Other Platforms Quiet

Well it seems other platforms are quiet, as well as Etsy but for different reasons, leading into Xmas.

Many on eBay are less than happy and are also looking at alternatives. The idea of listing anything now at the eBay suggested 0.99 cents and allowing bidders to get you across the line will send you bankrupt with your first few disappointing losses. Sellers are turning to Buy it Now, set and forget, in the hope of sales but this too is breaking hearts and bankbooks.

The only sellers that seem to be doing okay are the ‘top of towners’ and of course the eBay protected sellers, predominantly Chinese, with their mass produced rubbish.

Buyers have also become part of the ‘protected species’ classification and this in itself is creating reason enough for an exodus.

The pendulum swings!!

I received the nicest convo today. A customer of mine bought a rose gold gemstone and custom length rose gold chain. She wants me to make her a sterling silver custom length chain. I quote her “I know I could have purchased one on Amazon, but I don’t want that cheap trash. I want the good stuff. I’m sure you are busy with the holidays, but I’ll wait and I’m happy to pay more.” 

That is the Etsy market, my market, where I offer value and am valued. My customers don’t want cheap, fast or inferior quality. Why can’t Etsy see that? I’m one person, I can’t go any faster, do anymore or accept any less. *frustrated*

Exactly Danielle. Those are the types of customers and clients one wants, and can enjoy

danielle, that's great. etsy used to want that, even fleabay used to want that, but both have sold their sou, sold out to the drive through restaurant type clientelle. 'i'll have a oak original creation with a side of free shipping to go, please. oh, and hold the tax and other charges, i'm on a diet.'

That's a very good analogy LadyFur.  Lol!  It's very sad that Etsy has ended up this way, as the bargain basement kind of buyers are not what Etsy used to be about.  However, Josh Silverman obviously thinks that all buyers want cheap and cheerful, with free shipping thrown in and that does not help the sellers of unique, OOAK, true handmade and authentic vintage pieces.

Here’s something interesting that I noticed for the first time today. I had to run to 7/11 (convenience store) and as I was leaving, I almost knocked out a guy carrying a large container full of Amazon boxes. After apologizing for almost clocking him in the head, I watched him carry his container over to a a simple yellow bin outside of the store. The bin had doors of various sizes and the Amazon “swoop” logo in a very inconspicuous spot. Well it seems Amazon may have just solved the porch pirate problem. Purchasers can now have their packages sent to one of these yellow lockers, instead of having them delivered to an unoccupied home where anyone can grab them from the front steps. There’s a scanner that will presumably open the correct door housing a customers purchase. I’m not an Amazon cheerleader, but, wow, that’s pretty genius!

divine, yes, it is a good idea. they have been doing it for a while now, mostly in big cities but even as remote as here. for us it is impractical because it would take 2 cab fares to get there, it is waaaaaay beyond walking distance even when i don't have a still hurt foot.

DivineCrossings-Marianne wrote:Here’s something interesting that I noticed for the first time today. I had to run to 7/11 (convenience store) and as I was leaving, I almost knocked out a guy carrying a large container full of Amazon boxes. After apologizing for almost clocking him in the head, I watched him carry his container over to a a simple yellow bin outside of the store. The bin had doors of various sizes and the Amazon “swoop” logo in a very inconspicuous spot. Well it seems Amazon may have just solved the porch pirate problem. Purchasers can now have their packages sent to one of these yellow lockers, instead of having them delivered to an unoccupied home where anyone can grab them from the front steps. There’s a scanner that will presumably open the correct door housing a customers purchase. I’m not an Amazon cheerleader, but, wow, that’s pretty genius!

Yes, I heard about this solution too... heard from someone who has been using it for a while because she lives in a RV driving around the US.  There are hundreds of thousands of people living in vans and trailers using Amazon lockers now. This system is now heavily used by the population who doesn't have a fixed home address.

There's a group on Facebook that, up until last year when it was highjacked by a new admin who runs a marketing & SEO business, was about Etsy sellers. Now it's about Etsy sellers and sellers on any other platform.

