Have any of you done an Etsy shop? I am wondering if their rates are reasonable enough to make it worth it.

I am like you wondering if Etsy is the way to go to sell some of the smaller quilts I have made or is there a better avenue to take.. Good luck with your decision

I tried a number of years ago but found other avenues a better fit for what I was making at the time. I believe you need to market your etsy store well and have good contacts that will help spread the word for you. At the time I had my etsy store open I preferred to spend the time creating quality products rather than marketing and networking with less time to make quality items.

Do a costing sheet for items you are thinking of selling and if you search etsy fees you will see a breakdown of them. (Not sure if I can post the link but comes up in search engine). Allow for etsy fees and customer payment fees to include in costing. Remember it takes time to package each item up and deliver it to the post office.

Have some contact cards to give out with your email, phone and website/blog if you have one. If you blog about the quilts as you make them you may find someone will fall in love and want to purchase them as soon as they are is finished.

I found testing the waters at quality local fairs a good indication of what people like and are prepared to buy. Although many expect cheaper prices at many local fairs I have attended. The organisers take care of the marketing and advertising and I have contact cards ready to hand out on the day. some may want to purchase something but not be able to afford it at the time. Fair visitors can be brutal but try not to take it personally. I make personalised Christmas baubles in calligraphy. I had one person (of many) tell me directly they are going to go home and make it themselves. I cheerfully said to have fun making it and please feel free to take a contact card. I neglected telling her i have been doing calligraphy for over 15 years and have developed my own style that sits well on a sphere, which is more difficult than a flat surface. This particular lady turned up on the last day of the three day event and sheepishly told me how her version turned into a horrible mess and would I please make her several for gifts! I now have a regular customer that spreads the word for me.

My apologies for writing a book. Hopefully I have said something useful to help. Good luck on your venture.

Karryn

My eldest daughter and I are sometimes thinking about selling items but have no experience and not enough time so far...a young lady in our village is very successful selling small items and easy diy e-books
on da wanda. my daughter is friends with her and knows the lady is very successful with her little shop. She is not embroidering but only sewing and doing e-books (tutorials and patterns) in a second shop. She is very busy - but she is doing a lot of advertising as well (blogs etc.) if you enter frauscheinerschneidert you will find lots about her. this is just an example of a person I know. She addresses young women, home stay moms and such.
Hope this helps to make your decision. follow the roots of etsy people also on facebook and by use of google. I believe good advertising in the internet does the trick

So glad you asked this question as only yesterday the same idea was going through my mind.
Hope there are some good answers
Irene

ttt