Selling Pottery On Etsy - my thoughts and strategy

Today we talk about Etsy, the good, the bad, the in between ... Basically my thoughts about using Etsy and the way I approach selling on Etsy and why.
Enjoy
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[@UsernamesForDummies]

I bought a little bowl from you on Etsy and you sent me two, because you thought shipping to Switzerland was too expensive. You really didn’t have to do that! It was extremely generous and kind, but I did know in advance how much shipping was and I deemed it worth the cost to have one of your pieces. We use them nearly every day and they bring us immense joy. I will definitely buy more in the future and I’m glad there is something like Etsy. Otherwise there wouldn’t be a way for me to get any of your creations in Europe. Edit: I should mention that at the time I bought that bowl, there was only one listing for it. I didn’t know you had more than one of them. Otherwise I would have bought two or four from the get go. Maybe that’s something you have to think about regarding those smaller items. I understand the difficulty of listing things on Etsy and selling them at your studio at the same time, though. It does make it more complicated keeping track of what can be sold where.

[@bradellison1345]

I started pottery about a year ago and have taken some time off for health reasons, but one of the things I want to do is buy a mug from all my favorite youtube potters to put in my basement studio for inspiration. So this was a timely video, thanks.

[@MoeinPotter]

Very nice thing to do for inspiration

[@deborarinehart2120]

You do you! No need to please anyone but yourself and your wife. As a fellow potter, I enjoy your videos and insights. Keep up the great work! Cheers!

[@leemacdougall6678]

You are a great potter, and a wonderful teacher. Thanks for all the videos. And the bloopers. And as for your hair, I love it, but you are right, the only person who gets a say in the matter is you.

[@cpnotill9264]

You be you and be happy. 😊 I'm glad you're making your business work doing it the best way for you. Running a business can be very challenging and keeping it small, doing it the way you want keeps you from burning out. Really looking forward to the wood kiln unloading video! Thanks for the info and your work speaks for itself.

[@jillwazstudio]

Thanks for the great info about etsy etc and I appreciate your authenticity about your hair and viewers' opinions 😁

[@daveswoodshop]

We have been running parallel to you but in a woodworking shop using etsy as our primary means of selling our stands for home decor. We have been on about 2 years now and it has been quite good and we have worked through the similar logistics of product, marketing, packing and shipping just like you. I think you are on the right track and your process is accurate. You are correct in that you have to drive customers to your etsy shop if you change listings often as you would in your case. Excellent video Matthew!

[@annabylund9367]

Could you do a video about wood fireing kiln vs electric klin vs gas kiln? What are the different results on a pice? How do you combine them?

[@MatthewKellyPottery]

Great idea. Thanks

[@kasprrrdelaney6091]

Love the hair!!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and process.

[@JD-od8jn]

Matthew, I don't catch all your new vids due to lack of time, but have learned a great deal from you. Thanks for your time putting them together.

[@debbiewilson958]

I'm full of questions 1) how do you decide who to ship with?( PSPO, UPS etc) How do you charge for boxes and wrapping? Do you insure your shipments?

[@lesliepease3988]

Thank you for the video! I learned a lot and had a lot confirmed. . It's a cute haircut... like a Kewpie doll! The neighbor across the street sports one. LOL!

[@nanceycost8853]

I am sooooo late to the game as far as seeing this video, but I think it's my favorite (I have watched a lot of your other videos) because of the hair monologue!! Plus all the other truly down to earth, honest content. I live about an hour away from your location and am an aspiring pottery artist, so you just might be getting a visit from me when a kiln opening sale is announced or I can figure out a time to make an appointment for a studio visit. You are absolutely my favorite of all the pottery artists I follow!!

[@bettytaylor9430]

Thank you for sharing and answering so many questions about Etsy and your the way you are operating your pottery business. I love your work. BTW your eyes match the pots in the background. Look forward to more videos. Enjoy your family, you have your priorities right.

[@coopart1]

Thanks , lots of good info. I’m hoping to start listing on Etsy soon. Your mindset and experience helps

[@louischinappi3526]

You be you!! It’s one of the things we love about you!!

