Etsy Finally Did It

[kmmcrafts]

For about the last 3-4 years I've been trying to get etsy to set up the site so we can easily do free shipping on orders of X amount... well they did it sort of.. only downfall is they choose the amount rather than letting me set up the amount.. either way though.. the amount they chose is pretty decent.. You'll soon see etsy shops with free shipping on orders of $35 or more.. This is great for lower priced items... My ornament prices are typically $16.97 + 3.50 shipping.. so if one buys 3 ornaments.. they'd get free shipping.. this encourages shoppers to look for an additional item.. so they can get free shipping.. I kinda wish it was set slightly higher than the $35.. but hey it's a start..

I've got a lot of work to do on the selling sites that'll take me a few days to do.. hoping to get it all implemented before these changes take place.. If I sign up with this $35 free shipping.. I need to change the rices of all my items higher than the $35 limit or I'll be loosing money on these items, LOL

Also Amazon made some changes that is requiring a bunch of my time.. They've changed the rules on the Titles of the listings.. you're required to use Capital letters on the first of each word.. BUT not on certain words.. and words with less than  letters..

Ebay, Zibbet, and Artfire  has also made a few changes.. Dang.. Joys of selling on multipal sites.. Between all the sites.. I've got about 1500 listings to edit either titles, shipping cost and price changes tags and descriptions, LOL... It's a good thing i have kids home for summer break that knows how to use their electronic devices.. I'm putting them to work with these changes.. Hahaha.. Dad can I get on the computer to play games... yep.. as long as the game is price is right on KevsKrafts web stores, Hahaha  

[Dee]

I don't know about the other guys, but Etsy is getting very expensive.  They now charge between 10% and 13% total for each sale.  Weather the shipping is separate or part of the sale price you still pay a percentage to Etsy even if the shipping price is exactly what the cost is.  

[kmmcrafts]

28 minutes ago, Dee said:

I don't know about the other guys, but Etsy is getting very expensive.  They now charge between 10% and 13% total for each sale.  Weather the shipping is separate or part of the sale price you still pay a percentage to Etsy even if the shipping price is exactly what the cost is.  

Well they all do this now.. I left eBay several years ago because of this.. Amazon is around 19%.. and once they kick in the monthly fee of $40 a month I'll be leaving there too.. But for the past 5+ years since they opened up the Handmade section they've waved the $40 a month fee..

Also I sell on Zibbet and Artfire.. While the monthly fee is cheap and no final value fee.. The cost per sale is higher because there isn't as much traffic.. 

Amazon and eBay ( if printing shipping through them ) is cheaper to ship.. so in the end it probably works out to be fairly close match to the others.. 

Basically if you can sell online and keep your website fees under 20% you're not doing too bad.. considering the cost of running a physical store this online selling is cheap... which is why it's booming with business's and it's convenient for shoppers to buy at home while soaking in the bath or laying in bed, LOL

[Sycamore67]

I am amazed at the difficulty of selling online and all the effort it takes including shipping.  It takes an expert to make a profit and a lot of hard work.

 

[Rockytime]

It takes more patience than I have.

[kmmcrafts]

6 hours ago, Sycamore67 said:

I am amazed at the difficulty of selling online and all the effort it takes including shipping.  It takes an expert to make a profit and a lot of hard work.

 

That must be why I'm not making any money... far from being an expert.. LOL.. but it does help put food on the table and pay the bills etc.. 

I think everyone probably has a different perspective on the words Difficult and Effort.. 

I personally find packing totes into the car ,driving to the shows, setting up your spot, and " sitting in one spot " for more than a couple hours is hard for me to do.. Then after the long day you take down the set up pack it up and drive back home unload the car etc etc.. That's not my idea of fun at all.. Working on the websites can be done while sitting here in the family room with the family.. and watching TV.. no certain show schedules to deal with.. sell 24-7 365 days a year.. the time spent at the shows is time I can actually spend at my saw.. It probably all works out about the same amount of time whether it's a show or online work.. just that the online work can be done anytime.. I can work on my websites from my cell phone.. so if the wife is taking a long time in the store getting another pair of shoes.. I can get on my phone and work LOL..  

