Wha's Up with Etsy?

I was asked, or let's say it was suggested, that I might want to blog about my Etsy issues, and they are legion...

Guess this is as close as I'll get to an out-and-out rant...

After having a wonderful, successful day at my Saturday Farmer's Market, I have to say that the least exciting part of my afternoon was coming home and dutifully checking (in vain, as always) to see if there were any orders from any of my shops...
I have a free shop on CraftIsArt, a (marginally) paid shop on Zibbet, and my original, and second shop, on Esty.
Some readers may have heard of Zibbet; I doubt if many have heard of CraftIsArt. As for Etsy, if that name is unfamiliar to you, you not only don't have a shop there, you aren't looking at my blog sides, where I have moving minis of my crocheted hats and neckwarmers shop, mizdarlin, and tidybaubles, my jewelry shop...as well as badges and links that connect to some of my other spots for sales and custom orders, like the Duncan Farmer's Market..now I realize that the whole world can't be rushing to Vancouver Island and dropping by, but it really is astounding how many out-of-towners do...not to mention Americans traveling, Europeans doing the Canadian tourist thing, even busfuls of Asian people come through this little Market, the largest on the Island..and arguably the most successful. We currently have nearly 100 vendors, and that includes farmers, gardeners, egg sellers, bakers, candymakers and of course crafters..

I would really appreciate someone, anyone, telling me why my little tiny corner of the Universe is so darned easy-going and successful, and I can't buy a thrill on Etsy..Which has, supposedly, hundreds of thousands of buyers and sellers...
I get almost no views anymore, and certainly no sales since early March. Many others are rowing madly in the same lifeboat, but we are all sinking fast...maybe I expected too much, but I was finally starting to sell regularly (for me) and feeling hopeful about the possibility of supplementing my meagre pension with a few dollars a month, by selling some things that I loved making.
Etsy certainly has disabused me of that notion, yet no one from their Administration Department can explain why this is happening..they won't even acknowledge that it happened, and continues this way..
I'e heard various rumours, and several theories are proposed in the Etsy Forum re this unwanted and unwelcome phenomenon..but who knows? Most of these rumours are of the we-pissed-off Google variety- don't know if it's true, but if Google no longer 'crawls' our listings then that makes a huge difference in whether or not we are seen by potential buyers...this is why I have other shops...if you google my shop name, mizdarlin, (same at all my venues, it's called branding) then there are quite a number of entries, but if you go by what i make, what used to appear on the first page of Google search for say a cloche hat with a flower, or a newsie cap, now appears nowhere...

I don't see the point of listing and renewing on Etsy, which really adds up financially, all the while knowing that it is futile to keep acting the same way and expecting a different outcome.

Until things change at Etsy, I hearby declare a personal boycott that anyone is welcome to join...no more listing of new items or relisting of items unless and until Etsy straightens this mess out, because frankly, I'm getting better views on my runty little flash-in-the-pan sites than I am at Etsy, and selling my creations directly works...so what's the point...

Etsy is, oh, I don't know, so last month....

Online Home Away From Online Home....

Many of us who eschew the usual Facebook or Twitter nonsense, who don't feel comfortable hyping our online goods into oblivion, irritating friends and potential buyers in the process, know that the odds are insurmountable to start with...what chance do any of us have without perfect items, perfect pictures, anorexic straight-haired models who pose with all the warmth of Egyptian hieroglyphics, and rampant beige everywhere?
And yet we persist...I haven't shut down my Etsy shops (yet)..as a matter of fact, the weekly Market I was so successfully participating in, due in part to the unseasonably warm weather, has dried up financially for me...last Saturday was my last Saturday until we are outside again in mid-March..but I did at least come home to an online sale, which really helped to boost my badly sagging morale...
If you want your psyche damaged badly, go online to practically any Forum for handmade, and get yourself beaten up and bullied online, sneered at and dismissed as an idiot...or, do what I've been doing daily (well, almost) for the past couple of weeks, and check out Indie Junction.
Yes, there is a 'badge' for it on the lower right side of this blog.

Indie Junction, I'm convinced, is comprised of mostly Etsy sellers who now have their own retreat, where they can chat in a friendly sort of way about this and that, without getting their heads bitten off for asking a question.
On Indie Junction, you can show as much or as little of your work as you like...and expect to get lovely compliments in your IJ mailbox, with references specifically back to your pieces...
We 'gift' each other on birthays if we like, we 'friend' each other regularly, and are setting up our own Teams for Etsy and our in-house interests too..
I've never seen such a helpful friendly bunch before (at least, not online) and have yet to see even a quark of snark- a nice change from the usual divisive, competitive bitchiness so rife on Etsy, Artfire and other sites. We support each other , congratulate each other, and there seems to be a truly sincere interest by the founder and webmistress, Nicky Vee, to provide us with whatever we need to have a fabulously refreshing and supportive experience on the site...
The next time you get to feelin' bruised and battered by the arogance and nastiness inherent in other sites, do yourself a favour and drop on over to Indie Junction...it's like a cool glass of water on a boilin' hot day...
If you can't link with the 'badge, use this:

http://indiejunction.ning.com/