17 Mar A Guide to Buying Handmade Part 2
In Part 2 of this post I’d like to give you a few pointers in regards to shopping on Etsy. Etsy is huge. It is enormous. Its… its… really really big. I don’t know what the latest count is on Etsy shops, but it has got to be a very very large number. I hate to be the person who says this, but Etsy has just as many items that are sub-par as it does items that are amazing. So, after you set up your membership and understand the basics of searching, you need to know how to identify the sellers who are professional, dependable, and dedicated to the quality of their craft and service. As an Etsy vendor myself, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the site, and I hope that these strategies will help you get the most out of your Etsy shopping experience!
Basics
Become a member – this is essential for sellers and buyers alike, is completely free, and only take a couple of minutes. By becoming a member you will benefit from the range of tools that Etsy has to offer. This includes adding items to your cart, sending messages directly to sellers, requesting custom items from artisans, creating a list of favorite items and favorite sellers, purchasing items from sellers, and both leaving and acquiring feedback after a completed transaction.
Sign up for paypal – while you are in the process of signing up for Etsy, you should also create a Paypal account if you haven’t already. Some sellers only accept Paypal, and by linking your paypal email to Etsy, you can streamline your checkout process.
Take advantage of “hearts” – one of the best things that you can do when you find an item you like is to add it to your favorites. Trust me when I tell you, it is easy to get lost in a maze of clicking when you are hot on a trail. If you find something you like and navigate away from it, you may never find it again. It takes less than a second, you do not leave the item’s page, and by adding it to your favorites, you ensure you can find it again. If you decide later that it doesn’t “make the cut”, it is just as easy to remove it.
Don’t forget to visit the shop – regardless of how I start my search, when I find an item that I like and add it to my list of favorites, I always make sure that the next thing I do is visit the “storefront” of the artist. Chances are, if there is one item in the shop that you love, there will be more. If this turns out to be true, then it is necessary to add the store to your favorites to be sure that you can find it again. It is also important to check your favorite stores frequently because the very serious Etsy sellers are constantly updating their shops to reflect changes in the seasons, upcoming holidays, and add sales and promotions. Just a note: when you view your list of favorites through “My Etsy”, you can organize the list based on item or shop.
Start a Circle – there is a new feature on Etsy called “circles”. Circles are a great way to see any activity associated with your favorite shops. This includes when they post any new items or update a portion of their shop such as their profile or any policies. The best part of circles is being able to see what your favorite shops add as favorites! You will find a tab to click on at the top of your navigation bar which will bring you to a feed. Though the feed isn’t a live stream, whenever the page is loaded you will see any new circle activity. If you find a shop that you absolutely love, and you have added them to your favorites, I recommend then clicking on the shop’s profile. You will see thumbnails associated with their shop, and you will also see thumbnails of their favorites. Chances are, if you love their shop and style, you are going to love their taste too. Add them to your circle (you will see the tab to the left of the screen under their avatar on their profile page) to ensure that you receive their updates. You will only increase your chances of finding something… well… awesome!
Start Browsing
Category Searching – right now searching is done based on item. Etsy breaks items down into categories. You will see a list of parent categories on the left hand side of the homepage. Once you click on a parent category, you are then shown a page of thumbnails. You can do a number of things at this point. You can begin browsing through the items, clicking on thumbnails when you find something that catches your eye. If the search is still to broad, you can click on the subcategories that are now listed on the left hand side of the screen. Please note: These items are put in these categories by the seller, so sometimes these searches do not yield the results you are looking for. You will see on the left hand side of the screen of Etsy’s homepage that you can also search based on color, location, and editors picks to name a few.
Keyword Searching – Etsy’s main header has a search bar built into it, and you will see this search bar regardless of where you are on the site. If you visit the site with a specific item in mind, you will get more specific results based on the keywords you type in the search field. Again, please note that the sellers are the ones who tag their images with keywords, so if you are not very specific, these searches do not always give you the results you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for a cashmere baby blanket for a boy, you should use those words in your search. Just by typing in “knit blanket” or something along those lines, you may find doll blankets, cat blankets, horse blankets, picnic blankets, etc.
Showcase Searching – Sellers have the option of purchasing “showcase” spots. This is a way for a seller to stand out and get a buyer’s attention. Buyers can view showcase spots by clicking on one of the three buttons located in the middle of the screen right above the text “handpicked items”. At that point you will brought to the main showcase, but you also have the option of refining your showcase search by selecting a category from the drop down menu located in the top right area of the page.
But Where’s the Good Stuff?
