Right. You're probably thinking maybe that wasn't the first thing that came to mind.
But here's the thing. The shop had gotten kind our of control. Like an octopus that kept growing more arms. Because every time I made a new design that I liked I took a picture and added it to the options. But then eventually it occurred to me that making everything to order was fun and all (and allowed for a LOT of options), but it wasn't terrifically practical for gift givers. And since LOTS of the people who shop on Etsy are looking for gifts, that meant my shop was of no use to a lot of buyers. So then I started a "Ready to Ship" section and kept a few pieces around for people in a hurry. But then I got a little more serious and started keeping a lot of Ready to Ship pieces in stock. Which meant I had a jumble of over 100 bracelets and necklaces and earrings and rings all in one section. And all of which were duplicates of the made to order listings. Frankly I don't know how anyone was finding anything to order. (But people did, and for that I am grateful!)
 |
| This is what my Etsy shop felt like - a giant jumble of fun in the middle of studio. Fun, but not so efficient. |
So when I hit the end of the ordering period for made-to-order Christmas gifts I decided something had to give. And that something was all of these insane duplicate listings, and also possibly the whole "made to order" concept. Especially for the rest of December. So I spent all day Saturday (literally, all day), revamping things. I took down all of Ready to Ship stuff, because now everything in my shop was going to be ready to ship. Clever, right? And then I redid all of the regular listings to reflect what I actually have in stock. Which is surprisingly a lot of stuff - I've been a lot more disciplined this fall about staying on top of production when things aren't frantically busy, rather than just riding my mountain bike more, which had been my past practice. In fact I've kind of gotten my shit together in general on the the organizational and business front, which would probably be a good topic for another post.
So anyway, after a whole day at the computer (urp), and way-too-many episodes of The Closer (which I love, but have now memorized due to repetition), I present to you. . . the new and improved Spotted Dog Asheville on Etsy. In which everything is ready to ship. And my life not nearly so crazy. And hopefully your experience in the shop is much less like fighting a 14-legged octopus. And with my new, streamlined shopping experience (and my new shipping intern! Also known as my husband!) I'm also going to be shipping right up until December 20 for orders in the USA. So all in all I think spending Saturday on the overhaul was a good idea. But if you find yourself looking for something that is no longer to be found, just send me a convo and I'll help you track it down.
 |
| Ahhh. Tranquility. |
No comments:
Post a Comment