Advice from the Experts

onceoza

onceoza

Registered Guest
I have been a seller since 1997. The past few years, I have really gotten "into" vintage. I just love everything about it. My problem is, that I can post something here or on the ebay discussion boards with questions about an item I recently acquired. I get very favorable comments.....fabulous! Score! Amazing! etc. The problem is, so much doesn't sell. These "fabulous" items are still hanging in my very overrun closet. My prices are really low, so I know it's not cost. I just can't figure out what I am doing wrong and I'm getting very discouraged.

One of the reasons given for not being accepted for membership here is that I haven't sold enough on etsy and not enough feedback. Believe me...I would love some more sales.

I hope I don't sound like a whiny person, cause I'm really not. I just don't understand how I find such wonderful things that no one is interested in.
 
I know the feeling, it happened to me too. I think it needs a bit of time until one's shop gets a bit of momentum. I don't know where you're selling - I'm on etsy. I started with my collage art, which doesn't sell at all - I guess Swiss Post shipping being beyond expensive is one problem. A year later or so I started adding vintage fashion and other stuff. It was two years after the initial start that I actually made the first sale, and then they just trickled in every now and then, and now I do a few every month or so which I think is ok, considering my stock isn't huuuuge. I don't know - I'm on two teams, been added to two or three treasuries, have followers... I think it needs a bit of "build up". I've done Search Ads too - they generate a lot of clicks but actually not a lot of sales. I sometimes feel I still haven't figured out what sells and what doesn't. There are things that get loads of clicks, but take forever for anybody to buy them, and the other way around. And I would call my prices reasonable. I'm sitting on this dress that I thought should be a good sell, nice size, nice condition - but nothin' happenin'. Also I've found that I only get any feedback at all from about half of my buyers, which feels unusual if you've only ever done online auctions before (but not for vintage), where feedback is practically mandatory. But I guess it's just the way it is...

Karin
 
I sell on ebay also. I just had a no-sale. Awesome Lilly Dache hat. Starting price, $29.99. You mean a Lilly Dache with faceted glass stones isn't worth $29.99? I just don't get it.
 
LillyDache2.jpg
 
Hi,

I saw your Dache hat. I was also surprised that it got no bids. I also saw a fantastic, expertly made, pink silk chiffon Dache turban (with the custom label) go for the opening bid of $8.99 a few months ago. For some reason, her post 1950 hats are not getting good money anymore, at least not most of them and not on Ebay. I do not know why but have noticed this trend for the past year or so with Dache'.

I do agree your hat should have sold for good money. Weird.
 
Hi, I took a look at your ebay and etsy listings. First I should say that I have terrible luck on ebay and have given up trying to figure out why nice things no longer sell on there. I have over 6000 feedback but hardly ever use it anymore. Anyhow, you asked for selling advice, so I can give you some Etsy and general selling advice.

You need a better dress form or a mannequin and a nicer backdrop than your closet door. You have an older dark gray sewing maker form that basically makes your clothes look dowdy and ill-shaped. An investment in a better mannequin will pay off.

Also you need a steamer. Your Emma Domb dress on ebay was very wrinkled and you say in the listing it was stuffed in a drawer but you are hesitant to iron it. That is not a professional way to sell an Emma Domb. Get a $40 steamer from a discount store, and present your garments so they look ready to wear, and attractive.

On Etsy, you need to spend some time and personalize your shop. You have no shop description, no About Me page, and your header photo of the airplane doesn't really say anything about vintage clothing, or bring in customers. You can do a lot to make your shop tell a story, and appear to be a friendlier place to buy vintage.

You are not using your Etsy item tags, they need to be phrases that people search for and should repeat what is in the title. Your Mollie Parnis dress has one tag, it says "party dress." No one will find this dress! Use all 13 tags and add the words and phrases that shoppers will type in when looking for your item. Remember that on Etsy, nothing in the description field is searchable! Only titles and tags.

If anything, your Etsy prices are too low. But you need to work at better presentation first, nicer displays, sharper photos without distracting backgrounds, so that your pretty clothes look like the sweet vintage boutique items they are.

