Etsy

This is the other side of your question ... I've used Etsy to buy art, and I love it--the interface, the products, the concept.

I am trying to sell on Etsy. I think it's all about pictures. Mine are not so good. Though .... I've seen much worse and ... they are selling. Some of them a lot. I wonder what's the secret. So, I am doing my own fashion show to promote myself. It's absolutely "do-it-yourself" project. http://margedesign.com/fashion%20show.pdf Maybe you can join. There is still time.

One of the pieces I purchased on Etsy I discovered by following a link from a website I respect. Another piece I found by way of a post on Twitter. A third, was found via a Google search after hearing about a piece of art in a conversation at a party.

Sometimes I'll just stroll around on Etsy to see what's what, but I don't have much time for that.

I do heavily rely on photos and descriptions for making my purchases.

My daughter sells handmade items on Etsy and does very well. I have to say, the times I have sat down just to see what was new on Etsy my attention is drawn especially to the Art. You may not become a millionaire over night but it's an opportunity with a special market. Good Luck!

Hi, a lot of people respect the idea of etsy, but how you go about distinguishing yourself & art i dont know. I guess you could twitter about it, but how do you get people to send your tweets to? Pricing is a big problem too. I noticed the prices for a lot of items were very low. Whats the point, unless you are just doing it as a hobby & you have some other cash flow. Your own web site is the best way to sell! Jane Shafrin @ http://beadsbymail.com

I should clarify. Sorry.

All the bread crumbs that led me to buy things on Etsy, were left not by the Etsy vendor, but by someone else who knew of the vendor's product.

Unless I know an artist's work already, I rarely follow bread crumbs left by the artist themself. Has to be something quite compelling to get me to respond to a self-promo, be it on Twitter or Facebook or Biznik.

I have a "hobby" biz...and tried Etsy in the beginning. I think for very small Indies who don't want full fledged websites...I don't see the benefit. If you don't...then Etsy is a great place to start. From a vendor standpoint...I think it's VERY hard to stand out...or get noticed in the overwhelming volume...so I just said NO. I just direct people to my website. I can see no value, if you are directing people to a website, should be your own. Etsy has no other function that I can spot.

Ah! I agree with the tactile part for sure!

I found with Etsy that it is indeed difficult to be noticed. It seems like some artists spend much of their day just. . .well, "Etsying". They add an item every hour to be at the top of the "heap". Good strategy, I guess, if you want to spend all day listing items. I tried selling some really nice soy candles as a gift package. I posted my things and within an hour 25 other people had also posted. . . one candle at a time.

I get the Etsy emails every day, and try to resist buying all of the great stuff. So, if you can get featured in their emails, or home page galleries, I see the benefit. I also occasionally browse Etsy by keyword - looking for all the bunny stuff, for example.