AIBU to give up?

[invisiblewho]

I'm currently on long term sick leave with anxiety and depression. I'm also waiting for assessments for autism and ADHD.

It's a pretty miserable time at the moment. Lots of other crap happening too.

Some of you may remember, I posted a little while ago about setting up a shop on Etsy. I was feeling excited and hopeful about it all, like I finally had a purpose, that I could do something I enjoyed and perhaps provide a little for my family.

It's still early days but honestly I'm feeling very deflated. I've had minimal sales and every day, despite posting new items daily, my site traffic is dwindling more and more.

DH said it's too early to abandon it and not to lose hope yet but as someone with very low self esteem, it took a lot for me to set it up in the first place.

It's not even the lack of sales at this stage that is upsetting but rather the lack of site traffic and item views.

Should I keep preserving with it or give it up before I invest too much time and energy into it?

Just because lots of people are using Doctor Who images doesn't mean they are free to use, especially for retail purposes.

Also if you have the skills, how about doing custom cards? I'd be absolutely delighted if I got a Christmas card with my three cats on it! Let people send you high quality photos and use those for the cards, maybe with a custom background colour and greeting.

You may be in breach of Copyright there OP. You cannot just use an image you do not own particularly for sale.

Can you look at renting a stall at local craft gigs, school fairs etc.

make sure you have cute business cards printed up with your social media and Etsy store name on them.

That's a good idea!

Do you know what I alway think I’d like - cute little seasonal mini card gift tags . I’m super busy so grab things like nice boxes of biscuit and chocolates and I never have time to wrap them, I would like little card tags to attach to the gifts I wonder if that kind of thing would sell?

Well, thanks to one of the mnetters on this thread and a 15th Doctor fan, I've had two sales. That's a new record for the highest amount in one day lol 😁 x

I’m sure things will pick up as it gets nearer to Xmas 🎄

Thanks for the tips
All good ideas x

Thanks! I hope so too.

You really need to look into the copyright issue of using Doctor Who images.

Aren’t you kind! What a lovely thing to do.

This is a guy I used to buy a lot
from on Etsy, he sells on Instagram now, perhaps you need to think of shifting over there. Also Christmas Fairs are huge at this time of year. Give them a go.

www.facebook.com/chrismillardcreative/

OP you are talented! I couldn’t make those cards. It would be nice to have non-neon colours too.

But I would get rid of the Dr Who ones. You will be breaching copyright and I think it’s an anxiety you could do without. I guess the BBC would only go after sellers if they are made aware. Which this thread sadly may alert them to if someone is so inclined.

You could expand your range to all animals. People love animals! Good luck. Don’t give up x

you’ve had a lot of good advice here (long term Etsy shop owner here). Yes social media and marketing. Yes it takes time and patience. Yes if your mental health is struggling making cards will be so much more valuable to you than just sales…. But word of warning and I mean this kindly. Try folksy too. Etsy have made some adjustments the sellers and customers haven’t liked and it’s dropped sales accross the board, so it’s not the site it used to be, I’m making 5% of what I was on there 3 years ago (it’s not my only platform) but is now a token gesture for me rather than bill income

I know you are paying for the images too but Etsy are getting really really funny about anything they deem branded and shutting shops down left right and centre. They track your ip adresses too so no chance of reopening with different details cuz they will scan and swipe you down in days so just be careful

My DC school do a very successful fund-raiser each year where parents pay to have their children's artwork put on cards and calendars and bags. You could offer a service where you put kids or indeed adulfs artwork on a single card or pack of cards. I use these cards for the kids to write a message on as Christmas and Birthday cards for both sides of our family. You could offer customisation in colour and message of base card with pets photos, kids photos and artwork on cards.

You seem to be ignoring this OP but many people have pointed it out to you. Do you realise what happens if the BBC sues you for using their trademarked IP? Or if celebrities sue you for using their likeness without their consent? The best case scenario is Etsy shut you down but the worst case scenario is a very expensive lawsuit.

I've had an Etsy shop selling greetings cards for about 2 years now. It's been quite successful (I make about 200 orders a month) but it did take a while to gain momentum. I was fully expecting to sell about 5 cards when I started out, so I'm always surprised by the situation.
Etsy is very heavy on the algorithm, so I find that I'm selling hundreds of the same few products - in this case, most of them are a series of birthday cards with the same pun for milestone birthdays. I have tonnes of cards on there that I've hardly sold, if at all. I also ventured into selling handmade soap, which took tonnes of effort and money, only to sell about 3, so I scrapped that in the end and just focussed on the cards.
I am on socials but I found that it was mainly just other small businesses following me, so I don't think it did much to drive sales in my case.
I think what helped me is finding a niche - all of my cards are puns, and they all have very similar, simple designs. They're also quite low cost, as I'm not using much materials.
It's ultimately a lot of trial and error - if you find a design that sells, explore this - see if there's any way you could develop it into a theme, produce similar ones, etc.
If you haven't been on Etsy long then definitely don't pack it in yet! Keep trying - some of my most popular cards have been absolutely random! Best of luck, OP!

Ah... I'm so happy for you.
Unfortunately I have no experience, so I can't offer practical advice.
It would appear you've picked up a few ideas fro the brilliant other posters.
Try not to be negative, and well done to think of asking mumsnetters, you see, you are resourceful.
Ideas will hopefully come to you, and when you get encouragement, grab it and let if motivate you.
Of course there must me loads of competition in the market,
Maybe you could come up with a unique selling point.
Your cards don't necessarily have to be stand out different, it may all lay in the way it's put across.
Good luck, and don't lose heart... it's not going the way you want at present, but when it does take off, just think of the excitement and pride.

Thank you for this message. Some great advice! 200 orders a month - that would be a dream!

Thank you so much. That's a lovely message x

I think I'm obsessed with making cat themed cards! 🤣 I just made another Christmas one and followed a PP's advice re. Colouring. Not so bright. No neon!