I Don't Know What the Problem is

by Jacqueline Gikow
(New York, NY)

Citrine Necklace with Ceramic Rose Pendant

Black and White Wire Wrapped Necklace

Square Coin Pearl and Silver Necklace

I started designing jewelry about five years ago, but didn't do much with it. Then, in April I started working at this craft gallery that has beautiful jewelry and I thought, I can do that. They wouldn't carry my things though even though the powers that be liked my work (conflict of interest, they said).

So I found out about Etsy and started listing work on a storefront on that website. Now I've got over 100 pieces listed and after starting in June, I've made two sales.

I try to list a new item almost every day and I promote my work like crazy on the site and on Facebook and Twitter, but I'm not getting anywhere.

I approached a brick and mortar gallery about carrying my work and they agreed to handle it on a consignment basis, but I've had no sales from there either.

I know my work is good. I'm getting views of my work and "hearts" to my shop. When I ask for critiques, the response is generally that my work is good and well photographed. I've taken pictures of my work twice so that the second round shows my work better than the first round.

I truly believe that you can sell online even though jewelry is pretty saturated on Etsy. I just don't know how to market my work differently than I am doing right now.

One of the most discouraging things is that I see work selling that isn't nearly as nice as mine.

I took time out of making jewelry to diversify a bit and made a section that is called home decor so that I appeal to a few more people. As a matter of fact neither of the sales I made were of my jewelry. One was some spare beads (called "destash"), and the other was a beaded pen.

If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

Jacqueline Gikow
Everyday Dreams
Jacqueline Jewelry on etsy

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I Don't Know What the Problem is

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I Feel Your Pain
by: Linda Landig

I am having the same problem. I've done the same promotion that you mentioned, plus I have a blog
http://lindalandig.wordpress.com/. My work sells well in person and I've been accepted into juried art shows, but I've only sold 3 things online in a year. I hope others will post their thoughts, because I could benefit from their insights as well. I wish you the best of luck!
my website: http://www.LindaLandig.com

Yup-here too
by: Janine Gerade

Don't feel bad. It's a tough market out there.
I have been diligently working on promoting my jewelry website. The only sales I have done off the website are people from a home show buying something extra the next day and it only happened twice in the last 3 years.
Although I wish I could sell much much more off my website, I kind of view my website as an online gallery to promote more sales that I make face-to face.
I also bought Rena's book "Social Networking-Sell Your Jewelry Online the New Way". I am slowly making my way through it (a toddler and 2 part-time jobs don't give you much free time) but I have seen some more traffic. But no sales yet, I am not finished. Perhaps, if you spent a few minutes a day or an hour or so a week on promoting the website the traffic will come. As far as the quality of work being sold out there in the net, imagine what it would feel like if you were doing a craft fair and the jewelry vendor across from you is selling $5 necklaces mass-produced from China, it's kinda the same thing. It's hard but you KNOW your stuff is better. Plus you don't want those customers anyways. I wish you the best of luck. Maybe some will spread my way too;)

I'm feeling the pain as well!
by: Jamie Santellano

OMG! I feel like we are all in the same boat together! I've been working hard at trying to get my work noticed as well! I've even taken the step to go back to school and study more deeply into computers to see if I can find the key to unlock a prosperous venue on the web. It seems at times that there is no hope. :-( I've been emailing people(using my resources) that I thought would be able to help, but seem to get no response...really bums me out. I've purchased the same books as well thinking that by following a check list I could find my way to some sales, but no luck, so far. Thinking outside of the box, I've created flyers to post of workshops that I can teach, but seems like no one is interested. I've had to stop paying all the vendor fees for Boutiques as well because It seems like if I'm not careful I'll risk going broke.
I also have a website, and account with Artfire, America Creates, and facebook. I do promote, but it still seems like timing is just off.
I'm not ready to give up though. I think we all have a market and it's a matter of tapping into that one. Keep trying as exhausting as it may be. My boyfriend is a jewelry designer as well and says that a lot of Jewelry businesses are not doing well and that it's the big corporations like the one he works for that are doing much better. Of course they do have a well-known name so that helps them, but all of his Jewelry designer friends that have a small business are feeling the pain.
Thanks for sharing, and just know that you're not alone :-)
~Jamie www.santellano.com

My 2 cents
by: Denise M.

