BIG NEWS !!!

OMG!?!  Etsy has finally launched "guest checkout" that means you no longer have to have an actual Etsy account to buy stuff there. 😇

This is super fantastic and totally amazing, I am super thrilled. When I found Etsy years ago I clearly recall being annoyed at having to create an account to purchase what I wanted.  I know for a fact that I have friends who would like to buy a wire tree but they didn't have Etsy accounts and didn't want to have to set up an account and remember another login.  So this is perfect!!

I knew they were working on it but I didn't want to say anything because I didn't know how long it would be before they actually launched or if they would actually launch after all these years. 😏

With the launch of Studio, the new shop manager, changing everyone to Etsy payments, the combined checkout, attributes upgrade, there has been a lot going on but I an so glad that "guest checkout" did not get lost in the shuffle.

So everyone should go browse and shop Etsy now.

It's a good thing. . .

I just love waking up to find fresh new orders. 😇

Although, it does sometimes make me a bit sad that I was sleeping and missed the cha-ching.  I mean the app's cha-ching sound is so cool, cute, fabulous to hear.  I know they are really training us all like Pavlov's dog but I always smile when it cha-chings.  

Also it makes me wonder sometimes what people are doing shopping at 2 am.  ~LOL~  But I guess some people do work nights or weird shifts so to them 2 am is not the middle of the night like it is to most people. 


RainbowMaille on Instagram  I've been working on building up an instagram following and I finally broke 100, which would be woo-hoo territory but everyone else seems to have several hundred if not thousands of followers.  😏  Not sure how the do that, but my pics do get likes and the occasional comment so it's genuine interactions at least.  I wonder how many of those that have tons of followers actually accrued them organically or if they did some of that pay to play, "get a 100 followers now" kind of things.  

Right now I have to go print an invoice and a postage label so I can get this latest order off to the post office.  

new trees. . .

I really like how this one turned out, blue and gold is not a normal color combo for me but I like it.  o:-)

I spent days trying to finish this next one.  From the time I laid it out until it was actually finished until it was photographed and listed this morning was nearly a week.  ~sigh~  I kept getting distracted by life's little disruptions, you know having to stop to fix dinner, weekend RV re-modeling, the usual.  ~LOL~

This one has beads in the roots and along the trunk, I've never tried that before and it definitely changes how I have to handle the trunk twists and makes it kind of hard to do the flattening.  However, I do like the way it looks finished so maybe Ill try it again. 

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.