# Places to Sell T Shirts (Ebay Alternative wanted)



## The T Shirt Man

Hello,
I have been printing and selling T Shirts for over a year now, this has been online only, mostly through Ebay, but i also have my website aswell.

The T Shirts i sell are Slogan T Shirts, and the method i use is T Shirt Vinyl (Flex). Other than "slogan T Shirts" i dont have a specific market, i print lots of funny slogans, offensive, and also custom T Shirts, i print a wide range of subjects.

I have been selling on Ebay and it is going good, however it has slowed down in recent times, and is also getting more expensive. My website gets a bit of traffic, through search engines and because of Ebay, but maybe only selling 10 a week (Ebay i sell 40-60 a week, and at its peak last winter over 100).
It has not just slowed down for me, i have read about lots of people who have said the same, and i would like to sell my T Shirts in many different marketplaces to increase profits.

I am looking for other places to sell my T Shirts, either Online or offline, and i am looking for ideas.

I have read around the forum and have done some things, but they dont seem to have the "gaurentee" of at least breaking even like Ebay does.
I have tried Google ads, and also advert in a local newspaper, but because i am only online if someone were to phone me i cannot process the credit card, i have to tell them to go to the website which is not the best situation.

any ideas?


----------



## T-BOT

:welcome: 

Hi,
There are alternative places online where you can set up stores etc... (cafe press spreashirt and so on..).

The problem with having too many stores is that it involves that many times more of work to maintain them.

One way to increase your sales is to concentrate on what you have acomplished so far on Ebay and your site, work with that to generate more sales revenue. Try different things like "add-on" sales etc. 

...just my2c.


----------



## The T Shirt Man

I know about Cafepress, but it is away from what i want to do. From what i know basically you upload your design and they print and ship it to your customer. I do not want that, i want to keep everything in house, and "do it all myself". Oh, i am also in UK and cafepress is USA, so its not the best situation.
Basically i am looking for other channels to sell my slogan T Shirts, this will go along with Ebay, i will not leave it because i do make money from it, but i want other revenue streams because at the moment it is like i am relying on Ebay and it is not a good thing.


----------



## Rodney

> I have read around the forum and have done some things, but they dont seem to have the "gaurentee" of at least breaking even like Ebay does.


There are no real "guarantees" anywhere, but setting up your own website to process orders securely online in realtime can be a good way to make sales whether you are around or not.

Having a website out side of eBay gives you a separate presence that you can advertise in many different ways (online, offline, google ads, search engine optimization, magazines, etc)

It will take time and research to market your website correctly. You can "try out" google adwords, but to do it right, it does take some work to find the right keywords, the right bid amount, the right ad text, the right landing page, the right website layout to convert the shoppers, etc.

Same with an offline ad. A classified ad in the back of your local paper might not be the most effective, but that doesn't mean you should write off all newspaper advertising. Figure out who your target market is and what they are reading (blogs/newspapers/magazines) and find the most effective way to reach them there.


----------



## The T Shirt Man

I know there are no gaurentee's, but i have found that if i list on Ebay i dont sell all my items, far from it, however i do sell some, far more than a google ad if you weigh up how much i spend.

I have my site out of Ebay however it is hard to get traffic to it, and out of the traffic it is really pointless unless it converts to a sale. It has been going for over a year, and i have put some work in regarding SEO, having static URLs, no sids for search engines and so on.

How is "Ebay Express" doing in the US?? It is launching here soon (UK), but i know it is available to US users now. Has anyone with an Ebay shop seen an improvement in their sales?


----------



## Rodney

> I have my site out of Ebay however it is hard to get traffic to it, and out of the traffic it is really pointless unless it converts to a sale. It has been going for over a year, and i have put some work in regarding SEO, having static URLs, no sids for search engines and so on.


I think with some more work, advertising, link building, and marketing, you could get some really good sales from search engines and other sources (providing that your website is done right, your prices are right and your designs are marketable).


----------



## renwick

Is it me or does everyone think ebay is the holy grail of selling ok it has its good points.Fast sales ,easy use what i can recommend that i am doing
is looking at small clothing stores.Unlike you i do heatpress sublimation and now i`m trying screen print.So i`m trying all styles to make a bigger market for me to sell.
As you know loads of small shops sell 60`s `70`s and 80`s design tees they are all over now .I supply 2 with sale and return its worth ago for the sake of say 10 tees in each shop.