[@benpatterson4452]

Great video. As someone who is looking to potentially start making and selling wares in the near future, this was an excellent discussion. Gotta say though, I wasn't expecting the discussion of hair styles at the end...

[@michaelhyland7166]

Thank you sir

[@bradellison1345]

You don't have to explain why you style your hair the way you do! LOL I wish I had enough hair on top to have a faux hawk. :)

[@maryglancy9024]

Hi i found this vidio very useful as i am thinking of new ways yo sell my work thank you

[@lisadreyer1410]

Matthew, I sooo enjoyed this video about using Etsy. I’ve been teaching Ceramics at the high school level for many years, and used last year (2020) to start my own business and website… Dont worry about “rambling”…. it’s great that you are just yourself and that you share your knowledge with us! You mentioned maybe using a template-based website maker, and I literally just this week finished my own pottery website with one of the popular website hosts, and ready to launch it next week. I haven’t read your Community Guidelines above, but I’m pretty sure they don’t want me promoting my own new site, but I would LOVE to share it with you if you’re interested in seeing it. It has all the features and “elements” you talked about in your video, so I think you would love seeing it! I guess you could reach back to me if you want the website info. Anyways, thank you so much for your informative videos and the great examples you set for potters and artists to “just do it”!

[@janeneh.3093]

Ok, I hate to ask this question but ,....I don't get it why is it that the number of subscribers has gone down for you???? I have learned so much from you through the last few years! You are a Awesome man, potter, instructor, father ! I don't get it!!!Matthew you have made me a better potter, keep up the great quality work !!!!!👏👍❣

[@MatthewKellyPottery]

It has been going up as far as I can tell although not as fast as I would like but that’s life... KZbin is an interesting animal. The name of the game is not always the quality of the content. If quality were the name of the game reality tv shows would not be a thing bc that’s purely entertainment and drama with little value outside of those two. Thanks for the support and I’m glad you have learned so much. I’m also glad to know others have felt the same frustration as me with YT. Haha. Either way I’m still glad to be here using their platform.

[@sheilam4964]

@@MatthewKellyPottery - I apologise for commenting tn this convo but I just had to let you know your "quality vs Reality Show" comment made my day. I laughed to hard I think the neighbors heard me.

[@bradellison1345]

Surely there a web site designer out there that would trade website building services for a nice piece of pottery or two. :)

[@joangibson859]

Showed a picture of my Etsy purchase on your FB page. After I watched a kiln opening several months ago I wanted the items. I suggest that folks jump right on the sale. I had my mug and coffee server purchased within about 6 minutes, but things were gone quickly.

[@slickniner]

I like your hair style! Haters gonna hate...

[@sheilam4964]

One of the points you made about searching for things on Etsy is so true. Any time I have looked on Etsy to see if they have any item I am looking for nothing shows up that is even remotely close to what I typed in. Etsy's 'search engine' is terribly flawed. Usually search engines work on tag or keywords but not Etsy. You would think that typing in just the word 'pottery' would bring up pottery pieces but it doesn't. 'Matthew Kelly' doesn't either (I haven't tried that one lately). Like I said, anything I have searched for on Etsy has never come up in the results. Single key words should work best. Like 'Pottery' is in your Store Name so it should always come up in the first hundred or so items (not pages) using just that one word but it doesn't, neither does any other potter or pottery Store. That is the 'give away' that says flawed Search Engine. The only way to find a Potter's Store is to type in 'ceramic' (another 'give away') and click on any handmade bowl in the results and then you can click on the Store that is selling it to see other products they are selling which is rarely more 'ceramic' pieces. That Store just happens to be selling 1 ceramic or pottery piece. Useless search engine. It gives way too many" related items" in the 'results' rather than items with that tag or keyword in the items "NAME". Etsy Sellers need to place a link to their Store - everywhere they can - in order to be found and to be sucessful on Etsy. Sorry for the rank but I do agree with your point about Etsy. 😁ya think 😁

[@marilynhiggins2785]

: ) I love your hair. It suits you.