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I know it is your opinion about shows and you are entitled to it but there is downfalls with doing either online or on scene shows. You are set up to do online sales and it took you some time to get there. You can do a show without any experience and if you have a product people want you have instant sales. I have said this before for me it is the communication with people. That is the joy of doing shows. Yes it is work but so is selling on line. Have good shows and good attendance can mean good profits. For me I have seen the show circuit take a huge nosedive and basically it is because most sales today people are feakin lazy and just click the keyboard. years ago that was not so easy and the crafts circuit was the thing to do. With shows and stores location is key. I believe things run in circles and someday the show circuit will once again be a thing to deal with especially if the price of selling and shipping on line keeps increasing. 

[kmmcrafts]

10 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I know it is your opinion about shows and you are entitled to it but there is downfalls with doing either online or on scene shows. You are set up to do online sales and it took you some time to get there. You can do a show without any experience and if you have a product people want you have instant sales. I have said this before for me it is the communication with people. That is the joy of doing shows. Yes it is work but so is selling on line. Have good shows and good attendance can mean good profits. For me I have seen the show circuit take a huge nosedive and basically it is because most sales today people are feakin lazy and just click the keyboard. years ago that was not so easy and the crafts circuit was the thing to do. With shows and stores location is key. I believe things run in circles and someday the show circuit will once again be a thing to deal with especially if the price of selling and shipping on line keeps increasing. 

I think the best would be for any business would be to do both shows and online... the thing with online is.. it's world wide..and shoppers can shop anytime day or night.. I don't disagree with you at all about either one.. It is a lot of leg work to get a online store set up and build a following... This is something I played around with when my kids was little and I couldn't get out to the shows.. so I spent much of my time researching shipping, website building, online sales, online searches.. This was stuff I researched for several years.. so you are very correct.. I did it because I seen easy business start up while the kids was little...work at my own pace here and there.. I was mostly just playing around on the computer trying to learn the ins and outs of the internet..  For me I was enjoying the scroll saw and was just looking for a outlet to get rid of stuff.. since I was tied up with the kids when they was real small.. taking them to the shows wasn't doable.. but after they went to bed.. working on the internet was.. 

I've been selling / wheeling and dealing online since 1998... not crafts.. I never touch the woodwork stuff until around 2005 ish.. so when the crafts thing came along.. I already was doing online selling with car parts and tractor parts etc.. also would garage sale and buy boxes of junk to sell on ebay..

So with all that said.. Yeah.. it's probably a pretty tough thing to get into online selling.. I just was in a unique situation and it worked out well for me.. It was easy for me because I was just paying around.. and it all sort of fell into my lap so to speak.. 

Wheeling and dealing is something I've done all my life before the internet. in fact I got in trouble at school in the 3rd grade for selling sticks of gum, LOL... I'd buy a pack of gum with my allowance and sell it by the piece at school and double my money.. LOL        

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

7 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

I think the best would be for any business would be to do both shows and online... the thing with online is.. it's world wide..and shoppers can shop anytime day or night.. I don't disagree with you at all about either one.. It is a lot of leg work to get a online store set up and build a following... This is something I played around with when my kids was little and I couldn't get out to the shows.. so I spent much of my time researching shipping, website building, online sales, online searches.. This was stuff I researched for several years.. so you are very correct.. I did it because I seen easy business start up while the kids was little...work at my own pace here and there.. I was mostly just playing around on the computer trying to learn the ins and outs of the internet..  For me I was enjoying the scroll saw and was just looking for a outlet to get rid of stuff.. since I was tied up with the kids when they was real small.. taking them to the shows wasn't doable.. but after they went to bed.. working on the internet was.. 