First off, I'd like to say that Etsy is so saturated with jewelry that it WILL take some time to get sales. Secondly, I tried to sell beaded jewelry a few years ago and had to take a long, hard look at myself and my product. What I learned: I don't believe there is a market for beaded necklaces that have all the same or almost all the same beads. Your work has to be pristinely professional and very creative. Spacer beads are a MUST. Wire wrapping MUST be flawless. Nothing can make a potential customer think that it may snag clothing. Earrings must NOT appear heavy. Also, (and there is some dissention here) try photographing your jewelry next to something (a coin?) to give a visual idea of the sizes of the components. I hope some of this helps. It's just my 2 cents.

Playing with your camera
by: Jenn Duval

I have had my shop on Etsy for a few years now. I have decent sale, certainly not in the thousands as some other jewelry artist, but I have learned that very clear photos are a must. We are selling on line so people can only see your jewelry and not touch it. Use a model or mannequin for one of your shots.
I am constantly playing with my photos and some days I delete all the photos I have taken and start all over.
Make sure to give the type of metal you are using in your pieces, customers want to know what they are purchasing (in case they have an allergy to a certain metal).
Hope this bit of information helps.
www.claychic.etsy.com
www.1moodychic.blogspot.com

Good can always be better
by: Anonymous

Try taking your photos with natural light. It's not always easy (a lot of us have to take all our pictures on the weekends because we work during the daylight hours of the week) but it's worthit, as it often makes the difference between okay photography and great photography. When selling online, your photo is your product, and everyone's photos can always be better.

Also, do your descriptions tell exactly how big your pieces are? You can't tell from the photos, and as a customer, you want to know the scale of what you're buying.

Hope some of that is helpful.

Economic times
by: IndulgedGirl

Your Etsy shop is lovely. I also have an Etsy shop that has been open about a year. Through trial and error I've found that the less expensive times sell. My more expensive pieces have lots of hearts but they're not moving. It's very rare that I sell and item that's more than $15.00. So I keep trying to come up with designs that fit that price point. Don't give up. Times are sure to get better.

re-shoot pix?
by: Miwa Lee

I'm a novice at this biz but from what I can see, your pieces are very attractive, well-priced and well-photographed. The only thing I could reason out as to why they are not selling better is, as some of the others have already said, venues like Etsy may just be too saturated.
Secondly, I agree it's important for an online customer to get a better sense of how the items would look ON so perhaps consider photographing them upright on necklace displays or models (use friends?). The reason I say this is because I found myself automatically turning my head sideways to visualize how they would look draping down from my neck or ears rather than lying flat on the surface. As I said your pieces are very attractive and certainly well-shot but I didn't get that immediate 'ooh, that would look great on ME' feeling as I sometimes do when I see jewelry or clothes on TV celebrities. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Tough sell
by: Divella Delights

I agree with a few others in that the pics can alwasy be better. Since most of us are not photographers it is a common problem.
Really though unless you had a head start and a following you would have to have something really different and dazzling to sell lots of Jewels on Etsy these days. As you mentioned Etsy is totally saturated as far as jewelry goes.
I have moved my focus to jewelry stores, galleries and don't forget womens clothing boutiques. Other great spots are salons, talk about a captive audience! You might also try putting some business cards in your doctors office waiting room with your web address if they will let you. Print out some post cards and put them on bulliten boards. Teaching beading classes is also a way to get your name noticed. Anyplace you can go and hand out your business cards go and do it! You have to get people to your site and if you don't want to buy keywords or pay for advertising you have to really work at getting people to your site for the first time. Blog, blog, blog...good luck to you and all the starving artisans (of which I am one)!

Etsy
by: Bonnie Firestone

I have been on Etsy for 2 years and sold one necklace. I now only put a few things on Etsy to keep a sales presence on line. May I suggest that you join a Guild or some association that promotes either jewelry or Crafts. The meetings can give support and ideas as to what shows to attend and don't forget hand out cards to everyone. One other suggestion is home parties have a captive audience and your sales are always better than some craft shows when completing with a lot of other jewelry designers. Do not lower your prices because you are selling quality it may lower the customers opinin
of the hard work and quality you produce. Best of luck.

