Gift Guides: community input & ideas
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Original Post
Hello, everyone.
There has been a LOT of discussion about the Gift Guides since their launch a few days ago. One thing to remember here is that everyone's voice is valuable, and that respect for other members (and their opinions) is extremely important in a heated thread.
I'm going to be consolidating most of the other Gift Guide threads and pointing them here. We are reading through all these posts with great interest, but it's much easier on us if all the ideas and concerns are in ONE place. We love hearing from our community; your input is important to us.
Once the staff is all back on active duty after the holiday weekend, we'll be discussing the Guides and possibly making some improvements in the coming days/weeks.
Here are *some* threads with constructive crits and ideas for changes to the Gift Guides. Please refer to these, as well as adding to the discussion here. No need to repeat all those ideas, as we've tracked the original threads. There are several other good threads in the Ideas section, as well.
Making the GG a marketing tool for EVERYONE
* www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5334064
Gift Guide: Constructive Crits
* www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5332703
A thought for Gift Guides
* www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5331875
A Solution to the Gift Guide Contoversy?
* www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5334935
We've already begun a few alterations based on community feedback:
-- Repetition. We're actively pruning out the repetition of a single seller's items in a single guide category. (There will likely still be some repetition of items/sellers across different categories, as these in theory have different target shoppers.)
-- Diversity of style, item type, color, etc. We know we have a wide variety of both buyers and sellers on the site, and we want to be considerate of this diverse target. We had this in mind from the start, but will continue to add items that reflect different tastes.
-- Baby safety. Items in the baby categories are being looked at with extra-special attention to be sure they are age appropriate for children under 3 years old. We want to keep those little ones safe! (If you see a questionable item, please email community@etsy.com about it.)
-- Community suggestions for items. We asked for your gift ideas in a series of themed forum threads before the guides launched. And again, we're asking for your input! Danielle started a thread where you can suggest an item: www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5332984
Thank you!
Posted at 1:18pm Nov 23, 2007 EST
Responses
Maybe I've missed them, but I haven't seen any bookmarks in any of the categories.
Posted at 10:44am Nov 24, 2007 EST
I am just afraid that if the categories get so numerous in an effort to include more sellers, then buyers would definitely not be tempted to browse the whole site. The guide can't be an all inclusive search. I love the guides, but I agree that 15 pages for some categories are a bit much and perhaps making it slightly more varied in content would be good. Happy medium whatever that is, lol!
Posted at 10:44am Nov 24, 2007 EST
This has been an excellent discussion so far. Thank you for keeping things civil, on-topic and constructive.
As I mentioned in the original post, these are all things we have to discuss as a team. Changes will not be *immediate* (other than those points I mentioned in the original post), but we'll do our best to keep things moving on our end once everyone gets back from the holiday weekend.
Keep the ideas coming! We're keeping track of the suggestions.
A minor sidenote: Please remember to continue being respectful of others -- this includes being careful not to insinuate or imply any seller/shop is "inferior" in some way because they are not yet included in the Gift Guides. There have been enough hurt feelings over this matter. We know there are thousands of amazing shops on Etsy, and we love you all!
Posted at 11:00am Nov 24, 2007 EST
I agree Smiffs, some of the guide categories have too many pages, some have too few.
Also, I'd like to throw this in here, I think that the Pets category NEEDS to be items FOR pets.
That's all.
Posted at 11:01am Nov 24, 2007 EST
I would just like to ask a question. I noticed, for instance, that there is a very talented and worthy seller who has four items in the Mom guide and was wondering if others who make similar items will have an opportunity to show those items there. Or will we have to wait until that seller sells out?
I apologize if this question has been answered already.
Posted at 12:03pm Nov 24, 2007 EST
magicjelly is my new(est) hero!
i totally agree that the gift guides should be a starting point for buyers shopping on the site.
perhaps there could be a link within the categories to the main item sections corresponding to the gift guide?
eg: on the pen pals gift guide buyers could jump directly to the paper goods or books and zines categories to see everything available.
Posted at 12:05pm Nov 24, 2007 EST
Another vote for a Charity section here - there are many wonderful sellers here who donate all or a portion of their profits from their shop (or certain items in their shop) to charity.
I have bought many holiday gift items from these shops because my family often gives charitable donations for the holidays - this way they are giving a donation and getting a great handmade gift as well!
Posted at 12:40pm Nov 24, 2007 EST