Tuesday Tip: Buy/Trade Stuff on Etsy!

A lot of etsians offer great products, yet their shops go unnoticed. This week is the third entry in a several-week series of tuesday tips about ways to improve your etsy karma... These are ways I have found to get people into my shop. And the more people go through my shop, the more likely I am to make a sale!

Obviously I'm not suggesting that you buy random things you don't need, but when you buy something on etsy then:
1--you will get feedback points (many buyers are hesitant to buy from someone with little or no feedback)
2--probably the seller will visit your shop in return, may ♥ you (and we know how good that is!), and if they are ever looking for your type of item, there is a better chance that they will shop with you because you are familiar.

If you are broke, try trading! Some folks do trades off-the-record, but unless I already know the person, I do it just like a regular sale--I 'buy' something from them, and they 'buy' something from me...the only difference is that we don't send any money to each other. I have never been burned in a trade, but working through the system ensures that if I ever were, I would be able to report the person via negative feedback.
With a trade you get feedback, and the ♥, plus there is the added advantage of creating a personal connection with the other etsian, and that is a great way to get return buyers!

How do you find people to trade with? There are two main ways: direct approach, and open chats. To directly approach someone, just search around until you find an item you want, then send a convo to the seller asking if they would be interested in a trade. They may say yes, and they may say no thanks, but I've never seen anyone be rude about it. Another easy way is to go into etsy chat, and look for one of the "buy-sell-trade" rooms. Different rooms are open at different times, but on weekend nights there are usually a few open rooms, and there always seems to be one that is trade-friendly. I have made quite a few trades with people in chat rooms--people I might not have found otherwise, but hey they were there and I was there and the opportunity just happened. We work out the details as we sit and chat. It's a lot of fun! (There is a third, more passive, way to trade, and that is to have a note in your shop announcement that says you like trading--people will approach you and you can go from there.)