In any marketplace, there's room for similar product, but in the uber-competitive land of Etsy, it sometimes seems overwhelming. Crafters are notorious for looking at a handmade object and saying
"that's cool" and in the next breath:
"I could make that" - leaving you minus one customer and plus one competitor.
Competition can be frustrating. Instead of looking at it as an opportunity to improve your product, it's often looked at as a threat. Hours are wasted analyzing the differences between a similar product and yours - do they have more sales? better feedback? - and these similar products always come out of
nowhere. Trust me, I've been there.
My personal story? When I started Pommes Frites back in '07, I was one of the few Etsy sellers making book safes. My flask safes were really the thing that launched me: it was a unique product that, while the idea was not ground breaking, the implementation of it was. Today, there are pages and pages of book safes listed on Etsy. And instead of thinking "oh hey, this is great! Book safes are really popular!
There's an increased demand for them!" I was thinking "this is awful! I'm trying to make ends meet as it is, and here's some seller making the same product as me!"
So, I turned it in on myself. I really
looked at my product: what made it unique? how were my prices? I tweaked my shop descriptions to match. I am very against
negative advertising - I hate products that say "this other product sucks! buy mine!" - either on a small scale or big, so I was careful not to use that wording while explaining my product. Rather than saying "unlike some other products, my books are
fantastic", I cleanly described my books. What makes them special? My sourcing is a big sell. I never use rare or new books. I also try to keep the look of a vintage book intact - meaning I don't line the pages with velvet or paper.
Mason jar of "thank you" tags
Now, not to say I'm some sage or zen-like crafter who doesn't get a little surge of jealousy when I see 1" pins made from vintage ephemera being sold at the same craft fair I'm at. I'm only human, after all. Dealing with similar products can be a make-it-or-break-it point for many small business - will you throw your hands up in defeat, or will you get smart?
Below are some of my tips for retaining your sanity, your sales, and your class - and please feel free to add your stories or tips in the comments, too!
1. Improve your product What can be done to improve your product? If you say "nothing" here, take another look. Maybe you need to spend extra time on photos, maybe it's making an investment into something that will boost your productivity. You can't change what other people will do or say,
but you can change what you do. Offering the best possible product to your customers is one way to control the marketplace.
2. Tweak your descriptions Take a good hard look at the other person's product and yours, and see how they compare. There's no need to be negative here - just play up what makes
yours special. Do you use sustainable inks? Do you donate proceeds to charity? Do you have a cool story about how you sourced this vintage find? Don't be afraid to have a little fun in your descriptions and infuse your personality; that's truly one of the things that will attract buyers to you.
3. If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em There's no need to make every person who sells the same product your
sworn enemy. In fact, you two have a lot of in common - you obviously have the same taste in things. Stay friendly, and above all,
keep your manners. You don't have to go out of your way to befriend them, but you also shouldn't be posting negative comments about them in a public space. That's just tacky and ultimately will reflect more on you than on them. As I like to say... there's room for competition, but there's no room for bad manners! Or at least - there shouldn't be.
4. Look at your Bottom Line Sometimes, you'll have to adjust your pricing to stay competitive. But I would urge you to keep your wits about you while doing this; often, especially with handmade items, a low price is not what makes your products sell. Buyers (who are truly appreciative of the diy crowd) want to see that they're paying a fair price for this: if you're under selling yourself, it will de-value the product in their eyes. On the flip side, price your product too high and you won't be "staying competitive". It's a tricky line to walk, and the only way to find out what works is to play around.
5. Now: Stop Comparing Yourself! Step away from the Etsy page. This may not be the same for everyone - I know some sellers who do graph charts of their competitors' sales to keep track of where they are in the mix. But for me, lurking on my competition's Etsy shop was driving me nuts. I was wasting valuable time I could have spent working on my product, and I was also getting discouraged. It may sound cliche, but it's true: if you don't believe in yourself, who will?
Above all:
stay classy, stay positive, and remember: no one else has to fail for you to do well.Got any tips for dealing with competition? Or, do you have any ideas or questions I can answer in future Biz Tips posts? Feel free to share in the comments!
