Etsy Shop Last Call

My Etsy shop has been an adventure and a learning experience. I thought it would be a good way to post things for sale that I made, or that were store samples from my purchase of yarn shop inventory in 2018. I have sold a few items, but not a single thing in 2022. I have made zero effort to get traffic on my site, so this is not surprising. While it is fun being able to say “I have an Etsy shop”, I am not sure it is right for me any more. After thinking about it for a long time, I have made the difficult decision to close my Etsy shop.

It is a kick when something sells, but it is not making any difference in my financial life. When there is a sale I think “now I can buy a fancy coffee” or “I can buy more yarn” but I am able do those things whether I sell something on Etsy or not.

There are listing fees of .20 per item for three months. That is not a huge expense and by itself is not much of a factor for me. The listing fees are on autopay, but twice now the debit card on file had expired, so the payment failed. I tried unsuccessfully to update the information on the card. Another card on file did not work either. I was able to pay the listing fees using my paypal account, and then I tried to transfer the amount from my business checking account to our personal account so the expense was in the right place. The amount was $4.80, but the minimum amount to transfer was $5.00. I transferred $5.00, but that does not match the amount of the Etsy fee for my bookkeeping purposes. ARGGGG. Too much hassle!

I have never wanted to be a production machine with dozens of similar items for sale. I like to try new things, and not be pressured to finish them on a schedule. Most of the things I make are for the purpose of trying things or for myself or to give away.

When we have been in Arizona in previous years, I brought all the items listed for sale with me in a plastic box, with materials for shipping in case I got an order. The second year in Arizona I tried selling the items at a weekly outdoor craft fair at the RV Park. I sold one hat. Wool items are not big sellers in Arizona. Sitting at a table for several hours every week prevented me from doing other things. This year I put the Etsy shop in “vacation mode” while we were in Arizona for three months. I think my minimal traffic was about the same as when the shop has been active.

I have always had a problem with conflicting priorities and goals. It takes a certain amount of energy and attention to keep the Etsy shop going, even when there is no activity. The only effort I have put in to generate sales is having a page on my blog about it, and handing out a few business cards. There are things I could do to direct traffic to my shop, but I would rather do other things. When we have gone on short trips of a few days or a couple of weeks, I have just hoped there would not be any orders while we were gone or not even thought about it at all. Based on my experience over the last year, that was not a problem.

There is another reason I am making the decision to close the Etsy shop that is the tipping point between keeping it going and letting it go. There is a change coming that will have a big effect on my time and energy. We are going to grandparents in June!! We are super excited about this new development. Our son and daughter-in-law have also just relocated from Chicago to St. Paul, MN, so it will much easier for us to see them. I expect more trips back and forth from our home in West Central Minnesota to the Twin Cities. There will be time spent being grandparents. Closing the Etsy shop will be one less thing to manage so that I can focus my energy on things that are more important to me.

Following are photos of several items I have listed for sale. Some of the things I knit myself, some are store samples from when I purchased the entire inventory from The Yarn Shop in Glen Arbor, Michigan, when it was liquidated. I wrote about that adventure in an earlier post.

I will still have a few things to sell, but I will figure out another way to offer them up that is more flexible. My Etsy shop will be open until the end of May, but I may not be able to fulfill an order immediately due trips back and forth to Minneapolis this spring. Click on the link if you want to see what is there or make a purchase on my Etsy shop while you can. Stay tuned for future posts about things that I have already knit for the new grandbaby!