We opened our vintage shop, MayDae on Etsy almost 2 years ago (wow!), but we will admit that it hasn’t been our biggest priority as of late. We love selling on Etsy, but things get busy and sometimes our shop gets put on the back burner. Does that happen to anyone else?
We’ve been trying to figure out the reasons that these lapses in work happen. Sure, we both have homes, jobs, doggies, friends and family, but why do we choose to ignore something that we love and really really want to do more of? You may or may not be interested, but here are some thoughts on the subject:
Choice
Stormie and I have the choice to work on our shop…or not. There is no one telling us that we have to do it.
Time
Our shop takes a lot of time. Searching for and finding our treasures, getting the items ready (cleaning, measuring, weighing), taking and editing the photos, listing the items, packing up and shipping sold items – it all has to get done by someone…and that someone is us.
Discouragement
Once in a while, we get discouraged. We find an item that we really really love, and then it just sits in the shop for weeks…and even months. We start to second-guess ourselves when finding new things – “wait, will anyone actually buy this?”.
Boredom
Truth – 2 years of buying and selling thrifted stuff can start to get a little monotonous. In the beginning, I was so enamored by the process – I would wake up and go straight to our site and see how the views and likes had changed! Haha – yeah, I was a dork;) But now….it’s not as shiny I guess. It’s been attempted and somewhat conquered, and we need a challenge.
Listing a Day Challenge – March 2012
Our Listing a Day Challenge is this: MayDae will post one new* listing every day in the month of March. Starting March 1st and ending March 31st. 31 new listings in 31 days.
We are excited about this, but also nervous! One of the ways to make more sales in your Etsy shop is to list items on a regular, consistent basis. We haven’t always been good at this (averaging only 8-9 new listings per month), so the jump from 9 listings to 31 is big for us. Really big.
Each day, we will Tweet, FaceBook, and Instagram (username: @StormieRhoades) each new listing and use #listingaday to tag them (we’ll also use this tag on Etsy itself).
*Each listing for the challenge has to be brand new. Renewals of previous listings won’t count.
I am also going to include my kid’s vintage shop, Fibbie in the challenge! 31 new items in 31 days – ya-hoo! I will also Tweet, FaceBook, and Instagram (username: @Stephanie_May) all of my listings and tag them with #listingaday
*We have absolutely no idea if this will actually help our sales or not. But we commit to try:)
If you have an online store or shop, or if you’ve been wanting to create one, we invite YOU to join us for this challenge. If you do, be sure to tag your listings with #listingaday so we can find you. But even if we’re the only ones, we’re excited to try it. It’s always better than not trying….don’t ya think?
Stormie
Feb 23, 2012 -
Does this mean we actually have to do it now?…. Yikes! :-/
Stephanie May
Feb 23, 2012 -
Hahaha – I guess so! Eeeep :-D
Donna
Feb 23, 2012 -
What an exciting idea. How brave of you. Changing things up always helps me when things get a little boring. Good luck and my prayers are with you.
janet
Feb 23, 2012 -
ohhh, what a great idea – we’ll have to try that! good luck :D
Elise
Feb 23, 2012 -
Oooo! Can’t wait to see all the new goodies! Love you guys, and am inspired by you every day :) Thanks for not giving up on Maydae and Fibbie!
mom
Feb 23, 2012 -
inspirations. Both of you!! xxoo
OliversForest
Feb 25, 2012 -
oh how i admire you for doing this challenge! i totally understand just how much work it is! good luck!!