Custom orders on Etsy stink, do this instead. And don't predict trends.

I don't do custom orders on Etsy, but I do custom orders all the time. I also don't worry about predicting trends, but I use trends all the time. This video goes over why what I do works, and why you should probably do it too.
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[@pajacobmn]

This is excellent advice, and describes my approach very well. You've described it in a general way to be widely applicable, and sellers should tailor this advice to fit the type of products they make. I've done custom orders when the idea the customer comes up with is something I haven't thought of and I think it would be a great addition to my line. I don't charge 'extra' in that case, I charge what I feel the modified version will sell for. And it keeps them at your shop instead of looking elsewhere. I did this for one customer and she ended up ordering at least another dozen items over the next six months. Being open to custom orders with this approach can really enhance your products. I like to say that customers are better equipped to know what they want than I am.

[@lindafink5687]

Love the recommendation to look at competitors' 3 star reviews to learn how to make my items fulfill buyers' expectations! Great tip!

[@KaraBuntin]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jennyjumpjump]

I do something similar to what you said in this video. If someone requests something custom, I tell them I don't do custom orders--I take requests (like a lounge singer 😂) and I send them a link when it's posted.

[@KaraBuntin]

I know other people who do something similar, It takes the pressure off.

[@tinanovoth]

It always amazes me how many people visit a "custom" listing that says "Reserved for" in the title. I learned a long time ago to add a line in the description telling the viewer how to contact me about their own custom piece.

[@KaraBuntin]

They want that thing too! That's a good way to track trends down, too.

[@obxshelly]

I'm going through this custom listing thing right now! This was very helpful information. Thank you Kara.👍

[@KaraBuntin]

You are so welcome!

[@fox__fox]

I don't sell handmade, so I'd like to notice that Etsy developers really don't care about custom order listings form. I mean personal one which you can create only from convo. It looks like they didn't change for 10 years. After creating a listing I have to go to my listings and upgrade it. Sometimes it's very annoying cos customers get the link to the order automatically and can purchase it before I finish necessary changes... Small thing, but god... annoying!

[@KaraBuntin]

There’s a lots of stuff of Etsy that are really lacking as far as the listing template goes.

[@jen_crochetfun]

Custom orders are a pain, especially if you don't get the money first. I have spent money on materials to do a prototype for customers, only to have them not end up ordering.

[@cjdragonsplanet3509]

Put a listing up with the customer's initials and say "custom order for JS" and have the customer go listing and pay for it. I never start an order until I'm paid.

[@jen_crochetfun]

@@cjdragonsplanet3509 The thing I have run into before is a customer will want to see what it is going to look like before actually paying. So I don't mess with it anymore.

[@KaraBuntin]

I would always have them order before doing anything that was totally custom. Which is another reason why I don't usually do totally custom things, I'm not interested int he back and forth of showing things and getting approval blah blah blah. No thanks.

[@mrs.quills7061]

@@cjdragonsplanet3509yup that’s what I did or like a down payment. You should always set up some sort of down payment!

[@Wendathena]

I don't really do custom, but I do spend a lot of time with customers who want a slight variation. It takes a lot more time than I have, especially if I have to take photos, but I do usually get a really good review out of it. And I will often add the item as a variation to an existing listing (even if I delete it later because I don't plan to continue to sell that variation, so I get more sales history on that listing. So maybe it's worthwhile.

[@KaraBuntin]

It’s up to you but for me, if it’s going to require a back and forth and having people approve things, it’s a no.

[@me.7656]

When I make a new listing, should I copy an existing one even though it might be different than what I'm going to post or should I create a new listing? Does it make a difference

[@AmishGramish]

You can use an existing listing as a template, but your text and tags should always be limited to the actual item you're selling. Copying a listing doesn't give you all the fancy benefits of the existing listing (rankings, sales data, etc.), but it does make the listing creation process much easier.

[@KaraBuntin]

I do copies all the time if it’s close to the thing I’m listing, it’s going to be a new listing without a sales history but it saves time if you don’t have to fill out everything again.

[@8oclockLINENCO]

Checking out the 3 star reviews…genius!

[@KaraBuntin]

It's an old trick! Go to Amazon and find things that are similar, you'll get a lot of good intel.

[@PoppysMum2]

Brilliant. Thank you Kara

[@KaraBuntin]

Thanks for watching!

[@suewalsh5239]

Appreciate your content as I am fairly new to Etsy

[@KaraBuntin]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Back_To_Basics]

I have been binge watching your videos Kara and absolutely love your no nonsense straight forward genuine advice. I’ve learned a lot and have applied them to my shop. Thank you 🙏🏻

[@KaraBuntin]

Thanks for watching!

[@maryavelis1157]

I used to do custom orders all the time on my bags, they would sell more than the bags I had ready to ship. Now I only have 2 listings for custom work. They never get touched. 😆

[@KaraBuntin]

I don't even know if I left my custom order listing up, I think I removed it a while back.

[@elainet5870]

Custom orders are always an issue. These are great tips! I appreciate that. Thanks so much! 😃❤️

[@KaraBuntin]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sapnaaum2392]

I am disappointed in Etsy, they have let people flood the market with cheap crap made in China just like everywhere else.

[@KaraBuntin]

They're getting called out for it today!

[@sapnaaum2392]

@@KaraBuntin What do you mean? Is something going on behind the scenes?

[@Acaketoremember]

@@sapnaaum2392 An investor wrote an article about how Etsy is the biggest counterfeiting site in the world and their stock value dropped.