Your Problem is....
by: Terri Jacoby

I too make Beaded Jewelry, and have figured out that the only way I was able to sell my jewelry, was to put my items on Several sites at once. One of them is www.ArtisansMarket.com. which is run by a woman named Virginia Curry. She is a most kind person, and you can always talk or e-mail her, and she will respond. It is a beautiful site, and I have sold alot of pieces there. You can also create your own website. It's really easy. I hope this helps. oh, and when you sell an item, make sure it is deleted or marked "sold" on each site. Hope this helps.

I'm in the same boat, but I know why.
by: Anonymous

I've done one sale on etsy over the last year, and that just recently. My problem is I don't tend to the etsy store enough, or do enough promotion. Not nearly enough time to make jewelry,fill orders, do shows, take care of my critters and plants, and redo my house.

Also, while cruising through jewelry stores on etsy, I've noticed that a lot of the folks getting jewelry sales are in the lower price ranges.

We always do terrific with our engraved copper jewelry at shows, its kind of a touchy, feely, the piece just jumps out and grabs someone kinda thing, thats hard to convey in a 2D photo.

Just my 2 cents
Steve

From the heart
by: Lisa Kewish

My advice based on my experience.

Jewelry made from the heart - sells.
Jewelry made from the need to make money - never moves.

Jewelry sales online - infrequent.
Jewelry sales at shows - fairly consistent.

Jewelry is an extremely tactile experience. Customers like to feel the weight, touch the stones, see how it looks, and most important - hear the story. Customers want to buy an experience. They want to tell their friends the story of the artist and how the purchase came to be.

I have often wondered how things would move online if there was a short literal description of the work (needed; size, materials etc...)and then the story: "I was listening to Heart's "Magic Man" while creating this piece and remembered my first love and that huge gash in the pretty heart was that pain of the lost love..." Most can relate to that experience.

Jewelry is the most personal kind of art. It touches the body, it affects the body and the mind of the wearer.

I think that jewelry artists' businesses will explode when we tap into the soul of the customer rather than her pocketbook!

Selling on Etsy
by: Terri Wlaschin

I use Etsy primarily as a 24/7 venue for pre-established customers to buy whenever the mood strikes. Still most of my sales are offline. While etsy may be saturated, there are definetly some jewlery artists who have high volume sales. My observation is one kind makes simple, appealing well made "pop culture" jewelry at a low price point and the other makes high end statement pieces. Middle of the roaders (like me) seem to have the hardest time selling online no matter how many views or hearts we get. I had one item that had several hundred views before it sold. There is an application on etsy that shows you who is having high volume sales at: http://etsybynumbers.blogspot.com/. You can see who the high sellers are, what kind of jewelry they make, tags they use, policies, etc. I think the decision one has to make is either to cater to those markets by trying to compete with high sellers or create what you love, and possibly not have the same level of sales. As to photos, if you are not already using a light box and tripod, I highly recommend it since this is a relatively small investment (check out ebay). The light box will brighten your pictures and the tripod(with your camera set at high aperature f stop -- 20 or more) will create sharp, crisp pictures with no need for flash. Also, I love my mannequins for providing jewelry scale but a simple display can do that too. I love your wood button bracelet by the way - an absolute fun, funky knockout. If I wasn't making jewelry, I would buy that one. I would encourage you to hang in there and keep evolving in your art, getting risky can be fun and good and stimulates neurons :)

http://starseedjewelry.etsy.com
http://beads2die4.etsy.com

I don't Know What the Problem is
by: Valerie Gillis

Think about a sales rep, One of the teachers came to me at school and said to me she would like to sell my jewelry to her friends. We agreed that she would get 20% in jewelry. She has sold over $1800 now I about to take on a second sales woman.

Jewelry sales
by: Patricia of packratpattyart.etsy.com

I have been on etsy 2008 and I have not had one sale I use it as a place for my customers to go look at my stuff. I am planning on leaving and going to one of the free site like artfire,1000'smarket just to name two.

Having said all that most of my sales come from face to face or at a home parties and word of mouth.

