Newbie from Western NY

[shadesetc]

Hi, I've recently signed up for this forum and am ready to introduce myself. My name is Cindy and I live in Western NY south of Buffalo in beautiful Chautauqua County. I started Shades ETC in 2005 after attending a lampshade making class at Fletcher Farms in VT. The teacher inspired me to continue making shades and a friend who was doing craft shows encouraged me to do a craft show with her and make shades for welcome lamps. I jumped in. My first show was Peak n Peeks Fall Festival in 2005.

After that I was hooked. Not that I made money, I just loved making the shades. Next I learned how to make ring shades, hardback shades, machine sewn shades, and my favorite victorian shades. After two years of doing craft shows at probably the worst time to start, I decided to sell online http://www.shades-etc.com and maybe stay home more instead of doing so many craft shows. I hope I've made the right decision!


Cindy

[thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat]

Welcome to ecrater. If you aren't making money on your items it means you aren't charging enough. I'm looking forward to seeing more items.

Remember there is a BIG difference between selling at a fair and selling on line. At the fair people can pick up the item, examine it, ask you questions. They know exactly what they are buying. Online it is up to you to explain your items in such detail that they get the same sense of "This is beautiful. This is well made. This seller has integrity. This is something I want to buy."

You are short on words. Transfer some of your enthusiasm from your post above to your descriptions, about and home pages. Pad your titles with more key words. That is how buyers will find you.

[Books2Read]

Welcome to ecrater!

I go with MaggieCat. You're not using enough description in your listing. Maybe an explanation, such as what you posted here, could be pasted into each listing. I don't think people read the front page to much. Brag about your lamps. Rave about your lamps. Let the buyer knows that YOU made them, not just that they are handmade by somebody.

Try to think of questions people have asked you at your craft shows. Incorporate those into your listing. Add some friendly talkie-talk.

You're products are beautiful. If you aren't making money, increase your price.

[Periwinkles]

Welcome - Beautiful lamp shades. Best of luck.

[tchsignshoppe]

Hello Cindy... Welcome to eCRATER from the TCH Sign Shop.

[shadesetc]

[cuppatea]

Welcome, great job on your store and home page, nice/fun items. Wishing you sales early and often!

[GuadalupeForgeWroughtIron]

What lovely items! I agree with everyone else, your store is looking very nice!

I also agree with Maggie, it's good to consider that people buying online can't pick up your items to see the quality. Pictures are a huge help. You can upload up to 10 photos for each item here so I'd include some detailed closeups of that lucious fabric and trim.

If you upload your photos in a larger size, eCrater will automatically scale them down for you. That way, when folks click on any picture, it will enlarge in a separate window (good for showing folks well-crafted details.)

We used to sell our work at shows, online, and in our shop. I kept prices consistent, but only because that was easiest for my little brain. I doubt most folks would notice if you found you needed to adjust prices slightly based on where you're selling. If someone did ask, I'd be ready to adjust my price to be consistent with what they saw elsewhere (to keep 'em happy.)

Don't get discouraged about the time it takes to get your online store working well. Looks to me like a wonderful niche product that should do well!
Sheri

[retrojunkie]

The best way to figure out how much to charge for your work is to figure out how much you want to make per hour. Then figure in materials and supplies (including gas to get you to the fair and back), labor (including time listing the product, promoting, but excluding learning time if you've just started selling online - that's an investment), and any other expenses. (But also excluding tools, since that's another investment that'll pay for itself many times over.) If you're making less than minimum wage when you get all that figured out, your prices are too low. If you're making a lot more than minimum wage, you have a little wiggle room if you decide to come down in price. Remember, people expect to pay more for your crafts than they'd pay for a shade at WalMart, even in today's economy.

If your items are handmade, you should say so in every title. Most people come looking at your stuff from search engines, and "handmade" or "hand crafted" needs to be clearly visible to said engine. Otherwise, people who are looking for homemade won't be able to find you.

Your store looks good and you have nice products. Good luck with your store.

[MaggietheCatsMeows]

Hi,
I just looked at your Victorian lamps. They look beautiful but here are the impediments to selling them on line.

1. your pictures don't enlarge and if I am going to spend 300-400$ for a lamp online I want to see several pictures to see how well it is made and from all angles, and I want them to enlarge. Don't reduce the size of your pictures. Ecrater does that when you upload them from your photo file. Click on the camera in admin to add pictures. You can have up to 10 per listing.

2. Your category is Victorian lamps. I was expecting antiques with new shades you had made. You need to state they are antique reproduction bases if they aren't antique. Remember people can't pick it up and see it is new on line. You have to tell them. Some of your lamp bases are Art Nouveau style which should be mentioned in the title and listing as that is a sought after period--antique or repro.

3. Your descriptions and titles are really too short for the prices you are asking.

4. As for people sniffing at your prices at fairs, there are fairs and there are fairs and then there are garage sales and flea markets. Lots of people can't tell the difference.

5. Since you have to rent a booth or table at the fairs, I would think your prices there would be higher since it cost nothing here. However I would keep the prices consistent. What you can do is have business cards printed with your ecrater url on it so that people who pass on your fair offerings can buy on line if they had a change of mind.

[hilltopshoppe]

Very pretty items! Welcome and best of luck!

[anidas]

Hello Cindy & a Warm Welcome from Anidas

[ALotofSparkle]

Welcome to Ecrater

Good luck with your new store.

Charyl