Etsy too hard and too confusing to use for new buyers
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Original Post
Just returned from a trip and, as usual, tried to advertise my etsy store to many potential customers. For potential buyers who tried to use Etsy for the first time, they said these things consistently:
1. Etsy is so confusing, I can never find what I am looking for, even when I enter my search words.
2. I tried looking just for your store and could not find it. I gave up.
3. When I see the homepage and the featured items, it looks like a site I really don't want to spend any time on, since I can't figure out what the heck is for sale. A lot of the stuff does not look handmade to me.
4. I tried looking for stores in my immediate area and could not find them, even though I typed in the store name, or the artisan name, or other information given to me by the etsy store owner.
5. I got so fed up looking for "fill-in the blank" that I gave up.
6. I just cannot stand using the site; it is so confusing.
Etsy has, by allowing stores to set up without controls or rules until recent weeks, has grown to an unwieldy size, its search functions have not kept pace, and there are still stores filled with items that do not meet the Etsy definition of handmade. In addition, certain categories of items for sale, most notably jewelry, have overtaken the site with very low priced items that cost more to ship than the selling price. 80% of all items being loaded into the site as you read this are jewelry.
As one forum poster put it, where are all they buyers? In my experience, with the potential buyers I talk to, and my own longtime customers, all have a negative reaction to Etsy. It may now be too late to screen stores before they are set up on Etsy, and by allowing the growth to continue unchecked of only stores and NOT BUYERS, it may be that Etsy is no longer a viable option for sellers.
My sales have dropped dramatically, even after my own publicity campaign, and while it may be a fact that this is not a good retail month, it is more a fact that no one can find my store, or they are so turned off by the site experience, that they never return. Since I just heard so much negative feedback, it has got to affect every other store in Etsy.
My solution is to close the site to all new stores, and only allow stores in each category to open when another one has closed. Queues could be set up so that new sellers would apply for a store, submit 3 examples of the products they wish to sell, and be picked according to the Etsy rules for handmade. All these rules already exist, they need to be applied. Etsy has lost it's cache by allowing itself to be overpopulated. Its overall impact and value has been so diluted that it no longer fits its original mission. I am sure that if Etsy were to poll its sellers now, many would be in favor of limiting the entry of new stores; it would benefit all of us who are trying to sell, and unable to get potential buyers into our stores. Advertising Etsy is only one tiny factor in getting customers to buy-----they have to be able to find things and enjoy using the site first.
Posted at 10:39am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
Responses
Good to know - thanks for sharing. I hope Admin. takes your comments seriously.
Posted at 10:42am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
I have also had a number of potential customers turn away from Etsy because they were confused about the things mentioned above.
Posted at 10:44am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
gosh, I too have been spreading the word and Ive heard no complaints. I type in a shop's name and the shop comes up. I cant imagine why other's would have a problem with something so simple. And how are tehy comfused about what's for sale? It's ALL for sale. Seea picture click ...waa laa... for sale. Again, what's so hard?
Posted at 10:45am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
The biggest problem with the site is the search function. With all the tags for each item, you get tons of stuff you aren't looking for. There should be a search within categories, a search within results, a search for titles only.... As it is, this is just a hodgepodge of stuff, and no one can find anything they are looking for. I am fairly savvy about the site and its little idiocincrasies, but was unable to find a simple pendant yesterday. I finally went to another site, and found what I was looking for in less than a minute. The only way to find what you are looking for here, is to post to the forum and ask sellers to show them to you. I did this, and my post was sent to promotions and critiques and lost in the third page within seconds. Thanks, admin, for sending me to another site to shop.
Posted at 10:48am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
Interesting since Admin looked at our site before we joined...The rules seemed to be pretty clear to me...and my customers can find us here just as easily. I seem to be able to find things, but I use my tags. The people that are serious on here USE the tools that etsy has provided and are successful.
I could say more but...am trying to be nice :-D Have a good day!!
Posted at 10:51am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
Potential buyers may not know your tags... New people to the site probably aren't as SMART as you are, UniqueDeb. And, I feel so special to have met such an intelligent person as yourself. Thank you for your helpful comments.
Posted at 10:59am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
It's easy to find stuff on here, some people use those excuses just for shopping on the internet in general.
Posted at 11:00am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
Okay let's not get this thread locked. Let's be nice and give specific examples of what we and admin. could do to make the shopping experience better for potential buyer.
Posted at 11:01am Mar 20, 2007 EDT
I wouldn't say it is easy. I think we each have to many tags to use and abuse. Maybe if we could reduce it to eight, fewer people including myself would have our items show up where they really do not belong.
Posted at 11:03am Mar 20, 2007 EDT