----------



## The T Shirt Man

I dont think it is the holy grail, but you can advertise your T-Shirts to a massive audiance for relativly low cost (however it costs alot more these days, i mean in comparison to other marketing).

I would love to get my T-Shirts out offline, but most stores here are big chains that wouldnt buy. I have no experience in selling to stores but i would love to do it.

Still would like to know how Ebay Express is doing over in the U.S if there are any sellers here who use it; Have you sold more/less/the same before it opened


----------



## Jasonda

The T Shirt Man said:


> I am looking for other places to sell my T Shirts, either Online or offline, and i am looking for ideas.
> 
> I have read around the forum and have done some things, but they dont seem to have the "gaurentee" of at least breaking even like Ebay does.
> I have tried Google ads, and also advert in a local newspaper, but because i am only online if someone were to phone me i cannot process the credit card, i have to tell them to go to the website which is not the best situation.


Have you tried online classifieds like craigslist and kijiji? I don't think you are going to get anywhere near the same volume of Ebay but it might be a good way to get the word out. If you do place ads in the classifieds (online or off) you can just point them to your website.

Probably the best idea is to re-invest in your website. Have it updated by a professional if you can afford it. Do a *lot* more marketing. If you want, you can post it in the site review section and we can take a look.


----------



## aokusman

Etsy.com
Etsy.com


----------



## fletchy

In terms of driving traffic to your site, you're stuff would have to be really high quality for any of this to work but approach the big blogs like:

addic(tee)d
tcritic
tshirt alert
i love your tshirt

post your designs on community sites
a better tommorow
twars (part of tcritic)

There are probably ton's more but i forget....


----------



## HeavyweightTeez

Try setting up shop at a swap meet or indoor strip mall type setting. Logo and slogan shirts seem to do very well here in So Cal. Also like someone else suggested really concentrate on stronge points with ebay and you will be surprised how much business you can generate. Try advertising on your vehicle has well. A simple web site on your car goes a long way. Just somemore ideas. By the way I also sell on ebay.


----------



## flwise1

i have possibly offensive designs, will e-bay cut me off?


----------



## The T Shirt Man

flwise1 said:


> i have possibly offensive designs, will e-bay cut me off?


It depends what Ebay decide is too offensive. You cant write swear words, racism or hateful things...I got a t-shirt taken off for a slogan which said "i hate germany" which isnt very offensive at all and was just fun, i have had worse t-shirts stay on before and seen other people with worse including swear words.

Ebay UK has now gotten worse. There is no "T-Shirt" category anymore, there is only "mens clothing" Ebay UK say that it is better for people because there is now a finder so the buyer can goto mens category and search for exactly what they want. This has taken away browsing for people, it has effected sales by a large amount, i am now concentrating on building my website.

I do not understand why they have done this, all other Ebay sites such as Ebay.com Ebay.de Ebay.it Ebay.es and so on have a shirts or t-shirts category and a finder so a buyer can use both.

The worst part is Ebay claim that "sales havent dropped across the board for mens clothing" so they wont change it back. This is clearly a lie, i have felt the effects and i know other sellers have too.


----------



## oakclothing

I would like to re-iterate that ETSY is fantastic! I sell almost exclusively on ETSY and have been making pretty good sales.
The interface for setting up your 'shop' is easy and very professional looking. The listings only cost twenty cents US and stay active until your item has sold or 6 months have past. You can upload as many as 6 images of your product at no additional cost and most customers pay with paypal so no more waiting for your payments to arrive in the mail.....
they also offer an HTML coding called Etsy Mini which you can then imbed on your website or myspace pages, which is also pretty stylish and super easy to use.
I have had nothing but great experiences both buying and selling on ETSY, so check it out


----------



## Quattroporte

If you target a younger crowd, myspace is perfect. You can't do much with it, but people who would want to reccomend your brand can tell all their friends and it's a good way to make contacts.

However, you have to occupy a certain niche to do so. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of time (myspace is very slow!)


----------



## Robert H

The T Shirt Man said:


> I know there are no gaurentee's, but i have found that if i list on Ebay i dont sell all my items, far from it, however i do sell some, far more than a google ad if you weigh up how much i spend.
> 
> I have my site out of Ebay however it is hard to get traffic to it, and out of the traffic it is really pointless unless it converts to a sale. It has been going for over a year, and i have put some work in regarding SEO, having static URLs, no sids for search engines and so on.
> 
> How is "Ebay Express" doing in the US?? It is launching here soon (UK), but i know it is available to US users now. Has anyone with an Ebay shop seen an improvement in their sales?


