Etsy Seller Interview with Amy of Amy Gaines

How Amy Gaines got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

I started my Etsy shop way back in 2006. I was making toys for my four-year-old daughter and thought it would be fun to share my designs. 

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

One of my favorite patterns is my Knit Baby Dolls. I worked real hard on it to make the design simple and I am proud that so many people get enjoyment from making the Babies, It is by far my best selling pattern.

I am also proud of my Knit Marie Antoinette Doll Pattern. A woman who worked at Versailles contacted me to say that she purchased the pattern and was going to knit the doll to place on Marie Antoinette’s bed. I just thought that was really cool.

A new pattern I am particularly fond of is my Crochet Reversible Easter Egg and Chick. This is a double-sided flip toy pattern. One side is an Easter Egg. Flip it inside out and it's a Chick.

My Knit Christmas Ornament Pattern is another fav. This pattern has sold over 10,000 times and it warmths my heart to think that so many families are enjoying Christmes with my ornaments on their trees.

Lastly, my Crochet Happy Weather Mobile. Back in 2008 I asked my oldest daughter (6 at the time) what I should make next and she drew me a picture:

I used this as the inspiration for the mobile. My publisher and several others have offered to buy the rights to this pattern, but I can’t part with it.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?  

To my surprise, I caught on rather quickly. Exposure on Etsy led to my patterns being published in many magazines including: Vogue Knitting, Knit 1, Elle Italia, Crochet!  

That led to several Leisure Arts pattern books, including “Cute Little Animals”' and “Little Knitted Creatures”. I was featured on the PBS program Knit and Crochet Now and in several Bluprint Instructional Videos. I also design patterns for Lion Brand Yarn.

I use social media - I have a Facebook Fan page with almost 130,000 followers, and also post on Pinterest and Instagram.

Managing Amy Gaines

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

Shipping isn’t really an issue with me, since I almost exclusively sell patterns which are delivered through digital download.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

I see many sellers open a shop on Etsy expecting to make a living and "quit their day job" and then they are quickly disillusioned. Those that approach it as more of a hobby seem to be more content.

OK - if you want to make a living from your craft you can't put all your eggs in the Etsy basket. I do half my business outside Etsy - I sell patterns on Ravelry, Craftsy, Loveknitting and Amazon. I’ve also been lucky enough to make some videos with Craftsy/Bluprint. 

I do custom orders and wholesale orders to craft stores, sell patterns and do projects for a yarn company (Lion Brand) and magazines, I have 6 pattern books with Leisure Arts and two more coming out. I can't make enough money on Etsy selling patterns.

That being said - Etsy has been very good to me. Publishers, magazines and others have contacted me because they saw my work on Etsy. You can get a lot of visibility - Etsy gets a serious number of visits and you need to use this to your advantage.

I just posted the fifteenth anniversary of my shop and during that time both Etsy and my business have grown tremendously.

You are going to have to be patient - it takes time.

Relisting helps but don't go crazy with it (you have to determine what you can afford).

I also try different types of advertising: Knitty.com, Google Adwords, Twitter, Facebook and the Etsy Search ads.

You may want to start a blog - I never have the time for it, but a lot of sellers do.

You need to make sure your pricing is competitive. No one will buy an item for $8.00 if they can get a comparable one for $4.00.

Keep track of your customers - start a file of their email addresses and ask them if it is OK to send them updates or a Newsletter (most will say yes). Then email them when you have new items or have a sale.

Treat all your customers like you would like to be treated - 99% of them are great, but you will get some who can't be pleased - I get people who buy a pattern for $3.00 but think they are getting a hand-made doll, or who buy a Knit kit but don't know how to knit - just refund their money, void the sale and tell them how very sorry you are.

Also - if you catch on, you'll get lots of convo and email questions - I get 50 a week minimum. Do your best to help them. The goodwill pays dividends in the long run, as they will be back and tell their friends.

Don't over commit - sometimes you are going to have to say no.

Let's see, what else - there is a lot of luck involved too. I started up at the right time for Amigurumi. But I also believe you can make your own luck. So just keep plugging away.

I hope this helps!