Banner Sponsors

Dreli-Bears Feb 22, 2009

Hello dear TT-family members - as you know, I'm Austrian and quite new here on TT - more than that I'm not so good in english but I will learn. 

Well the point is - watching so many posts here on TT, I often find that you Ladies have a "etsy-shop". Beeing an artist here in Austria is quite tough, in the last time - also because of the financial crisis (I think!) - my bears won't find a new home. Therefore I would like to find a new way of showing them to the worlds bear collectors, and I thought, that "etsy" maybe would be a way to make it better.

But sorry - maybe I'm a bit silly - but I can't get it - so please can anybody help me - what is Etsy, how does it works, what do I have to do, what are the costs for Etsy, is it similar to Ebay????? Questions and questions - so please be kind to give me some tiny answers - I would be happy.

Thanks a lot to all of you - beary hugs from my Austrian bear-Studio here in the snowy Salzburg
ciao ciao - Andrea & the Dreli-Bears

Dreli-Bears Feb 22, 2009

I WOULD NEED SOME HELP - PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:pray:  :pray:  :pray:  :pray:  :pray:

Christine Feb 22, 2009

Dear Andrea,
Unlike Ebay, Etsy is not an auction site.  Instead, you set a price for the things you want to sell and then list them in your Etsy 'shop'.  It is very easy to set up, I promise!    You will find that the charges are much lower than for Ebay - BUT I must warn you that, although it is growing in popularity, it does not yet have the amount of global recognition that Ebay does.  Also, some things are easier to sell than others and, as yet, I don't think there are a lot of Etsy buyers who are prepared to buy artist bears this way. 
I think the best thing to do is to spend some time looking at Etsy and see if you think that your work will find a home there.
Good luck!
Christine

FrizzyBear Feb 23, 2009

I agree with Christine.  It's a noble cause and I think eventually it could gain enough recognition that people will go there to buy.  I think more sellers know about it than buyers    but it would be wonderful if it would catch on. 

It's quite easy to sign up as a member and the fees are so much better than ebay.  Just not the traffic you'll get.

Good luck with your bears.

elle Feb 26, 2009

Hi Andrea,

I have not been selling for that long, but I have sold several pieces through Etsy and like it very much.  There is no fee to open a shop, 20 cent fee for each listing, and they take 3% (I think that's the right percent) of each sale.

There is an Artist Bear Etsy team:  http://team.etsy.com/viewteam.php?id=407   with over a hundred members now.   If you join the team, there is a blog you can post on, discuss things with other members, and show your bears.  They are trying to get a separate category for artist bears.

Good luck to you!!

Hugs,

Ellen

Laura Lynn Banner SponsorFeb 26, 2009

Andrea I looked at your website and your bears are adorable!  May I offer one comment even though it is not Etsy related?

Personally as a collector, if I go to a site and see bears that I like but no prices, then I go to the next site.  I do not like to email for the price in case it is out of my price range.  It would be too embarrassing for me to then say that I do not want to adopt the bear.

I know not everyone is like that, but I'm sure there are others who feel the way that I do.