A great affliction
I'm afraid I have the bug again. The symptoms include frantic googling platforms, calculating fees and imagining angry customers. I am suffering from wanting to sell my tatting online... again.
This illness seems to be chronic for me. It starts out with me tatting a few things "for myself" (this is my usual excuse, but they sometimes end up as gifts). I'm a compulsive tatter however and don't just stop at one pair of earrings. So I end up wondering what to do with the extra stuff I make (to also give me an excuse to make more). My family and friends are probably sick of my tatted gifts and I haven't seen them wearing them anyway. So how about selling them?
Of course, I have a full time job, so don't expect to put a lot of time and effort into it or have a large inventory or many sales. Which is exactly what I should be doing to sell anything. But I look them up anyway.
I look for the platforms first. I don't really want to bother selling on anything else than Etsy, since I don't suspect a lot of people check out the other sites, but lo and behold, Etsy have higher fees now. And I am cheap. Eeeeh...
So then I check out gadgets for my blog. I actually find a very promising one. However the payment options for my country are very few and I have just heard a lot of horror stories about Paypal withholding payments for some people, even for months.
Ok, let's say I get over my doubts about these mammoths and choose one or the other of the options. I imagine myself getting an order. Then I imagine it going terribly wrong, with the buyer yelling at me in all caps that the shipping is slow or that the quality is not what they expected. So I accept defeat and give up. Again.
Kind of like those 5 stages of grief. I seem to go through them every now and then. I'm sure there might be some sort of support groups out there for people with my affliction. Hmm...
***
As a side note, I have finally designed something to work with the huge lampwork beads I bought years ago when I was just starting out. The thread is ecru and the seed beads are yellow.
My husband says they look ok, but please do tell me if you think they are really ugly. I really prefer constructive criticism and my husband is usually very honest and has good taste, but for some reason I wonder if this time he is just being nice.
Oh, and if you want the pattern (maybe you find similar size beads) let me know and I will add it in another post.
This illness seems to be chronic for me. It starts out with me tatting a few things "for myself" (this is my usual excuse, but they sometimes end up as gifts). I'm a compulsive tatter however and don't just stop at one pair of earrings. So I end up wondering what to do with the extra stuff I make (to also give me an excuse to make more). My family and friends are probably sick of my tatted gifts and I haven't seen them wearing them anyway. So how about selling them?
Of course, I have a full time job, so don't expect to put a lot of time and effort into it or have a large inventory or many sales. Which is exactly what I should be doing to sell anything. But I look them up anyway.
I look for the platforms first. I don't really want to bother selling on anything else than Etsy, since I don't suspect a lot of people check out the other sites, but lo and behold, Etsy have higher fees now. And I am cheap. Eeeeh...
So then I check out gadgets for my blog. I actually find a very promising one. However the payment options for my country are very few and I have just heard a lot of horror stories about Paypal withholding payments for some people, even for months.
Ok, let's say I get over my doubts about these mammoths and choose one or the other of the options. I imagine myself getting an order. Then I imagine it going terribly wrong, with the buyer yelling at me in all caps that the shipping is slow or that the quality is not what they expected. So I accept defeat and give up. Again.
Kind of like those 5 stages of grief. I seem to go through them every now and then. I'm sure there might be some sort of support groups out there for people with my affliction. Hmm...
***
As a side note, I have finally designed something to work with the huge lampwork beads I bought years ago when I was just starting out. The thread is ecru and the seed beads are yellow.
My husband says they look ok, but please do tell me if you think they are really ugly. I really prefer constructive criticism and my husband is usually very honest and has good taste, but for some reason I wonder if this time he is just being nice.
Oh, and if you want the pattern (maybe you find similar size beads) let me know and I will add it in another post.
Hope there is some cure for your affliction !!! Personally, I wouldn't be able to tat the same thing over and over again (that's assuming it sold ;-P) so that's my reason for not stepping into the etsy realm.
ReplyDeletePayPal is also the reason I do not have access to many resources.
At first glance, your earrings looked like fish, but now they look more like peacocks! Just one more plume on the outside to balance the broad bead and voila! The beads are lovely and you have complemented the shape well.
I think the cure is knocking some sense into me now and again and reminding myself the old saying "don't quit your day job" :)
DeleteThank you! I worry that the shape is too weird. But that was somewhat my intention. My husband sees a seashell (probably the conch kind).
You have my sympathy, I go through exactly the same thought process myself! Good way to use the big beads, well done.
ReplyDeleteI think we just want to spread the tatting love sometimes, get some recognition outside of our usual family and friends and other tatters. But business is tough...
DeleteThank you for the compliment on the earrings! :)
They look great!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteYour earrings are lovely! I like asymmetrical, organic designs and clever how you reversed the 2nd one to be mirror image of the 1st.
ReplyDeleteAbout Etsy: I have been selling there since 2007. My personal experience is that supplies and patterns sell very well. Finished items, not so much, but occasionally there are buyers. Etsy makes it easy to sell online. I definitely don't have the expertise to set up my own website, shopping cart, shipping labels, VAT fee collection, etc. There are other places to sell handmade items online, but Etsy is the best known. Oh, and definitely do not quit your day job!
Shh, don't tell anyone, but the second is the exact same pattern, I just turned it around before connecting the findings.
DeleteI did notice that supply shops are among the top sellers on Etsy. I also don't have time nor need to start a business. So I will just make stuff and give it away or sell to friends if they really want. Good luck with your own shop! :)