Has anyone done this?  I am looking to sell a lot of my fabric stash.  I am thinking Etsy might be a way to go.   Does this type of thing do well on Etsy?  I really don't want to go back to eBay.

Edited to take out the Pinterest page which has been deleted.

Anyone?

I've had an Etsy shop now for over a year. The thing about Etsy is that if you don't go out and find your buyer and bring them to your shop, selling will be slow. 

If you want to sell on Etsy you have to be very dilligent in your shop. You really have to participate.  It's like owning your own store.  If you want the sales you definately have to go out and get them.  I've had a shop for 5 years and have only sold 10 items.  But I haven't been very diligent in my efforts time being a factor.  It you would like to check my store out it's under mzbellz.  Good luck if you decide to go for it.

I've meet very nice people along the way. And I do like Etsy alot.

Thank you both for the feedback.  Other than emailing my friends, and maybe posting on Pinterest, how do you publicize your store?

Any social media website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest, blogging, your own website, and anything else you can find out there. Talk to everyone around you. Go to craft/trade shows and toss your business cards around like confetti. You can join promotion teams on Etsy too. I have found that the 'favorite shops above you' threads don't work. If you spend some time in the Etsy forums you will find the search ads that you can pay for are called a 'newbie tax'. Some people say they work but most say they don't.

The biggest things that have helped me are learning how to take pictures of my items. I'm still not 100% happy with my photos but they are better than when I started. Learn SEO (search engine optimization). Learn about keywords, tags, titles, and descriptions. When doing an Etsy shop, you not only have to be an expert at what your making/selling, you have to be an expert photographer, writer, marketer, and customer service specialist.

Carole, supplies seem to do pretty well on Etsy.  There is good advice above- all I would add is that the more information you can provide, the better to make an inviting shop that people will want to buy from.  Make sure to fill out your policies section and provide information on shipping, return policies, etc.  For each listing, use all 5 photo slots and provide good-quality photos of your items at various scales and angles.  Write detailed item descriptions, including item measurements and weight (if applicable), colors, patterns, materials, etc.  Basically anything a customer might want to know is what you need to provide in your descriptions- if something is missing, most people will just search elsewhere, rather than take the time to convo you to ask a question.  There are so many sellers on Etsy, lots of competition, and people are more likely to buy from you if they know that they've found what they want in the first 10 seconds of looking at your item/shop.

There are lots of ways to promote, including social media and paid ads, and good SEO and tagging is important too.  You'll find lots of advice on these in the forums.  Also, there is a great SEO team where you can find a lot of info.  Personally, I do not do much online promotion, mostly because mine is a hobby shop, I'm not trying to make a living with it, and I don't have that kind of time to put into my shop.  What's nice about having an Etsy shop is that you can make it whatever you want or need, depending on how much time and effort you can put into it.  Good luck!

Thanks for all your help.  I needed to get past Labor Day, and will now look at this more seriously.  I do want to get some of the fabric sold, and it will be a hobby for me too.  I don't really care if it makes a big profit, just that it reduces the stash, LOL!!

I sell on etsy too.  I have had a shop for about a year, haven't sold a lot, but enough to keep me trying.  The thing I learned was when you post things use the tags well so that your items will come up when people search.  At first mine weren't done well and I hardly got anyone even looking at our stuff.  Then later I redid the tags and wow, what a difference!  I get a lot of people looking now and sales picked up.  They say to really sell you have to post about 50 to 100 items, I only have about 25.  Also you can feature some of your items and that makes them come up easier.  It really doesn't cost a lot to sell on etsy, its easy and its fun.  The social media links help, I have things pinned on Pinterest and that has helped alot too. They do say supplies do well.  Give it a shot and have fun with it.

My shop is Jasmines Treasures LLC

I forgot to mention, my daughter is actually listed as the shop owner, we run it together.

Teresa,

Great shop!  I especially like the owl mug.  I, too, have/had a shop on Etsy; however, I've been so busy that it's in vacation mode right now.

Anyone else have Etsy shops?

