When at first you don't succeed, try again for the umpteenth time. Right?

Maybe I should get the hint. Or it could be that I am a little dense. Perhaps my plan is doomed from the beginning or has a fatal flaw. What, you might ask, is my nemesis, my troubling problem? It is my complete inability to make an online store work!

I have been trying for three years (at least) to find and maintain a online avenue for my handmade items. I tried Etsy first, way back when few people had ever heard about it. I sold a few items but traffic was slow and I found the fees annoying. So, I looked elsewhere. I then tried Artfire, a "new kid on the block" as far as online selling sites go. Artfire had a great look and had more extras than I knew what to do with, but I sure tried!  With starting the Artfire store I also added my brother Joe to my endeavor to break into the world of cyber consumerism. I figureda variety of items would mean more hits and more people looking at our items is always good. And while Artfire started off with a bang, over time the views got fewer and fewer, and the sales next to none. I am disheartened to say the least.

So, the pendulum has swung back to Etsy. Etsy has changed for the better since I last used their services. They modernized the site, with clean lines and more features for buyers and sellers. Listing an item is much easier than it was before. But probably the most important reason I switched back to Etsy is the fact I have heard people talking about items they bought on Etsy. People actually know what Etsy is. This time I am adding Micah on to boost the number of items in the "store", which is always fun.

The race is on now between Etsy and Artfire. I have both sites up and will end up keeping the one that does better in views and sales. I will then move all the stock to the "winning" cyber store. It did occur to me that they might both do nothing in which case, I am not sure what I will do... Perhaps, start my own site for incredibly stubborn business "losers" :)



If you want to see the competitors, they are:
http://www.woodenzebra.artfire.com/
http://www.thewoodenzebra.etsy.com/