I hope this helps!

Jen
 
Oh, one other thing - Etsy crops your first photo into a square. Your dress photos are long rectangles and shoppers can't tell from the first pic what they are looking at.
 
Thanks so much for the advice. I know my pictures need help. Honestly, I don't have another spot to take pictures other than in front of my front door. My sewing mannequin is squeezed in a corner. I'll look for something else that will fit in the same spot.

How do I keep my photos from being square??? I've always wondered about that. Should I choose another picture to be my first?

The airplane header is more a reflection of my user name... Onceoza. I used to work for Ozark Airlines, thus I was Once OZA.
 
Great advice Jen. I'd like to add that even though etsy looks only at titles and tags, google does read the first couple lines in the description so be sure to put the best keywords there for better search placement. Etsy items place well in google search results so take advantage of it.
 
Yes, fabric is good, or a blank wall - there must be something you can move for photo shoots? I use a folding screen. It's not ideal but until I get a plain white wall, something I don't have yet in my new home, it has to do.

Everyone's picture preview on Etsy is a square, you can't keep it from being a square. So think about what you want shown in that square that will draw the viewer in. You can re-size your photos by adding white around the edges, or place two verticals side by side in a photo editing program, or choose a detail to highlight in that square. Etsy lets you edit the first photo by repositioning it when you preview the listing. Just spend a little time figuring these details out, and look at what other sellers do for inspiration. Look at your listings from a buyer's point of view and think competitively. If you were shopping for these things, what elements would draw you in? Attention to these things now will make a world of difference in your presentation.
 
Everyone has given you such great ideas. I would add that until you can invest in a better form or manni, could you perhaps cut up an old white or beige (any lighter color) jersey T shirt, or get a few yards of inexpensive knit fabric and stretch and attach it over the dark dress form and pin on the underside (or back) so it looks neat and updates the color? I also have seen folks paper mache over old forms using old patterns, old light color maps and the like. I did a small Styrofoam head with craft store vintage style map paper myself and it worked well. Of course, you may not want to do this over a nice form and I really can't see what you are working with. That is why taping or pinning on the underside of a pieced form is good because you are not permanently changing anything that you can't undo. You can even stretch knit fabric over the entire thing.

Julia
 
Yes, you can! Can you take that black top thingy off to tuck fabric under? The thing is, make sure to make the fabric look tight and professional. You may have to do some cutting and tucking or if you can remove the top knob, you can fashion it right over that and tuck a bunch out of sight for photos or neatly stretch around it.

Just adding that presentation of your clothing is everything!
 
Great advice from everyone!
I was very anxious to get my first sale on Etsy-and spent countless hours browsing through other sellers shops for ideas.
Sometimes it helps to change the way you photograph items-I've seen sellers who simply hang clothing from a hanger and make it look nice. This of course may not work with long dresses.
Also, I follow whatever is popular in the mainstream at the moment. Lot of people are still very into "Mad Men" and so I add that as a tag for any age appropriate piece I'm trying to sell.
Good luck!
:USETHUMBUP:
 
You've had some great advice. I'd also like to add, can you do anything more about how you light your photographs? It looks like your photos are taken with flash? It's never the best way to light a garment, it flattens everything. Do you have any outside space? if so I'd consider photographing outside.

I agree there are some sellers who manage to make clothes on a hanger look good. Another option is laying things flat on the floor, and standing on something and photographing from above.

I also work in a tiny tiny space at home, but I've arranged my room so that I photograph by a window, and put a reflective sheet opposite the window, to try and get soft even lighting. You can just use a white sheet as a reflector, and I just hang mine from a tall clothes horse. I still have to brighten photos up in photoshop afterwards, but it's better than flash. I use a half width roll of photography backdrop paper as a back drop.
 
Half mannequins that can be hung from a hook are inexpensive and make a huge difference, especially for very small clothing. Mannequin companies also sell dress form covers, but you can make your own as others are suggesting.
I thought your name was a clever way of saying Once Over!
Marian
 
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