Ruby Lane fees

stingystylist

stingystylist

Registered Guest
I'm thinking about opening a shop on Ruby Lane and I'm confused about their fees. I have sent them an email inquiry, but being anxious I thought to try here as well since I know there are members with Ruby lane shops here.
It says they charge $54 maintenance fee plus listing fee per item (like Etsy) up to 80 items in your shop.
Then it says the $54 is waived after the first month. And then it says the minimum payment for a shop (with up to 80 items) per month is $54...
I am confused, do I have to pay $54 plus listing fees every month, or just the first month?
With the $100 joining fee this seems like a lot. I would have to be selling lots of stuff every month!
I'm trying to find new ways to increase my vintage selling business as I'm feeling Etsy is more and more focused on hand made stuff...
Thank you so much for any help!
 
good morning, stingystylist, welcome to our forums!

i've been selling on Ruby Lane for over 10 years now, after experimenting on ebay, etsy, artfire (very briefly), and a couple of others. imo, for a serious seller with true vintage and antique inventory, Ruby Lane is the best. However, if you have "young" vintage (from 1995 into the 80s...) then I suggest that Etsy is a better venue.

it does cost a bit up front, but they offer so many user-friendly tools, it is a cinch to set up and get running right away. They have a ton of tutorials and entire sections of suggestions on how to make the most of your shop.

good luck to you!
 
Thank you for your response!
I've had my Etsy shop for couple of years now (I sell vintage clothing and accessories, mostly 80's and older) and I've been doing ok depending on how much effort I put in.
Recently I have decided to really take my selling seriously, I want this to be more than just a hobby. Therefore I've been working on my Etsy, tried little bit on eBay and thought about starting a website (with e-commerce).
I feel like I'm struggling a bit and frustrated trying to find what works. As I said I have a feeling as if Etsy is more and more geared towards hand made stuff (and supplies), I've even tried posting on Etsy sellers groups on Facebook etc. to get other opinions but haven't gotten any input.
Ebay has just so much stuff, website I feel needs to have professional pictures...blah blah.
That's why I thought of Ruby Lane. It seems like a fancier, better version of Etsy.
Anyway, maybe I just need to do more action, less talking :)
Again, thank you for your opinion-maybe I'll give Ruby a try. After all it's not like you have to sign a yearly contract!
 
you're welcome, SS!

and, no matter WHERE you sell, keep in mind that it's best to list every day, if you can. and, it is better to list one item every day, than 10 things one day, and nothing for the rest of the week. consistency is a good thing.

i don't know if they still ask new shop owners if anyone referred you to them, or not, but if they do, you're welcome to say vintagemerchant encouraged you. :)

good luck!
 
Thank you Vintagemerchant! If I do decide on Ruby I will use you as a reference. I recall seeing something about referral price!
I also appreciate your advice about posting, I will work on posting every day. sometimes when I don't have time, and then do I end up listing several items at once nd feel good about it! Never thought about consistency :)
 
stingystylist said:
Thank you Vintagemerchant!
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you're welcome, SS. if you DO decide to join Ruby Lane, and you need help, feel free to contact me. (We're a platinum seller, and have been with them for nearly 14 years now)
 
Thanks Mary - I think I may give Ruby Lane a go as a seller... Etsy is too bogged down with junk and the searches don't work well for me. As a buyer I prefer Ruby Lane for consistency in older, quality, pieces and there aren't the same hobby sellers with stupid prices that are becoming epidemic on Etsy. My only major complaint with Ruby Lane is the searches are a bit over-organized and it takes a few tries sometimes to find what you are looking for. I often seem to end up with reams of doll clothes coming up in my searches.
 
They could improve their searches for sure. I know what you mean about the doll clothes, Jonathan.
I do agree with Mary though about the more serious sellers being there. They are gaining a lot of vintage clothing sellers in the past couple of years and so it has become more competitive there. I must say that I feel as there is so much more vintage being offered it would also help if they were to separate vintage accessories from the vintage clothing.
 
I love Ruby Lane immensely.
I have always felt it was the Diamond of the vintage field online.

I think Jonathan you would do fantastic there.
IMHO it is imperative to have the VFG exist to keep true to history.
You of course are one of the experts in the field.

I was Exclusive to RL for a long time and may be again soon.

Recently went with Etsy for my vintage clothing but the new search there seems to of put the brakes on for me.

