News and Updates  

Friday, October 17, 2008

It's been a very long time since I've made any blog or product updates so here goes.

I've recently created an account on Etsy. Here's what Etsy is. Etsy.com is an online marketplace for artists and crafters to sell their works. Officially, it is "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade." Etsy is a venue, not a retailer; it is collection of independent shops, each run by a different artisan.

There are thousands of independent shops on Etsy. It's a great way for small, independenly run home businesses to conduct sales and trade. And there are some really neat items out there!

There are three restrictions for those marketing on Etsy:

  1. You can only sell goods handmade by you.
  2. You can sell commercial and handmade crafting supplies.
  3. You can only sell vintage items - things that are 20 years or older with vintage appeal.
What isn't allowed on Etsy are:
  1. Anything that doesn't fit in one of the three categories above.
  2. Handmade goods created by someone else.
  3. Illegal or prohibited items.
Here's what Etsy has to say about the above:
"Etsy is a marketplace for handmade items, vintage goods and crafting supplies. All handmade items must be made by the seller; we do not allow reselling of handmade goods. Mass-produced items (though they may technically be made by hand in some cases) are not in the spirit of Etsy. Commercially-produced items are limited to the Supplies and Vintage categories and must be tagged appropriately. Illegal items are not allowed."
Basically, how it works is that you list individual items on Etsy for a 20 cent, non-refundable fee. That item stays listed for 4 months or until sold. Shoppers find your item (through a variety of searches) and pay you directly using PayPal or any other means that you accept. Then you ship the item out to your customer. You get to list your own terms, whether you charge for shipping, taxes, or whatnot.

The catch is that in addition to the 20 cents when you list an item, Etsy also charges a 3.5% transaction fee for any sold item. Not bad. The really spiffy thing about Etsy is that you don't need an actual website of your own. You can customize your own personal Etsy site with your own pictures. Yay! I don't need a website!!!! And Etsy comes with a shopping cart and payment features. PayPal is a plus since I already have an account there.

So... Look for Feral Moon products in the coming months (hopefully sooner) on Etsy at http://FeralMoon.etsy.com . I'm working on getting the site and all the gizmos set up now.

I've already put up the buttons on the blog (to the right), so you can check it out.

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