Let me pick it up and admire it - Thoughts on preparing your online store for the holidays

Why are pictures so important for selling online?

Continuing from last week's post about the importance of grabbing the window shopper, once I step through the door of your cute little Etsy boutique shop give me what I need,

Fresh Air by Chez Moi Handbag

by JeannieBags

pretend I'm picking up your merchandise and admiring it.

My friend *Sarah knits, and I was thinking that she would enjoy a cute bag to place her knitting stuff in instead of a plastic bag. Of course Etsy has an abundance of hobo-style bags available for me to look at, almost 7,000.

Again, just looking for things that caught my eye and “entering” that store, I wanted to know what the bag looked like. If I was in a department store, I would not just look at it hanging on the rack and buy it;

I would pick it up and look to see that the bag overall has the quality I expect and inside to see if it has pockets.

Pleated Hobo in Gunilla
by AllyBu

Sarah may want a spot for some water or her wallet. I don’t want a single pocket or worse, no pocket at all.looking at your store seeing how I can improve my store, I’m looking at everything, checking pictures, prices, descriptions, etc. As a buyer who’s looking through product, I haven’t looked at their description yet. 


After a dozen clicks and misses, I noticed something. If I’m

I don’t care if their description says it has one pocket or three, which I don’t know because I never looked, I just moved on.

Carnival Bloom Handbag
by GypsyRoseHandbags

While looking at 25 hobo bags, I did not feel like I was obligated to “convo” a dozen sellers to see what I wanted to see. The outside and the inside, and if the back looks different than the front, I would hope that would be shown as well. 

I’m not saying the photos have to be gallery-quality or that you have to use all five spots, I know I sure don’t. If you’re selling a blank note card with a beautiful picture on the front, give me the picture and maybe one with the envelope so I can see how it looks. Oh, how cute. If there are words on the inside, I want to see that because I may or may not like the font. What’s important is have you given the customer what they need to make a decision if based on photos alone. 

*The name of the recipient and her craft has been changed because it's supposed to be a secret!!

Holidays are a time to share laughter and love

with family and friends.

Share the love with a handmade gift from an Etsy Artisan!