WAHM Blog

Is Etsy gaining the attention of eBay crafters? With the cost of eBay auction selling going up non-stop, many crafters are finding Etsy a great alternative.

If you currently sell anything handmade on eBay auctions, you may want to take a look at what Etsy can offer your business. Etsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. No matter if you make custom scrapbook pages, baby shopping cart covers, boutique clothing, or jewelry, if you make it, Etsy can help you sell it!

Very similar to eBay auctions, however there is no bidding. Sellers elect their set selling price. There is a feedback system, stores and support, all without the huge ebay fees!

I really like Etsy. I have purchased all kinds of things and especially like the idea when I shop there I am helping women and work at home moms support their families!

How do Etsy fees work?
When you list an item there is a $0.20 (USD) fee per quantity of one. This covers an item listing period of four months. For example, if I list a scarf (and there’s only 1 in stock) it’ll cost 20 cents for 4 months. If you gave the listing a quantity of 3, it would cost 60 cents. When an item sells, there’s a flat 3.5% fee on the final sale price (not including shipping). All fees are in US dollars. All listings are created equal, with 5 images included in the price.

As you can see there are no buy it now fees and the listing fee is much cheaper than ebay fees.

Is there a fee to get started (open a shop)?
Getting your shop is free. There’s no setup fee and no monthly fee. This alone can save sellers merging to Etsy from eBay. NO store fees!

What items can be sold Etsy?
You can sell anything that is handmade or, a bit more loosely put, hand-assembled or hand-altered. For example, screen-printed shirts are OK. A custom-built computer is OK, as long as you’re making the case and not buying prefab. Furniture is OK as long as it’s nothing mass-produced (yes, you can use power tools to build it). If your human hands put some love into the object, odds are you can sell it on Etsy. Reselling of handmade items is not allowed.

If you are looking for a way to sell products you make or looking for a way to profit more, I highly recommend looking into Etsy. http://www.etsy.com

Are you currently selling on Etsy? What has your experience been? Or have you purchased items from Etsy?

Popularity: 29% [?]

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I sure never thought I would say I enjoy high gas prices, especially when my Expedition sucks back gas like water, but I can say I have noticed a huge increase in online business since gas prices started to raise.

Even thinking about my own spending habits I have noticed I am shopping more online.

If you own a home based ecommerce business, you really need to work on your marketing to get your website out there, because more and more people are hitting the internet to shop. More than a third (34%) of shoppers surveyed in a national poll stated that they’ll favor computer keys over car keys for their shopping this year, due to significantly higher gas prices.

For all of your online business owners, this means more money for your business! Higher gas prices have lead to more online shopping than the last several years.

Shopzilla found that 34% of online shoppers surveyed have shopped online more in order to save gas costs associated with going out to shop retail stores. That includes 11% who have shopped online “a lot more” in efforts to save on fuel costs, and 23% who say they’ve shopped online “somewhat more” for the same reason.

So how can you get ready for the internet shopping storm?

1. Make sure you have a website! If you do not have a website people can shop on, you may lose allot of business. Find a website designer than can get you an eCommerce website set up.
2. If you do have a website, take some time to work on promotion of your website. If you are not sure how to go about it, check out Search Rankings, Google Base, and ways to get free website traffic.
3. If you have an online store, offer some type of discount for new customers. Free shipping or even a free gift with purchase. Everyone loves a freebie!
4. Join some social networks and start to meet other people who have similar interests as you. Often these people can turn into very good customer. Check out Social Networking for tips on social networks and how to benefit. I have met some amazing people on different social networks and gained several new clients. Social Networking WORKS!
5. If you are not getting a steady amount of traffic to your website, check out Yahoo PPC. Pay per click advertising can help you get a new online store off the ground.

Popularity: 13% [?]

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Using Drop Shipping to Expand into New Markets

For retail businesses, expanding into a new market can be a risky proposition. Aside from additional marketing costs, there are also the costs of storing new inventory that may or may not sell.

This is just one more situation where drop shipping can help save you time, money, and a lot of unwanted stress. Just like drop shipping is a low risk way to break into the retail business, it can also help your existing business get its feet wet in new markets.

Let’s take a look at an imaginary online retailer that sells camping equipment. For years, this retailer has focused on specializing in tents and sleeping bags only. Now, to increase sales and profits, he wants to expand into more camping accessories such as cookware, backpacks, propane, emergency equipment, and so forth. The problem is…

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