Suggestions for Etsy?

I haven't posted in a while, mainly because it is much too hot to take pics in the garden. Lots of daylilies are in bloom right now, and the annuals are practically bursting out of their containers with color, but the heat index is making it pretty miserable to be outside for more than a short time. We have been to a number of good jazz gigs, but I failed to remember the camera unfortunately. I promise a blog post for next Saturday's final performance of Sandunga, for sure.

So what's been happening on Beaded Jewelry by Susan, my Etsy site?

Well, for one thing, I recently sold and shipped this lovely pair of poppy jasper triangle earrings to a woman far away from Illinois in Blackwood South Australia. I've now had forty-four sales since the site opened at the end of April in 2009. So it's kind of difficult to assess what direction to take. Maybe you readers can offer some suggestions for future planning.

I used to do a number of shows, mainly outdoors, every summer for many years, which gave me an outlet for my earrings and necklaces and an excuse to add to the bead collection and to design and make more jewelry. But it got to be too difficult physically to continue and I sold my tent and other equipment year before last. Last year we tried doing a couple of indoor shows, but even that wasn't easy and we decided to quit doing shows altogether. I miss it, of course, because it was fun as well as being hard work and it was a good way to use up some of my inventory!

I've been maintaining 300 items on the Etsy site. I'm trying to balance the Etsy costs for listing with the sales that trickle in, and that limits the number of items I can keep showing. I probably have about three times that many pairs of earrings in my inventory that aren't yet on Etsy. No way I could even estimate how many beads I have that I'm still yearning to turn into earrings (and necklaces, of course, but they sell even more slowly, so I've temporarily stopped making them).

I am investigating having someone act as a sales representative for me, maybe selling at home parties, farmers market, or shows, but it's slow getting started and she isn't sure yet whether she wants to do it or not. Meanwhile, I lower the inventory a little bit by giving earrings to friends and as "tips" to folks who help us out at the grocery, gas pump, and restaurants. I do enjoy that and so do they--it's a nice way to say "thank you."

But sooner or later I need to make some decisions about the Etsy site. One possibility is to expand it and add more from my inventory or brand-new earrings yet to be designed. What do you think?

I also have a new camera and could take some new photos, but I haven't figured out how to make them small enough (it's a camera with lots of megapixels) to upload properly. Anybody know how to do that? Also, I've got some white foam board for making a little enclosure for better lighting, but haven't got that quite figured out either.

I'm happy that I have had a few more sales this summer and that they seem to be coming in from people and places far and wide, but I need more sales to justify expanding the listings very much. I know that jewelry, maybe especially beaded jewelry, is all over the Internet and so there is a lot of competition for getting people to your website.

Also, lots of stores have started importing inexpensive jewelry, usually made of plastic or poor quality materials that won't last, and selling it more cheaply than I can afford to with the stones, glass, crystal, and so on that I use. It's such a "throw away" society that people don't pay as much attention to quality and the idea of keeping things a long time as they used to, I guess.

In addition, the hobby of making beaded jewelry has exploded over the twenty-plus years during which I've been collecting interesting and unusual beads and designing with them. Everyone can learn to make jewelry, but it isn't always as easy as they think it will be to find the time to actually do it, to come up with a successful design, or to make something that doesn't fall apart the first time it's worn.

I suppose it's also a factor that people want to see jewelry in person, hold earrings up to their ears, etc. rather than shopping online. On the other hand, they do have the leisure online to read a detailed description of materials, view various photos (five for each Etsy item and the option to use the "zoom" for close-up views) of each item, and check through their closets at the same time for clothes that need matching jewelry.

I do mention my site on Facebook and I use Twitter whenever I get a sale. Does anyone have other ideas for promoting my Etsy site or thoughts about what direction I should take? Please comment if you have ideas for me. Thanks.