The concept sounds cool. Twenty-five sellers total get a gallery shot of their product (and a link to it, of course), on the first page of the Children category. Three show up right on top, and then you scroll through if you want to see the others--the order is random each time the page is visited, so sometimes I'm on top, but usually you have to scroll (I keep going there and refreshing the page until my item is on top, because I like to see myself).
You get one product shown, but you've put your items in a queue, so when the first item sells (here's hoping...), then the next item in your queue gets that spot, etc.
Here's my queue which I was nervously working my butt off on all day yesterday--photographing, listing, queuing it up, finishing up some sewing sometimes, fretting, planning more for myself than I could possibly get done, etc.:
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So, yeah, the freaked-out overachiever in me wanted to have a complete selection of every single thing that I make for children--pillowcase dresses, T-shirt aprons, crayon rolls and marker rolls, T-shirt dresses and aprons from every random T-shirt that I have in my stash right now--as well as a ton of new stuff that I've been stewing over creating--beanbags, play dough in recycled containers, stuffed upholstery fabric owls (I've never gotten over the Just Us Chickens incident of two years ago).
The stay-at-home mom previously happy in her summer vacation was all, "Um, whoah. Aren't there some rabbits to chase out of the birdhouse gourds or something?"
Turns out there were. End of story.
i read the "just us chickens" post. i have witnessed this phenomena, in the past, when i was trying to sell stuff at craft fairs. some sort-of clever little do-dad would sell like hot cakes, and i'd be sitting there, with one sale, baffled. it is part of why i decided that selling handmade things at craft fairs wasn't for me. that, and the other thing you described: people browsing your stuff, and not buying it. i couldn't help feeling personally rejected, every time. it actually makes it hard for me to even GO to craft fairs. i don't want to be one of those people, browsing, not buying. and usually, i am that person.
ReplyDeleteetsy seems like a better way to go. at least you are not watching people pass your stuff by. instead, you get a nice surprise each time someone makes a purchase.
I think I might need a gimmick. I really do like craft fairs, but I'd also REALLY like to be successful at them. I like people coming in and browsing and asking stupid questions and whatever--I'm super-shy and it's like this excuse to be outgoing with people or something--but I only like it if I'm also actually making some money, as well.
ReplyDeleteThus, the gimmick. Right now I'm leaning towards a reclaimed shopping cart full of record bowls right at the front of my booth?