Try This
by: www.gibsonjewelers.com

I had the same problem when I first started selling my jewelry. There is so much competition in jewelry sales that you almost have to make a name for yourself before you can make any sales. Try this, have a friend or family member take your pieces with them to their coworkers, family, friends and neighbors, make a price list and even inexpensive business cards with your contact info and location of your jewelry on Etsy. Seeing and handling your jewelry in person will make it more attractive and not having to place an order is an attractive convenience for customers. Give your friend the opportunity to earn a commission or free jewelry based on their sales. If it works, involve more friends and family. I now have 5 "Consultants" that do this for me and they all average about $300-$400 in sales bi-weekly. I pay them 16.5% commission and will double that if they take jewelry instead. I also have many customers who now have my contact information and web address. Let me know how it works out, should you give it a try. shelly@gibsonjewelers.com
get free business cards: www.vista.com

Selling artisitic jewelry
by: Patricia C Vener

I have a website (recently revamped but still working on getting selling pages up), an etsy shop, a 1000Markets shop (I am closing this since they sold out to an ebay wannabe), a Smashing Darling boutique and just the other day opened an ArtFire account. My main work (mostly not on etsy) is high end bead weaving art in the form of jewelry. Everything, even my low to mid price range work, is one of a kind. Craft fairs and shows are a waste of time, energy and money for me because I live in a state of conservative and country dressing. My etsy sales have been extremely slow though I have sold a few pieces (all of them at or above $80.00 and one of them was $500.00 which really surprised me).

It's hard work to get noticed. And that the thing, getting noticed. So far, mainly because I can't devote the time I'd like due to caring for an ailing parent and having to take on adjunct teaching, I'm doing very badly at getting my art noticed.

You can't stop, you can't slow down, and you can't take a breath. Do what you can when you can. Work on your art. Work on your marketing. Don't give up. Floating on your back is better than drowning when you are too tired to even tread water.

Patricia
http://vener-art.com and SilverDragon on etsy

I think most etsy sellers have this problem.....
by: Nicole E.

In my experience you need to promote OFF the internet too. Hand your business cards to everyone who comments on your jewelry. WEAR your own product. Make it seen off the net. Do art/jewelry/fairs in your area to attract business to your etsy. Its not easy but only having a web presence is, unfortunately, for most of us not going to get us through these times. Sure people like our stuff but unless we keep reminding them its there (i.e. get an email list going & offer 5% off if they mention the email), people are just going on to the next shiny object that catches their eye.

I get it!
by: Kim I.

I gave up on Etsy two years ago. I have had my jewelry professionally photographed and it looks wonderful. Here's my input: after three years of having a website, promoting it with Google, going to unproductive craft shows, and even doing Christmas mailings, it hasn't worked. I think you've got to figure out who is your target customer. Then find boutiques or venues in your area who are willing to sell your jewelry. Make sure you have professional looking tags and nice jewelry boxes. I found my boxes on jewelrysupply.com, but the same ones are cheaper on Nile Corp's website. Buy a jewelry-carrying wrap found on one of those websites just mentioned, or some kind of presentation briefcase, and go door to door. Have an idea of what percentage of sales should go to you and to the store - I think the store should make 40% from the sale. Good luck! Success will only come from hard work and determination. Personally, I think for me I can make better money working at my husband's insurance agency!

I love jewelry!
by: Sidney Lee Boucher

Yes, I agree that the middle of the road jewelry is a tough sell and the very high end jewelry sells! I've been trying to vamp up my etsy site but I agree that it's more a reference point than anything else. But, the thought of going into a store to sell my stuff is just down right scary! I've done it a few times and have had some success but I really don't like doing it. And, rejection is very hard to take. We as artists have to be careful not to let others opinions get us down. I went into an expensive clothing store right around the corner from me and showed her my things. She did like what I had but said that the smaller pieces wouldn't sell in her store. I noticed that she had a lot of chunky big stuff and some not very expensive items. I did not agree with her( not to her face)and still think if she had given it a chance my things would have sold. But, I will not start making big chunky jewelry just to try to fit in to what she thinks might sell. Stay true to your heart and good luck! Sidneyleeboucher.etsy.com

Problems...
by: Amber

I would suggest putting in a few years of craft shows and trunk shows and seeing if friends and family would host jewelry parties. I host two a year at my own home, one is a Wine-Tasting Trunk Show and one is a Chocolate Tasting trunk show. I leave it open-house style and let people come and go as they please, socializing, drinking wine and looking at jewelry in a no-pressure atmosphere!

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