After my fiasco with Tophatter Auctions I started asking questions to other members of the site to see how they are getting their things scheduled and then eventually sold. One amazingly wonderful member told me about how she does more than just the Tophatter auctions she holds her own on her Facebook Fan page which are way more successful and you don't have to pay the fees that they REQUIRE with Tophatter. I have spent almost DOUBLE what I made off of the two items I sold on that site just trying to get my stuff into their stupid auctions and then all I got was 15 seconds of exposure before they closed the lot and it was over. I'm sorry but I'm BEYOND pissed off at that stupid site. If I had it my way I would put them out of business. You don't treat people the way they treated me and get away with it. I am however leaving this up to karma because it is not worth ANYMORE of my time or energy to even think about them. I'm DONE with Tophatter auctions, and if you are smart you would stay away from them all together.
Ok so enough about that. My auction is running right now thru the end of the month. Each item has a starting price listed in the description of the picture if you click on it. Bidding is done thru the comments on each picture and the highest bidder is the winner of each hat at midnight the 31st. There are two options of paying, one is if you are a personal friend you can pay cash and I don't charge the $4 shipping because I can hand deliver it or you can pay thru PayPal via Etsy.com and that will give me your mailing address. (I will still be paying the etsy fee's for that option but I'm totally okay with it because THEY ARE LEGITIMATE!!!) All the items will then be shipped via USPS with delivery confirmations on Monday morning the 2nd of April so you can have your item before Easter. I am hoping to be able to post about this being a super good way to drive business to your etsy site when it's all said and done because I know I am not the only one who is struggling to get views to my shop and anything that will help drive business there will in turn keep people coming back again and again.
Etsy has been such an amazing site when it comes to supporting us small business owners and artists. They also have an AMAZING network of people to work with who are amazing artists themselves. I have met more down to earth and just plain GREAT people working with them than I ever have working with other sites. That is one of the reason's why I am trying so hard to support more people going there and becoming part of the Etsy Community. Come check out the auction and if you get a moment, check out my Shop too.
Go to Auction!
Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
Mrz Jaques
High Quality Hand Crocheted
Pre-made designs AND Custom Orders!
Showing posts with label seller frustrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seller frustrations. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tophatter Frustrations!!!! Am I the only one???
Many of you know that I recently joined and started selling my stuff on a site called Tophatter.
TopHatter Auctions
They are a live auction site where you can list your goods and then schedule and attend their daily auctions to sell your stuff. Or so they say when you sign up. What they didn't tell me at first was that I would only be able to schedule one item at a time for sale. That part is not that big of a deal, it's not like I have a TON of stuff to list. Plus if it all sold, I would have to completely re-do my Etsy site, (not that it would be a bad thing to have to do that) but they also don't tell you that they don't have a lot of "open" slots for their auctions, so it is really hard to even get a chance to schedule something.
Of course, they will immediately let you schedule your first item, I'm sure they have PLENTY of slots open for "new" members, but once you sell something, good luck trying to get another item scheduled. I sold my Light Purple Open Weave Slouchy Beanie with Sparkly Bow on Feb 29th, 2012 and haven't been able to schedule anything since. I have been trying to schedule my Light Blue Homespun Open Weave Slouchy pictured below with absolutely no luck.
I have been trying for 2 weeks now. I finally tried "chatting" with the auction staff today and a very UNHELPFUL lady named Aimee just told me that they have limited slots and if you want to check on a new slot you MUST be signed into your lot at 8am PST everyday morning to even get a chance, and even then the slots are first come first serve and very limited.
The totally awful part about that is I have to get my daughter on the bus for school at 8am PST everyday. I'm never gonna get a chance to list another item. The only good piece of advice she gave me was that some auctions go "outdoors" after and then you can schedule an item that day for that auction if you are currently attending it and catch one of the slots.
So I'm gonna try that today because I have to wait for Comcast to come and check out my whole internet connection again. Something happened with the wind and snow from Monday and Tuesday and it is making me have to blog from my phone. This sucks! Believe me, for a post that would usually take me less than 5 minutes to compose it has now taken me the better part of an hour. The joys of technology!
