Should I start an iCraft Shop?????

[Handmade by Erica]

I am enjoying being a part of the iCraft community and considering opening a shop. Is the initial fee and monthly cost worth it though? I am based out of the US and like to keep my costs as low as possible- therefore shipping assist is minimal. How well could I expect to sell on this website for beaded pearl necklaces and bead weave pendant necklaces? I guess my fear is that I am used a platform with a lot more activity than I see here so sales will be minimal to none. Does anyone have any insight?

[iCraft Admin]

Hi Erica, our fees are pretty low right now.
It's hard to know what will sell until you try. You can see what's selling right now.
And you still need to promote your store to get traffic.

[Handmade by Erica]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep checking out what's selling to get an idea of how I might do. - Thanks again!!!

[Fairy Cardmaker]

My honest opinion? (Please don't consider me a typical seller example. I am away from my shop for months at a time so I am a very bad example of how to run a shop! That also means to take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Just sharing my own opinions here.)

This platform does not drive a lot of traffic. If you already have a following and can direct them here, then you might get sales. This platform requires sellers to do the legwork to identify their target markets and pursue them. Is that bad? No, because then when you *do* get traffic, it is the *right* traffic (e.g. better quality) because you, yourself, targeted it. However, it is *very hard work* to generate traffic with so much noise in the digital world. The site provides some tools for you to do your own outreach though - widget plugins that link to your shop AND a blog!

Changes are slow to occur on this platform. Admin started working on a big and exciting change before the pandemic. So, it's probably very very delayed. Fee structures will likely significantly change, but I anticipate the site will significantly change too. I'm looking forward to seeing the new version, but I know it will be a long time in development.

The community is positive and helpful, but not highly active (myself included, given my regular hiatuses.) There are a some who are highly engaged but perhaps infrequently.

Again, I'd take that as a sign of better quality engagement, if and when it happens. I prefer that to high frequency post'n'run type activity that doesn't actually engage people. (But then, I'm an extreme introvert and I recognize that, for extraverts, just popping in to say "Hi" means a lot more than just a word to them. Excuse my one-sided view of participation! You may have a different POV!)

Only you can decide if you want to dabble to start building traffic or if you want to wait for the new spiffy site before sinking *significant efforts* in and take the chance that it will be much costlier. Fees right now are reasonable IMO.

[Handmade by Erica]

Thank you so much for your insight. I'm still deciding- weighing the pros and cons and how I invision myself/ my jewelry now and in the future.

[Big River Crochet]

I would say no.  The site is not user friendly, the support is lacking and there is no name recognition.

[iCraft Admin]

Hi Big River Crochet,

I am sorry to hear that you are not happy with the site. 
What do you find not user-friendly on the site?

As for support, we try to answer in a timely manner, but we have a small team and we are also working on the site redesign, so if we missed your messages, I am sorry about that. Please email us again.

[SarahMars]

That's a harsh comment!  To me the site is user-friendly. It's easy to find new items and new sellers, participating in the community is easy too. I understand that you might be unhappy about sales, but you have to promote on any platform. There is a lot of competition online now.