My First Sell - Treat Yourself
It was the holiday season when I opened LJ Yarn Addiction, so I searched for crocheting ideas that I would have fun making, an item I would purchase for a family member or a friend, or something I would enjoy receiving as a gift. I kept on seeing adorable, crocheted baubles on Pinterest; the more they popped up as I scrolled through all sorts of pins, the more interested I became in crocheting some. I finally made the decision to try my hand at a few but with me nothing is ever simple, and I end up going all out. I drove to Joann’s in search of some round, plastic baubles and I walked out with two 16 count containers. Joann’s had them on sale as a door buster, so I felt justified in purchasing two containers since they were discounted.
I drove home, excited to get crocheting. I went straight to my craft room and searched through my container of scrap yarn. Every crocheter and knitter has some sort of container that is filled to the brim with leftover yarn from projects; lengths of yarn that aren't long enough to complete another project with but just long enough to not want to throw away for the just in cases. There is always that just in case. I need to save this yarn just in case I need this particular color or texture for a small project. I need to save this yarn just in case I want to crochet random granny squares to make a crazy blanket. Or I need to save this yarn just in case one day I decide to crochet 32 plastic baubles.
After dumping my container of leftover yarn on the floor and making piles of colors that would go nicely together, I blasted my music and went to work. I spent the rest of the day in my craft room with the door shut, crocheting away. I ended up making eight sets of four count baubles to list on my shop. The following day was perfect outside for some natural light photos. My photography skills are definitely a work in progress, as you can tell. I recently tried to make my own photo box, which is a whole other story for a different time, and from my research they say your photos make your blog and create your following... Maybe that's why I'm still lagging in that area.
I listed my baubles mid-November hoping they would sell and be delivered in time for whomever purchased them to decorate their tree with. I waited and waited for them to be purchased. Me being inpatient, I thought to myself Maybe this whole Etsy shop is a waste of my time. I was already discouraged since my original two items hadn't sold yet. I wasn't sure how to get noticed; I felt like I was doing something wrong. I had already spent my money on supplies, did I want to venture into advertising? I decided against advertising because I felt since I just started, I didn't have enough product or followers for it to be worth my while. So, I continued to wait.
And wait...
Then before dawn one December morning, December ninth to be exact, I was sound asleep when I was awoken by a voice. My hazy mind woke thinking it heard a woman say, “Treat yourself.” I was bewildered by this because I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming. Like most humans, the first thing I do when I wake is grab my phone. I proceeded to tap my screen to see what time it was and that’s when I saw the notification from Etsy.
I drove home, excited to get crocheting. I went straight to my craft room and searched through my container of scrap yarn. Every crocheter and knitter has some sort of container that is filled to the brim with leftover yarn from projects; lengths of yarn that aren't long enough to complete another project with but just long enough to not want to throw away for the just in cases. There is always that just in case. I need to save this yarn just in case I need this particular color or texture for a small project. I need to save this yarn just in case I want to crochet random granny squares to make a crazy blanket. Or I need to save this yarn just in case one day I decide to crochet 32 plastic baubles.
After dumping my container of leftover yarn on the floor and making piles of colors that would go nicely together, I blasted my music and went to work. I spent the rest of the day in my craft room with the door shut, crocheting away. I ended up making eight sets of four count baubles to list on my shop. The following day was perfect outside for some natural light photos. My photography skills are definitely a work in progress, as you can tell. I recently tried to make my own photo box, which is a whole other story for a different time, and from my research they say your photos make your blog and create your following... Maybe that's why I'm still lagging in that area.
I listed my baubles mid-November hoping they would sell and be delivered in time for whomever purchased them to decorate their tree with. I waited and waited for them to be purchased. Me being inpatient, I thought to myself Maybe this whole Etsy shop is a waste of my time. I was already discouraged since my original two items hadn't sold yet. I wasn't sure how to get noticed; I felt like I was doing something wrong. I had already spent my money on supplies, did I want to venture into advertising? I decided against advertising because I felt since I just started, I didn't have enough product or followers for it to be worth my while. So, I continued to wait.
And wait...
Then before dawn one December morning, December ninth to be exact, I was sound asleep when I was awoken by a voice. My hazy mind woke thinking it heard a woman say, “Treat yourself.” I was bewildered by this because I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming. Like most humans, the first thing I do when I wake is grab my phone. I proceeded to tap my screen to see what time it was and that’s when I saw the notification from Etsy.
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| Purple Love Baubles |
I had my first sell! A set of four Purple Love Baubles.
I was ecstatic when I saw this, my heart started to race and of course I had to wake my husband to tell him the good news. It was a quarter past twelve in the morning and it was a Wednesday, so a workday. I don’t think my husband really knew what was going on because as soon as I told him, he immediately fell back to sleep. I, on the other hand, was so excited over the news of my first sell that I would not be falling asleep any time soon. I thought of how I immediately had to get the purchaser’s order in the mail, but what box would I mail it in, and would I be able to mail the package within my given time frame allotted since I work Monday through Friday. I eventually went back to sleep even with my mind racing.
When I woke up again the same morning, I messaged the purchaser on Etsy thanking her for supporting my shop. My message went without a response which is to be expected, I guess. After work that day, I stopped by Michaels to find the perfect box to mail the baubles in and a box the buyer would also be able to use for storage. It was prime time for holiday shopping, so this small task ended up taking longer than expected because of the long line. The package made it to the post office in time and I included a thank you card with a request for her to leave me a review if she liked her baubles.
I was hoping to receive some sort of message or a review, but I never did. I would never know if she liked them or if they were what she had in mind when she purchased them. It made me consider myself and how often I leave reviews, which is not often enough. I didn’t know this would bother me so much. I committed to myself that from now on when I purchase from an Etsy shop or a small business, I would leave reviews. Since, after all, reviews are how small businesses thrive in this large corporation world.
Happy crocheting my friends!
I was ecstatic when I saw this, my heart started to race and of course I had to wake my husband to tell him the good news. It was a quarter past twelve in the morning and it was a Wednesday, so a workday. I don’t think my husband really knew what was going on because as soon as I told him, he immediately fell back to sleep. I, on the other hand, was so excited over the news of my first sell that I would not be falling asleep any time soon. I thought of how I immediately had to get the purchaser’s order in the mail, but what box would I mail it in, and would I be able to mail the package within my given time frame allotted since I work Monday through Friday. I eventually went back to sleep even with my mind racing.
When I woke up again the same morning, I messaged the purchaser on Etsy thanking her for supporting my shop. My message went without a response which is to be expected, I guess. After work that day, I stopped by Michaels to find the perfect box to mail the baubles in and a box the buyer would also be able to use for storage. It was prime time for holiday shopping, so this small task ended up taking longer than expected because of the long line. The package made it to the post office in time and I included a thank you card with a request for her to leave me a review if she liked her baubles.
I was hoping to receive some sort of message or a review, but I never did. I would never know if she liked them or if they were what she had in mind when she purchased them. It made me consider myself and how often I leave reviews, which is not often enough. I didn’t know this would bother me so much. I committed to myself that from now on when I purchase from an Etsy shop or a small business, I would leave reviews. Since, after all, reviews are how small businesses thrive in this large corporation world.
Happy crocheting my friends!
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