[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message bb_tab_container=””]Niche : Personalized Design
Shop link : https://www.etsy.com/shop/DECOPOMPOMS
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/decopompoms[/vc_message][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Tell us something about yourself, how did you get started, do you consider yourself a crafter, maker, artist…
I’m mother of 3 beautiful boys. I started my decoration business 10 years ago. When my second boy was born and I was looking what could I do at home. I love crafts, I love beautiful things and my passion is to beautify my environment.
How did you discover Etsy? Did you have any previous experience in selling handmade products? Why did you start selling online?
I started on other selling platform. When I started making pompoms, they weren’t popular. You couldn’t find them on eBay and on Etsy there was just one seller in Canada, as I remember. I saw it as a great opportunity. It was my first online shop. I never sold anything before on line. I liked Etsy, its really great platform and it has so many beautiful things 🙂
What products do you sell, what type of materials are used in your creations, how do you design your products, what makes your products stand out?
I sell party decorations. I started from pompoms and now we have honeycombs, garlands and many other things. We use best quality tissue paper available in the market. We have biggest colour range, to match any colour theme. And of course quality is very important for us.
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How was your experience in learning to craft, are you self-taught or did you have a mentor, how long did it take for you to be satisfied with your creations
I started all by my self. All products I designed my self and learned how to make them by trying.
What was your original goal when you opened up an Etsy shop? What impacted your decision to start selling online? Do you consider online selling as a side-job, full-time job, or extra income to pay for your hobby?
I started shop just as a hobby and because there wasn’t any pompoms available on line. I thought its a beautiful decorations and people should be able to buy them.
Did you have any fears or reservations before opening up your Etsy shop? Were you worried about profitability or product competitiveness? What are some concerns and questions you had before you got started? How did you overcome them?
I was worried at the beginning because there were so many stores that started copying my goods. At first, I was very nervous about it. Appeared many pom poms in Ali express. I thought the Chinese pumps would win, but there were still a lot of customers for whom quality was much more important and they remained loyal to us.
How long did it take for you to get your first sale? Did you ever think you would make a lot of sales in the first year? What was the goal you were hoping for? How many sales an average you get per week?
At the beginning we had not many sales. But it started picking up quickly.
Do you have a job outside Etsy? If not, are you able to commit full-time to online selling? How does your typical day look like? How do you manage time?
Etsy shop is my full time job. I used to start my workday in the morning when kids went to school. But after 2 years I had my 3rd baby boy born. So now it pretty hectic 🙂 I work whenever I have time, because I have to watch him full time, sometimes I have to work overnight.
How does your manufacturing process look like for e.g. your best selling product? Do you create products ahead of the orders? Do you customize your products, if so how? What are the tools that you are using in the manufacturing process?
All decorations are made to order. We have over 100 colours and it’s too difficult to predict what colours will be popular. All our decoration set can be customised.
What is the biggest impact on the profitability of your shop? How expensive are the materials you use? How do you price your products?
Our products are not expensive and there is big competition. We use high quality paper and it’s quite expensive.
What inspires you when you’re creating? How do you get ideas for new products? What are some methods or tools you use to get creative?
If I have to decorate party I try to think about something new and if it comes out great, I make it for our shop.
Do you ship your product internationally? How do you handle postage pricing? What is the average time it takes from the order to the delivery? Do you use free shipping? If so, why? How do you package your products?
We ship worldwide. Decorations are not very heavy so postage is not very high. Delivery within Europe is 3-5 working days, to overseas 10-14 working days. I offer express shipping, which is 1-3 working days worldwide. Etsy suggest free shipping and we use it for larger decorations sets.
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Are you worried about competitors? Does it impact your business in any way? If there are a lot of similar products, how do you make your own standout?
There are high competition on etsy, but we offer the best quality, the largest selection of colours and keep coming up with new products.
How do you deal with disputes or bad ratings/feedback? How do you manage presale and post-sale communication and customer satisfaction?
II try my best to answer all messages as soon as I can, thank for the order. Negative feedback upsets me. I try to contact the buyer, find out how all issued can be fixed.
Has selling on Etsy changed your life in any way? If so, how? Did you ever think you would get this far with your shop? Have you ever been stressed about dealing with customers and manufacturing products? How did you deal with that?
I love my Etsy shop. I didn’t think that it will be my full time job from at the beginning. Now we even have partners who helps with production and I have couple girls who makes decorations for our shop.
How important is social media for your shop? What are some common tactics you use to promote your products? Do you spend money on ads outside of Etsy? How do you generate excitement/hype around your products?
I use instagram, pinterest and facebook. It helps me to promote my shop.
What are some things you don’t like about Etsy? If you could talk to the CEO of Etsy what recommendations would you tell him to improve sellers and customer satisfaction?
I would like to improve listing editing in bulk
What are some things you did to set your shop for success on Etsy? What is one lesson you learned the hard way?
Beautiful photos are the key I think. I need to work on listings more, changing keywords constantly, but it’s difficult to find time at the moment, to do so.
What piece of advice would you give to new or established sellers or those considering selling on Etsy? How can they avoid beginner mistakes?
Make a beautiful shop! Think if you would like to shop there. Make beautiful photos.
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