Etsy Bloggers Street Team - Blog Carnival

I recently joined the Etsy Bloggers Street Team and every month they have a blog carnival. There are 2 themes per carnival, you pick one, write about it and then post a link to it for other members to read. This is my first carnival and the topic I chose is, Why I opened a shop on Etsy, what I like about being a seller and what I dislike. I am so excited to be a part of this team and look forward to participating in the many events they have going on.

So, on with the answer to the question why I opened a shop on Etsy, what I like about selling there and what I dislike...

I had been selling on Ebay for about 2 years but started to get very frustrated by the constant fee increases. It was getting harder and harder for me to keep my prices reasonable and still make a profit. I was also starting to believe that Ebay was not the best place to sell handmade items.

I did a search on google for online venues and after doing some investigation on each of them, I found that Etsy had the most to offer. I was immediately pleased with my decision. Setting up my shop was so easy, and the little personal touches, like the store banner and choice of avatar gave my shop that 'just right' feeling.

I think what I like best about being a seller on Etsy is the large number of people who are willing to help you when you need it. I spent a lot of time in the forums when I fist opened my shop and the information I found there and received from many members has proved invaluable.

It's funny; when I thought about what I didn't like about Etsy, it turned out to be the same thing I love about it. The forums. While there are a ton of wonderful people willing to put themselves to the service of others, there are also many who can be very intolerant of 'newbies'. I have seen some pretty awful behavior on some threads and sometimes I have even been shocked by how mean people can be to others. I just wish that Etsy admin. would step in more frequently when threads get abusive because it really is quite disrespectful.

So I guess you could say I literally have a love/hate relationship with the Etsy forums. I don't visit them as much as I used to but when I do drop in, I still find it full of very valuable and useful information and just choose to stay away from the threads that are not appropriate.

Etsy is a wonderful place, especially if you sell handmade items and I intend to be there as long as I continue to sell my jewelry.