Sold the fabric through a quilting forum, thanks everyone.  I got a lead on a Yahoo group called Sew Its For Sale - you have to apply for membership, cannot be a business just an individual selling your stash, has to be sewing related.  The best part, no fees for listings, buyers use whatever payment method you choose.  So, I'll be listing some threads and other fabric bits that didn't sell to the quilter group.  I am going to hold off on Etsy for now.

That's great Carole- sounds like a good way to destash!  Etsy just made some huge changes that have a lot of sellers really upset and many are leaving the site, so if you consider it in the future, make sure to do your research.  If you're selling supplies the changes may not affect you that much, but those of us in the handmade category just got a big blow a couple of weeks ago...basically Etsy is now allowing sellers to outsource manufacturing of items and still call them handmade.  :(

Oh, Lesley, that stinks!!  The best part of Etsy was the handmade items by individuals.  It is going the way of greedy ebay now.

Carole, that is the feeling that many sellers are having.  There has been a mass exodus in the last few weeks since the announcements, and many sellers are setting up on Zibbet and other smaller sites.  It is one thing to allow for sellers to expand their businesses and, say, outsource printing of their original designs and have them drop-shipped to customers, but Etsy is going way beyond that now.  The sad thing is that resellers have been a problem for ages, and now they can steal someone else's design, claim it as their own, and have it mass produced in China and be considered within Etsy's rules.  Smaller handmade shops have had more and more trouble being visible on Etsy for the past couple of years, and now it will be even worse- buyers don't want to wade through thousands of factory-produced items to find the few truly handmade items they are searching for.  The original vision of Etsy is gone now, and yes, they have gotten greedy and now want quantity over quality.  I came close to closing up shop myself...but decided to wait it out and see how it goes.  It's just a hobby shop for me, so I really feel for those who are trying to make an honest-to-goodness living with their craft selling there.

I just found this forum thanks to a friend who steered me here.  I opened a shop in August and have sold two items.  Both to friends here on PBS.  Thank you for all the information that has been posted.  I'm sad to read that etsy is basically killing off the little guy, as that is me. :(  If anyone wants to check out my store its called lilacfalls.

I will be checking out everyone's here that posted a name or a link.  Hope you all have a beautiful day.

Hi Lori,

Just checked out your shop and 'hearted' it.  I have a shop as well but it is currently in vacation mode.  My shop name is Salliebear.

I have an Etsy shop, and have gotten quite a few sales (like 200 in the 3 years) but I sell supplies, mostly leftovers from many past phases of craft projects, and destash from my current crafting. 

ETA: I knew about the changes in policy, but didn't realize it had created such a mass exodus.  I really stay out of the socializing part of Etsy.   May be why orders have slowed down recently I guess. 

Hi Diane and Alisa!  I saw that you  me Diane.  Thanks.  I couldn't heart you back though since you are on vaca.  When you take it off let me know!

What's your store name Alisa?  I should know as I think that is what your labels she when you send me books, but maybe thats not it.

I finally was able to get more items listed.  Hoping to have some sell for the holidays.

Great shop Lori!

My shop is Blueville.

Yes, Lori, that's the name.  :)  I use the PayPal account to print my postage for swaps, LOL.  Technically it's my mom's shop, since it's her inventory, but her being not-so-good with computers, I manage it for her.

Thanks Shelly!  Likewise.

Ok, Alisa, I'll check you out! :D

Beautiful quilts Shelly!  I so wish I knew how to quilt. I've been thinking about taking a quilting class at a local shop.  The problem is finding the time...

And Lori, I am jealous of your mad crochet skills.  :)  It is crochet, right?  Because I'm not always sure I can tell the difference between that and knitting.  I can only knit with a loom (LOL).

Alisa - it is crochet.  Can't knit to save my soul!  Too much hand eye coordination needed. lol

I love quilting.  I haven't done it since my rug rats were in diapers, but someday I'd like to pick it up again.

I have an Etsy shop as well.  I saw the town hall meeting that was held to announce the recent changes in policy.  I also didn't know that there had been so many folks leaving.  I understand what they are thinking, but having so many small shops leaving, to me, just makes it easier for the outsourcers to take over.  I was planning an all-out blitz for this fall and holiday season, then ended up having major foot surgery which kind of put a halt on all that.  Ah, well, there is always the rest of the winter and spring!