Can you link to your ebay store, I am interested in seeing the type of designs you are listing and the fashion. I am looking into listing items on ebay along side an eCommerce store.


----------



## Solmu

EnvyApparel said:


> Can you link to your ebay store


Not without breaking the forum guidelines on self-promotion 

You could send the user a private message for that kind of info.


----------



## Robert H

Solmu said:


> Not without breaking the forum guidelines on self-promotion
> 
> You could send the user a private message for that kind of info.



in that case, can you send me a PM?


----------



## mrad

Check out ETSY.COM!


----------



## Rodney

EnvyApparel said:


> in that case, can you send me a PM?


You can send the user a PM directly by clicking on their username. That way you don't have to wait for them to return to the site or remember to PM you 

In general, it's best to go ahead and send a PM instead making a post asking someone to PM you. That way your message goes directly to the source.


----------



## ctcpool

I have tried both Ebay and Cafepress with little success. I have lost money the few times I've gone the Ebay route and haven't sold anything yet on Cafepress. I've only been on Cafepress for a little over a month and haven't gone out of my way to promote it so maybe it will happen. If I find another avenue that works, I'll be sure to post it.


----------



## The T Shirt Man

This thread is over 18 months old!!!

Since then i have stopped Ebay completly, and concentrated on only my website. Things have gone well, and i am forever growing and getting higher in google 

Cafepress and such have never been an option for me, it doesnt feel like you are in control, its more for a t-shirt designer imo and not for a business.

I dont think i ever really "lost" money on ebay, that was the good thing, i always at least made money even if it was hardly anything. But they take too much and you do not make enough these days i have found.


----------



## Ricky

You need to promote yourself.
Print your own flyers and pass them out in your community. Let them know you are there. Pass them out at churches, schools, local chambers of commerce, public parking lots, etc...

When you send payments by mail stick a flyer or business card in the envelope with the payment.

Advertise on T-Shirts, (front and back) wear them whenever out in public, especailly where there will be large groups of people.

Advertise on your car.

Good Luck
Ricky


----------



## mckaymental

nice ideas guys!


----------



## CoopersDesignCo

How about Amazon.com? I know that they are mostly known for books, music, etc. but they are expanding to add more items. I think you can set up a shop for 30 days, then 59.99 after. It seems that you could probably piggyback off of they're marketing, and get some exposure for your business.


----------



## treadhead

Solmu said:


> Not without breaking the forum guidelines on self-promotion
> 
> You could send the user a private message for that kind of info.


Could it not be put in your signature then??


----------



## livinlovetees

Thanks for the heads up on etsy. I hadn't heard of it before.


----------



## debz1959

CoopersDesignCo said:


> How about Amazon.com? I know that they are mostly known for books, music, etc. but they are expanding to add more items. I think you can set up a shop for 30 days, then 59.99 after. It seems that you could probably piggyback off of they're marketing, and get some exposure for your business.


You can't sell t-shirts on Amazon. They have their specific apparel vendors. 

Their $59.99 a month store is not connected to their main site. It's more like a webhosting with shopping cart site, just like a Yahoo! store. 

You can try Overstock.com Auctions.


----------



## Biscuit

Etsy isn't much help to those of us in the UK sadly


----------



## Fractured01

Just remember to target areas that the vast majority of people have disposable income. 

I go to Con's(conventions) Preferably Sci-fi. But only bring shirts that tender to that crowd. 

FYI: most people at con's have an open sense of humor and are very smart.


----------



## bornintoit

debz1959 said:


> You can't sell t-shirts on Amazon. They have their specific apparel vendors.
> 
> Their $59.99 a month store is not connected to their main site. It's more like a webhosting with shopping cart site, just like a Yahoo! store.
> 
> You can try Overstock.com Auctions.


 
Actually, you can sell t-shirts on Amazon. They're fairly strict with images and content, but they do approve some t-shirt companies. It's worth a shot I would say.


----------



## goonatic

Also try ecrater.com It is a free marketplace, mostly comprised of ex-ebayers. They have received a lot of press recently due to the ebay policy changes. You can list as many items as you want in your store. Google does crawl the site, so even if you don't get any hits you may be able to get back-links to your main site. I set up an ecrater shop last week. No sales yet. But it's free and easy.

