Tactics for selling in a slow economy.

What changes have you made to your business to keep selling in these rough times?

Are you aware of all the other things you can sell besides handmade crafts on etsy?

Vintage items sell very well on etsy. And etsy considers anything 20 yrs. or older vintage. You can still find some pretty good deals at yardsales.
If this interests you, take the time to study what is popular in vintage right now.

Craft supplies are an excellent seller on etsy. This can be anything from ribbons, laces, fabric to patterns and craft books.
Vintage craft supplies is a separate category and vintage sewing patterns sell very well.

I saw a list of the top sellers on etsy once and quite a few of them were selling the things you mentioned.

I have been interested in selling vintage "Flea Market Finds" I even put a catagory on my site for that. I was afraid of pursuing that until I checked it out with you gals and Etsy and this makes me feel more at ease. I have alot of wonderful flea market vintage items that I want to put on Etsy but since they are a "Handmade" site I hesitated. So if you gals have any thoughts on this, I would appreciate it. Some of my items are, linens, pottery, glass wear, vintage hand mixers and platters and also incorporating making something out of the flea market find too! That's mostly what I have for now. So whadayathink?!?

Cathy
PS. I wanta be a top seller too!!!!!! Well if I could just sell something that would be a start. hehehe!

Don't give up, Cathy. I had an etsy shop for months before I started selling and now I sell every month.

Vintage has it's own category on etsy. The things you mentioned are popular items, too.

Do a search for them on etsy and it will give you an idea about what they are selling for. Pyrex is a hot collectible and they go for pretty good prices.
My daughter found a couple of the small pink mixing bowls at a yardsale for .25 each and I saw them sell for close to $40. But I kept them cause the pink is rare. lol

Craft supplies are another good seller on etsy.

I have not had a single etsy sale in 2009. NOW i was closed all of Jan and been sick most of the year so far but at this point i am not worried. I sew and soap mainly for fun so if it sells great if not I am going to start giving things away on my blog so i have room to create more. It's therphy for me mainly. Keeps the mind off of pain and on to better things. I am going to work on more patterns this year.
I SHOULD sell the BUCKETS of fabric I have statched in the apartment but that would mean measuring and taking picutures. NO energy to do that