I've been selling / wheeling and dealing online since 1998... not crafts.. I never touch the woodwork stuff until around 2005 ish.. so when the crafts thing came along.. I already was doing online selling with car parts and tractor parts etc.. also would garage sale and buy boxes of junk to sell on ebay..

So with all that said.. Yeah.. it's probably a pretty tough thing to get into online selling.. I just was in a unique situation and it worked out well for me.. It was easy for me because I was just paying around.. and it all sort of fell into my lap so to speak.. 

Wheeling and dealing is something I've done all my life before the internet. in fact I got in trouble at school in the 3rd grade for selling sticks of gum, LOL... I'd buy a pack of gum with my allowance and sell it by the piece at school and double my money.. LOL        

It is as rare as a $3 bill to see a man stay home to be a stay at home Dad. That just does not happen so take it for what it is worth. Scrolling a few hours now and then and do a few shows to make a couple extra $$ is all people do this for. To make a living at it is a whole different way of thinking. You are unique to say the least. It works for you so be glad. I believe many other will say their method works for them as well. Ask Iggy what he thinks and all the shows he does. 

[kmmcrafts]

7 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

It is as rare as a $3 bill to see a man stay home to be a stay at home Dad. That just does not happen so take it for what it is worth. Scrolling a few hours now and then and do a few shows to make a couple extra $$ is all people do this for. To make a living at it is a whole different way of thinking. You are unique to say the least. It works for you so be glad. I believe many other will say their method works for them as well. Ask Iggy what he thinks and all the shows he does. 

It's actually quite common these days... there is actually a TV reality show of stay at home dads... but it was rare when I did it 22 years ago.. Gotta say at first I was no way am I doing that.. but I also always said I'm not having kids for a day care to raise them.. Not that day cares are bad... we all see how many kids are these days.. Anyway the wife talked me into it and I started out from day one... looking for my business..  Regardless that I was a stay at home dad.. I still worked my butt off doing everything and anything I could to help mama with bills etc..

I'm in a position now with the kids being older that I could do shows.. but the thing is.. I'm pretty busy with the online stuff and take advantage of the down time to improve the websites and build inventory and add new products.. I may give the show seen another shot later this year.. I've got about 200 products in my inventory that has never made it to the websites.. and this year I've been building on those products just for the show seen that I do plan to give a try.. It's too hard to sell the same items online as you do at the shows because keeping track of the inventory of what sells online the same day as what you just sold at the show, LOL can get into some hot water doing that.. I strive to keep a 5 star 100% feedback rating.. and the best way to jeopardize that is not getting the product out to the customer on time by selling it at a show.. LOL.. I need separate products.. and I've slowly been building a inventory for shows..

Iggy is also in a unique situation since his day job is mostly working from home.. But I would say.. it's be next to impossible to quit a day job to take on a craft business and make enough to live off of.. So yeah I understand why everyone says it cannot be done.. I won't say it can't be done.. But I will say it's not easy and it takes more work than the day job at least to get it up and off the ground..  I've been at it for years longer than the actual "Business" has been going.. 

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

 TV reality shows There is not a show on tv that is actually reality. All my years I do not know one stay at home Dad. It is become almost impossible to have a stay at home Mom these days. 

A little off track like always but somewhat related. I always enjoyed watching This Old House and Now Ask This Old House. When they first started it was more reality than it is ever today. Those shows are for entertainment. Not many people can afford the remodels they do and the materials they use today. when they first started it was more common used materials. Ask TOH is more like those days to some degree. 

Glad you can do what you do but as I said not for everyone. To most this is a hobby and always will be. 

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

 TV reality shows There is not a show on tv that is actually reality. All my years I do not know one stay at home Dad. It is become almost impossible to have a stay at home Mom these days. 

