limited free shipping. . .

Not "free shipping" for a limited time but limited free shipping, that's what I'm moving my shop towards. 

I have in the past done free shipping for holidays, as in I actually just put up a limited time sale and pay the shipping out of my profit.  

I have for the last year had conditional free shipping, as in you had to meet a minimum purchase requirement to qualify, I even changed the minimum twice.

So it's not as if I have not tested the notion of "Free shipping" in my shop, however, I will not do it Etsy's way, the concept of rolling the whole cost of shipping into every individual item's price strikes me as wrong and really unfair for people who might want to order multiple items.  😕  I keep using the "  " around free shipping because in most cases it's not really free shipping, it's shipping included. I know I know semantics but I think it's important to be honest.

So I have started changing over certain things to not have shipping charges listed. Necklaces are higher priced items and have room to cover shipping, so I just changed the shipping to a new free shipping profile.  Earrings are really small and lightweight so I adjusted the price a little ($1-2 not the whole cost of shipping) and changed them to First Class mail instead of Priority so I lose less money when I pay the shipping.  

I highly doubt I will ever change everything to free shipping, especially the art as the larger paintings that go in larger boxes really do cost $$ to ship. 😏  I might try to find other boxes and check out sending them first class and maybe cheaper. I might consider offering first class on more of the jewelry but I need to check on the insurance included as priority covers most things and I'm not sure first class package would be equal. 

free shipping will be the end of the world. . .

Sometimes the Etsy forums can get a bit overly dramatic.  😏  

Etsy has been pushing shop owners to offer free shipping in various ways for a while now.  I am regularly resistant to such things but I have done sales for free shipping on larger purchases, I offered free shipping with lower minimum thresholds around the holidays.  

However, I have not done free shipping the way Etsy wants or recommended because I have not added the full cost of shipping into the price of every single item. 😕  I don't like the notion of putting the full cost of shipping into every item price because if someone happens to order more than 1 item them they are actually overpaying for multiple shipping charges.  I know it's all profit for me but it has always struck me as dishonest and a bit unfair so I won't do it. 

Etsy's latest announcement that priority search placement would be given to listings with the new "free shipping guarantee" set-up have set the forums ablaze with threads shouting of unfairness, manipulation, blackmail, the death knell of small business, blaming amazon, hating etsy execs, defiant refusals, etc.,

I personally am a bit torn on the subject because from my reading and interpretation it does not have to be straight free shipping on every item/listing, there seems to be an option to have the "free shipping guarantee" set to give free shipping on orders over $35. 

I do not know or understand why they are using the word guarantee in this context other than it's a comforting and reassuring word for consumers.  😉  I think I can set it up to give free shipping with a minimum purchase which would be no different than the sales I've ran in the past, the only difference is Etsy wants us to use the new "tool" and set it up through shipping settings instead of using the sales&coupons tool under marketing. 😐  Other than which tool we use and the method Etsy displays it I really think there is no difference, at least not that I have found yet.  

I have not set up my "free shipping guarantee" yet, although the new tool did finally appear in my shop dashboard, I have seen threads where people are having some glitches and issues so I think I'll way a bit. 😁  The priority search placement doesn't kick in until the end of the month anyway and I already use "promoted listings" ads to get to the front of search.  

No I cannot. . .will not

More than once I have received messages asking if I could make a larger version of a painting and I find myself. . . flabbergasted, floored, semi-annoyed because for serious reals the answer is "No, I cannot and will not".   

" I came across your rainbow painting and fell in love! I was wondering if I could commission a painting that is basically the same except on a larger canvas, say 20 x 16 or so,"

"Is it possible to get this in a larger size?"

Ok, so while I'm glad these people seem to like my art, I'm also having a WTF?! for those that seem to think that one of a kind original paintings should come with a size selector option like shoes or some other mass produced thing.  I'm not amazon, these are not painted on a template in a foreign sweatshop.  No I cannot reproduce copies, no I do not have an enlarge function as I am not a laser printer. 😕

There are some other artists that sell prints and reproductions, I am not one of them.  There are artists that use print services to turn actual paintings into re-prints and those services can then print in various sizes.  I, however, am a human being hand painting individual canvases and do not have those functions or abilities. 

I will just ignore the somewhat insulting nature of the one offering to pay less for the larger commission than I charge for smaller canvases.  

The first time I attempted to explain why I was saying no, noting that :
1. The painting style they were looking at does not lend itself to duplication as paint never mixes/flows the same way twice. 
2. I have never worked a canvas that size
3. I do not have large enough boxes to ship something that size
4. The costs of shipping something that size would be considerable

In spite of being polite, professional and apologetic I never received a reply/response.  In spite of them stating they would purchase the smaller one if I could/would not make a larger one they never have.

