Customer Appreciation Days in my shop

It's Customer Appreciation Days in my Etsy shop: http://CogansCreations.etsy.com

Here are the details....that are also listed in my shop announcement:

First....I would like to thank everyone, in a special way, who has marked my shop as one of their Favorites:

• Be my 700th "heart" and receive a $10 merchandise credit, to be used anytime before the end of this year. (I'll send you a convo and we can work out the details)
• If you have already "hearted" my shop, before today, 10/25, get 20% off of your purchase from my shop before the end of the year. (I'll refund this credit, via PayPal, after your purchase)

Second....I would like to show my appreciation to my customers:

• If you have been a previous customer, through either trade or purchase, receive a $5.00 credit toward your next purchase from me between now and the end of the year (I'll refund this, via PayPal, after the purchase)
• Make a purchase, of over $5, between today and 11/1, and receive 10% off of that purchase, and a $5.00 credit to be used on your next purchase before the end of the year. (I'll refund via PayPal after the purchase)
• Refer someone to my shop, and they spend $5.00 or more here, and you'll receive a $5.00 credit towards your next purchase before the end of the year (have them let me know in the Note to Seller, or via a convo who sent them my way)

Also.....watch for an upcoming Giveaway from my shop starting November 1st. I'll post the details to this here on my blog on Friday night, 10/31

Today's ramblings

Today's my wedding anniversary...26 years. Some days I can't believe I've been married that long, and other days it seems like such a short time. I've been married for more than half my life...I can't even really remember what it's like to not be married. It's definitely been a roller-coaster of good times and bad this past quarter century. I guess, since we're still married that the good must be out-weighing the bad. Honestly though, there are definitely times that I ask myself why it is that I've stuck it out...because sometimes it seems we are two very different, opposite, people....and opposites don't always attract. Oh well, guess I'll see how the next 25 years go and then decide if it was worth it!

On the crafting front: I've had my eBay shop open for almost a month now....not a single sale yet. I've had a shop on mintd.com for almost two months now...not a single sale there either. I've just ended a 10 day sale in my Etsy shop where I had all of my crocheted items (all 85 of them) marked down 25%...and didn't sell a single one. Oh and I had a person change their mind on wanting a special order (which is OK)...and a second special order inquiry is alo likely to result in the person deciding they don't really want the items afterall. I guess all in all I'm getting a little discouraged.

I tell myself a couple of things to help boost my confidence...1) there are so many wonderfully beautiful items on Etsy that it is fortunate to have any sales there at all, and 2) the US economy right now is on the way down...most people just don't have the money to spend on things that are not necessities (I know I don't)...and the ones that do have money are not going to be interested in the stuff I have (it's not hip, edgy, trendy, etc). Although I know both of these points are likely 100% true....it's still disheartening to think that I'm wasting my time on making items that will never sell.

I also think my prices are still not right. I know that they are in line based on a minimum wage ($5.85 an hr) labor rate (which from everything that I'm hearing is much lower than industry standard)...but I think they might be too high for what someone would actually pay. $20 for a teddy bear that takes me 3 hrs to complete would seem reasonable...but not when someone can go to a discount retail store and buy the same size teddy bear for less than $5. The same can be said for the other crocheted items in my shop too.....you can find mass produced wallets, scarves, and magnets, etc for less than half of what I have my items priced at. I can't give them away at those prices...but I can't keep making things that just sit in my shop either. I'm really wondering if it is nothing more than a pipe-dream to ever think that I will make steady sales. Leaning very far towards the side of just giving up altogether. I have so many ideas for new lines of items...but I don't even want to invest the time to make them since there is an almost 100% chance that they won't sell...people just don't want what I have the skills to make.

Update on the experiment

Well, it's just about 3 1/2 days into my current experiment. So far, I've promoted 78 different items in the Etsy Promo forum. I'm not sure if there is any direct correlation, but out of those, 9 have sold since I promoted them. I'm truly happy for the sellers of these items...even if my promotional effort didn't contribute to the sale. Every day, I'll continue to promote my fellow Etsians, and I will be just as thrilled to see the "sold" sign appear on my favorites listings as I would to see my own items sell.

Here's hoping that the upcoming holiday shopping season is an overwhelming success to all who are actively trying to make their Etsy shop's a success.

An Experiment

This is the time of year that we remind ourselves to be grateful for what we have (Thanksgiving), to realize that it is better to give than to receive (Christmas), and to start new chapters in our lives (New Year's). It's also a good time to reinforce to ourselves that by helping others we ultimately help ourselves. You know...that whole "good Karma" thing.

I've been feeling a little down on myself for the past few weeks, and doubting my crafting abilities since my sales lately (both on and off Etsy) haven't been where, in my mind, they should be. Instead of continuing to wallow in self-pity I've decided to try something different.

I've been thinking alot lately about an idea I've been pondering for some time, and today I'm going to put that plan into action. It might seem pretty small, and likely won't even get noticed by anyone else, but that's OK...I'll know. The idea involves Etsy...specifically promoting in the Etsy forums.

Starting today, 11/17/07, at noon EST I will no longer directly promote my shop, or my items in the Etsy fora. I will still promote...but only OTHER people's shops and items. I'll still participate in the forum...but in any thread where item and shop promotion is the goal it will be a fellow Etsian's link you will see in my posts. And I think I'll make even more of an effort to visit the Promotions topics than I do today...just so I can promote even more shops. I'm pledging, here and now, to continue this at least through the Thanksgiving weekend...and maybe even through the end of the year. It might seem like a crazy idea to some, and it may mean I won't personally have as many sales as I might otherwise have had....but I don't care. If my efforts help someone else to make a sale, and make them erase their own self-doubts about their abilities to succeed, then my experiment would have been a success.

The only exception I will make to the above pledge will be to announce my weekly Saturday Night Special in the appropriate thread if I decide to participate that week.

Anyone else want to join me in this experiment?