 

Boy you sure got that right.. I've had to explain this to my wife and kids a million times, LOL

There are a lot more folks that CAN have one parent stay home than what people think.. It's more about choices than anything.. and most people sadly these days are selfish about what they have and do than they take responsibility to raise their children.. What I mean about that comment is.. more people are worried about keeping up with the Jones and having 2-3 cars a vacation home and big houses in fancy neighborhoods, cable TV, TV in every room of the house, latest cell phones, electronics etc etc etc.. 

Many people "could" give up cable TV, Cell Phones, Internet,, Soda Pop, Beer, Cigarettes... and other un- necessary things that you don't "Need" to live.. Many of these things weren't around back in the early days and are just luxuries.. Do without the stuff and raise the kids.. when you get the kids big enough.. take up work and get the luxuries back.. Add up the monthly bill for Day Care, and the phones and the extra car and insurance to go with that car and and and etc etc.. People can cut back... they just choose not to because they're trying to impress people they don't like.. or want to try to " fit in " be cool show off etc etc..   

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

10 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Boy you sure got that right.. I've had to explain this to my wife and kids a million times, LOL

There are a lot more folks that CAN have one parent stay home than what people think.. It's more about choices than anything.. and most people sadly these days are selfish about what they have and do than they take responsibility to raise their children.. What I mean about that comment is.. more people are worried about keeping up with the Jones and having 2-3 cars a vacation home and big houses in fancy neighborhoods, cable TV, TV in every room of the house, latest cell phones, electronics etc etc etc.. 

Many people "could" give up cable TV, Cell Phones, Internet,, Soda Pop, Beer, Cigarettes... and other un- necessary things that you don't "Need" to live.. Many of these things weren't around back in the early days and are just luxuries.. Do without the stuff and raise the kids.. when you get the kids big enough.. take up work and get the luxuries back.. Add up the monthly bill for Day Care, and the phones and the extra car and insurance to go with that car and and and etc etc.. People can cut back... they just choose not to because they're trying to impress people they don't like.. or want to try to " fit in " be cool show off etc etc..   

Wow Kevin I am going to leave that one alone because I believe you are  out of touch. So many open ended topics in that statement and probably would get this thread shut down so good luck with that. This is where I step off as the youngins say. 

[kmmcrafts]

24 minutes ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Wow Kevin I am going to leave that one alone because I believe you are  out of touch. So many open ended topics in that statement and probably would get this thread shut down so good luck with that. This is where I step off as the youngins say. 

Yeah, I think I am out of touch too at times.. But I'm going to throw some numbers.. because the " normal " people have to see it to understand it..

These are average for Michigan.. Got these numbers from a Google search..  

Average household income $54,909

 

According to the Census ACS 1-year survey, the median household income for Michigan was $54,909 in 2017, the latest figures available. Compared to the median US household income, Michigan median household income is $5,427 lower.

 

Cost Of Daycare:

The average annual cost of infant care Michigan is $9,882, or $824 per month. For a 4-year-old, the annual cost is $6,764, or $564 each month. Infant care in Michigan costs just $1,413, or 12.5 percent, less than in-state tuition for a four-year public university, which has an annual cost of $11,29

 

The average annual cost of infant care Michigan is $9,882, or $824 per month. For a 4-year-old, the annual cost is $6,764, or $564 each month. Infant care in Michigan costs just $1,413, or 12.5 percent, less than in-state tuition for a four-year public university, which has an annual cost of $11,29

 

So.. say your household income is 55,000 and you have two kids ( I have 3 )  Depending on kids age of coarse but by the time you pay child care your 55,000 is now around 40,000 - 45,000.. ditch the car ( most people finance a car around here so your ditching $300-600 a month in payments + your insurance on that car)..  If both parents working many times they're to tired to come home and cook, clean, mow lawn etc etc.. so many stop for take out and pay a housekeeper, and a lawn guy..

 

Doesn't take long to realize that you can make some cuts and stay home and you have just about the same amount of cash as before..

