Sarah Raymond is a writer and artist from Toronto, Ontario. Her young adult novel, Signs of Martha, comes out in spring 2011 with Great Plains Publications. Scroll on down for musings on writing, art and other perils of domestic life. Homemade drawings included.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Hazards of Selling on Etsy



In my twenties, I could smoke the odd cigarette and not need another one. Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade craft, is different. Etsy is addictive and it doesn't even have warning labels. What you need to know:

If you visit Etsy, you'll give up great gobs of your life. Once I searched for quilts on Etsy and ended up viewing all 459 of them. After, I was stoner-head happy, but dopey. I hadn't even started a shop or discovered the chatty land of forums.

If you start an Etsy shop, you'll develop an annoying need for approval. Approval comes in the form of "love" (hearts) or money (cold, hard Paypal cash). I have much more love than money. Am I happier for my hearts? Isn't my question a clue to the neediness I've sheepishly developed?

If you start an Etsy shop, your language will change. I attended the auspicious Humber School for Writers. It was expensive, anyway. My mentor, Kim Moritsugu, drummed out all the exclamation marks out of my writing. But in the fast-paced traffic jam of Etsy, you have to exclaim with marks. Lots of them! If you don't, no one will hear you!!

If your things sell, your living conditions will change. You'll need to make more. More things means more supplies, more boxes for them and more packing equipment. More space to photograph. More dropped pins on the floor.

Would I have started a shop if I'd had the warnings? Etsy is a great community, after all, although I can't think about the question too hard. I have to see if anyone just hearted me.

16 comments:

  1. Oh so true.....each and every word of it. It's one of the good addictions in this crazy world.
    Herbal Blessings, Mandy

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  2. Laughing so true, in fact just shut down my shops, I want to get my life back, although I have found myself lurking, how else would I have found you.

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  3. really great post! lol and so true. :)

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  4. So very true. Thanks for the laugh today!

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  5. The other hazard of Etsy? Spending more thank you earn ;-)

    Great post, Sarah!

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  6. hahaha, this is a brilliant post! Totally hit the nail on the head!

    (yes, I'm very aware of my exclamation marks now too ;0) )

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  7. Hey, thanks for reading and enjoying!

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  8. Really fun while being insightful...it "does" become an addiction and we learn to live *around* our mess, God forbid we should move one bead. !!! :-)

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