When did you start?

In 2008, I had to close my gift and quilt shop due to the economy. I lost my home near Yosemite, and I was broke. My first Etsy shop was in 2008, but I didn’t do a whole lot with it. I became more active with it in 2011. I really needed to find a way to make money, and it was great initially! With 2 shops (adult and kids), I was making $500 - $1000 per month by selling upcycled clothing. I had a part-time job while running my Etsy shops, but I finally got a full-time job in 2017. Unfortunately, I let my shops become dormant at that time. 

I moved to Seattle 3.5 years ago and started the 2 shops again. I added a third shop to sell fabrics because I had owned a quilt shop at one time and still had remaining inventory. Then, I started a shop for coffee mugs and then went to T-shirts. 

Are you doing this full-time? 

Yes, I’m retired. I have social security, but my Etsy shops bring in extra money to help pay my expenses.

What was your inspiration? 

I was a quilter and wanted to get away from that. I also tried making clothes from patterns, but the results never came out correctly. I’ve lived in the country, so my lifestyle was focused on sustainability. I’ve seen the terrible videos where they highlight unused clothing that gets shipped off to other countries, and they just dump it in their landfills. Plus, there is a magazine called Altered Couture, and they would feature recycled/reused clothing. They have featured my store before: https://stampington.com/altered-couture-winter-2015/

I was influenced by all of this, so my first store was upcycled clothing.  

Tell me about your first days on Etsy. 

I didn’t know anything about keywords, SEO, and my photos sucked. Initially, I just threw everything at the wall and hoped that it would stick. I was working part-time, so I gradually started learning from others on the Etsy forum and groups. They taught me how to craft titles and the importance of good photos. I eventually created a photo area with a white wooden background and mannequins. I really learned a lot from the Etsy forums. I got a lot of national and international sales in the beginning. Now, I can’t afford to ship internationally since the costs are so high. Hence, I had to turn off international shipping. Unfortunately, my sales have suffered because of that.  

What challenges did you encounter starting up your business on Etsy? 

Education - mainly how do I get myself in front of people?

What was that experience like? 

I would try to copy other people, and I even paid for a training program from a successful Etsy seller.

Tell me about your decision to use Etsy as a marketplace (other marketplaces)? 

In 1998, I originally owned a gift and bookstore in California near Yosemite; most of my clients were tourists. At the time, there was an online marketplace (now defunct) where I sold some of my products and I did well. For my quilt fabrics, I tried selling some of them on an online fabric store (now defunct); after that, I sold my fabrics on eBay.

A lady came in one day and showed me Etsy. Initially, I just bought things on Etsy for myself. I saw upcycled clothing there and how successful one seller was with it. She eventually left Etsy. I had used other marketplaces for my clothing, but they came and went. Etsy just had a very large and dedicated audience.

If you could change one thing about the product listing process, what would it be? 

The old version had everything that was needed up front; the options were all laid out for you (it was easy). Now, you must know the Etsy category that you fit into. I had to relearn everything. You have to go find the attributes for your products. I may think it’s one thing, but Etsy’s algorithm may reward another attribute in its rankings. How am I supposed to know what that is?

What part of the product listing process takes you the longest or gives you the most challenge?

• Title - finding balance in type of words and the character limit
• Keywords - I’ve tried multiple ways using recommendations from Etsy sellers on YouTube; I haven’t been successful following them.
• Descriptions are not too bad for me; I’ve created a couple with AI. My most recent sale on MissBunnySays was an AI optimized description using x-Ray’s platform.
• The key is finding what Etsy wants you to put down.  

Tell me about the tools or platforms you use to assist you. 

I’ve used:

• eRank - stopped using this because it became too complicated for me
• Rockefy – at one point for AI descriptions
• Kittle - to design t-shirts
• Creative Fabrica – to buy fabric - https://www.creativefabrica.com/
• Printify - https://printify.com/
• Teelaunch - https://teelaunch.com/
• Nembol - used this to move designs and listings to different Etsy shops
• GoImagine.com - It’s smaller than Etsy. I use it only for upcycled clothing, but their fees are lower than Etsy’s. 
• Darbee  - stopped using this because it became too complicated for me; x-Ray was easier for me to understand
• Marmalead - stopped because it was too expensive; I’m retired and have a restricted budget; Plus, it provided too much information. I just want to know the keywords for my products.

Are there factors that would influence you to try a platform or program?  

My goal is to increase my sales. If you have a product that can help me do this, I am willing to try it. I’ve also looked to other Etsy experts. They frequently recommend certain tools and products that have helped them. For example, I came across a Facebook ad for Brittany who is an Etsy seller that claimed that she was making $200K per month. She had a course, and I really needed help, so I paid for it. As part of the course, she said that she used eRank. Her program was informative, but it didn’t help me increase my sales as much as I wanted it to.    

If you could build a tool to help you optimize product listings, what would you like it to do? 

I want something that scores my product listing correctly, optimizes it, and ultimately, results in increased views and sales lift. I’m also terrible at content creation and social media promotion. I would like to see a tool that can assist with this as well. Is there a way for you to build in a warning that pops up for sellers if their product violates trademark or copyright infringement; everyone’s biggest fear is to be shut down. Trademark search tool? I love the idea of easy access to sell on other marketplaces, but it can’t be cost prohibitive.

How is Etsy helping you? 

I have a small business, and it keeps me busy creating products. 

How is Etsy not helping you? 

I do believe the algorithm has changed since the initial days. I’m just not getting the view and sales that I used to. They’re allowing tons of competition to come in. I’ve reported sellers that are violating Etsy’s rules (trademark, not handmade, etc) but they don’t do anything about it. Alibaba competition has been drowning out all the small sellers. I’m creating these products, but no one is really seeing them or buying them. Etsy is not currently putting a lot of money in my pocket.

Why are you continuing to use Etsy?

• I don’t give up easily. If people buy things from me, it makes me happy. I feel complete. It’s emotional for me. I’ve considered other marketplaces, but I need the right type of people to come to it. My audience are older women for upcycled clothing (60 and older); until I can figure out the audience that visits eBay and GoImagine - it’s kind of a crap shoot.
• I would love to sell on Amazon, but I know it can be challenging. Do I have time to evaluate what it takes to succeed on Amazon? No.
• Etsy gives me an idea of what is trending because you can see that under Sales. Amazon doesn’t show this.

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How has your experience with x-Ray been? 

x-Ray optimizes my Etsy shops in mere seconds. No more guessing and forever testing to optimize my listings. Along with amazing customer service, this platform is a must have for all Etsy shop owners!

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