How are sales going for you?

[3 Bags Anda Tote]

I have been an iCraft member since March 4, with many views but only one sale. :cry:

I am just wondering how it is going for the rest of you? I do hope you are making sales right and left. :lol:

Edie

[Nora Demirjian]

Well it is a fairly new website, iCraft. I don't think it's even been a year. But Congrats on your sale! That's great! Just keep being optimistic!

I've been here since April and I'm just concentration on having fun! Just showing people what I've done, blogging and roaming the 'boards. Keeping in mind this is a new site, I don't worry too much about sales although it would be great getting one, don't get me wrong!  

This experience is fun and ultimately that's what I want to take out of it so that I'll keep going.

[simplylovely]

I joined in march, as of right now...

I have been on front page twice
133 views
13 items
I am about to add 3 more

0 sales

 :cry:

[JillsTreasureChest]

No sales.  49 views.  I've been here for a couple months.  I should put more items in the shop, and I'm trying to promote it more.  We'll see.

[designs by vickyvk]

I have had 1000 views, 32 products and have had 10 sales. Unfortunately only 1 of those sales has been someone that I didn't know. The rest has been friends and family. I am hoping that other sales start to pick up but we'll see.
Trying to keep the shop fresh!

[Beajoux]

I just hit 200 views (hooray!), but no sales yet (boo!).

However, I really like this site a lot. I love the fact that it's still new and that when I add new listings or update existing ones, they get a chance to be seen on the first page, rather than get buried in 7 seconds (like on another site I could mention).

I know that ultimately it's up to me to drive traffic to my site, so I use my blog, flickr, word of mouth, etc. Unfortunately, I don't always have the time to do this on a consistently regular basis, but I'll just keep going and see what happens!

[MudHutt]

:cry:
Oh my... this is a wee bit discouraging to read. I just joined iCraft this week so I wasnt  expecting too much right away, but reading these responses worries me.

I also have my shop on another site which does not require an up-front  fee to join, however they do charge a tiny fee per item listed (4 month listing for .20 cents (USD). Ive reached 218 sales so far in my first 60 days on the other site.  

Here's wishing everyone here MANY, MANY SALES soon!

[lilbritknits]

I joined here  a week ago. I'm getting views but no sales. I'm on the 5 free listing, so not sure if this makes a difference, but hoping I haven't wasted my $25 one time fee.

I do love the look and feel of the site, and I came here from another site where I was being buried. - It will be interesting to see how this site grows.

Fingers crossed it can take off.

[The Knitting Lady]

I don’t believe that you wasted your money, lilbritknits. You can keep 5 free items here forever and eventually build your fan base at one place, make sales at no cost and be a part of this very friendly community. (Glad to have you with us!   ) You have great products (I can appreciate the work of a fellow knitter   ) and I am sure you will be very successful. We just all need to cheer up a bit and be more optimistic and start promoting our stores too. (I haven’t done much of that either). I am planning to post a few free ads a day on craigslist and kijiji and see how that goes. I've heard about those 2 sites from a friend who says it helps with bringing more customers to your store. Have anyone tried that? I am just not sure how better to word my ads and under which category I should post them. Any help is appreciated!

[ficklefaerie]

I have had 6 sales when I first started on here and they were from my bath and body line which I no longer do. I have switched my products so we shall see. I will try to list a few times a week.

I think we all need to try and coax our fellow Etsy or Ebay members over here to get the ball rolling...

Maybe admin should allow free stores and free unlimited listings and just have a fee for sold items. It may encourage more people to join.

I think I would have a hard time talking someone into paying 25.00 to list 5 items on a site that is this new and slow.

I think icraft is a fabulous idea but you need more to offer people to get this site really hopping!!

Good luck everyone!

[Beadlam]

I've been a member since February 2008 and have sold 4 items. Of course, I'd love to sell more, but have been pleasantly surprised by the sales I have made since this site has not really been up and running for that long. Administration has been wonderful, and I'm hoping things will pick up as time goes on.

Leanne

[Beadlam]

Hi, ficklefaerie -

I believe there is no cost for five items or less. Given that, I'm not sure what I'll do when my free year is up. Even $15 per month may get to be too much unless I really get a good customer base - I may go back to five items. I love this site, but I do agree that if the cost is more than I'm selling, I may not be able to handle it.

 I've copied the following prices from the iCraftGifts.com site:

1 to 5 Items (interchangeable) – ALWAYS FREE!

Starter
5 to 20 Items (interchangeable) - $15.00 CAD/month. Every additional item is $2.50 CAD/month.

Professional
5 to 30 Items (interchangeable) - $25.00 CAD/month. Every additional item is $1.50 CAD/month.

Elite
5 to 40 Items (interchangeable) - $35.00 CAD/month. Every additional item is $1.00 CAD/month.

[Beadlam]

Ooops - sorry ficklefaerie - you must have been referring to the $25 start-up fee. Forgot about that![/code]

[iCraft Admin]

This thread is turning into a very interesting discussion. I felt I should comment on a few points.


Here is why we’ve decided against commission on sales:
1. You can find sites like Ebay and many others who take commission on sales and not that many that don’t.

2. Since we provide a Service, we thought we should charge for that Service and that’s it.
The money from the sale belong to the Artist.


Regarding the $25.00 Registration Fee:

1. We wanted to make sure that those who are registering with us are indeed legitimate artists and crafters.  The upfront fee should keep away all “fake” sellers and anyone else who would want to abuse our system. It is required in order to verify the seller's identity, ensure credit card validity and to encourage honest transactions.

2. This preventative measure will also give your buyers confidence that they are dealing with serious, honest sellers.

3. It is a one-time fee and it will allow you to:
• Have your own storefront in minutes
• Showcase your ready-made merchandise online, and accept requests for custom orders or commissioned work
• Post 5 free items. Never pay commission on sales
• Never see your products listed beside food items, used or resale items. iCraftGifts.com is for Arts, Crafts and Fashion only
• Take advantage of our marketing tools to promote your store
• Get your questions answered by responsive Admins or by “Live Operator”
• Belong to a friendly community of truly talented artists and crafters
• Suggest ideas and improvements, and become an active contributor to iCraft’s development

We thought this was a fair trade.  :wink:


As for the Subscription Fee

It’s a tough question. We need those monthly fees to cover our own monthly expenses to run and to promote this site. At the same time we want our fees to be fair and reasonable to all.  

We’d like to hear what would be an acceptable fee structure, given the fact that the site is new. What else can we offer to make iCraftGifts.com more attractive to new and existing Creators?

We view our Creators as equal partners and contributors, so please don’t hesitate to speak up. Your opinion counts!  

[Beadlam]

First, I want to say that I love this site and would love to stay with it after my free year is over. However, I do have to take cost into account.

Right now I've been on this site for four months and have sold four items in three buys. That's less than one item a month. I also currently have 27 items and could easily keep adding every day for a while. But even at the starter rate, that would be $15 for one item - a huge chunk out of the cost of my items. I keep my items as low as I can, so it would be very difficult for me to charge more for any one piece.

Given my experience on other sites, there would certainly be times that a month or two (or more) would go by with no sales. As you know, my area, jewelry, is a very competitive field with any number of wonderful designers and fabricators out there.

If I was making more, I wouldn;t mind paying a monthly fee - and I certainly appreciate that you are running a buisness, also. However, I think one of the reasons that ebay and other sites like etsy have taken off is because they charge a commission or charge per item.

This has all been off the top of my head right now- it's really something I'll need to do a lot more thinking about.

Thanks so much for asking out opinions!

Leanne