Letting It Go
Goodbye Etsy. Sort Of.
After much preverication, I’ve decided to shut down my Graciousgood Etsy account. I’ve been a seller for a long time. I started this blog as a way to promote my Etsy shop. Despite the history, deciding to shut it down was an easy decision: the culture of Etsy has shifted from being a supportive space for sellers of vintage and handmade goods, and if you don’t do things like buying ads or providing free shipping, they will basically bury your listings. I’m also quitting because postage fees are increasing, buyers have become weird and entitled and various countries have changed import regulations. I just don’t have the energy to deal with it anymore.
So here’s what’s going to happen. I’ve been having good responses selling on Poshmark. The App is easy to use. I’m limiting sales to just Canada so I don’t have to deal with customs. There seems to be more of an audience for clothing and accessories (always a difficult sell on Etsy) plus the platform is also becoming more of a destination for buyers seeking jewellery and watches. The listing fees are also less onerous.
The plan is to migrate most things to Poshmark by the end of the month. I’m also taking some true Vintage pieces to Mrs. Huizenga’s.
The next piece of the puzzle is closing down my art and housewares shop, EarnestineArt. Poshmark is starting to sell more objets, but the current traffic probably doesn’t justify switching. Plus shipping large, heavy objects can cost more than the asking price. Instead I’m going to leave things on Etsy while cross listing on Facebook Marketplace. I’ve currently listed two prints with no success thus far. If it’s a fail, I may try shopping them around in my Instagram stories. We’ll see. I am tired of all the side hustling.
I do, however, have to downsize. I may not be paying cash money to store these things but the psychic cost of having too many things is starting to take its toll. If this corporate restructuring doesn’t pan out, you can do expect a heck of a yard sale come the spring.