http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/business/23craft.html?ref=your-money
Check out this NY times article, For Craft Sales, Recession Is a Help. It was published a couple of days before Christmas and in the article notes that "On Sept. 29, a day the stock market plunged sharply, Etsy, the leading Web marketplace for handmade goods, had record sales. In November and December, the site has continued to break records. Last month, artists sold $10.8 million of goods on Etsy, up from $4.2 million in November 2007. Some 135,000 people signed up for Etsy memberships and sellers listed 1.1 million new items, both figures more than double the same month last year."
So apparently we cannot blame the 'recession' for slow sales. There is a definite wave of interest in handmade-perhaps the result of people tiring from mass produced items?
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6 comments:
That sounds good but it would be interesting to know the ratio of number or frequency of sales to listings and to number of sellers on Etsy. That would give us a more complete view into the what's happening.
I'd also be interested to find out what mediums are selling most frequently.
I remember at one point coming across an etsy tool that showed in detail the sales...i'll see if i can find it and let you know.
I've also seen articles (etsy was mentioned) about how in this recession, people are turning to more "do it yourself" and handmade products. I guess there's a bit of a silver lining after all.
I remember reading that on the nytimes website. It's great news that means that Etsy is finally getting the attention it deserves!
I think the desire for handmade is on the rise. I am working on putting together another article about it-and look at the why's-its pretty cool that etsy is hitting the mainstream news wires!
Love the article! Thanks for sharing. I had just posted a question on the etsy forums asking if I should lower my prices due to the downfall of the economy. But then I realized that I don't have a price issue, but potentially a demand issue. I think we're just in a post holiday slump right now. People are probably taking a break from spending. =)
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