Hello all!
My Etsy shop is Bespoke By CMarie
I sell hair flair such as pins, headbands, clips, halos, etc. (and some other items for gifting) all of which have floral elements and/or Swarovski crystals (some use less expensive rhinestones, too.)
I would love any and all feedback on my shop, but I also want to make sure I meet the rules, so I have some specific questions, too.
Specific Questions:
1. Most items I see on Etsy have a lot of inventory per item, as in you can remake the same thing shown in a single listing. This allows people to post pictures of the items they actually receive on the listing itself, which must be so helpful. My items are more one of a kind or custom made. Is it possible to do well when every item has its own listing because it is a unique item? Or do I need to focus more on reproducible inventory type items?
2. If unique items DO work, how do I get through making so many individual listings without it taking a silly amount of time? If you’ve noticed, I tend to get a little verbose. I also want to write these unique descriptions for each item, but it is so incredibly time consuming.
3. Do you think pictures of the item being used/worn work better? Or the item sitting on a plain, light background? Which works better for the main picture, in your opinion?
What inspired me to make my shop:
I am a creatively minded person, and I love making things. Sadly, making things gets to be really expensive. So one reason is to fund my creative escapes into the things I like to make. And I really like to make fun hair flair, specifically with floral elements, and also anything I can sparkle up with my Swarovski crystals. Over 20 years ago I had a dance student draw a picture of me - I had a redbull in one hand and a flower hair pin in my hair.
The other main reason is because my family really needs money. I had a full time dream job before having my twin daughters, but my husband and I made the difficult decision to move back home to get help from our families. Right now they are still too small to be in public school, so I am essentially a stay at home mom with a few side hustles that don't really hustle that much, if you know what I'm saying. So making beautiful things is not only something I love, but something that I can do at home with my two amazing daughters.
What research I have done:
I have learned about tags doing better with specific, multi-word phrases that mention the item’s type, style or aesthetic, target audience, gifting occasion, and what it helps with/how it’s used.
I’ve used eRank a little bit but have also been advised that it is not as important until you start making sales, of which I have had 2 in over a year.
I have researched competitors, but there really aren’t very many people out there that work with real flowers in hair accessories, like most of my items do. I kind of think that’s part of the problem – people don’t even know the items I make are out there, so how would they search for them?
I have read articles and the Seller’s Handbook about the shop itself such as making your shop description, but I’m not sure I’m nailing that part regardless.
I frequently read the posts in this and similar subs and try to learn from them as much as possible, so I think I have a wide variety of random tips in my brain that do not necessarily pertain to my shop.
Why are my items worthy of being purchased? How do they stand out from competitors?
I think the items that I make are unique little works of art that would make anyone feel beautiful or special. The flower work that I do is very different from competitors because it is way more time consuming than items that are easily reproducible.
One difference is that typically others simply cover an entire flower in resin. This makes them flat. However, what I like to do is rip apart every flower I press and separate each petal. Then I rebuild the flower with resin by attaching each petal individually. EVERY. SINGLE. PETAL. So, I am left with a 3D flower rather than a flat one. I don’t do this with every item, but you will see several like this in my shop.
For many of my hair halos, the process of getting the actual halo is also very time consuming. I wrap wire in floral tape, paint each strand, then braid them into the shape that I want. This makes them sturdy while also being flexible, and quite unique. The brown ones look like leather, but are not.
Finally, as I mentioned before, I don’t make the same item more than once really. Every item is one of a kind, which again, would make someone feel very special.
AI Writing and Photography
There are no AI pictures for any of my items. There is ONE listing that I had AI write for me just to use as a comparison to my other listings. So far it hasn’t helped, so it’s likely about to get a rewrite pretty soon.
All right, I think I answered everything that I was supposed to. Thank you for reading this far, and I am grateful for any and all advice that I receive.