Good Luck,
Mark


----------



## pshawny

I started using etsy about 3 weeks ago. I have sold 2 shirts so far & have 115 listings. It is really easy to use. I might give ecrater a try too, it looks like they have a good amount of traffic.


----------



## rachel0814

I also wish to get sale at Ebay . But , I even do not know how to do . As It seams different to chinese .


----------



## TORACHI

Get out and start locally. talk to biz owners, put an ad on your car, quality products, and word of mouth are the best refferals


----------



## BurningThreads

Biscuit said:


> Etsy isn't much help to those of us in the UK sadly


I can not say I have done too well on etsy.com but I do not put much effort. Ebay has been better so far.

But I am in the US and have sold a shirt to someone in Australia and in the UK. As long as you are willing to ship out of the UK, there is potential in my opinion.


----------



## CUSTOM UK

I ship worldwide, it is the massive ramp on oil prices and its direct effect on international shipping costs, that has had a significant impact on trading with other countries.

There are a couple of US sellers using EBay UK and whilst their shirts are cheaper, by the time international shipping is added on, they actually work out noticeably more expensive.


----------



## BlackAndOrange

_"I have tried Google ads, and also advert in a local newspaper, *but because i am only online if someone were to phone me i cannot process the credit card*, i have to tell them to go to the website which is not the best situation."

_I didnt read this whole thread so I apologize if someone else pointed this out. You're selling on ebay already, right? You say that you sell 40-60 shirts a week, right? Well, I can only assume that you're already using Paypal to accept payment. If you go to Paypal and click on "Products & Services", you can create "Buy Now" buttons for your items and store them in a file somewhere on your computer. Then, when someone calls, you click on the button as if you're buying the item and process the order with their info. They *dont* have to be registered with Paypal to make the payment and you get to by-pass the ebay fees [still have to pay standard Paypal fees]. Some folks may be freaked out about giving up personal info over the phone, but they would be doing the same thing if they stumbled across your website and wanted to make an order, so why not give it a shot.


----------



## WTC

Ebay is particularly helpful if you have an eclectic array of designs. I have multiple retail websites catering to different crowds, but can copy and paste the postings into my eBay store for twice the visibility. If you have a store as opposed to an auction listing, the price per post is only like $.18 until it sells, so there is little danger in taking a chance on new designs. I think most of the people who lose money on eBay are using the auction feature, paying to post it, and losing it all when no one buys. Get a store, sell as inventory, and that way you don't really pay unless you sell.


----------



## Vikram01

I skipped a few page of comments, but a good place to sell them could be an island in the mall, or perhaps multiple websites offering the same thing (not much of an increase, but probably a little more), also submitting to cafepress, ETSY, and a few other sites like that certainly can't hurt sales, only add to visitors to your site. Perhaps you could link them from cafepress to your site or something? I'm not quite sure how that works.

Just something to think about


----------



## tpmcneal

I have a question in regards to ETSY....I am about to have a t-shirt designed and printed to sell online. Although ETSY says must be handmade, do the hold people to that? I want to follow the rules, just want to understand how they mean it and how they apply it.


----------



## 2Dye4

Check out artfire.com too. It's a new etsy alternative. Very easy to set up with some great features.

Jo


----------



## crafylineseller

Hello

I've been looking for an Ebay alternative ever since I started selling on Ebay . So far I haven't found too many that I would be interested in trying. Today I was searching Google and I came across a site that seems promising but there aren't too many items listed http://www.findsit.com I've been searching for an Ebay alternative for quite some time now but haven't been able to find a site that meets my needs, so far this is the only site that I've found to feature a built in shopping cart, shipping calculator and a look that would fit in with my niche. Once this site begins picking up, I may just give it a try. I've contacted the owners of the site asking them why they have such a small amount of listing, they replied stating that they just released the site in beta on May 25 2009. I'll give it a bit more time but I feel it may be worth my time .


----------



## uncletee

check out bigcartel.com easy to set up, runs through paypal.


----------



## gvnut

This is an easy one there is a website called emptees.com you can go there and upload your work where people can see it and make comments and click the buy now button if you say that it is for sale. When you click the buy now button you can set it up so that it goes to your account at a site called bigcartel.com I have my stuff up and just started taking orders on that.