The group under the new leadership has become constrained, every interaction is tightly managed by the new admin. There are lots of new members, mostly from Eastern European countries.

On Sunday, she posted about a new platform that she's putting together. What's interesting is that she's always been a staunch defender of Etsy (that's how she's making her money, through Etsy sellers) and now she's developping a platform to integrate with Shopify.

And the smark cookie has a captive audience of over 50,000 members in that Facebook group. Maybe she noticed our ad somewhere and thought it was time to diversify into promoting anoother selling platform.

Wow!! This is interesting and tells us a lot.

Somehow we simply must do something.

Thinking, thinking!!

i don't trust her. no, i can't say why but i don't. it would be like one of the fora cheerleaders doing this.

Ladyfur, I don't trust her neither, never did. Members of the group used to post freely about their shops, what they were having problems with, etc. Since she has taken over, only she decides on which days people can link their shop, or products; only she decides that on such & such a day group members can link to their Instagram account, for example.

I very rarely post anything in that group, but I visit it because it's gives me a good pulse of what's going on.

She directs everything, and yes, I'm certain that she gets somehow a cut from Etsy, and when her new "mastermind" idea about Shopify gets through, she'll be getting a cut from Shopify.

There really are some ‘empire builders’ in this world. Some human beings are such a waste of good air and valuable space.

Some human beings are so ‘dumb’ too, to get tangled up with some human beings and put up with their megalomania.

There’s no long term hope for us as a species.

I’m reading an excellent book at the moment exploring the ‘Human Condition’. It has been acclaimed all over the world as the one and only authority. It’s scary - very scary, but I commend it to anyone who likes good reading.

sophia, do not envy her. karma won't be kind to her ilk, trust me.  just don't talk to her at all. give her no words that she could twist against you later.

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Marketing-Your-Business/Baroqoo-to-close-doors-end-of-June-2020/m-p/130763317#M1776177

Thought people might be interested in the thread above.
We must push on , it is easy to get despondent, but I truly believe if we persevere great things will happen.
Also I don't believe you need millions to start a great platform !!

Great link to Baroqoo; I find in their discussion lots of insights on small/new online market places.

Quote "We must push on , it is easy to get despondent, but I truly believe if we persevere great things will happen.
Also I don't believe you need millions to start a great platform !!


How right you are :-) I think this is where some entrepreneurial types make a big mistake. They invest so much (some, if not all of it borrowed) that there comes a time if they haven't reached a break even point that there is no future for them. They either cannot continue to finance the venture themselves, or they can't service the debt. Not that I'm saying that's the case with Baroqoo. It's likely to be a combination of things including the effects of C19.

All good businesses have a business plan, a forecast and a budget. It's the latter two though, that can cause insurmountable grief regardless or just how astute the business plan is. C19 has caused havoc right across the spectrum. Well established, highly profitable and huge businesses have failed because of it alone, and that is despite very healthy cash reserves. It has been just as disastrous for new start-ups. Most have found it impossible to gain traction and we have not been immune either.

But I guess the good thing with us and CCO is that both are founded on a business plan without a sunset clause, our forecast (recently amended) was and remains realistic, even if a bit on the pessimistic side IMO, and we do not have debt to service. And although we've been around for a few months now we've really not done anything of a serious nature yet in terms of presenting ourselves to the world. That is part of the plan too and it's heartwarming to know that some have been so patient while we build a 'total seller and buyer package' complimenting CCO and 'Handmade & Vintage Matters' (H&VM is us and will be represented on our blog, Pinterest and like sites) before we make too big of a splash. We need to be able to efficiently service what comes our way, and it will, hence the need to develop and commission some backup, seller support, and facilitation programs for CCO.

The going is slow, that's all. We've a lot to attend to and we're under resourced. We need more bodies and heads! But, we'll get there and I promise that when we are done there'll be others happily knocking-off our work. It will look like a Rolls Royce and give sellers in particular the confidence they need to subscribe to CCO. Buyers will come along too.

I've just been preaching to the converted. My apologies :-)

I'll be back again a bit later. There are some things you might be able to help us with.

Be happy and healthy and please remain patient. We do have some nice surprises in store.