First Poppy was mad, and rightfully so. She has been with Etsy since the early years, promoted it, and earned her living there. They were not even remotely kind or willing to listen. She wasted a lot of energy, trying to work things out, or break their system. She had already opened an Artfire shop, but back then, Artfire was just a startup, and not working the way it does today.
This year, in this poor economy, Poppy will be earning close to double the money she made on Etsy. It took a lot of work and re-imaging, but she is a success once again. It really can be done. For those of you who think Etsy is the Sun and the Earth, take a step back from your computer and breathe the real air.
There are many sellers who have left Etsy for their own websites, craft shows, brick and mortar shops, and other online venues, with great success! I know this, because I've done it myself. I had to re-image too, but between my eBay store, websites, and Artfire stores, I've made a living too.
You can visit us at our websites. Poppy's is poppyswickedgarden.com
Mine are akacinders.com and poppysgardengate.com
They will all link you right through to our Artfire shops. We use the websites as a gateway to our shops. Artfire is great for this, because you don't need to be a member to buy, so it's just like having an online shop. And if we decide to switch venues, it's just as easy to do it this way.
5 comments:
Etsy recently closed me down also due to "copyright infringement". I think it's an excuse myself since I had nothing in my shop that infringed. I was SO mad! I had been with them for nearly 5 yrs and my shop was just starting to do a booming business.
I have my own website and shops on Goodsmiths and Lilyshops. So far no sales (well one set of cupcake toppers on Goodsmiths). Both are start-ups. I have tried Artfire several times but no luck there either.
So right now, I'm just holding my breath, hoping and praying that my sales start again. This is the way I make my living and right now, I'm not making much of one. It's very depressing and stressful.
Sorry that your shop got closed. I found that although Artfire is no Etsy, it has the next best traffic and great SEO. You do have to drive your own business, especially with a website.Cross linking shop and website help and make sure you use your metatags for SEO.
Try eBay. The fees are high, but you might actually make some sales. Just make sure your listings are similar to selling competitors. Key words drive traffic.
I'm really glad to hear you guys managed to get yourself thriving once again!
I'd like to find another venue besides Etsy as well. I have reserved shop names on other sites, but haven't invested the time to get them set-up. I hate having all my eggs in one basket.
Congratulations! Am so gad to hear that both you and Poppy are doing so well away from Etsy. Hard work and wonderful items do pay off (:
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