[@mrs.quills7061]

I really like your thoughts about reviews. You’re totally right that the 3 stars are usually ways someone can improve and what we can do better than the competition. I usually don’t do custom stuff either-but I did take an illustration commission in October which was a nice chunk of change. I took it because the person was easy to work with, paid me a deposit immediately and sent me exactly what she wanted! Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth with people and we can’t read their minds and I tend to not do them for that reason. She came back to me too a few months later for a simplified logo for her business. If someone asks and is responsive and can tell me what they need and actually will pay me! so many people and especially people I knew from high school have come out of the woodworks, lurk my IG and then start demanding free or cheap logos for their KZbin or social medias, like no I don’t work for free?? I don’t give discounts either for friends or acquaintances lol!

[@KaraBuntin]

I made a quilt for my best friend from college and I started getting another "friend" harassing me to make her one, too. I had no intention to do that but she was really annoying about it so I asked her what she wanted. She said "any color, any size is fine." Okay. I made a 12"x12" wall quilt and sent it to her and never heard from her again.

[@mrs.quills7061]

@@KaraBuntinwooow that’s so nasty, not even a thank you? And yeah see I’ve made things for friends, but because I want to or to show appreciation for them. That’s different. People have no respect for handmade goods or crafting anymore, they just want, want, want and refuse to understand the effort and time that goes into it.

[@KaraBuntin]

@@mrs.quills7061 A teeny tiny quilt was a low price to pay to get rid of her hee hee

[@ninetiesperson7980]

Thank-you for the great advice.

[@KaraBuntin]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hannahmitchell87]

I've considered this but always been concerned the buyer might be annoyed I'm reproducing their idea for others? Am I being overly cautious?

[@trishoconnor2169]

I know you're asking Kara, but I have my own perspective on this that I think might be of help: I believe transparent communication can make all the difference in the world. One of the things I sell is word search puzzles, and I offer both premade ones on various themes as well as custom ones. Obviously, the custom ones cost many times the premade ones, because for custom work, I have to make sure I'm paid for my time upfront, instead of hoping for repeat sales over a long period of time to make the work worthwhile. But I always tell the person upfront that while I am giving them permission to make as many copies as they need for the purpose they have disclosed to me (classroom, party, etc.), I still hold the copyright, and I reserve the right to make something similar at some time in the future. Obviously, there isn't going to be a lot of overlap with a future product if the custom puzzle is something like the names of everyone at a family reunion, but if they ask, for example, for a puzzle to go with their child's party theme of trains (not a topic that has come up so far, but it could), I might say, yeah, I could probably tweak a few of the terms and sell that as a premade download. I may or may not do it at some point, depending on how well I think it will sell, but I have already told the person that I reserve the right to do so. If it happens that several years down the road, not even remembering that I did the custom one for their party, I decide to make one on that topic, they're not likely to sue me for royalties. They knew going into it that this could happen.

[@hannahmitchell87]

@@trishoconnor2169 Great advice, thank you! Transparent communication is key

[@KaraBuntin]

Not only is this transparent, it's also setting limits. That's really important.

[@rachelmoffat9650]

Off to check 3 star reviews! Many thanks!

[@KaraBuntin]

Any time!

[@thenext9537]

Smart. I do woodworking and I’ve been toying with the idea of doing an Etsy shop, and these tips are great.

[@KaraBuntin]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mrs.quills7061]

You should! Wood working is such a lovely craft and we need more of it. A lot of wood workers make custom nameplates on wooden signs. I know furniture can be so expensive to ship, so thing easy and small at first.

[@SuzanneRowell]

Where did you work in Boston? I worked retail in 1986-88 downtown at Lafayette Place (the round mall) at the Weathervane store. We also had boxes of trends that went to the clearance rack!

[@KaraBuntin]

I was at Jordan Marsh in Downtown Crossing around the same time. I was the manager of the clearance section and there were LOTS of "trends that never were."

[@bonniereed4218]

Can customers stack codes? If they have a favorite code, a abandoned cart coed, a thank you code?

[@KaraBuntin]

No, the only thing that would stack would be a coupon code and free shipping. Other than that, Etsy will take the highest coupon amount and use that, but it won't combine them.

[@bonniereed4218]

@@KaraBuntin thank you

[@S.F.L]

Loved the strategy video, thank you!

[@KaraBuntin]

Thanks!

[@willtristcustombabydesigns324]

Love this, thank you!

[@KaraBuntin]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kymhocaluk5688]

Great content❤️🇨🇦

[@KaraBuntin]

Thanks!

[@susandraws]

This was great!!

[@KaraBuntin]

Thank you!

[@moonlightxyz8728]

Hey Kara. I would love to hear about your thoughts on the new Etsy ads "Search terms" dashboard(?). I'm monitoring my ads spend daily and today the dashboard has a new look.

[@KaraBuntin]

It's kind of interesting because it shows how much money they're wasting on each listing haha

[@moonlightxyz8728]

@@KaraBuntin LOL..and the information shown is not that thorough and a bit confusing..

[@warmvanillasugaraddiction]

one of my listing is got 1100 views and got 9 orders with 1300 revenue. is it good ? is it more precious that its 1300 dollars only with 9 orders. in the name of higher price is higher feed for etsy ? is there any advantage of my list got 1300 revenue or its all equal on etsy eyes with a listing that got 9 orders and 320 dollars revenue for example ?

[@KaraBuntin]

I think you’re overthinking this. Don’t worry so much about the tiny details, if you’re making sales you’re doing fine.