Online selling and buying: Shops vs. Sites vs. Auctions

Hmmm... good question! Obviously none is better than the other or there would not be so many of each.

What is best for you? What is best for me. I have no idea what-so-ever. If I did, we would both be rich and famous.

Website:
I have a website. My website is more for reference and a gallery for my clients. It also gives me a place to promote my newsletter and post designers work and promote designers when they ask for it. (Yep, want me to promote you? Just ask!)

Auctions:
I use JustBeads.com for auctions regularly. They have treated me fantastic. They police the site and listings very well, they are responsive to requests and quick to help if you need it. A very impressive site that has the advantages of a big site with small site service. I was the featured artist for the month of December, 2007. That was a thrill and an honor.

I use Ebay occasionally. Mostly I stick my toes in to test the waters and pull them right back out again. I just hate Ebay, I didn't even like it back in the "good old days". It is just too much like a garage sale gone bad.

Online Shops:
I did open an Etsy shop. I opened it in protest to a fraudulent lampwok seller. I know, it sounds strange, but by opening a shop on the very site the fraud was operating her site on, it gave me a chance to educate the lampwork buying public and offer them good beads from the actual artist that made them.

So far I like the shop. Listing items on the shop are quicker and easier than auction listing. I also like the fact that it takes the pressure off the buyers. The don't have to make up their minds in a week or 5 days if they like something or not, they can buy it when they want it. They also don't have to compete with each other.

I also like the flexibility of the shop. I can sell single beads, and not have to do a dutch auction. I hear over and over from sellers that they don't always want big sets. Well, now I can offer them singles and they get the size of set they want.

I also hear from from buyers that they do or don't want accents. I think the buyers are split on this one. Some like the instant ability of having the accents matched to the beads, others don't use them at all. Now I can have a full supply of spacers on hand and ready for purchase in the shop. I even used the glass manufacturer number on the descriptions so the buyers can get the exact color. Listing all the accents and colors I have on auction would be not only costly, which costs both me and the buyers, but would clutter up the lampwork section something horrible. All the other sellers would want to strangle me.

Etsy also has a section for people to ask for custom orders. I do a lot of custom work already, and I enjoy it, so why not make it easier for people to ask?

In conclusion, I started my Etsy shop because I was upset with them. Am I still upset? Yes, but they are working their way out of the doghouse. In my efforts to protest, I discovered that I really like the flexibility of the shop atmosphere. I like that it takes less time for both me and my clients. It takes me less time to post a new item, and I can pass that on to the buyers. When I return to the states, the turn around time from the time people see my beads until they get them will be much quicker than if they have to wait for the auction to end.

I will never quit using JustBeads.com. They are wonderful. I got my start with JustBeads, and I love the people who shop on JustBeads. It is a fantastic community.

I will use Etsy for the parts of my lampwork sales that JustBeads can't fulfill as an auction site, so now you have to watch for me on both!

I will definitely be combining shipping for both sites. I buy glass in bulk, just to save on shipping, so I know most people like to spend their money on supplies rather than shipping, not just me.

Want to make it easy? Join my newsletter at www.TwiggysCreations.com I mail about once a week and send pictures of the beads so you don't have to leave the comfort of your email to shop.

I think this is a great subject. I know we all think about it regularly. Post your comments, your suggestions, and even links to other articles and blogs on the same subject. My goal, and most sellers goal is to make the designers job as fun and easy as possible. Being a designer myself, I am always interested in what other designers have to say.