How much does it cost to have a shop on Etsy? I've tossed the idea around in my head, but I don't have enough available all the time, so probably wouldn't get good sales. :)

i have an etsy shop...its probably the cheapest market to sell items...but etsy is currently going through a major change/struggle right now..a lot of things are happening..a lot of unhappy sellers (me included)

i've not purchased AV's from there..but have bought succulents

I'm not sure what "Etsy is currently going through a major change/struggle right now'" is supposed to mean because I'm not aware of any problems and I do a lot of sales. Not like super tons but I'm about to hit my 1,000th sale. I've been on there a few years now and never once run into any significant problems. They do have excellent forums for all sorts of marketing tips, various topics, interest groups, and reporting bugs.

It is cheap to use. It costs 20 cents per listing and they run for a good long while. There is a small percentage taken off when items sell (less than Ebay) and there's no cost at all to set up the shop or to maintain it even when you have nothing listed. It's a buy it now type listing and not an auction site. They accept debit and credit cards as well as Paypal and several others. The site is generally always up and running smoothly and any technical issues I've ever run into, they fixed pretty quickly. There is also a Vacation mode should you be away and unable to ship items for a period which is handy because I travel and may not always be able to pack and ship right away.

Here's the catch. Because people don't think of Etsy for plants, you would need to advertise. So I put links on my Gardenweb info, on Pinterest, and I make posts to my various Facebook groups. That's plenty to generate more sales than I can keep up with some weeks. If you do something like jewelry or painting, it's a lot harder without promoting because there are SO MANY people also selling those things. It can be hard to get your stuff seen in that case. Not many selling plants though.

There are also several knock-off sites now that are set up just like Etsy. So again, as long as you have social media to use for your advertising to inform people of when you have updated your shop and promote it, it doesn't really matter where you list as long as the fees are reasonable and it's easy for you to use.

Well search has been a topic of lately and recently there was a bug. Folks have been saying for months that views and sales have suddenly dropped for long time sellers. The ceo stepped down and another stepped up. There's also rumors of selling etsy because sales have been down. There's a lot..

My take - on Etsy the items run for a month and generally a turnover is slower. When somebody sells leaf pots - rooted leaves with babies showing - if they are sold in a month - good. But if we are dealing with a good size young plant - in a month it will be a monster you have trouble packing... For whatever reason Primulinas are not moving on eBay right now. May be to try posting them on Etsy - they are slow growers and they will be still manageable in a month...

Well, whatever you think Irina, most of my plants are sold within a couple of days or a week at most. A lot of them go within an hour of listing. Usually the only ones that hang on a while are those that I have a lot of and as they get larger, I simply update their listings and up the pricing. Larger plants sell better than small anyway unless it's a really sought after one. I've not had any plants stay listed on my shop for an entire month yet, I don't think. But I do /advertise/ on Facebook groups which is key and get a lot of hits. I can list 150 new varieties and be down to 1/3 of them left within a couple of days. I also sell them for slightly less than most people so that doesn't hurt and I do offer leaf pots. They get snatched up quickly, especially for streps! Paintings however don't sell nearly as fast.

That's good news!!!! Very good news. I was reading the forum on Etsy - and that was my impression.

It's true that my primulina are slower moving than most other plants but if you wanted to go look at my sold plants for the past week or month, or last few months you'll see I have sold quite a few of them as well. Naturally, it also depends on which varieties you have. If I list a Yungfuensis (I'm about to list a few) they will get snatched up a lot faster than say an Aiko or Deco that I have already been listing a lot of the past six months. One thing that helps is that I slip freebie plants to people regularly. If they buy AV's, I'll slip them a strep, primulina, episica, whatever to tempt them into broadening their collection. It very often works! ;)

Very interesting discussion. In the past, I have tried to understand setting up a shop on Etsy but never could really understand it. Maybe I will look into it again. Thanks for everyone's input! Rosie

I thought you all might like to know that over this weekend I have had -30- new orders pile up! Most of them multiple plants in combined checkouts. Whoa. Let's just say that most of my holiday weekend is being used packing plants like a fiend. I have to recruit my son to help and pay him some but he's really helpful. Most of these are going out on Tuesday but some will have to be Wednesday. It's hard to keep up!

People have been incredible, friendly, very supportive, and are leaving the most amazing shop feedback. I'll be glad when I get through this final push to clear out plants so I can collapse and rest. I hope anyone else who tries Etsy for sales does just as well! I'm happy to share tips and I'm not afraid of some healthy competition. Especially as I may no longer be offering plants after this summer's move. We'll just have to wait and see. It's a HUGE amount of work for (let's face it) not much income by comparison but I have made a lot of friends.

i'd love to favor your shop patty

You are welcome to favorite it! It's located at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/orneryponystudio

I'm looking forward to moving this summer, and going out to the Grand Tetons to visit with family and go on a nice long photography and oil painting trip with much motorcycle and horse back riding. Obviously my shop will be on vacation by then.

Until then, I have one last big shop update to make with whatever is left in my flats. Then I can take down my shelving racks and move them.

When are you gonna do your last shop update?? Can you post on here when you do? ;)

I imagine I could message you. I'm not really sure what Houzz's policies are about advertising for sales on other sites so it's probably good to try to keep this thread mostly focused on simply discussing alternate purchasing and sales options without too much focus on my shop only.

I gather Houzz also is set up for sales of some kind though I haven't ever tried using it myself. Has anyone else here? Either to sell or to purchase things?

I'd also be interested in hearing if anyone else has used any other venues besides Ebay.

John I agree,,,,,,Hyn does take good clear photos. I really had a great time looking through her Ideabooks!!!

I have looked at Etsy, but I am just learning how to navigate it. Ebay is not my favorite place. Too hard to find what I want, too many places to go to find what you want. Just my opinion. Rosie

I think I will add: It may return better results if you search for "Live african violet plant". I've searched for "African violet" and had to wade through photos and artwork with African violets. :)

Hyn inspired me to try a shop... I opened one. :) We shall see what happens. :D

Thanks Su! Rosie

Good luck with it, Su! I think traffic will pick up as people become aware of it as a resource. But do be sure once you have it as fully stocked as you can get it in a few weeks, to advertise it on Facebook or other forums as much as you can. I've also used Etsy's promoted listings and it does help increase traffic hits, but I haven't actually made any additional sales due to it. Also make sure you check out the Etsy forums because people are friendly and happy to help you with tags, descriptions, general advise. And of course I'm happy to help, too!

Just have to comment,,,,,nice to see two gwf people working together! Rosie

A /lot/ of people have helped me. I am delighted to share and pay it forward if I can.

careful about the forums...theres trolls...lol

search is still something thats being messed with..i've noticed a huge change in the last few months when searching for items...and make sure its not a fake plant..i've searched for plants there often..and usually get everything but a real live plant..

Great attitude Hyn! That is what life is all about. Rosie