[@clifforddalton3067]

I understand your mind-set re-etsy Matt, that's the way I would do it too. Much easier to keep track. Although ALL your work is remarkable, for me personally I prefer the gas firings because the colours are more vibrant and I like the bright reds and blues and purples. This is just my opinion and taste ok! Your own website is the way to go Matt, can't wait to that up and running eventually. it will also make everything fay more exclusive. Thanks for all the info. PS: Do you think that getting help might be a good idea? Even getting someone to do the packing, labeling and posting could ease your workload tremendously and leave you ore time for throwing.

[@SetGozo]

Hey thanks very inspiring, good luck to you. Beautiful work .

[@brucec6442]

A $10,000 dollar pot listed on Etsy ! I am flabbergasted !!!

[@MatthewKellyPottery]

That’s just a test listing and it keeps something listed on Etsy under my name so people can find my Etsy shop

[@jamssosv]

Love the videos and the items we've purchased thru Etsy. A part time employee capable of maintaining a website and fulfilling orders could increase your time to work on pottery. maybe you could use that time to expand into a line of repeatable products to sell or more time to experimenting with different clay or glazes or shapes etc.. instead of all the time spent listing and boxing up sold items.

[@sheilam4964]

BTW - love the hair. Would love to see the creative stuff you have done with it in the past. Pictures work. ; - )

[@michellemurphy6715]

Yep. If you like it that's all that matters :)

[@lucilleoka]

Thank you for the Etsy information and may God richly bless you.

[@sheilacarroll3981]

Thanks so much. Have been pondering how to sell my work. Your info is so helpful. Time is always the thing. Knowing that you spend a whole day posting and editing photos sounds. Do you do this one day a month or more? Do you have have a monthly schedule or cycle that works for you. Love your hair.

[@kimazz1]

Thank you

[@freddiemoretti8456]

Matthew, another grand chatter video. If Danielle likes it I would think that is all that matters. Can you explain how on earth you would offend us? Thanks for the chat even though I have no interest in Etsy. You could title these MATT'S CHATS. Be safe with the family.

[@nancyltate2943]

Great information thanks 👍

[@percussionmassagetoolpmt946]

I stopped at the etsy market info just because I felt it was a bit unclear and thought I would look it up. The etsy off site marketing works as so, if you have earned $10K or more in revenue on Etsy in the last 365 days, you are required to participate for the lifetime of your shop but the rate for off site marketing is 12% (7% more then a standard sale). If you have never earn more than $10K off site marketing is optional, but you need to opt-out, the default is opt-in, and your fee is 15%. Definitely something worth keeping in mind as shipping can be such a large part of some pottery cost and that can really cut into profits. Ei, a potter made a few mugs and wants to sell them on Etsy for $25, but the shipping is another $15, you charge $40, pay $15 for shipping, Etsy standard fee is 5%, $2, and lets say the clay, glaze and firing cost is $7, you are left with $16, if the total time spent was an hour for everything, that's not too bad, but when the fee jumps to 15%, it drops your hourly wage by 20%. (now to continue the video)

[@MatthewKellyPottery]

Thanks for the explanation. I read all of the same info for myself and decided to switch to my own Shopify site at the end of 2020. I was over the $10k in sales a d could not opt out.

[@harrycockfield5114]

Good video..informative.thanks.

[@hojoinhisarcher]

sept 8 friday 22

[@jimewins1705]

I laugh at my affro. of the 1970s

[@pookiesmemaw]

Hi, have you tryed selling on Rumble?

[@MatthewKellyPottery]

No. I sell on my own website now

[@ryancrocker6053]

Do you make custom sinks?

[@MatthewKellyPottery]

Yes I do

[@markhousel7936]

Do you do any sort of apprenticeship?

[@MatthewKellyPottery]

I am working toward that. I have had a part time apprentice for over a year now. That’s more of what I’m comfortable with at the moment.

[@markhousel7936]

@@MatthewKellyPottery amazing.

[@hannahpeterson7238]

Heyo!!

[@jimewins1705]

The q of your week

[@MarkoVegano]

And the hairs fine. You're lucky. My hair is disappearing 😩 . But I'm 66 and it's a family trait. 🙄. I need more hats. 😃

[@thelmamatthews5051]

Thank you