IMHO the hardest thing about RL is the AIP photos and waiting for them.
Only reason I ventured out.
I have brought many dealers to RL over the years and it is still the only venue I will recommend someone trying.
Believe me when I say I have tried them all.

To the OP I hope you try it.
Sandy
 
Just curious, how long does it take to get results from this venue? months weeks ?
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it absolutely depends on how much time and energy you want to dedicate to it. :)

when I joined them, in order to qualify for charter membership, they required a minimum of 50 transactions each month: at that time, that could include items listed, and items sold, each one (at that time) was considered a qualifying "transaction". by maintaining at least 50 a month, that meant that items were being added to the shop regularly, and things sold, in turn, too.

point being, they required a shop to actively participate on a regular basis in order to maintain chartership membership status: they want the search engines to find you (and in turn, them, of course). They want traffic, they want you to have sales. But, bottom line is, it depends on the seller to list with good photographs and quality inventory that is authentic vintage or antiques.

that (adding 50 items/month) is no longer a requirement, as charter memberships are no longer available; that was an incentive for shops to open with them when they were just starting out. I added that as an example to show what (theoretically) "works".

And do they still have the unusual selling restrictions?
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here is a link to the Ruby Lane requirements for Vintage Fashion: http://www.rubylane.com/info/lanereqs

please notice, within that link there is a link to the RL "common" requirements for all shops, as well.
 
Once upon a time it took awhile for new shops online in general to get new sales.
Now with the search engines and how they work may be wrong but do not think it is a factor.

Being Exclusive and adding 7 items in a week will put one on first pages of the categories.

Another Time I think you would do well also on RL.

This thread has definitely been food for thought for me.
Sandy
 
Great thread! Does anyone have both a Ruby Lane shop and an Etsy shop? If so, do you have different items or the same item listed in both venues? My mother sells and collects antique dolls and has great things to say about Ruby Lane. I've thought about also opening up shop on there but as I do well on Etsy I am not willing to completely pull away and possibly lose devout Etsy customers.
 
BrookeNault said:
Does anyone have both a Ruby Lane shop and an Etsy shop? If so, do you have different items or the same item listed in both venues?
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yes, we have both an etsy shop and a RL shop.

we do not cross list inventory, and as mentioned above, we tend to list more of our young vintage (80s and 90s) on etsy, with our older merchandise for Ruby Lane.

in our opinion, the shoppers on etsy seem to be very budget oriented, and often ask for discounts. Our Ruby Lane shoppers rarely ask for price reductions, and seem to be more collectors, more knowledgeable about what they're searching for, and buying.

I've thought about also opening up shop on there but as I do well on Etsy I am not willing to completely pull away and possibly lose devout Etsy customers.
Click to expand...

if you open a shop in each venue, you won't necessarily lose any customers: just let them know you've opened an additional location. Keep in mind the amount of time needed to properly stock, maintain and market each shop, though. Again, consistency is key.

anothertimevintageapparel said:
Is this the venue that requires one to take returns?
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yes.

And disclose your address on your page?
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they do not require it, however they do suggest it. we don't have our address listed as we don't want shoppers stopping by our home if they're in our neighborhood. :)

And can different items be mixed? Say accessories ( hats bags) and vanity items and perfumes? Or are they 2 different lanes?
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you can list anything so long as it's over 20 years old. when you open a shop, you open a shop...you don't open a shop only in one lane.

the lanes are just there to help shoppers more easily find what they're looking for.
 
vintagemerchant said:
yes, we have both an etsy shop and a RL shop.

we do not cross list inventory, and as mentioned above, we tend to list more of our young vintage (80s and 90s) on etsy, with our older merchandise for Ruby Lane.

in our opinion, the shoppers on etsy seem to be very budget oriented, and often ask for discounts. Our Ruby Lane shoppers rarely ask for price reductions, and seem to be more collectors, more knowledgeable about what they're searching for, and buying.



if you open a shop in each venue, you won't necessarily lose any customers: just let them know you've opened an additional location. Keep in mind the amount of time needed to properly stock, maintain and market each shop, though. Again, consistency is key.



yes.



they do not require it, however they do suggest it. we don't have our address listed as we don't want shoppers stopping by our home if they're in our neighborhood. :)



you can list anything so long as it's over 20 years old. when you open a shop, you open a shop...you don't open a shop only in one lane.

the lanes are just there to help shoppers more easily find what they're looking for.
Click to expand...
Thank you Mary!
 
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