Teach Soap

I know this post has been inactive for a couple of weeks but I want to give my two cents.

I concur with all that said keep your day job. People on Etsy say that Jewelry is the most saturated category, but I believe it to be Bath and Body. It's so hard to get your soap noticed on Etsy. As for me I've had a easier time selling my Jewelry and Prayer Beads than my soaps on Etsy. And I should mention that my Jewelry and Prayer Beads are aimed at a very niche small religious market.

I do believe someone mentioned the Highest saler only making 16,000 yearly. I like to note that many Etsy high sellers also sell their soaps on other online handmade market places outside of Etsy, often have their own websites and many sale wholesale also. So it's really is impossible to really know how much they are making just by their Etsy stats alone. Another thing I've noticed about most Etsy High Seller is that they literally have hundreds of items for sell. They usually sell things other than soap too, like salves, scrubs, candles, stuff like that.

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Niquy's Eclectica
Artisan Glycerin Soaps, and other artsy crafty goodness all created with love and joy.
www.niquy.etsy.com

I sold something on e bay about a week ago and I now have a buyer from hell.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

I HATE ebay!!! Never had a good experience on there.

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Lisa
“What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul” ~ Yiddish proverb

I used to shop ebay pretty often and never had a problem, but it's not the same anymore. I rarely buy anything from there now.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

E bay has changed to favor the buyer, not the seller. My buyer bought four items. She then changed her mind and din't want one. That one I was lucky to sell to the second highest bidder. Then she only wanted two items. I revised her invoice and she paid. I get a note from her less then a week after the items were shipped, that what she got isn't what she ordered. To her, the photos are not the same from what she got and she said that the items were in bad condition. The photos in the listing were the actual items that I sent her. She said that she's sending the items back and they aren't new. They are new. I emailed her that I will refund her money, but the items must be in the same condition that they were sent. That's as far as this saga got. It sounds more like a buyer's remorse to me. Her last correspondence was in all caps. I don't know if she realizes that when you write in all caps, you are shouting.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

TOTALLY in favour of the buyer now. Sellers can only leave positive feedback - so when you get a buyer like the above, you can't comment honestly that they are a pain in the butt!

Plus, if paid through Paypal, the buyer can just submit a refund request and 9.99 times out 10, they get their money back. Even if you have proof you posted the item.

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The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Linda, which dog food is that? Taz & Sushi have had a lot of skin problems this year so I'm going to switch their dog food as soon as this bag is gone.

Coming late to this one, but it's the busy season! Anyway, when people ask if I have an Etsy site or mail order, I tell them "no." Not only is it hard to get noticed on a site as crowded as Etsy, but I have about 5 hours a day to do business--while my daughter is in school. That includes most bookkeeping, making stuff, making labels, wrapping, etc. I do not want to waste any of it--and packing and shipping would be (to me) a waste. I would also have to do much more bookkeeping to track a bunch of small orders.

So while I will occasionally mail an order as a favor, or for friends and relatives, I like wholesale. I get one, big check, no sales tax to worry about. Yes, the wholesale cut is big, but with 5 stores and counting, it's a lot easier for me, in my situation.

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Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Update on my e bay buyer from hell. She filed a dispute, PP took the money out of my account and it's now in the negative. She claims that the items were in bad condition. They weren't. As per our e bay conversation, I told her that I would refund her money as soon as I received them back in the same condition they were sent out. She supposedly mailed them back this past Monday. I made a special trip to the post office in case they were there. They weren't. So now I'm out the money AND no items. This sucks!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts