Goimagine New Dashboard Changes Listing URLs And Breaks Links

[BadBob]

I had some problems with two listings in Google Merchant Center. The listing status was changed to disapproved, and the links returned 404 errors. I went back and forth with Goimagine support, but they could not figure it out. I solved the mystery myself and fixed the problem. I posted a warning in the Official Facebook group and was told by one of the admins that I would have to live with it. After I posted an angry icon, that comment got deleted. I proceeded to document my testing. I posted this documentation on every official group and forum and sent it to support. They are working on the issue now. The test listing is still available. If someone wants to buy a toy car for $1000 with a 1000lb shipping weight, I will gladly sell it to them.

The following is what I sent:

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I previously posted a warning in the Facebook group about this, but it was disregarded. I was told I should not modify URLs, yet the New Dashboard will adjust the link to a listing whenever you change the title. If you have a custom URL you created in the old dashboard and you change anything and click save, your custom URL is broken. I found this problem when I changed the pricing on two listings, and the Google Market Center changed their status to disapproved. It took a couple of weeks to figure it out. I have 451 listings in the Google Merchant Center, everyone with a custom URL, which means I can't use the new dashboard for anything without the listing status changing to disapproved. I promoted heavily on social media for weeks. This issue will also break these links. Hopefully, the following will explain why this is important.

Here is a title to one of my Etsy listings. 

"Wooden Dragon Figurine Handmade From Select Grade Contrasting Hardwoods And Hand-Finished With A Custom Mixture Of Mineral Oil And Waxes"

Here is the link to this listing generated by Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/981122546/wooden-dragon-figurine-handmade-from

If I change the listing title, Etsy will change the link. In this link, I changed the word Handmade to Made.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/981122546/wooden-dragon-figurine-made-from

The number in the link is the listing ID number. I can link to the listing using only this number, ignoring any changes in the title. Both of these links work.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/981122546/
https://odinstoyfactory.etsy.com/listing/981122546/

No matter what I do to the title, these links always work. The only way they get broken is if the listing is removed. So, why is this important? I have been on Etsy since 2016 and have used these shortened links in thousands of links I have used to promote my shop. They all still work.

I did some testing using the new dashboard. I created a new listing. As expected, the link it created matched the title.

https://odinstoyfactory.com/this-is-a-test-listing/

Then I changed the title, and the new dashboard changed the link again.

https://odinstoyfactory.com/test-for-link-name-change/

Now, the previous link returns a 404 error. Why is this important? If you promote any of your listings and change the listing's title, all of your promotional links will be broken. Pinterest links are perpetual; people will click on them years after you post there. Blogs are the same. 

The new desktop breaking these links is a severe problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

[kmmcrafts]

I like the idea and the mission behind GI but I struggle to put much effort into it because I've been burned more than once with these smaller newer start-up sites where I built up my business around their platform only to have them close up shop on my.. in the beginning there is always bugs and glitches.. I just can't give it all my effort.. 

Shopify was probably the best platform I've been on over the years.. however they are not the cheap site either.. well depends on how you look at cheap.. you can pay $10 a month for a cheap site without getting any business and spending hours promoting or spend $40 a month and  do very little promoting to break even or maybe make a little profit. Many times these low priced platforms aren't the deal they first appear to be. 

I'm hopeful they they grow and will bring some better options to the platform.. but in my opinion.. that's probably a few years out from now.. 

[BadBob]

I am struggling to break even on Etsy most months, with zero sales in some months this year and last year, and all the stats in steady decline.

Goimagine has been paying its way and making money without promotion for the last several months, even though the site hasn't been fully functional for a year.

I'm not dumping Etsy, but I have been cutting back on the listings except for during Christmas.

I'm sharing my experiences and not trying to sell anyone on Goimagine.

 

[kmmcrafts]

No I'm not trying to say I don't like GI, I'm going to stay with it and hope they make many improvements.. I'm only stating the obvious that many etsy sellers don't get.. Many seem to think that $10 a month is awesome cheap.. and it is but what many lack to realize is the traffic isn't there.. I've been around on many various sites.. I'm not interested is busting butt on these new start-up / small not really well known sites, been there done that and now pretty cautious of where I spend my effort and time.. The best hands down is to build fully from scratch site.. but that is a huge task and if counting time and money.. dealing with the tax collection.. and all the legalities that come into play too.. most "crafts" people don't and won't go through all that. These platforms fill in that space and make it easy. 

Etsy is good place.. probably the best easiest place to go for that.. My sales are down some.. My conversion on etsy had been 3.7% for a lot of years but is now down around 2% so yeah it's slower..some of it might also be ever since the shutdown of the world there are a lot of new seller hence more competition.. For me I also shut down international sales so that took a hit on my stats etc. 

Many people on Etsy fall into the SEO, Tags, Title, and create word salad that has hurt etsy's search and has also turned many people away from shopping on there.. If you've searched for anything on there over the last 3-4 years you would get results that brought up products unrelated to your search and there had been many complaints about it.. They are changing the way the search works.. and it has always been common sense that the things that sell will rank higher for search.. etsy will push those items to more people that they think would be a buyer because the sales also is how they make money. It's also known that new listings get a slight boost if you can promote and sell a new item and get a few sales within the first few weeks that tells them that people like that item so it gets pushed even higher.. the SEO for said item might actually suck but because of the sales it still ranks higher. This is where placing ads on things and really pushing for sales on new stuff is important.. once you get a higher ranking it's hard to get knocked out of that position. If you have items that are 6 month to a year old and haven't sold.. likely is going to rank very low.. Advertising products is a good strategy too besides just promoting on social sites But again if you have word salad titles and tags you're going to spend money on ads and not getting sales from them as they work just the same as the search. I have to admit that I haven't worked very hard at any of my selling sites because I'm as busy as I want to be at the moment between etsy and amazon and since I've been remodeling in the house and camper.. way too many projects going on so I've been coasting for a couple years now really.. this has really hurt my sales too I'm sure.. 

I'm pretty confident if I had been "working my etsy shop the last 4 years" instead of coasting.. my conversion would still be 3.7% or better. I took a break 4 years ago and never really came back from break, 

Stats from last month.. August has always been my slow month actually March - October is always really slow for me.. I erased the revenue for obvious reasons, LOL.. seems like when etsy is slow..Amazon picks up, LOL.. Being slow in the summer is nice because i can slowly just build inventory for that 4th quarter.. as that is actually when I make money. 

I know it's been slow for many folks on etsy but being a seller on Amazon and eBay etc.. it's not as slow everywhere like it is on etsy.. It's been a issue with etsy search and many other factors within the site for a few years now and they are working to improve it. I think 4th quarter is going to be a bit better but I see a comeback next year depending on world events etc too of course..

[BadBob]

I get it, but your situation is not the same as mine. I'm not trying to make a living at this, but it would be nice to make some money. Promotion-wise, I'm not doing anything for Goimagine that I wasn't doing for Etsy, except I am a lot better at it than when I started. I'm not doing any more work besides getting all the listings posted.

 

[kmmcrafts]

I don't know that "coasting" for the last 4 years would be considered trying to make a living at it but I do understand what you're trying to say as I did do it for a living for a few years and I want to get back at it hopefully.  Currently it's more of a part time job, LOL.. and haven't really scrolled much at all.. haven't really worked on the websites.. haven't posted on any social sites much at all.. just selling whatever sells and mostly only making the "made to order" things when they sell.. for instance I just sold a clock on etsy that was made to order so this week I'll be making that clock.. aside from that clock I probably won't scroll saw the rest of the week.. haven't scrolled anything in two weeks probably..

[BadBob]

9 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

mostly only making the "made to order"

I'm slowly moving in that direction, with many items already listed as made-to-order. For example, I make a toy, photograph it, list it as made-to-order, and give it to the grandkids. It gets rid of storage and inventory problems. I don't go to shows, so I don't need inventory.

In the last two years, I have had several custom orders, and people have contacted me to ask if I can make something for them. I recently shipped eight toy trucks made to size and color, and I'm waiting for drawings from another potential customer today.

[kmmcrafts]

I originally started doing the made to order as a quick way to relist a sold out product.. One thing that'll kill a sale quicker than a crappy listing, poor seo, and bad photos is the made to order and shipping times.. people will leave to go look for something similar that will arrive to them in the next couple days. "some" don't mind the wait.. but the majority will walk into another shop that has something ready to ship.  I lose close to 60% of most custom orders when I give them the 7-10 days for me to make it and have it ready to ship. I figure 2-3 days to make the item and 2-3 days for the paint / finish to dry before I can package it up (and that's not counting if I have other customers I'm working with on something) It's not fast enough for them.. Not having ready to ship items is probably a huge part of why my sales are lower.. but like I said.. I've been coasting too. Etsy now will be suppressing shops with slow ship times, shipping cost that is over $6 poor star rating, and many other updates that will start on Oct. 1st.  I'm sure you seen the news in your dashboard.. but if you have any of these things in your search suppressed section they'll be taking you out of the search ranking and place you way back. LOL..   

 

[BadBob]

It is what it is. I can't store 500 items. I have 450 now and have at least 100 I haven't listed.

As an experiment, I took five toy trucks that had never sold and listed them with color and finish options priced according to how difficult the finish was, and they started selling. Of course, they were all made to order. I have eleven options and plan to add another.

Edited September 23, 2024 by BadBob

[kmmcrafts]

Yeah I know what you mean about not being able to inventory everything.. I do have most items inventoried but I've also been scaling back on some items.. I've got around 500 items in inventory ( actually way more than that if you count the quantities of each item ) and also got a big box of ornaments than need to make listings for, at least 100 different listings could be added.. and it's been that way for a few years.. They were just some new designs I stack cut 4 of so I don't make a full stack of inventory of things I don't know if they'll sell or not so I typically only cut once ( stack of 4 ).. I'm kind of switching out to doing laser work more so these scrolled items are kinda just sitting in limbo.. keep saying every year I'm going to get those listed and put in the storage bins but here they sit for another year, LOL

Speaking of shipping times.. both Amazon and Etsy now will go in and change your shipping / handling times if you consistently ship before your time.. Kinda like you get punished for shipping late which I've never done before because I set my timeframes out a few extra days in case something comes up like if I get sick or if I run out of inventory of a certain product etc.. I always felt it's better to ship early that late.. Now if I continually ship early they go in and change my ship times.. Amazon counts it against your shops health if you ship early.. This drives me nuts because I like to get things out of my way and done if I have it on hand.. so I've been holding orders for a day or two just so I don't get punished for shipping early.. but it drives me crazy looking at a order that I could get on it's way.. Etsy recently started this same crap.. I don't think they count it against you ( yet ) but.. I guess I understand that if I consistently ship early but them changing my times could result in a late shipment one day because if a issue arises that I miss inventory something or same items sells on different platforms could be a possibility.. that cushion time always made me feel better about selling on multiple sites etc. Just the other day I sold a wall clock and the last time I sold a clock I forgot to reorder some clock movements as I was out of stock on the one size.. Now I got to wait for the shipment of the motors before I can mail the clock out.. That cushion is important to me and they want to go in and change it on me, LOL.. I guess the right solution is to just make my ship times what they typically are and if an issue comes up I can message the buyer and see if it's a problem and if it is then cancel the order or extend the ship times on their order if they agree so you don't get dinged by shipping late.       

[BadBob]

I have had to move a shipping date because I ruined a build. My shellac was contaminated with iron, and it turned black when I applied it to the oak. The customer was OK with it and left a great review.

I have had Etsy change all my listings to auto-renew and bug me about shipping times, but they have never changed them.
Inventory is a problem, but finding in-stock items can also be an issue. Generally, my family does not bother with anything, but I have grandkids, and they love to get into plastic boxes.

[kmmcrafts]

I've had to move the shipping times quite often with the buyers okay.. Not sure about you but I get customers all the time that purchase and then ask for it to be engraved or something custom if possible and personalizing them obviously make them not ready to ship right away.. so I have to message them and explain that to them.. It all stems from a review I got that I personalized the item base with names and date on the wedding cross.. After that review everyone seems to be ordering it and wanting it personalized. I now do not glue the base to the cross until it is ordered.. only takes about 10 minutes to engrave it but I can't do it if it's already attached.. Then I have to make the whole thing from the start.. I also made a separate listing for a personalized one.. and will be adding the variation to engrave or not engrave on both listings. 

[BadBob]

I'm not currently doing any engraving. However, I do get requests for it from time to time. I have written names and dates on the bottom of toys on request. I don't have a laser or any CNC machine. I would love to, but I don't have room for it. Yet.

[kmmcrafts]

Before the laser and CNC I used a woodburner set.. so I didn't have to use my sloppy hand writing I would do a pattern and use transfer paper to get onto the wood and then try my hand a being steady enough to stay on the line, LOL.. It worked well, bit more time consuming but it sure is nice to just have the laser or CNC do the job. 

[BadBob]

I have a wood burner that doesn't work very well for me. It is cheap and pretty crude, with no temperature controls. If I had a better one, perhaps that would work.

I have some toys I made for my kids that are now being played with by my grandkids. I added the details using a Sharpie. They look good after close to 40 years, even though the toys have been broken and repaired several times.