Sold my First pen On Etsy!

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Just an opinion but I think you need to raise your prices. Especially when you include the shipping, packaging costs, tool replacement, Etsy fees (listing fee, final value fee, advertising, etc). If you add it all up you're probably making $5.00 per hour or less. Don't forget the time you spend taking pictures, writing the listing description, etc.

There is also the marketing perception of higher price = greater value/quality.
 
BCnabe said:
Just an opinion but I think you need to raise your prices. Especially when you include the shipping, packaging costs, tool replacement, Etsy fees (listing fee, final value fee, advertising, etc). If you add it all up you're probably making $5.00 per hour or less. Don't forget the time you spend taking pictures, writing the listing description, etc.

There is also the marketing perception of higher price = greater value/quality.
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That's what has stopped me from opening an Etsy store. I know there's ways to save on shipping costs by using places like shippo or shipstation but after you buy the pen kit, spend the time making it, buy padded mailers or boxes and then are sending it a long distance, I have no idea how you make any money. Shipping isn't cheap no matter how you do it. At the end of the day, it's still just a pen and there is a ceiling on what someone will pay for one. I have to be missing something.
 
Congratulations on your first sale. I have been selling on Etsy for almost 8 years and I still remember my first sale. It really is something special. I am sure you will have many more.


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jttheclockman said:
Very nice. You are well on your way. I have said this before not a fan of the stands but that is just an opinion thing. I see you offer free shipping, is that a good way to go?? How do you ship and basically what does it cost. If it is around $8 that is a chunk from sales.
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Depends on the selling site handles the shipping. Fee Bay hits you with different fees. And sometimes it does help.
 
RobWNY said:
That's what has stopped me from opening an Etsy store. I know there's ways to save on shipping costs by using places like shippo or shipstation but after you buy the pen kit, spend the time making it, buy padded mailers or boxes and then are sending it a long distance, I have no idea how you make any money. Shipping isn't cheap no matter how you do it. At the end of the day, it's still just a pen and there is a ceiling on what someone will pay for one. I have to be missing something.
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I run an etsy store and offer free shipping... you don't have to buy boxes... the usps will give you priority mail boxes for free... go on to usps.com and order them... they're delivered to you. I don't use bubble wrap, just tissue which I can buy from Dollar Tree at $1 per package with 40+ sheets per package, you can get a package of packing paper from either walmart or u-haul for about $8 that has 200 or 400 sheets... and if you run your postage through etsy, you'll save about 20% off the usps prices... the listing price and the sales fees are a cost of doing business that I more or less incorporate into my prices... I don't do pens, mostly pepper mills and bowls... bowls are almost pure profit as the only real expense I have is the finish on them.... pepper mills are a little different, I can have as much as $40++ tied up in a mill, but my mills mostly run about $10 per inch of height...
 
Mikeyt said:
Congratulations on your first sale. I have been selling on Etsy for almost 8 years and I still remember my first sale. It really is something special. I am sure you will have many more.


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app
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Not sure how long I've been on ETSY, going on about 10 years plus for about that long I also had my own website that I sold from... don't remember my first sale, but then my memory doesn't go much past yesterday. :p
 
TellicoTurning said:
I run an etsy store and offer free shipping... you don't have to buy boxes... the usps will give you priority mail boxes for free... go on to usps.com and order them... they're delivered to you. I don't use bubble wrap, just tissue which I can buy from Dollar Tree at $1 per package with 40+ sheets per package, you can get a package of packing paper from either walmart or u-haul for about $8 that has 200 or 400 sheets... and if you run your postage through etsy, you'll save about 20% off the usps prices... the listing price and the sales fees are a cost of doing business that I more or less incorporate into my prices... I don't do pens, mostly pepper mills and bowls... bowls are almost pure profit as the only real expense I have is the finish on them.... pepper mills are a little different, I can have as much as $40++ tied up in a mill, but my mills mostly run about $10 per inch of height...
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Thank you for this information. I didn't know you can get usps priority boxes for free nor did I know you can do the postage through etsy. Now that sounds like you can make at least some profit depending on what it is being sold. I better get out in the shop!
 
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