After months of thinking about it, today I decided to open a supply shop. There are so many unknown variables and choices and dynamics to consider that I felt not opening a supply shop to separate my beads and supplies from my jewelry was just as much as a course of action as opening one, so here we are.
Another thing I considered was switching the name of my fairly inert vintage shop to make it the supply shop, but then I've already got the vintage items with paid-for listings, so I wouldn't want to deactivate them, an the whole point of making a supply shop is to have JUST supplies.
I also wasn't sure if using "shipwreck dandy" was a good idea to use in the name of the supply store, but I figure I should keep whatever 'branding' I can and then just hope the notices will direct people to my jewelry shop appropriately.
It's funny--the second I relist the faceted beads in my regular shop, I get a ton of views. So far, there are only three views for them in the new shop. I suppose because they've got so many favorites and whatnot and are in a lot of treasuries? No way to compensate for those views, except to build it all back up in the new shop, I suppose. I also started using the purchasing options drop down selection thing for the made-to-order beads. The only thing I didn't foresee is not having the colored ones as the first/thumbnail photo. I guess I should offer different quantities of the beads and use one of the colored bead photos.
So far, I've just got the three sets of beads listed and some dyed hemp.
I'll be listing all my beads, findings, and destash stuff in the supply shop from now on. The beads I've got in my jewelry store will stay put until they're sold. I've got a ton to photograph, and I've even got some handmade ear wire sets, and wire chandelier earring connectors to get photographed and listed. Soon! The emptiness of the supply shop annoys me more than the overflowness of my jewelry shop. Hopefully 'balance' will be happening soon.
Best of luck... I did my second shop too and their are times it seems for trouble than its worth cause then you have to check both shops but I'm keeping thi ngs as they Re for now.. I, m going to go check out your new shop now... Xxc
ReplyDeleteI don't think I realized you separated your shops. I recently went looking for those leaves you sent because I used one in a necklace--I'll go check it out to see if they're in your other shop!
DeleteCongrats, and best of luck! I'm going to have a look now
ReplyDeletexoxo Juliette
Thanks Juliette!
DeleteI'd say given that the things in your supply shop are handmade artisan pieces, yes absolutely keep the shipwreck name in there! You want people to be able to stumble on the listings in searches and think 'oh I know that shop- she's great and now she makes supplies!!YAY!' I always thought that my vintage/supply shop should be called something more sparrow-y related, but I like the name 'fagin's daughter' too much to let it get in the way of good business decisions. :D
ReplyDeleteAdditionally- if you have trouble having two shops, I recommend 2 browsers. I have sparrowsalvage signed in on firefox and fagin's signed in on chrome. I can switch between the two without logging out.
Of course you have to keep 'fagin's daughter' because it perfectly creates the ambiance going on in the shop. But one nice thing about the word 'sparrow' is that you have an option to very easily incorporate a visual symbol of a sparrow bird into anything and subtly make the connection.
DeleteI think it's impossible to understand if/how you should keep names similar/not similar until you're well into selling at Etsy, and by then it might be too late. When I opened my vintage shop, I didn't even consider making it seem related to the jewelry shop--I *wanted* them really separate. That was unfounded and naive. Because it kept me stupidly disconnected from the shop while I was focusing on jewelry. The only thing I did to tie it together was keep the same avatar for both shops. The vintage shop never really went anywhere because it didn't really ever have a purpose or become streamlined in any way. I always intended to sell more supplies there, but the shop hardly gets any views because I neglect it. Sometimes it only gets 5 views a day! So it seemed like a waste to list anything that I knew would sell in my regular store.
The nice thing about the shipwreck dandy supply shop is that it actually feels like just an extension of my store to me. The different browsers is a really good idea. I realized today that logging in and out between shops pretty much happens automatically though, because of the way the formfill thing is set and the similar usernames. It's like I press one button and it automatically does it all like magic. It's so lame that pressing a few more buttons and having to actually move my wrist a teeny bit would feel oh so difficult, but it can be a huge annoyance if you spend a ton of time on the shops.
Congratulations!!! I think you're doing the right thing by keeping the same name. Your shop will build just as the original one did. I'm headed over now to check it out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alice! Let me know what you thought of the shop. I've got several more things listed now and will continue to plump it out.
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