Sarahkincheloe

Etsy Shop Name: Hi-howareyou: sarahkincheloe.etsy.com

What you sell: Handmade organizers for knitting needles and crochet hooks, and a few bags, wallets, headbands and other little things I make.

Tell us about your featured item: My best-selling item is my combination organizer, which holds straight and circular knitting needles, dpns, and crochet hooks. They have from 33 to 42 pockets and I make them in all kinds of fabric patterns.

Do you believe there is any relationship between the number of sales a shop makes and the number of hearts they have?

Obviously people heart things they like and people buy things they like, but other than that I think that it varies a lot from shop to shop. Some shops have items that are funny or fun just to look at, and they’ll get a lot of hearts compared to their sales. The same will happen with shops that sell very expensive items, because people might like their items but most can’t afford them.

I know that compared to the average, I have a lot of sales relative to hearts (349 and 578, respectively). I really don’t pay a lot of attention to hearts except to track how much exposure my shop is getting on various days – 5 or more hearts is a great day and less than 3, not so much. As far as items, I don’t consider a “good” item to be one that has a lot of hearts – a good item will sell before anyone has a chance to heart it!

How do you decide on the price of your products?

I initially determined my prices based on what I would want to pay for an item. Since then, I have done some calculations on the cost of making an item and time invested, and made sure I was making an hourly wage that satisfied me. I also keep track of monthly income after all expenses and hours worked, to make sure I’m paying myself fairly. I have increased my prices twice in the past year (not dramatically), both to reflect an increase in the quality of my work and to adjust for extra costs.

I’m a full time graduate student in social work which involves a full course load and a 24-hour-per-week unpaid internship for two years. The hours I can work are few and constantly changing, so I’m willing to earn a little less on my etsy work than I could at another job because of the flexibility it affords me in hours as well as commute, attire, and spending more time with my hubby and kitty. Fortunately, I’m currently doing well and haven’t had to make that sacrifice.