In my last post I shared with you 10 things that you can do to boost your Esty Shop. Today I’m going to share with you the most likely reasons you are not having any sales on Etsy.

10 REASONS WHY YOU HAVE NO SALES ON ETSY

As I mentioned before, My Etsy shop was not always the success it is today. There was a point that I would stare at my computer hoping someone would at least admire my shop, which is equivalent to a Facebook like.

After much research I have figures out the main reasons why some items just don’t sell. Here is my conclusions:

1. Your Pictures Suck

This is true for most of the majority of the shops that I see that have no sales. While I believe you do not need professional photographs to be taken of your items, I do believe you need to pay extra attention to the pictures you do take. Making sure that they are clear & bright will ensure that your picture gets noticed before any other photograph or listing. While pictures with words/text on them seem to be a good idea, it is totally not necessary and could be distracting.

Here is my Etsy shop best seller >>

As you can see there is no magic wording, and all I used was my clean night stand and natural light coming in thru my bedroom window. It basically shows the quality of the product and how I use it myself. I let the finished product speak for itself.

Here is a second example. I created this one a few weeks ago for my Ultimate Blog Planner. Although I thought it was super cute and would appeal to the masses, I found that it has not done as expected. I know the quality of the product is great and I know many would find the planner beneficial but I believe that the picture that I have chosen to relay that message has not been a good one. I will be updating the picture and see how stats change in the next few days, but I believe anyone having trouble selling should be doing the same research.

2. Your Customer Service Sucks

This is such a common problem. Lets go thru Etsy customer service basics:

• If someone send you a message, Reply as soon as you can.
• Use positive language to respond to questions.
• Treat every customer as if it is your one and only customer.
• Make sure you answer every question as timely as possible and make sure they are happy with the response. That doesn’t mean you have to give them free items!
• Be honest. Be kind. Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
• Be confident in your product by knowing everything about it.

3. You have no customer reviews

Let’s face it 0 customer reviews gets you 0 sales. The easiest way to get a review is by asking for one. When you have your first sale, follow-up and ask if they loved your item. If they did, ask if they will help others find your shop by writing a review. You can do this with not spending too much time. Add your message asking for a review in your message to buyer section.

4. Your descriptions are not specific enough

You need to hold your customers by the hand to lead them to your store. How do you do that? By writing very detailed descriptions of your items. If you are selling jewelry for instance you could either describe a ring as “Pretty Ring” or you can describe it like this “Silver Size 8 Blue Stone Cocktail Ring”. The easiest way to come up with a description is asking yourself what words you would use to google or find a similar item.

5. Your Pricing is not right

Are you pricing your items to high? Or better yet, are you pricing your items too low? Items that are priced too low portray the idea that the item is of cheap quality. Take the time to research. Here are some links provided by Etsy with tips on how to price your items.

6. You Offer Limited payment options

This one is easy. Etsy makes it easy to receive payment thru different options. If you limit your options, you limit sales.

Make sure you feel comfortable with the payment options that you are providing and let your customers know the GOOD NEWS in your shop info section!

7. Shipping Issues

How good are your shipping policies? Is your turnaround time to long. Remember people like to receive their items as fast as possible.

Do you ship internationally? Etsy has wonderful tools so you can offer international shipping. There is possible buyers all over the world. Don’t limit your buyers to domestic purchasers only.

8. No Return Policy

Depending on the item, having a good return policy shows your customers that you are confident and back your product 100%.

There are times where you cannot offer returns like myself with digital items, but you can assure your customer that you will try to make them as happy as possible by providing as much info as possible of the items in the listing description. Take a look at established Etsy Shops so you can get an idea of what to include.

9. Your shop is not consistent

You can’t sell everything. Try and stick to “like” items. Consistency is also appreciated in the type of photographs you include. This is the best way to find your target audience. Your target audience is whom you see buying your items. If you don’t have one, you need one!

10. You rely only on Etsy Traffic

This could be your biggest problem. Are you just sitting there praying that your shop will take off? Well I got news for you. There is marketing involved in every successful Etsy Shop. Pass out business cards, send them with your shipped item, get social media accounts for your shop, use Pinterest to find potential clients. Whether it’s one method or all of the above you need to get started sooner rather than later.

Remember there is a buyer out there for everything. Be confident in your items!

If you are looking to start your own Etsy shop click the link below and we both get 40 listings free when you sign up!

Let’s support each other…Share your Etsy Shop below and I will swing on by, take a look, and support your shop! What has worked for you?