The Verdict on Etsy Showcases

Warning: Technical Etsy stuff ahead- feel free to skip this post if you aren't interested. But some of you requested an update on this topic, so here it is.


Remember this post a couple of weeks ago where I asked if any of you had purchased an Etsy showcase? Well, no one had, so I decided to purchase one as an experiment. So, I went to the Showcase section on the My Etsy page (this is the one you can only get to after you have logged in and you are looking at a list of what you have for sale and there is a left sidebar with different options - showcase is one of them) and purchased a showcase spot for Monday January 28 in the Gift Guides section. I chose the Gift Guides section because this section is consistently sold out, so I figured it was a more desirable location. This cost me $7 and got me a picture of my choosing in the right sidebar section of the Gift Guides page for that entire day. I chose to show the purse pictured above because it has been one that has consistently received the most views.

So, at midnight on January 28th, this purse had 366 views and 13 hearts. This morning at 8 am it had 400 views and 13 hearts. This was the only way that people could have linked to my shop from the Gift Guides showcase, so at most 34 people looked at my shop because of this showcase. I did have three people heart my shop on January 28th, but I also added this banner to the shop yesterday, so I'm not sure if they even came from the Gift Guide.

So, for $7, I got 34 to look at my purse and I'm not even sure how many of them went on to look at my shop. That's a little more than 20 cents per view. I usually get at least 20 views in the first day on a new item and that listing only costs 20 cents. I think I would have been better off spending my money on 35 listings, which would have resulted in at least 700 views of my items.

So, there you have it - my take on Etsy showcases. I probably won't ever purchase one again. Maybe a main showcase or holiday showcase would do more good, but those cost $15. I'm not sure I'd risk it. I'd still be interested to hear from anyone who has had a positive experience with a showcase - maybe I did something wrong. My shop wasn't nearly as stocked as I wanted it to be, mainly because I have been lazy and in a funk the last week or two, but also because I sold four purses on the 27th. But, I'm not sure it would have helped as I only had 34 views on that purse that day anyway...who knows? I just know it would take a lot of convincing for me to purchase a showcase again.

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag

First of all, I want to thank you all for your words of support and praise for Peter. I struggle with deciding how much personal info to share on this blog and sometimes I just choose not to talk about Peter because this is such a big part of who he is right now and a big part of what we do in our everyday lives (like me correcting him every time he doesn't respond yes/no to a yes/no question, like driving to speech and occupational therapy and pre-school and making sure he has playtime with other kids and such). I'm glad I shared - I certainly feel your support and appreciate it!
So, here it is, the new bag. Just try not to look at how much I need to vacuum my sewing room floor. This was the only room that is getting enough light for pictures today. It's been so dreary for the past few days. And if I had taken the time to clean it before taking pictures, the light would have been gone. Anyway, back to the bag - overall, I'm pleased with how it turned out. I wanted something a little more tote looking, but still with enough detail and uniqueness to look like more than just a tote. I think I might make this a little bigger by widening it a few inches. Right now, it's about the same size as my bell bag. One of my aims in creating a few new bags for the shop was to offer a wider range of sizes - some larger, some smaller. This one was supposed to be the larger, so it really needs a couple more inches in width. I also want to make the straps just a little bit longer. These just barely fit over my shoulder and they definitely need a little more room there. The bag is still totally usable though and it's definitely going to be mine! Hooray - a new bag for me!
Other than size and strap length, I'm very pleased with it - it has a lot of structure (I love that it sits up on its own - thanks to some stiff interfacing) and I like the shape. It was fun to put together. The quilted straps were a little tedious, but I love how they turned out, so they were definitely worth it. I'm hoping to have a couple in the shop by the end of the next week. And thank you to Sandi for the fabric - isn't it fabulous? It should be in stores soon.

Have a fun weekend everyone!

Back in the Saddle

The monkeys I made for the boys - they sat right next to the stockings on Christmas morning. From this pattern.

I'm back - trying to resurface from the haze and craze of the holidays! I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year and are getting back into the swing of things. Things got a little crazy for me right around the time of my last post. My shop did a whole lot better than I thought it would during the holiday season and it definitely kept me BUSY! And by the time things slowed down in the shop, I had to turn all my focus to the handmade gifts that I'd been putting off. And in between all that sewing and making, somehow I managed to fit in viewing Charlie Brown's Christmas and the old school How the Grinch Stole Christmas with the kids, a little bit of baking, a couple of parties, practicing the piano so I could accompany a church choir number, and a bit of deep cleaning in the kitchen (the oven, underneath the oven, behind all the appliances, that sort of thing). Am I making you dizzy just reading about it? It was a bit dizzying, but fun.

On Christmas Day afternoon, we took the drive down to see our family and spend a relaxing week doing practically nothing but hanging around, taking naps (I had two in one day last Saturday), playing with the kids, and enjoying visits from family. Ryan and I even managed our first night away from the kids (to this fun resort)! Thanks Mom! The kids did great and this is definitely something we will have to do more often.

I'm still finalizing my resolutions for 2008. Usually, I don't make New Year's resolutions. My general philosophy is that if a goal is worth accomplishing, it's worth doing anytime of the year. But, this year my desire for some change and the New Year are coinciding, so I'm making some New Year's resolutions. It's been fun reading about some of yours and I hope I'll be brave enough to share some of mine in the next day or two.

I've got some new sewing projects in mind too - a new purse design or two for the shop and some banners for Valentine's Day. Remember all of this - it's time to use it now. It's also my birthday month and I'm trying to figure out how to celebrate - I sort of missed a nice celebration of the big 3-0 last year (we had just moved here after three months of unemployment, we didn't have friends yet, and I was not feeling much like celebrating), so this year I'm going to pretend it's the big 3-0 even though I'll really be 31 (did I really just admit that?) and celebrate accordingly. Suggestions, anyone?

I hope you're all enjoying the New Year and that you'll all start reading my blog again! I really am back;)!