----------



## siliipolly

Hi,

I found your information really helpful. I have never heard of ETSY and looked it up. I haven't hand made my shirts. Do you know any other good looking sites that don't have that particlar rule??

Thanks

Polly


----------



## Abij

as far as i know at etsy you don't have to have handmade the actual shirts as long as you hand customised them, i.e. vinyl/screenprint etc is fine. 

Also someone mentioned that being based in the uk there's no point using etsy - not at all , there's lots of uk shops and sellers, if you go to the shop locally section you'll see. It's just that they list all the items in US dollars.


----------



## siliipolly

Abij said:


> as far as i know at etsy you don't have to have handmade the actual shirts as long as you hand customised them, i.e. vinyl/screenprint etc is fine.
> 
> Also someone mentioned that being based in the uk there's no point using etsy - not at all , there's lots of uk shops and sellers, if you go to the shop locally section you'll see. It's just that they list all the items in US dollars.


Thanks for that. I will go back and look at ETSY again. Thanks for your time.
Polly


----------



## Abij

just found another site, it's called Folksy (.com) and it has the look of etsy but seems to be uk based. Not sure how we it does but i might try it out.


----------



## gr9719

The T Shirt Man said:


> Hello,
> I have been printing and selling T Shirts for over a year now, this has been online only, mostly through Ebay, but i also have my website aswell.
> 
> The T Shirts i sell are Slogan T Shirts, and the method i use is T Shirt Vinyl (Flex). Other than "slogan T Shirts" i dont have a specific market, i print lots of funny slogans, offensive, and also custom T Shirts, i print a wide range of subjects.
> 
> I have been selling on Ebay and it is going good, however it has slowed down in recent times, and is also getting more expensive. My website gets a bit of traffic, through search engines and because of Ebay, but maybe only selling 10 a week (Ebay i sell 40-60 a week, and at its peak last winter over 100).
> It has not just slowed down for me, i have read about lots of people who have said the same, and i would like to sell my T Shirts in many different marketplaces to increase profits.
> 
> I am looking for other places to sell my T Shirts, either Online or offline, and i am looking for ideas.
> 
> I have read around the forum and have done some things, but they dont seem to have the "gaurentee" of at least breaking even like Ebay does.
> I have tried Google ads, and also advert in a local newspaper, but because i am only online if someone were to phone me i cannot process the credit card, i have to tell them to go to the website which is not the best situation.
> 
> any ideas?


I'm curious, what isthe link to your store?


----------



## mistermugs

I print a variety of tees from my home using a Brother gt 541 . I have found Craig's list to be a good sourc since I advertise there under the services provided category . I have done shirts for businesses ; tea party groups; and church and school groups .
good luck;
mistermugsy


----------



## Jerry989

Try posting on MVPTraders thet have free listings.


----------



## hanan24

This is really awesome question and very helpful for me in selling my tshirts. Thanks a lot


----------



## shirtnewbie

Create your own website 
It takes some work, but is very rewarding.


----------



## videorov

How do you know what size shirts to keep in your stock? What sizes. and 100% cotton I know shrinks alot.
I have always thought that was one thing about printing shirts, having to keep all diffrent sizes or do you?
Im thinking about doing some T-shirt printing. I use to do large format art printing for people but want to
create some of my own stuff mainly music realated graphic stuff.


----------



## jamal alnafea

Greetings to all. On good advice. I hope for a friend the Man T-shirt all the best for to his insistence on the success and the quality of his product


----------



## ChillaxTees

oakclothing said:


> I would like to re-iterate that ETSY is fantastic! I sell almost exclusively on ETSY and have been making pretty good sales.
> The interface for setting up your 'shop' is easy and very professional looking. The listings only cost twenty cents US and stay active until your item has sold or 6 months have past. You can upload as many as 6 images of your product at no additional cost and most customers pay with paypal so no more waiting for your payments to arrive in the mail.....
> they also offer an HTML coding called Etsy Mini which you can then imbed on your website or myspace pages, which is also pretty stylish and super easy to use.
> I have had nothing but great experiences both buying and selling on ETSY, so check it out




Great info... So I have built a web site and on Etsy, and posted a design on Ebay. I am getting seen but very little as most of my sales are through word of mouth. I am ready to start making a little business out of my hobby. 

