The State of the Economy and Sales Cont.

Well, I am back to discuss the state of the economy and how it has effected my sales. For the past three years, I have primarly sold my jewelry exclusively on Rubylane and up until about 6 months ago, I have seen a steady increase in sales. However, with the downturn of the economy, sales have definitely slowed down quite a bit and for the past two months, sales have reached on all time low. In fact, sales for last month were half what they were at this time last year - which is normally a slow month anyhow. In fact, my predominant source of sales for the past two months has been from repeat customers and custom orders. Thank goodness for my faithful followers.

However, with the high cost of maintaining my shop on Rubylane, coupled with the slowdown in sales, I have had to search for more cost effective ways to sell my jewelry which has led me to an internet-wide search for the appropriate venue to showcase my designs. Since I have relatively good exposure on Rubylane, I have no intention of closing my shop there. However, I will be downsizing my selection. This way, my fees will decrease by about 40% per month.

I have also opened a shop on 1000markets.com. This site features high quality handmade items and has a very attractive layout. Vendors are juried before they can open a shop on the site and unlike most web venues, 1000markets has established an agreement with Amazon Payments for customer purchases. A huge plus for me as a vendor is that there are no upfront fees to maintain a shop on the site. 1000markets gets paid when an item sells so the financial burden is lifted when times are tough.

As a designer, it is very hard not to get disappointed and feel like a failure when ones designs aren't flying out the door. It's difficult to find the motivation to create when times are tough. But I realize that things will eventually get better so I am using the time to promote my new shop and to develop creatively as an artist. Until next time, have a great week...and Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Here is my latest creation which can be found in my Rubylane shop.