Thursday, June 27, 2013

Not much new to share this day from the studio. I've been priming shapes and haven't done much else!

The biggest news, I suppose, is the changes I've had in my shop on Etsy. I'm unhappy with most of these changes, only enjoying the new way to favorite items. As a shop owner, I have less ability to control what is shown. I understand we're in the experimental stages with this and that it's just a test. Which means it could last months or be gone by the end of today. In the meantime, I am not going to list new items until the things I don't like are changed or the old way comes back.

The main complaint for me is that I have been unable to switch photos within a listing. Trying many times to change the order of the photos was fruitless yesterday. I even deleted a photo on the newest listing to see if it would change. Even with it no longer part of the listing 24 hours later, it still showed the deleted photo. I am hoping this is a glitch and will be fixed soon. I'm hovering over the forums and announcements sections on Etsy in hopes to find news about this problem. Until it's fixed, I won't renew or add new listings.

This upsets me a lot because I have been planning on doing a Christmas In July month long event on Etsy to coincide with an auction I'm doing on tophatter.com on July 10th and a CIJ event with an Etsy team from July 11th-21st. I'll keep hovering and hoping it all straightens out before these events. I will still plan on doing the CIJ events on Zibbet and Etsy. Even with the inability to change the photos it's possible to change titles and descriptions (so far) and CIJ is a big deal for many who enjoy it. I didn't have much luck with the sale last year but with the team involvement on Etsy this year, I'm hoping that luck changes.

Meanwhile, what this means is that my Zibbet shops will get more promotion and love. I'm okay with that because I love them just as much!

This morning I shared a listing from the vintage shop on Facebook and Tumblr. One of my favorites:

Vintage Salt and Pepper Shakers: Mid-Century Modern, Round Wooden Souvenir Set
This afternoon I'll be sharing something from the mosaics shop. :)

Mosaic Upcycled Small Scalloped Dish, White, Abstract, Useful Art, Housewarming - 4 3/4 inches
And for those shop owners on Etsy who don't see any difference at all in their listings, here is what mine looks like now:

Not bad actually at a quick glance and probably more user friendly for folks who use phones and not computers to look at items. I however, am not yet a fan, in case you haven't figured that out. I am very unhappy with the photos being so small under the first one that they are lost. I use these photos to share with the customer, why would Etsy make them harder to see and possibly lose a sale?? :(

Complaining aside, Zibbet will be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and here on the blog more for a while. It should be interesting to see how long it takes for the photo glitch on Etsy to get fixed and how soon I am singing their praises once again. I am usually a "go with the flow" kind of person but these changes are not acceptable to me if I lose control over my own listings. Harumph!

Time to head towards priming more shapes. Maybe this afternoon I'll get going on a new mosaic! That should bring a smile to my face!!

Stay peaceful.

Cindy, Earth Mother Mosaics