So the second person got a much shorter answer without all the personal explanation and apologizing and whatnot just simply "Thank you for your interest in my art but no I do not currently paint canvases larger than the 11" x 14" size."

I have before considered larger sized canvases but they present several issues for me.  First, they cost more $$, individually and overall so it's an investment.  Second they take up more space and storage both before and after painting is an problem for me who moves regularly and has 3 cats.  Third, painting something that size uses way more paint so again investment and cost$.  Fourth and finally shipping, as in boxes, packaging, high postage costs, huge boxes on people's porches that are more likely to be stolen or damaged.

I may one day decide to try larger canvases but at this time I do not see it as feasible for me or my business.  When/if I do start painting larger canvases I would not likely put them in the etsy shop due to the shipping concerns listed above.  I am considering some consignment type options for selling some things in local shops in the future.

time slipping away. . .

Wow it's been a while since I posted. 😏  I've been a tad busy and had a vacation in between. 😉  I have managed to get a dozen of the fridge magnets listed and thanks to Etsy's new "link variations to photos" thing I am really happy with the new listings. 

Now that we can link individual photos to variations I really need to rethink, re-do, re-photograph a bunch of stuff for a bunch of older listings.  😌  It's a great feature but it will take a lot of work to update things, as most of my listings have variations, like all the bracelets come in multiple colors.  ~sigh~

So aside from adding lots of art I am also working on the R&D of the rubber stretchy-maille.  I've had my Mom test wearing some for a while now and I've checked other's listings to see pricing and keywords and which patterns are already being sold.  I think I have actually created a new pattern as I have not found any listings or even google images of one of the styles I am making but now I have to name the new thing I created and I don't know what to call it.  Plus I know from experience once I start selling it it will only be a matter of time before every one starts copying it, 😕  so I'm holding it back for a while.  

Anyone who thinks having, stocking, and maintaining an Etsy shop is not work is not doing it right. 😄

mini art and fridge magnets . . .

Ok, so keeping in line with my "art for all" concept from my previous post I have started painting mini art, more specifically fridge magnets. 😊  

I found magnetic mini canvases at the craft store and they are so fun to paint. These are really great for apartment people or people with limited wall space as they are magnetic so just pop it on the fridge, no hanging, no framing, no extra expense, no wall damage.

Just fabulous little pops of colorful art at low price points. 😇

I have not started listing them for sale on Etsy yet but I will eventually, once I have many more finished to choose from. 😉

Art for ALL !!!

For many years I thought of "Art" as some lofty, expensive, only for the rich, only produced by famous "Art-ist" types, something unattainable for most. A bit of a sad thought really. 😟

When I started playing with paint I refused to call myself an artist at all and it's still hard for me to believe that I've only been painting about 18 months.  Last week I sold my 5th painting and I suppose I shall have to relent on being called an artists, although most days I still don't feel like one. 😕 Yes, it is self-doubt and impostor syndrome I suppose, but in truth aside from the paintings I've sold almost 100 wire tree sculptures and at least 50 pieces of chainmaille in the last 4 years, so. . . I guess I just need to "own it".

So I've been thinking about an "Art for ALL" approach, lowering my prices and doing miniatures and trying to make "art" more accessible for those that don't have a mansion to hold a 12 foot painting or thousands of dollars to pay for frivolous things.  For those that want something special and unique not the same $20 print from which ever store that thousands of people already have, but something one of a kind and handmade but still affordable, still attainable. 

I know this is a crazy approach to art, it's a crazy approach to business, but I'm not in it for the money.  😇  I like making things and I like it when other people appreciate the things I make, it really is that simple. 

new style, new art. . .

I have been busy for weeks, creating, making, listing lots of stuff. 😉  I made a batch of small wire trees because I realized my binder was down to only a couple of full pages. 

I've been painting regularly and still trying new styles and techniques and ideas.

I've even made some new chainmaille. I had a message question about a necklace in the infinity knot pattern, it didn't turn into a custom order as there was no follow through but it did get me thinking of all of the patterns of chain I can make that is one that there is no necklace sample of. 😏  So I sat down and got busy with the rings and made 2. ~LOL~ The infinity knot pattern can be done in different ways so I made one with "8-ring" knots and one with "10-ring" knots, they also have slightly different colors. 😎

All this busy busy work means that I have finally broken the 200 listing mark, which at one time I never thought would happen. That's the good news, the bad news is I have 20 new paintings to photograph and get listed, so busy busy back to work. 😇