#hipstertique1

[hipstertique1]

Vintage Metal Kodak Film Canisters, Yellow, Green, Brown

[noodlekittyxx]

Hi followers! My friend has an Etsy account filled with antique and vintage items! They range from vintage cameras to 80's sweaters. She also sells oddities!  If you're interested in this kind of stuff, you should really check it out! :) https://www.etsy.com/shop/Hipstertique1

[hipstertique1]

Etsy, things I've learned (so far)

I went into Etsy thinking, ok, how much different can this be from Ebay, or any other online sales website? Take a picture, give a description, watch things sell.

Etsy is curious; where Ebay tends towards succinct descriptions- often laden with typos, Etsy embraces an item's story. In fact I almost cringe at the word 'item', it isn't just an item, it's this specific thing that has either been crafted by hand or carefully picked and always adored by the seller.

While trying to learn what works and why some things in my shop sell and others languish, I'm seeing a pattern. When writing descriptions I initially feared I was saying entirely too much that didn't pertain to the thing I was describing, but sure enough, it was those very things that were selling best. Why someone would be more drawn to a particular object because of its story becomes more apparent when considering the Etsy community.

They are people who are first and foremost passionate about supporting an individual rather than a large business. Knowing this one key unlocks a lot of other elements that are intrinsically tied into the traits of such a person. If you're into supporting an individual vs a corporation, you're generally willing to pay a little more- you know where it is coming from, who made it it, how it was made, and why. And if we're speaking vintage items, rather than handmade, I feel there is a strong appeal towards a pre-loved item. When reading a thorough description, a buyer gets to see a seller's love and passion for what they do. Done well, buyers will get a personal sense of who you are as a person, your beliefs, and your way of living. It's in making these human connections that seems to drive a sale. It's the difference between a green vintage apron, and a green apron your Grandmother wore when she was young and first learning to bake zucchini bread- which to this day is still your favorite zucchini bread.

Give them those little details, let them peak into your life and feel they can relate to you. 

[hipstertique1]

work

I'm currently working at an antique mall, doing the usual stuff but also curating, arranging and photographing items for auctions. It puts me in a neat place- being among the first to see new items brought in, and able to see what items are selling most.

While I have noticed some obvious trends- such as aqua ball canning jars flying out of the store almost daily, there are always some things I find to be odd. In a span of 3 days we sold 6 or 7 items related to turkeys -and mind you this was in January- and then just like that, we haven't sold a turkey since. I'll always wonder what things are purely coincidence and what things are actually being influenced by something logical.

Some days I'll ask the customers why they chose the items they did, and funny enough sometimes they don't really have a solid answer beyond just liking the item. My favorite was an older fellow who was at a loss for what to get for his 16 year old granddaughter. He explained that she grew up in NYC, always had everything she ever wanted, and felt that Ohio was a useless state (having just relocated with her parents). Now me, who grew up in Ohio, having and not having what most normal kids do, and being rather alarmed by how chaotic NYC is, wasn't of much help. An hour later he returned to the counter with a large thick glass plate decorated with flowers, circa 1960's. I'll always wonder what her reaction was to it, I thought it was pretty neat, personally. 

[hipstertique1]

what is this?

So in starting a business I've accepted the fact that I need to dive head first into numerous forms of social media. This, coming from someone who dreads responding to emails and was among the last of my friends to leave myspace for facebook (yeah yeah, laugh, I know, I'm 25, I'm a kid) is strange. Even after joining facebook it was love/hate. Amusing, sure, but gosh it's a lot of upkeep. Recently I joined pinterest, which is addicting but at least weirdly soothing. Now I've found myself keeping up an additional business page for facebook, pinterest, instagram, this tumblr thing which looks like a blogging format I guess, an etsy shop, and soon to be a website. How can anyone find time to do all of this stuff? The crazy part being that there are likely people who do all of these things in the name of fun. We'll see I guess. I rather do enjoy writing at least.