Check out Etsy.com

Here we are already 4 days into 2011.  Time just keeps marching on.  Here I stop for a moment thinking back to a warm evening in Massachusetts a few years ago to watch Tracy Lawrence sing Time Marches On.  It does. 

Today, I am diverging from my usual post topics of writing, travel and animal welfare to encourage my readers to check out Etsy.com.  This website offers a plethora of online shops to search out, buy and/or sell vintage and homemade products.

I actually learned about this website from A Woman's Day article that I chanced to read earlier in the year.  The article was highlighting ways to make or earn cash from home.  While there were a number of excellent ways for one to make money from the comforts of home, I found this website Etsy.com to be one of great interest.

I decided to check out the site for myself.  I read the home page and surfed through pages of online shops offering a variety of products for sale.  I focused in on the vintage items.  Vintage items for this site are considered items that are at least 20 years old.

I had accumulated a few vintage and outright antique items both from inheritance and purchases.  I have frequented many antique and collectible shops, particularly in New York and Connecticut were I have been a past resident of both.  I do not have enough items to warrant an actual shop, at least not yet.

I decided to sign up for a free Etsy account.  I was amazed that I could begin listing vintage items for sale at the minimal cost of 20 cents each.  I would not even be billed until at least a month later.  I had a camera that could be uploaded to a computer and about 25 vintage items.  I began photographing and researching my items.

Etsy gives a very good outline of steps that I found easy to follow.  I learned the hard way that the name for my new online shop was very important.  I found the need to close out my first store and reopen a new one.  That is how Wilkes Vintage Finds was born. 

I have been very pleased with my decision to open Wilkes Vintage Finds.  No need to pay rent on an actual store.  No store overhead costs.  Simply a good camera, a computer and spell check and I am on my way to being an online entrepreneur. 

I did go to my local government offices to find that I needed a dba (doing business as) certificate.  I also need a resellers permit if I sell to a buyer in NC.  These fees are under $100.

My store has generated some interested buyers already.  I have seen that vintage watches and office equipment are of particular interest.  Also, a signed jewelry piece such as a Warner rhinestone cat pin had a number of viewers. 

So, I wish to credit my avid reading of magazines such as Woman's Day and Southern Living that emboldened me to try something new.  I have 3 sales in just 2 months.  More than I would have if I had not opened my online store.

Etsy requires monthly payments to keep accounts in good standing.  Etsy takes a 3.5 commission on sold orders.  The opportunity to make money from the comforts of home is very real indeed!  If you have vintage items you are considering selling or you are a crafter of homemade goods, then why not check out Etsy.com? 

In conclusion, keep up with your reading.  One never knows what gems and tidbits may be waiting in the pages of a magazine, book or newspaper.