r/CraftyCommerce • u/NaturalShower4496 • 4d ago

General Discussion Has anyone successfully transitioned from vendor markets to primarily online sales?

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I've been running my handmade jewelry business for several years, and a large portion of my revenue comes from in-person vendor markets and festivals.

While vending has been successful for me, I'm getting to the point where I want to scale back on events and focus more on growing my online sales.

I currently sell on Etsy and have my own website, but my online sales aren't nearly as consistent as my in-person sales. I also work full-time, so spending entire weekends vending isn't something I want to continue doing long-term.

I'd love to hear from small business owners who have successfully made this transition, especially those selling handmade products, jewelry, accessories, or other physical goods.

A few questions:

  1. What made the biggest difference in growing your online sales?

  2. Which marketing channel actually converts into purchases for you? Instagram, Pinterest, email marketing, Etsy SEO, paid ads, etc.?

  3. Did you build your online customer base from your existing vendor customers, or did you attract an entirely new audience?

4.Did you build an email list at events? How (sign-up sheet, QR code, discount)?

  1. How long did it take before your online sales became consistent enough to reduce vending?

  2. If you could start over, what would you focus on first, and what would you stop wasting time on?

7.Which platforms did you use: Etsy, Shopify, both, etc?

I'm not necessarily looking to become a huge brand. I would just love to build a sustainable online business that doesn't require me to physically show up somewhere every weekend to generate revenue.

I'd really appreciate hearing what actually worked for you, including what didn't!

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u/MentalRip2005 4d ago

Both my cousins and I work primarily off of Instagram, only now we got a website, Instagram and loyal customers in a WhatsApp group (which is a broadcast only, so servers the same purpose as an email list). But we sell consumables, cottage food and soap, so I don't know if you'd do drops or how much return customers you have.

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u/Trilobyte141 4d ago

Sorry this doesn't answer your questions, but if you've had success selling in-person and don't want to keep running booths, have you considered reaching out to retailers like boutiques and gift shops that may be open to carrying your jewelry? They would expect to make a profit on them, of course, but taking the selling part of the equation off of your shoulders might be worth it, and showing a history of successful sales at markets could help convince them to stock your works.

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u/NaturalShower4496 4d ago

I currently have my jewelry in 1 boutique. It does ok. Its a huge store though with alot of vendors and especially jewelry. I get a few sales a month there. I was in another store front but that 50/50 split was alot and sales was far few in-between. I would definitely like to get more store front options but I would prefer wholesale orders over consignment.

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u/Trilobyte141 4d ago

It's good to try out multiple channels. I wish you the best of luck. ❤️