Yes Or No?
Every now and then I wonder if I ought to open an Etsy store... usually when people ask me if I have one, right after I've posted another bit of craft to a fannish fest.
Why? Because I want my craft to go to people who will appreciate it. Which is fine for the non-fannish stuff, it's what I give to my family every Christmas. But the fannish stuff, the symbolic stuff that I have very much acquired a taste for making? Well, if it's Doctor-Who themed I can give it to my sister (she's the one who scored Idris And Her Thief). If it's Harry-Potter themed - and most of it is - then there's only one person I know whom I can give it to who will understand the symbolism. Which would be fine if I only participated in one fest a year, but this last year, they've been multiplying. Fine, I know, Just Don't Do That Then. (sigh)
But...
Look, I don't want to Run A Business And Become Independently Wealthy. If I'd wanted that, I would have taken up contracting years ago. I just want to make cool stuff and have it used by people who appreciate it. The business part of such an enterprise is an utter pain. Getting to the post office to send snail-mail is a pain. But how else could I get it into the hands of people who would appreciate it? So far as I can see, there are two methods: (a) give as gifts to people who know me personally, or (b) sell it to people who are willing to pay what it is actually worth - which means I don't want to underprice it, either.
Yet all the info I've seen about running your own Etsy store is "Market yourself! Work hard! Promote yourself! Branding! Have lots of stock!" But I wouldn't have lots of stock at all. Just the occasional thing. Not until I retire, anyway. Which is more than a decade away.
(insert lots of sighs here)
What should I do? Craft keeps me sane. But I am running out of people to give it to.
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Why? Because I want my craft to go to people who will appreciate it. Which is fine for the non-fannish stuff, it's what I give to my family every Christmas. But the fannish stuff, the symbolic stuff that I have very much acquired a taste for making? Well, if it's Doctor-Who themed I can give it to my sister (she's the one who scored Idris And Her Thief). If it's Harry-Potter themed - and most of it is - then there's only one person I know whom I can give it to who will understand the symbolism. Which would be fine if I only participated in one fest a year, but this last year, they've been multiplying. Fine, I know, Just Don't Do That Then. (sigh)
But...
Look, I don't want to Run A Business And Become Independently Wealthy. If I'd wanted that, I would have taken up contracting years ago. I just want to make cool stuff and have it used by people who appreciate it. The business part of such an enterprise is an utter pain. Getting to the post office to send snail-mail is a pain. But how else could I get it into the hands of people who would appreciate it? So far as I can see, there are two methods: (a) give as gifts to people who know me personally, or (b) sell it to people who are willing to pay what it is actually worth - which means I don't want to underprice it, either.
Yet all the info I've seen about running your own Etsy store is "Market yourself! Work hard! Promote yourself! Branding! Have lots of stock!" But I wouldn't have lots of stock at all. Just the occasional thing. Not until I retire, anyway. Which is more than a decade away.
(insert lots of sighs here)
What should I do? Craft keeps me sane. But I am running out of people to give it to.
This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1024382.html. (Comments
) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.