Finally! I made to 100 Sales on Etsy

I finally made it to 100 sales on Etsy! The coveted 100 sales mark is supposedly the hardest to reach. I’ve read that sales increase at a much faster rate once this milestone has been checked off the list.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to get 100 etsy sales? Read on to find out how I made it to this point, what I’ve learned, and what has changed since the beginning.

The Journey to 100 Sales

If your shop is slow to reach 100 sales, do not fear. It took me 5 years of trial and error to get there. I opened my Etsy shop in 2018 with vintage dishes purchased from thrift stores. Nothing sold. So, I let the shop sit for 2 years until the covid lockdown began in the spring of 2020.

The next thing I tried was print on demand coffee cups made from my painting designs. Printful is a drop ship company that made the items I designed, then shipped them directly to the customer. Those items sold fairly well, but not well enough, especially since the profit was only a little over a dollar per mug.

I resisted selling hand painted items because I was worried about the boredom of painting the same design over and over. However, in April of 2020, I decided to go back to my craft show roots and paint a watering can. The Honey Bee/Wildflower Watering Can sold right away, and the customer left a positive review. Like Jonah the prophet, I was trying to run away from what I knew I should have been doing all along.

Trying to Diversify

Although Etsy shop owners are often advised to “niche down,” I kept trying to diversify. I began painting sneakers, and sold a few, but not enough to continue making them. I tried making covid masks, coasters, wreaths, centerpieces, and more. I was dabbling, but not really commiting, and I often chose things that were saturated in the Etsy marketplace. It’s funny to think about all the things I made that were completely random and unrelated to anything else in my shop. Again, I kept getting further and further away from the tried and true staples of my hand painted past.

Upping the Quality

Early in the process, I realized that my quality would have to be top-notch if customers were expected to pay around $75 plus shipping for a watering can. At first, I only painted one side of the can. Then, a customer expressed her disappointment at not having her whole Strawberry Watering Can painted. That’s when I knew I would have to deliver a high quality product to be successful.

Getting it Done Faster

My next problem was the time it took to basecoat each item. It would take at least a day to paint several coats of blue onto the Sunflower Watering Cans. The Honey Bee Watering Can didn’t have a basecoat, but the honey bee itself was too time consuming to paint to be cost effective. At last, I found a faster way to paint the surfaces. Some of my hand painted items do not require a basecoat. The Wildflower Watering Can, my biggest selling watering can, features wildflowers painted directly onto the prepared surface without a background color.

Adding Products that Made Sense

Later, I began adding flower pots, flora and fauna paintings, ornaments, and other things that go with my hand painted garden theme. That brought in additional sales. Then, I had to put the shop on vacation for a while when we moved in 2021. Fortunately, I was able to reopen it early in 2022. The studio in our new house made my work easier because I didn’t have to drag everything out, then clean it up afterwards anytime I wanted to paint.

I put my larger paintings in shows and display them year round at the Beaufort Art Association Gallery. My paintings sell best in person, but I do have a few smaller, garden-themed ones in my Etsy shop.

Not Everything Happens in Real Life Like it Does on Youtube

I wanted to write this article for everyone who didn’t hit 100 sales in the first 5 months of having an Etsy shop. Sometimes you have to figure out what to sell, what not to sell, and how to make your items faster, yet with the utmost quality. Also, a shop selling lower priced items (like digital downloads or embroidery designs) might reach the 100 goal faster than a shop that sells more expensive items. They will also make less profit. Remember, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

I would love to hear about your Etsy Journey. I love talking and writing about the handmade business. Let me know what you’re doing in the comments below.

I hope you enjoyed, Finally, I Made it to 100 Sales on Etsy!

Blessings,

Kristie

Subscribe to Love My Little Cottage here, and get the Happy Handmakers Newsletter. The first one will be sent out March 1st.

Read I’m Obsessed with Painting Mushrooms