Getting serious about selling your work.

[Dave Silwones]

I collect art. That is to say I own more art then I have space to display. I would guess some of you have purchased art as well. I don’t mean the prints or the bird houses, I mean the stuff that requires some serious thought because the price demands it. To those out there who buy art I would ask you if you have ever purchased art on line? Anything from Etsy? If you have you are a rarity. I would never buy art online unless I already knew the artist. Period. Online sales is a way for collectors (of your art) to connect to you when they have no other choice. Most collectors will drive hundreds of miles to buy in person rather then buy on line. Never forget that making art is personal, and buying art is even more so. The emotional bond is what makes it art!

Get over this obsession of online sales. If you have a gadget, gimmick or do-dad then go ahead, after all, people buy rings on the home shopping network. But if art is what you do, then get good at it. 

The next big step is figuring out what you are after, do you think of yourself as an artist? Are you trying to pay any bills with your art? Why are you even doing this?. More on that later.

[George Lewter]

As Lawrence Weathers observes -- getting paid is not so easy for artists.

[Kathy Ransom]

I really like this one, it's a jpg and tried to get it into this comment as George did above but could only have it come up as a link in the attachments below. ( Image added inline by George)

[Leo Villaroman]

I had a very nonproductive experience with Etsy,unless you have the time to upgrade the content of your page every week buyers do not have the time to scroll for your page. It is a huge market.including old junk from the attic.

[Nadine Mercader]

I had the same experience with Etsy when I tried to sell my handbags (Bagnificent), the amount of time it took to promote the site was AWFUL and for a few sales, it was not worth the effort.  I agree that they need to remove the crap in order to make it a worthwhile place to sell.
 
Leo Villaroman said:

I had a very nonproductive experience with Etsy,unless you have the time to upgrade the content of your page every week buyers do not have the time to scroll for your page. It is a huge market.including old junk from the attic.

[Judy]

I see my last post was two years ago to the month and I'm still on Etsy.  It's gotten better for me because more people have turned into collectors and return customers.  A lot of my sales come from internet searches so the search brings them right into my shop and they skip the oven fired Pebeo pen mugs and right to my listings.  I've realized that to make sales you have to "make" sales".  One sale leads to another.  Also good tagging, titling and descriptions are essential to get your listings picked up by the searches.  Listing something everyday or so also is key.  When I run a firing, what's not already earmarked for a pending order, gets photographed and then photo edited so it's ready to go for a listing.  I spend a lot less time than I used to on Etsy, and that's been a positive thing for me so that I can spend more time working.  Time management is a big problem.  As more of the brick and mortar galleries close, I think the internet in one form or another will start to be a major alternative for many of us.  Starting now, if you haven't already, will pay off because your rankings for the search engines will be higher as you rack up the hits.

Judy Freeman

[Jacqueline Allard]

You get out of Etsy (or your own site) what you put in. Still way more profitable  than any gallery. Agree with Judy, starting now will help you in search. I would get going way before the holidays. What helps me is using stock photos for many of my listings. Doesn't really stop anyone from buying and a HUGE time saver. Good luck everyone.

[Leo Villaroman]

Last summer I made $10,000 worth orders from Galleries and Museum stores,with the Wholesalecrafts.com.