Geek-in-Training

A couple of months ago, I learned about Google Base from an Etsy forum. I found a great tutorial on how to use LetsEts and post on Google Base. It was a little tricky, so I wrote my own blog post about posting to Google Base based on my experience. LetsEts picked it up and [...]

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Recession May Be Good For The Craft Industry

So says the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/business/23craft.html?_r=1&em
Apparently not so hot economic times turn gift givers into “make it yourselfers.”
It also, in my experience, makes gift givers who can’t craft look for handmade items to give. They are more personal, unique and very often less expensive than store counterparts.
So what does this mean for artisans like us…on Etsy, [...]

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A Strong Case For Multiple Sales Channels

It’s been a while, but I hope to get back to regular blog posts now. We’ve had a lot going on around here and sometimes finding the time to sit and write gets tricky. But there’s so much to share!
One of the things I’ve been busy with lately is album orders. Finally! As we get [...]

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Uncertain Times and the Comfort Factor

These are uncertain times. Stocks are falling, banks are failing, who knows what the next president will bring to the table? I’ve spent more time reading the news and watching CNN than I ever have. I’ve never been more interested in what our next potential presidents have to say.
And I’m worried. I’ll admit that when [...]

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A Thousand Miles

Let us assume that you want to go somewhere a thousand miles away. You have no vehicle. You can only set off walking and hope that somehow, sooner or later, you’ll get a ride. There’s a risk involved. You have to make a gesture of intention, faith and determination and then see what it [...]

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From the Etsy Forums: A Great Paypal Shipping Link

When you create all of your shipping labels online, you get to bypass lines like these at the post office and just drop your packages at the counter.
That’s one reason I just spent 20 minutes going through all the forums I’d posted in to find the one with the link to paypal shipping when the [...]

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No More Listing Fees On eBay?

Rumor has it that eBay is getting ready to change their listing fees again.
This time though, supposedly, listing fees will not go up. They will go away. Final value fees, however, will go up. How might I know this? For more on this subject, check out Ina Steiner, at AuctionBytes.
What does this mean for any [...]

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We Need a New Keyword (Tag) For Artisan Handmade on eBay

When I started selling my handmade photo albums, scrapbooks and journals online, I started on eBay. It was the easiest place to start and at the time, the only game in town. Now I sell on my website and on Etsy too, but I do still sell on eBay and I have to admit, when [...]

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Paypal Required To Report Payment Transactions To The IRS

If you are selling your crafts online, whether on eBay, Etsy or anywhere else, you should be reporting your sales to the IRS. The upside of reporting your additional income to the IRS is that you can also write off expenses and as we know, there are many–materials, space in your home that you use [...]

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A Hot-Button Issue: Copyright and Trademark Infringement

I was browsing the Etsy forums recently when I found myself in a thread that turned quite ugly. That was sad.
The thread focused, however, on copyright and trademark infringement by using images owned by companies like Disney and Sanrio (the Hello Kitty people). I think that anything someone does creatively is a great thing, and [...]

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