 

[kmmcrafts]

Well, back on topic.. Esty listings are all edited.. Boy I sure always do everything the hard way.. I was doing them individually and low and behold.. etsy incorporated a program to do all the edits at the same time.. I was almost done when I figured that out, LOL

Amazon listings almost done.. so I'm almost done with it all..  Then I intend to put up more listings both etsy, and the other sites.. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

22 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Yeah, I think I am out of touch too at times.. But I'm going to throw some numbers.. because the " normal " people have to see it to understand it..

These are average for Michigan.. Got these numbers from a Google search..  

Average household income $54,909

 

According to the Census ACS 1-year survey, the median household income for Michigan was $54,909 in 2017, the latest figures available. Compared to the median US household income, Michigan median household income is $5,427 lower.

 

Cost Of Daycare:

The average annual cost of infant care Michigan is $9,882, or $824 per month. For a 4-year-old, the annual cost is $6,764, or $564 each month. Infant care in Michigan costs just $1,413, or 12.5 percent, less than in-state tuition for a four-year public university, which has an annual cost of $11,29

 

The average annual cost of infant care Michigan is $9,882, or $824 per month. For a 4-year-old, the annual cost is $6,764, or $564 each month. Infant care in Michigan costs just $1,413, or 12.5 percent, less than in-state tuition for a four-year public university, which has an annual cost of $11,29

 

So.. say your household income is 55,000 and you have two kids ( I have 3 )  Depending on kids age of coarse but by the time you pay child care your 55,000 is now around 40,000 - 45,000.. ditch the car ( most people finance a car around here so your ditching $300-600 a month in payments + your insurance on that car)..  If both parents working many times they're to tired to come home and cook, clean, mow lawn etc etc.. so many stop for take out and pay a housekeeper, and a lawn guy..

 

Doesn't take long to realize that you can make some cuts and stay home and you have just about the same amount of cash as before..

 

 So when you running for President. You just cleared up the national debt.  

Boy I said i would not do this but the fingers would not let me. I have to delete this. 

Edited July 14, 2019 by JTTHECLOCKMAN

[Sycamore67]

Interesting comments and analysis...

If the government was run like some run their home budget, we would have not debt.

It doesn't seem to matter what political party but government spends money they do not have.  When they run out, they borrow it or raise taxes.  

I am fortunate that my wife takes care of finances .  However, there have been a number of times when I have been called to explain my spending and told what I have to cut out.  My response is "Yes..Ma'am"

[kmmcrafts]

That's right.. never been in debt... Pay cash for everything.. no cash.. don't buy it...  

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

5 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

That's right.. never been in debt... Pay cash for everything.. no cash.. don't buy it...  

They need to clone you. You are one of a kind. 

[kmmcrafts]

5 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

They need to clone you. You are one of a kind. 

I don't think the village could put up with two of me

Everybody is one of a kind.

[rjweb]

No I am also strictly a cash person, after having problems in my younger days, I learned, Rj

[GrampaJim]

2 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I don't think the village could put up with two of me

Everybody is one of a kind.

You could always run for congress. 

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, GrampaJim said:

You could always run for congress. 

You really think I'm that much of a nutcase to fit in with them. ... I need to quit sayin anything about myself from here on out..

I'm just joking around in that comment..

Edited July 15, 2019 by kmmcrafts

[kmmcrafts]

I must be on a roll lately a co-worker of my wife is struggling with maybe loosing her house.. she called my wife yesterday on her way home from getting her nails done complaining about her money situation and how her hubby is just blowing money on stupid stuff... during the drive home she stopped off at the store for a case of beer for her husband and pop for the kids.. then got takeout pizza for dinner...  What the Heck?

This afternoon she posted on FB asking about a cheaper lawn care service as the lawn guy raised his prices.. and then right after that posted another topic about a cheaper gym and one with more treadmills because the one she goes to now the treadmill is always taken.. I posted and ask why not cancel both, save a little money and exercise behind a lawn mower... She un-friended me...  Dang did I say something wrong..

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Different strokes for different folks.