It's all Vintage to me ...

Update on my exploration of other stores on line - I have a few items listed on Ebay - you can find them here
Lucite Daisy Paperweight
Vintage Siamese Cats Wall Hangings

Lucite Faux Tortoise Shell Trays

I have listed a few things on http://www.retrophoria.com/seller/FLEAOSOPHY/
I like the look of this site - it is clean and simple - but there is no community - feels a little lonely after the community I found on Etsy ...

Also on Zibbet - http://www.zibbet.com/Fleaosophy

I also found a great community here at The Vintage Village  this is a cool place for groups, discussions about vintage and you can even sell from here - there is a membership fee (haven't paid it yet) to access all the features - but in addition to Retrophoria it seems a few of the members in this village sell there too.

I applied to be a vendor on One King's Lane but nothing has come through yet...

I am also going to be accepting banner ads here on the Fleaosophy Blog -
Your ad will show at the top of the right hand side bar on every page of the site!

 Ad Size: 150x150 pixels

Cost: $5 a month, or $45 for the year (you supply the ad)
             $25 if you need me to create the ad for you

Payment Method: PayPal

I'm looking for sponsors that relate to the content of the blog - vintage shops and sites, upcycled products, of handmade using mostly recycled items .

 I reserve the right to not accept any ads that I feel don't "fit" the blog, so please keep that in mind when inquiring about advertising.
Send me an email at pattipics44@gmail.com  for more info

Some farm fresh barn finds - no really I found this stuff in a barn ... have a few more items that I need to take photos of - like an early 1900's game of Parcheesi complete in the original box, some small ice skates and roller skates - and more stay tuned!

So much to do so little time ...Guess I will take a nap ...

Ever feel like that? I know I do! I am gearing up for the holiday shopping season in my online stores. My regular job, taking photos of children in day cares is super duper busy, and on the side I work part time for an online auction company MAXSOLD, taking photos of the items to go online in the auction. (Need to downsize, have an estate to settle and want an easier way to do - message me will be glad to give you MAXSOLD info.) See there I go getting side tracked again. So in the midst of all this, Etsy decides to change a few things. Some good some not so great ideas, but it's Etsy and they can do what they want with their service and site. So I decided to explore other options for my vintage store. I opened an Artfire store - and a store on Zibbet - all under the same name FLEAOSOPHY - Problem is
 I was already set at Etsy, now trying to get 2 other stores at least presentable creates a bit of a challenge, with my limited time.


 I have a ton of new products to list, most I have already taken the photos of. Now however I am stuck, do I list it all on Etsy, transfer over to the other sites or wait until after the holidays...oh the choices. For the most part I am listing things on Etsy - still have about 200 items live and ready to go, I have another 100-200 items waiting to get added, so I think I will add them to all the stores and measure the success of the holidays.


 Having been through this with several other online stores in the past, the new startups need the shopkeepers, want them to be happy and are pleasant to work with, then they get successful - Cafepress was my first venture over 12 years ago. Once the website is successful, the owners sell out to raise money to expand and then they are beholden to investors, not the original customer base. Yes the shopkeepers are the customers of Etsy, Cafepress etc.. but once they get too big, then they lose sight of their original customers and believe that the shopkeepers' customers are their customers and that is where they start to go down hill.

 Eventually I will start a standalone website - have one working now, just too close to the holidays to launch it and hope it does ok. And on top of that someone somewhere bought my name - and wants to sell it for over $1200. So no, thanks, not gonna do that right now. Almost feels like someone stole it and wants me to pay them for it back. That's how the interweb (as they say on one of those cartoons or was that in congress?) works. The one thing I do know is if I want something done my way, I have to do it myself. Otherwise I have to be grateful others took the time to build something I can use to make some money, even if after I built my business up they take it away... At least I had it for the time I did. Here's hoping Zibbet pays off, and I may even try Ebay again.

Ww will see... So everyone stay in touch subscribe to the blog, like my page on facebook and keep me posted on where you are too!

How I improved my sales on Etsy ...

I decided early in the summer I wanted to get better traffic to my store, make more sales and be noticed. I started studying the treasuries that were on the front page, made notes of who consistently had treasuries and products featured. Started following a few that I really liked.

My first treasuries on Etsy well they sucked.  I didn't know what treasuries were really about, and I fell into the trap of doing all vintage, or all owls or all one thing and it usually wasn't a great theme.  Not that all the items I picked weren't great!  I loved them that is why I picked them.  But they were usually fellow team members to promote something and actually at first, I didn't have a clue what I was doing.  You can see my treasuries here from the most recent on back go ahead look at the last page ...
Patti's Treasuries - Go to the Last Page to see first ones!

I started to take a good hard look at my store photos, and began making changes. I blogged about it -
http://fleaosophy.blogspot.com/2013/08/eek-photos-i-am-I am a photographer this should be easy

I joined a few teams that made treasuries, I made lots of treasuries, looked at lots of treasuries and fav'd and followed those I loved.  I made some treasuries that seemed to follow the Front Page recipe - and some treasuries I made to tell a story (those are the ones I love to do) and then while I was sleeping a treasury I had made for a vintage team I was on was on the FRONT PAGE - it told a story - the theme of it was the Ghost and Mrs, Muir - it was a bit romantic, nostalgic and vintage - and not at all what I
expected to get chosen for a FP.   the-ghost-and-mrs-muir

I also had a print from my second store on a FP treasury, which was awesome!  my print on the front page!!
But the most important thing I have gotten out of all this - is the networking with other shops, finding great items, and the fun of great treasuries. The bonus my stuff is selling, my views are WAY UP, my sales are up when a ton of people are complaining about slow sales etc... my store is growing!
Every day I have several items featured in treasury, sometimes I don't get notification my the maker, and I have to search my feed to see them all and I think I miss a few of them because it has been so many!!  That's FREE ADVERTISING!!  I don't do the Etsy ads, sorry Etsy, I pay enough with listing fees etc...  and I make treasuries featuring items I love and that sells for those stores - I know I get messages saying thanks!  since that treasury was up the item sold in 20 minutes!

I honestly believe it all comes down to the photos I have in my store, helps other people find and market by treasuries, and my making treasuries shares my love of the items I find, and all that I made it to the front page - TWICE so far ... My Second FRONT PAGE treasury!! WHOO HOO!! # 2

and some of my favorites that I made and others have done No Exit
The Most Interesting Man in the World
dragon slayer
unearthed
a secretive man
nights in constantinople
water nymph