pluggin' away. . .

So while Etsy screws up one thing after another and shoots itself in the foot for the 3rd time in less than a year I will just ignore the mess and keep pluggin' away with my little shop.  

I don't actually shop there much so I didn't have a hundred items in my shopping cart when they screwed everyone with the combined checkout.  I feel for all those who have a ton of stuff in their carts, just like I understand the new layout makes it difficult to comparison shop.  However, Etsy doesn't care they wanted the pay for everything at once it's an integral part of the new "Studio" stupidity, could they have implemented it better of course, could it be improved of course. Will Etsy improve it? Probably not.  :-/  Can I do a darn thing about it?  Nope.

I know lots are upset by the "forced" acceptance of Etsy payments but as someone who always had direct checkout I don't care.

They are jacking around with search results, what's new.  Stats are wrong, like that's a big surprise.  The new shop manager is glitch-y, well of course it is, it's new and they are fucking around with live code.

I'm just going to making shiny pretty things and hope one day Etsy settles the fuck down and keeps their promises about guest checkout.

buh-bye. . .

I understand that people don't like change, hell I personally don't like change either, however, everything in the world is in a constant state of change.

When I started RainbowMaille on Etsy I had no choice about payment method/options it was direct checkout with integrated paypal.  I personally despise paypal and would never have accepted paypal if it wasn't already integrated into my direct checkout.  I don't use paypal, I don't like paypal, I didn't want to accept paypal, I refuse to shop at places that "only" have paypal.

So I have always been baffled by some etsy shops only having paypal and stubbornly defending and sticking to their standalone paypal no matter what.  I like the fact that direct checkout allowed the buyers lots of options.

Now Etsy has decided that all shops in eligible countries must add etsy payments allowing more payment options for customers and some of the etsy old-timers that are fixated on their paypal are having fits.  Etsy's notification email was pretty blunt get set up or get shutdown, yes it was a bit rude, pushy, and unprofessional but that's how etsy seems to handle everything.  Let's face it the company is run and managed on a daily basis by a bunch of code monkey most of which use txt spk more than complete sentences and sometimes it really shows in their bad grammar and very poor communication skills.

I personally don't care and actually have little pity for most of them, as someone who never had the option that they have enjoyed and taken advantage of for so long.  

I understand that many are upset with the "threat" of closing their shops but I don't understand the resistance to accepting other payment methods.

Now with multiple threads about how they are all closing their shops and looking for new venues, every time I read one I think buh-bye don't let the door hit you on the way out, more sales for the rest of us, thanks for getting out of the way.

I know it sounds mean it's my menopause showing and my patience fading, I'll have to work on that.  LOL

Just keep trying. . .

Ok, so back in February when I had multiple orders and a custom project I really thought my Etsy shop was picking up steam and in true Etsy fashion they ruined with multiple poorly planned and badly executed changes.  :-( 

So I have spent 6 weeks now trying to figure out how to get my views back up and get some sales.  I have redone photos, updated and edited listings, I have been tweaking keywords.  ~sigh~  I am intsagram-ing, making new things, and I did add shipping to Canada on almost all my listings.  

Yet sadly still no sales.  :-(  I keep writing this blog, and trying different things but it doesn't seem to be doing much good at the moment.  

International shipping. . .

I am considering opening up international shipping.  I know the costs are ridiculous but everyone seems to think it's the only way to really get sales on Etsy.  I personally would not be likely to pay more for shipping than the item I was ordering but I guess some people are.  I see other sellers in the forums all the time talking about how international sales are most of their business. 

I have reservations about it but maybe just Canada at first.  

Etsy is so frustrating. . .

I mean like the actual site and people who run it are frustrating.  They claim to be a "tech" company which is stupid because they are by definition a retail sales platform not a tech company.  Furthermore if they truly were a "tech" company maybe they should have better tech and better technicians that can actually properly test and launch changes instead of this ridiculous half-assed "college try" BS.  

They changed up listing categories, they added pointless and repetitive "attributes" section which they threatened would be included in search starting the 22nd.  I spent hours and hours over a period of 2 days editing and updating all my listings and they have now announced that they are putting it off.  :-/    Seriously, after all of us did all that damn work, never mind.  arrrghh 

So lets talk about this insane and moronic "new and improved" combined checkout BS that has been "rolling out" for over 2 damn months.  That's right they announced it back in January and it's just now getting to the majority of users and guess what it's assed up and people hate it.  The announcement says you "can" purchase everything in your cart at once but the truth is that you must purchase everything in the active section of your cart because it puts everything into one GRAND total.  So instead of showing multiple small "shop" totals 20 bucks here 30 bucks there it adds everything together scaring the crap out of people with "sticker shock" when they look at their cart and find a thousand dollar total with hundreds of dollars in shipping.  Users freak out, they panic, they hyperventilate, they either close the window or they start deleting stuff.  :-(

There have been literally thousands of unhappy comments from buyer and sellers explaining all the issues they are having with the new cart and exactly why this is not an improvement but a huge pain in the ass for most.  It's been 2 flipping months and yet there are no changes, there are no improvements to help people shop, there is not even a reply from the black hole known as etsy with any kind of promise of a plan to fix this.  This weeks admin announcement did not even acknowledge the checkout at all.  :-/ 

So sales have stopped for lots of us, lots of sellers are being asked to cancel all the "accidental" purchases.  customers are convo'ing asking sellers for directions on how to make the cart work, or just asking for stand-alone sites and other places to order through, anywhere not etsy.  

So how long can etsy ignore this before they realize people aren't just going to "get over it" or "get used to it"?

"Roots" . . .

I tested a different method of cutting and wrapping to create more "roots" at the base of the tree.  It's a bit trickier to start, and wrapping at the bottom, than the other way but it definitely does create a different look.  

 I've only made a couple so far and I cant decide if I like it or not.  LOL  It has a messier but more natural appearance.  I'm torn with my OCD desire to have them all lined up nicely and the artistic desire for the more free-form flowing feel of nature.

I did list them in the Etsy shop, I guess I'll just have to wait and see if they sell.  I think I'll try a couple more and see if I can get a wider and wilder section of "roots".

Introducing the new "Keepsake" tree. . .

I started the wire tree sculptures purely as art, they were just cool and pretty and decorative.   My Mom had the brilliant idea of the "family" tree when she asked me to make something for my cousin and his wife to celebrate their second child, so I got beads in birth stone colors and found all kinds of ways to symbolize things, like two trees becoming one.   I love the 'family" trees I've had several people custom order them, the problem is they have to be custom order because there is no way I can guess birth stone combinations and number of kids, etc.  ~LOL~  

Now I am introducing the new "Keepsake" tree, it's meant to be a memento, a decorative piece of art with special meaning for those in the know.  The Keepsake tree features a small glass vial for one to put their special reminder in, be it sand from your honeymoon beach, gold dust you panned on the family vacation, a lock of hair, anything you want that you can fit inside seal it with a drop of glue and it will last a very long time.  

                                                        This Keepsake Tree of life listing

I have literally just started making these and while I have several sizes styles of vials and do plan to make many as of right now there are only 2 in the Etsy shop.  I made a third yesterday but it's not posted yet.  I really love this idea I hope they sell.