I just don't know what to do, I haven't sold a single hat this month, and I'm starting to get really sad. I have had a lot of compliments about how nice my work is, but no one wants to buy my stuff. I don't get it. I can't let myself get down in the dumps about it because then my creativity gets put on hold and it turns into a vicious circle that I can't break free of. I have to keep myself busy and trying new things. I bought a pattern from the Tophatter site, it's an Ammigamuri Turtle that is so cute. I've never tried to make animals before but this pattern seemed really fun and my sister is OBSESSED with them and her birthday is on the 10th of April which is coming up. I know she would love it if I surprised her with a cute stuffed turtle in her favorite colors. She has two kids who would go nuts over it. I might have to make two come to think of it. :)
Plus I found my HUGE bag of yarn that I bought at Michael's when they were having their yarn sale and found some really pretty colors that I could make things out of. Not sure what yet, but I'll just have to see where my hook takes me. You see that is why I love this art form so much. I have no idea what I'm going to make half the time, I just grab my hook and start going, but by the time it's finished I am always happy with what it turns out to be, and in the off chance I'm not happy with it, I can always take it out and start over with something different. That's the beauty of it. It always turns out to be what YOU wanted it to be, nothing more, nothing less, as long as you put in the work.
That's all for me this morning, I have a ton of things to do around the house before the Comcast guy gets to come and track dirt all through it. FUN!
Wishes of Love and Crafty Creations Always,
Mrz Jaques
www.etsy.com/mrzjaquescrochetedit
www.facebook.com/mrzjaquescrochetedit
TopHatter Auctions
They are a live auction site where you can list your goods and then schedule and attend their daily auctions to sell your stuff. Or so they say when you sign up. What they didn't tell me at first was that I would only be able to schedule one item at a time for sale. That part is not that big of a deal, it's not like I have a TON of stuff to list. Plus if it all sold, I would have to completely re-do my Etsy site, (not that it would be a bad thing to have to do that) but they also don't tell you that they don't have a lot of "open" slots for their auctions, so it is really hard to even get a chance to schedule something.
Of course, they will immediately let you schedule your first item, I'm sure they have PLENTY of slots open for "new" members, but once you sell something, good luck trying to get another item scheduled. I sold my Light Purple Open Weave Slouchy Beanie with Sparkly Bow on Feb 29th, 2012 and haven't been able to schedule anything since. I have been trying to schedule my Light Blue Homespun Open Weave Slouchy pictured below with absolutely no luck.
I have been trying for 2 weeks now. I finally tried "chatting" with the auction staff today and a very UNHELPFUL lady named Aimee just told me that they have limited slots and if you want to check on a new slot you MUST be signed into your lot at 8am PST everyday morning to even get a chance, and even then the slots are first come first serve and very limited.
The totally awful part about that is I have to get my daughter on the bus for school at 8am PST everyday. I'm never gonna get a chance to list another item. The only good piece of advice she gave me was that some auctions go "outdoors" after and then you can schedule an item that day for that auction if you are currently attending it and catch one of the slots.
So I'm gonna try that today because I have to wait for Comcast to come and check out my whole internet connection again. Something happened with the wind and snow from Monday and Tuesday and it is making me have to blog from my phone. This sucks! Believe me, for a post that would usually take me less than 5 minutes to compose it has now taken me the better part of an hour. The joys of technology!
I just don't know what to do, I haven't sold a single hat this month, and I'm starting to get really sad. I have had a lot of compliments about how nice my work is, but no one wants to buy my stuff. I don't get it. I can't let myself get down in the dumps about it because then my creativity gets put on hold and it turns into a vicious circle that I can't break free of. I have to keep myself busy and trying new things. I bought a pattern from the Tophatter site, it's an Ammigamuri Turtle that is so cute. I've never tried to make animals before but this pattern seemed really fun and my sister is OBSESSED with them and her birthday is on the 10th of April which is coming up. I know she would love it if I surprised her with a cute stuffed turtle in her favorite colors. She has two kids who would go nuts over it. I might have to make two come to think of it. :)
Plus I found my HUGE bag of yarn that I bought at Michael's when they were having their yarn sale and found some really pretty colors that I could make things out of. Not sure what yet, but I'll just have to see where my hook takes me. You see that is why I love this art form so much. I have no idea what I'm going to make half the time, I just grab my hook and start going, but by the time it's finished I am always happy with what it turns out to be, and in the off chance I'm not happy with it, I can always take it out and start over with something different. That's the beauty of it. It always turns out to be what YOU wanted it to be, nothing more, nothing less, as long as you put in the work.
That's all for me this morning, I have a ton of things to do around the house before the Comcast guy gets to come and track dirt all through it. FUN!
Wishes of Love and Crafty Creations Always,
Mrz Jaques
www.etsy.com/mrzjaquescrochetedit
www.facebook.com/mrzjaquescrochetedit
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)