Can you recommend ways to market yourself on Etsy? I'm sure there are many many ways but what has worked best for you? I appreciate the help,
Sunny


----------



## NoXid

ChillaxTees said:


> Great info... So I have built a web site and on Etsy, and posted a design on Ebay. I am getting seen but very little as most of my sales are through word of mouth. I am ready to start making a little business out of my hobby.
> 
> Can you recommend ways to market yourself on Etsy? I'm sure there are many many ways but what has worked best for you? I appreciate the help,
> Sunny


 Sorry, but I am afraid you are stuck in a dead end time loop and won't be getting a reply from that user.

Seriously, people should pay a little more attention to the dates next to posts and stuff ... Anyway, that user made one, and only one, post on the site, and that was in 2007. Uhm, and you quoted it and asked for more info 

Uhm, but I'm not _really_ here to give you a hard time. Honest 

I put up a quick Etsy page with only a few items about 3 weeks ago. Now I am preparing to put up all my designs, so when this thread floated to the top, it caught my eye.

I can only share what I have read, and what Etsy tells you themselves, as I'm not far enough into this to really know what works.

So ...

Keywords. These will turn up in Google searches, so you want to choose keywords that people really use when looking for what you have to sell.

Same goes for product titles. 

My store looks utterly pathetic with only 3 items on it. So if you got it, put it up already. You can't sell what you don't list, and the store will look more legitimate with more things on it.

Spend some time on your banner and logo graphics. I just redid mine today with properly reworked and rescaled versions of the art I use on my own web site.

Make sure the main image for each item is properly scaled and fitted to the frame it appears in on your main page. It took me a bit to realize how to adjust that with Etsy's interface.

Make sure some of your SEO keywords/phrases come up in your item descriptions.

Put the time in to write decent info for the site. There is a section for Policies and one to describe your business and how it works and such. That business section is an opportunity to express the personality of your enterprise; you can add some photos to that part.

Once you get ALL of that squared away, one might consider the various paid means of promoting yourself on Etsy.


----------



## ChillaxTees

NoXid said:


> Sorry, but I am afraid you are stuck in a dead end time loop and won't be getting a reply from that user.
> 
> Seriously, people should pay a little more attention to the dates next to posts and stuff ... Anyway, that user made one, and only one, post on the site, and that was in 2007. Uhm, and you quoted it and asked for more info
> 
> Uhm, but I'm not _really_ here to give you a hard time. Honest
> 
> I put up a quick Etsy page with only a few items about 3 weeks ago. Now I am preparing to put up all my designs, so when this thread floated to the top, it caught my eye.
> 
> I can only share what I have read, and what Etsy tells you themselves, as I'm not far enough into this to really know what works.
> 
> So ...
> 
> Keywords. These will turn up in Google searches, so you want to choose keywords that people really use when looking for what you have to sell.
> 
> Same goes for product titles.
> 
> My store looks utterly pathetic with only 3 items on it. So if you got it, put it up already. You can't sell what you don't list, and the store will look more legitimate with more things on it.
> 
> Spend some time on your banner and logo graphics. I just redid mine today with properly reworked and rescaled versions of the art I use on my own web site.
> 
> Make sure the main image for each item is properly scaled and fitted to the frame it appears in on your main page. It took me a bit to realize how to adjust that with Etsy's interface.
> 
> Make sure some of your SEO keywords/phrases come up in your item descriptions.
> 
> Put the time in to write decent info for the site. There is a section for Policies and one to describe your business and how it works and such. That business section is an opportunity to express the personality of your enterprise; you can add some photos to that part.
> 
> Once you get ALL of that squared away, one might consider the various paid means of promoting yourself on Etsy.


Wow... no problem here taking the beating on dates,,,,, Holly crap I was not close to paying attention on that.

Its funny because I make a new post sometime because the other about the subject are so damn old I know things have changed. But... sometimes I dig deeper and find things and there you go... look what happens.

About Etsy, I think I did pretty well on my site. Its Chillax Tees and I'm not great at designing but think I faked it pretty well. Take a look and let me know what you think. I do have issues making good mockups but getting better at it. 
No sales to date from Etsy but I know I need to work at marketing. I'll look over you notes and see what I can do. 

