Posted by When I started my vintage biz on Etsy I was elated to be able to follow one of my passions (and be my own boss!) but there was so much I didn’t know. Naively I expected that my items would sell quickly and steadily!! 😂 This expectation just wasn’t realistic, particularly for a newbie. There’s a lot of competition in the online marketplace with more people jumping into the fray every day. But once I had over 500 items in my Etsy store I could reasonably expect a sale a day. Not a huge number, but steady and enough to provide a modest income.
Well, after a robust beginning of May, sales stopped. Fully stopped. Days went day. Then a week. Without one sale. I still got views and favorites and things put in carts. I was still listing almost every day and had at least 50 things marked down. My unexpected dry spell must have confused Etsy because they posted this list of tips on my seller dashboard…oh dear.
Rather disconcerting since I’ve sold literally thousands of things on Etsy in the last 11 years!
Then two nights ago I heard cha-ching. And another. And another. Finally things were selling again. Phew!
But I’ve had to remind myself that we are coming into the summer sales slowdown. This happens for online stores as well as for big brick and mortar ones. Yes, a week with no sales is unusual for me. Very. But it can happen. It did happen.
I realize I need to RESET my store expectations for summer and instead of feeling anxious, wringing my hands and whinging about it, come up with a plan:
- First, keep listing. Adding new items always generates more traffic.
- Second, put more items on sale. Sale items tend to show up higher in search results and it’s a great way to get rid of older stock.
- Third, start cross-posting items on eBay and Chairish. (I should do this anyway. It’s never smart having all your eggs in one basket.)
- Fourth, use the summer more as a sourcing time for Q4.
- Fifth and most importantly, breathe! It’s not the end of the world.
Even though things are selling again (thankfully), I’ll still follow the plan. But given that summer is always slower, I’m stepping back a little too. I want to relax more. Have some fun. Enjoy summer!
In fact last night we attended a free concert in a park (a Fleetwood Mac tribute band). This is the first of many concerts we hope to enjoy this summer. I wasn’t going to get up and dance but I couldn’t help myself!
Our daughters decided to join us which made it doubly fun. I’m still adjusting to our empty nest so it’s grand to have this time with them. And isn’t it lovely to have adult children that you not only love, but like, respect and genuinely enjoy spending time with. What a gift!
As always, happy hunting and remember to breathe!
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 