Getting With It

Well, seeing as it is unlikely the business will sell in the near future, it is business as usual.   

Ok, you got me...it will be sort of business as usual. I am slowly getting with the age it is...the internet age. 

It seems the days of being able to 'have the right product and the people will find you' is not how it is online.

Yes, some of you already know this, and I guess I have for awhile, too.

 Just been in denial, I suppose. 

Could be because I am a Taurus, stubborn in my ways, resistant to change.

But, online change happens quickly. And, I guess I will have to change the angle at the way I come at things online....because many changes have occurred over the last several years.  

Time to get "with it."

So, I have a friend who is into the internet end of business in general who is helping get me up to speed.

Made a step...signed up for an Instagram account....done nothing with it so far, but here it is, in case you want to get a jump on the crowd. 

So, Fedora Antiques is being dragged into the new millennium.

How quickly the changes will take effect, or, rather,  affect sales (as in increase sales,) waits to be seen.

I am cautiously optimistic....and crossing my fingers.

ETSY - It ain't what eBay used to be...

So, I am listing on ETSY now.

I had been putting off listing there, simply because when I first registered to sell there, and attempted to do some business there, I found it, well, useless for the types of items I wanted to get moving.

I wanted a replacement for eBay, and ETSY was not at all it.

It still isn't.

But, it is something...it creates some income, though certainly not anywhere near what I'd like.

It has its place, for sure. I managed to move a $1700 worth of NOS hat parts I had purchased inexpensively at a closing auction of a Winnipeg based uniform factory/store, so that helped pay a few bills.  I had been wondering if I would ever sell the stuff, being that I hardly had access to any hat makers near by!

But, for that sort of thing, ETSY certainly IS the place to sell. I can see that if you were to concentrate on attending and purchasing bulk and inexpensive lots of obscure parts, pieces, components, etc of things from liquidations of manufacturing facilities, you could make a living doing just that off of ETSY.

The sale itself was not something I first listed, but resulted from an inquiry as to what quantities of some items I had, and my up-selling/mentioning that I had other millinery (hat making) supplies resulted in the large sale.

Would you have bought cases of these?

Those are not all he bought, but the bulk of the purchase was cases of hat brims.  The buyer certainly got a heck of a deal when you consider the individual retail value of piece meal selling of each item they bought, but I also pretty much doubled my money spent on the entire auction....and I hauled 14 truck and trailer loads from the place.

This was my last load...

Another issue with ETSY is that it is more a venue that you list on, but you really have to to the driving of traffic to your listings. Yes, it comes with a bit of its own traffic that you MIGHT be able to captilatize, but you do really have to create a following of your own...either that or be a real master of keywords and pray to the Esty-search-engine-god excessively.......

Anyway, ETSY works for some things, but certainly is not the "sold in a week" venue eBay used to be.  There really has not been any venue open up that is like what eBay used to be.   I have been trying to promote the idea of a Co-Op vintage, auction only website, but it just seems to not have any steam. Too many people want someone else to do the work, and then join.

No one wants to be help build a site....and by build, I mean build its presence online; be a founding member.

Not many pioneers out there.

Lots of "joiners" who want to capitalize on success, but no one willing to help create the success in the first place.

I have set up an auction group on Facebook that after a year-ish being established has finally taken hold as a decent venue, with some decent items being listed, and some serious bidders participating. But, it too has taken some time to take hold, establish itself.   It is set up somewhat like I would want a site to be (in a true "going-going-gone auction format", unlike eBay;s "timed" auctions.  However,  being that it is on FaceBook, it is limited by their structure/platform, the setup has some issues, and things that we have to work around.

You can check it out here, the Bang! Sold! Auction Group.

This post is already starting to get long, so I will pretty much end this posting here, to save you some eye strain.  I will likely discuss the idea of a Co-Op auction site further in the blog, so keep checking back!

Pick safe!

Adventures on Etsy

So, I am finally getting lots of inventory listed on Etsy. (Click on that to see my shop.)

I find, though, that it is a very niche market when it comes to selling antiques & collectibles.  The type of merchandise that sells on ETSY is not generally the merchandise I want to spend the bulk of my time dealing with.

Maybe it is because I am a Taurus, and we tend to be stubborn, stuck in our ways,etc.....

Or, it is due to the fact is just that ETSY is more geared towards crafts, fashion and decor, and "vintage" just happens to cover a portion of that.

I do have inventory that is of an ETSY ilk, but sales are still slow.  I find that all the extra activity it takes to get eyes to your listings is extreme, and, frankly, harkens of a ton of extra work that was at one time unnecessary.

If I had someone else working for me, and they could strictly run and promote the ETSY store front, that would be fine, but the only people working for me at the moment are the 3 of us...

Me, myself, and I.

There is always eBay, right?

Wrong.

eBay has long been out of the picture for me....and I will tell you one of the many reasons in the next posting.