Etsy Seller Interview with Andrey of ForgedCommodities

How ForgedCommodities 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 worked on a local market in Ukraine by making hand-forged items before I decided to join a sellers' community on ETSY. By that time, I had many nice items in my portfolio. I registered a shop on ETSY and started to move my goods into my ETSY shop. I had a feeling that these items might be of some interest to buyers in other countries, but I was not 100% sure. Each business has a risk that something can go wrong at the very beginning. You invest time and money without knowing how it will be repaid. I took it as a project that I needed to try. All my free time was spent developing this project, and in the end, all the efforts have been justified.

Favorite items

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

My favorite items are 3D items. They take a long time, but the end result may exceed expectations. Among them are mailboxes, wall sconces, door handles, and many others. They are well sold since they are needed in each home. People want to surround themselves with nice items, which they can find in my shop.

My passion is making custom orders. It is impossible not to be inspired when one creates something that does not exist anywhere else on the planet. 

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?

The first sale happened a month after I launched a shop on ETSY—it was a hand-forged flower shipped to the UK. Every month, I increased my Etsy sales. What attracts is the assortment of goods I have in my shop, among which customers with different tastes can choose something for themselves.

Managing ForgedCommodities

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?

I have several employees who help me in my daily routine: welders, a logistics manager, and blacksmiths. It is teamwork that keeps the business afloat. The roles are defined and the tasks are fulfilled. I do not use special tools to run my shop. Just pay some fees for Etsy advertising. The shop has good visibility on Etsy and many repeat buyers.

The future of ForgedCommodities

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

The goal is to develop the shop further, increase sales, and increase the number of items.

Advice for new sellers

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

The main recommendations are

1. Put a lot of time into making or developing a shop. It can be your good business only if you treat it as one. Otherwise, it will just be your hobby. Make a choice between business and hobby!
2. Make a big assortment (a lot of listings) in order for your shop to be visible on Etsy. Even the variations can be made into separate listings in the beginning since you can use different tags for the same listings (and get better coverage on ETSY) that have some variations (color, size, etc.). After that, after some time, you can decrease the number of listings by making variations in one listing.
3. Use all tags that are allowed in a listing description in terms of maximum field length, which should include:

• item itself (for instance, a hammer)
• For what event it can be used (like Christmas, a birthday, etc.)
• Who can it be made for (father, grandfather)?
  The tags should cover a variety of items’ applications.
  To ensure repeat business, provide the best service possible to your clients. Many of my clients have returned to me in the last five years.