Before I list the ways to successfully search for quality sellers who offer quality products, we need to have a little chat on presentation and perception. In regards to presentation, as a photographer, I am always drawn to images where the composition was thought out, focus has been set just right, and the light is nice and soft. If there has been post-processing to make the tones of the image more pleasing, than that is a bonus. When I am browsing on Etsy, I almost exclusively visit shops that have high quality images of the product. This is important to you as the buyer for two reasons.
1) A high-quality image will give you a clear understanding of what you are purchasing. You want to be able to image your child in the cute teddy bear hat, or cuddled in your lap with that blanket. You want to close your eyes and see that illustration hanging above your baby’s crib.
2) The images reflect the artist and the love and dedication to their craft. As much care should be taken in the presentation of their work, in both advertising and packaging, as there was in the creation of it. The images do not need to be taken with a professional camera and lens (because really, very few artisans are devoted to their crafts as well as photography), but they do need to present the item in a clear and appealing way. By doing so, they are showing the buyer how much their work, as well as your business, means to them.
On perception, you need to know what other buyers have thought about their experience with the seller. You can do so by checking out their feedback. Whenever you purchase an item, you are asked to fill out feedback for a buyer. By sharing your experiences after you receive your item, you are allowing other potential buyers to know if this seller is reliable or if they need to shop elsewhere. As a buyer, take the time to read through a seller’s feedback. You can find their feedback percentage on their shop page, and by clicking on this percentage you will be taken to a page that lists the comments. I typically shop with buyer’s who have 100% feedback, but I understand that you can’t please everyone all the time. If a seller has 98-99% feeback, I make sure to check the comments to see what the discrepancies were. Outside forces such as items lost in the mail aren’t in the seller’s control, but how they respond to a situation is. If a seller has feedback stating that they never contacted the buyer, that they were rude, unpleasant, disconnected, or difficult to work with, or if a buyer reports that the seller took their payment but no item was received, you really should consider shopping somewhere else.
On to the good stuff…
Handpicked Items – on Etsy’s front page, you will find a 4 x 3 grid of thumbnails. These are images that are put together in a collection based on a theme. Themes typically have to do with the season, holiday, color, or subject. These collections are put together by the Etsy editors as well as public buyers, & sellers. These individuals take the time to seek out beautiful images of items from great sellers to share with you, the buyer. The individuals who put together these collections do not receive any sort of compensation, they do it because they want to share with you their favorite finds, and show their appreciation to their favorite shops. This is a great place to start when looking for quality products.
Editor’s Picks – look on the left hand side of your screen while scrolling to the bottom of the Etsy front page. Under “Ways to Shop” you will find a link to Editor’s Picks. Consider this to be a list consisting of the best of the best in the eyes of the editors. All of the items on this page were featured on the Etsy blog.
The Etsy Blog – the people who work at Etsy do so because they are as dedicated to buying and selling handmade as the artisans. They feature shops and items on their blog that represent the best of the handmade community. Their blog is always a great place to start when looking for a professional artist, a high quality shop, or an exceptional item.
Other Blogs – There are hundreds of blogs out there whose writers do nothing but search Etsy for cool stuff. Two such examples are (but are in no way limited to) Papernstitch (http://papernstitch.com/) & Indiefixx (http://indiefixx.com/).
General Search – I’ve put this as the last search function because it can be the most tedious and time consuming. There is a search bar located at the upper right hand corner of the page that allows you to search using keywords. Just be aware that when you do this, you are going to receive hundreds upon hundreds of results. You need to be as specific as you can with your search terms (like searching “pink minky blanket” apposed to “baby blanket”), but don’t be afraid to be flexible and creative with these terms. The sellers set tags for each item they list, and the search functions off of these tags.
Final Notes
You are not limited by what you see in a artist or designer’s shop. If you see something in a shop but it isn’t exactly what you are looking for, you can click on the “contact” link under their shop name. When you contact a seller about a custom item, try to be as specific as you can in your questions and preferences. This will help ensure that the seller can meet your needs. If you contact a seller that you love and they are unable to fulfill a custom order for you, than you can take advantage of a great feature on Etsy called Alchemy. Many of the sellers on Etsy get a majority of their business through this feature. As a buyer, you can submit a request to alchemy highlighting the details of what you want, and the price you want to pay. Sellers who meet custom requests are constantly browsing these listings for work. Nothing is final until you make a payment, so don’t be shy about discussing exactly what you want with the sellers who contact you!
So, there you have it. Go forth and give the gift of handmade, whether it is for a dear friend, someone in your family, to decorate a nursery, or just as loving gesture towards yourself! And just think, you may purchase from an up and coming artist who is about to make it big. There are many successful individuals on Etsy who have been able to quit their day job and make their love of handmade into a lucrative form of income.
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