And hey, appreciate the wake up kick on dates

Take care,


----------



## NoXid

ChillaxTees said:


> Wow... no problem here taking the beating on dates,,,,, Holly crap I was not close to paying attention on that.
> 
> Its funny because I make a new post sometime because the other about the subject are so damn old I know things have changed. But... sometimes I dig deeper and find things and there you go... look what happens.
> 
> About Etsy, I think I did pretty well on my site. Its Chillax Tees and I'm not great at designing but think I faked it pretty well. Take a look and let me know what you think. I do have issues making good mockups but getting better at it.
> No sales to date from Etsy but I know I need to work at marketing. I'll look over you notes and see what I can do.
> 
> And hey, appreciate the wake up kick on dates
> 
> Take care,


Okay, took a quick look, so here's a few things to consider:


The shirts I clicked on all said "Only 1 available". You need to set your quantity to something like 100, else you will have to reset that shirt/item every time you sell one.
How do people say what size they want? Use the Option feature to add a drop-down list of sizes (this can include different prices for different sizes if needed).
As I mentioned above, you can control how the shirt is centered/framed in the smallish icon on your main page. I would zoom in tighter on the text/graphic of each design, maybe still showing a sleeve on one side so it is obvious that it is a shirt. Else no one can see what the shirt is really about without clicking on it, and why would they click on it if they can't see enough of it to take an interest? (This is my default gripe about most people's T-shirt sites, not just your Etsy page.)


----------



## ChillaxTees

sounds very good... The shirt mock up was so difficult to get working but i'll definitely will look to improve 

i really appreciate the extra help...


----------



## iMadeATshirt

oakclothing said:


> I would like to re-iterate that ETSY is fantastic! I sell almost exclusively on ETSY and have been making pretty good sales.
> The interface for setting up your 'shop' is easy and very professional looking. The listings only cost twenty cents US and stay active until your item has sold or 6 months have past. You can upload as many as 6 images of your product at no additional cost and most customers pay with paypal so no more waiting for your payments to arrive in the mail.....
> they also offer an HTML coding called Etsy Mini which you can then imbed on your website or myspace pages, which is also pretty stylish and super easy to use.
> I have had nothing but great experiences both buying and selling on ETSY, so check it out



Etsy Sucks dont waste your time, The verification process is the worst and they can shut down your account at any moment. They held ALOT of money of mine and told me they would give it back to me in a year.


----------



## CarlT

I opened an Etsy store a week ago and have done OK with it. Gotten several sales in the first few days.
It is easy to use and no monthly fee like some others.
You can create shirts or other products. The "hand made" thing is the fact that you take materials and create something from them. As tshirt printers, we take a shirt and a print design and join them together by using a heat press or other printer and so in Etsy's definition we fit the bill. Now if you just took someone else's shirt, or bought some in a store then sold them, yeah that is against policy.
There are advantages to creating your own website, but then you have have a payment option set up, perhaps even a payment gateway and all the headache that comes with that. I like Etsy because you pay .20 per product listing, in USA a 3.5% fee and a 3%+.25 credit card processing fee, for each purchase that was paid for by cards.
Most of these fees are fees you would have to pay in some form or other PLUS a monthly fee at other sites and doing it directly with you processing cards, so it is more cost efficient I think. 
I have had no problems with Etsy. But I have only been there a week. We will see.


----------



## NoXid

iMadeATshirt said:


> Etsy Sucks dont waste your time, The verification process is the worst and they can shut down your account at any moment. They held ALOT of money of mine and told me they would give it back to me in a year.


Verification was easy for me ... had to paste a bit of code onto the page, right? Worked fine. But I know my way around code fairly well, so understood where to paste it.

Some people gripe about PayPal for holding money as a result of customer disputes. Is that the sort of thing you ran in to with Etsy?

Just a thought, but I think some people do themselves a disservice by pricing too low ... tends to attract BAD customers. Attract good customers and do your best to please them, even when they are dead wrong. That is life in business, not just on Etsy.

The main point of something like Etsy is the exposure to their customer base. You can either pay for advertising or go where the people already are, or both. Got to get seen to sell.


----------



## Maxcat

Chillax,

I have no idea how Etsy works with tags, keywords or whatever. But, I went over to look at your shirts and just searched the word Chillax. The search returned three pages of results and you didn't turn up at all. 

I then searched Chillax tees and again none of your designs came up. 

I was only when I clicked on "did you mean chillax tees shop?" that I found your store.

Don't know how search works on Etsy but you need to do something to make your designs come up in the search for the work chillax. If I saw someone wearing your shirt and did a quick search on etsy I might quit before I found you. The one item of clothing that appears several times is a lacrosse hoodie. 

Best of luck


----------

