by the pros/cons of each venue that is available today or those that we don't even know about that will arrive tomorrow. I'll find my niche and work very hard at crafting products that people will enjoy using, that makes them feel good and hopefully they will come back for more. Will it be easy of course not - will it be engaging to drum up business in my direction - absolutely. I appreciate your wishing me luck. I suppose one could equate leaving etsy to go it on your own is like heading off to college or worthy of calling it a 'promotion' of which you are well deserving.. It's a big step and a big deal and I hope at some point it makes sense for me to consider that too, but for now - I appreciate all your sage advice on how to benefit from what it has to offer.

I thank many on this forum alone for helping me work out the tweaks early on that I see as critical in ensuring a great experience for my customers and for myself.

This is a far cry from sitting in an office every day especially when I have the luxury of even the simplist of things like biking with my kids to their summer day camp. Or picking them up and enjoying a scoop of ice cream with them. Couldn't do that when I had my 45 minute commute.

Thanks

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http://www.asliceofdelight.etsy.com