How can a tablet help my vintage Etsy business?

Is a tablet the best choice for your vintage selling business?

Perhaps you are holding back from getting a device. Too difficult to learn. Too expensive.

Do you own a smart phone already? Have you tried using that for your business? How does its size work? Once you wear bifocals, you may prefer a tablet. There are mini tablets that are a little smaller which may be another option.

When my husband and I decided to buy a tablet, we were not sure how much use we would really get out of it. Hence, we bought a basic model without cellular service.

After we found out we really liked it and can use it, we purchased another one, a basic one with cellular service. Finally now we own one with maximum storage, thin size and portability along with cellular service.

My experience 

As far as recommendations, I only have experience with the Apple iPad. It is very intuitive. I have a full-sized one so I can see it with my over-50 eyes.

Because I take a lot of photos, we eventually purchased an iPad with the most memory available and an upgraded iSight camera. A "mini" is also available, which some prefer.

Shop Update photo using a rustic Filters app

Models with cellular service are more expensive up front. Additionally, you will have to pay for monthly data. We already had a cell phone with a local carrier and we bundled the cellular service with that.

If you don't purchase cellular data, you will only be able to use your device at home (if you have WiFi) and in other locations with WiFi. There are many places with free WiFi like fast-food restaurants, malls and libraries.

Our most extreme need for WiFi was a vacation we took in a remote location on the Canadian border. There was no US data. In order to view my emails, we had to cross the border and go to a little town office in Quebec. That is an unusual situation.

We purchased our iPads through the local carrier so that they would work with the local carrier. A savvy millennial would no doubt be able to do it cheaper.

We have 2 GB of cellular data per month, which works for us. With 1 GB, I had to continually check our data use in "settings." With 2 I am good as long as I don't do any streaming or uploading photos.

If you live in an area with a lot of carriers, you will have more choices. I live in a rural area. We need reliable data service in that area, so we used the best local carrier. I am sure that there are better deals out there.

15 ways to use a tablet in your vintage Etsy business

How do I use my device? How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

My Coach Sutton purse for auctions

1. At auction to look up prices 
2. At auction to photograph items. 
3. While bidding at auction, refer to the pictures. (In my case so I know which tray lot I am bidding on.)
4. I delete the photos that I don't use. The auction photos I save and record the price I paid for the item right on it for tax records.
5. Taking listing photos. 
6. Editing listing photos.
7. Enhancing photos. (Example: an app called Filters which makes items look textured and/or vintage colored)
8. Storing photos either on my tablet or in cloud storage.
9. Shop dashboard. The new Etsy Shop Manager for the Sell on Etsy app is even better than the new interface for the PC. Our views and favorites are better showcased in my opinion.
10. Composing listings. The app has been glitchy, so I often just use the regular web browser.
11. Shop updates. (I even have used my auction photos.)
12. Inventory management. I use Numbers on the iPad.

    

    Tablet used for inventory management

13. While packing orders, I play movies with my device.
14. Social media. I don't do much besides blogging. Even off line, I composed blog postings using Notes. (Blogger doesn't work well with a tablet.)
15. Financial management. There are free and low-cost spreadsheet programs available. 

Apps for our tablets

Spreadsheet - Numbers
Camera - comes with the device (called Photos), also Yamera
Photo Editing - Photos, plus Photo Editor
Photo Enhancing (Filters and Vintage Coloring) - Photos, plus Filters
Adding Text and/or Graphics to Photos -  Photos, Canva, Photo Editor
Social Media - I'm not an expert
ITTT - If This Then That - free app to create chains of simple conditional statements that accomplish things.
DropBox - store, sync and share files
Cloud Storage - iCloud, OneDrive

Sell On Etsy app. Has been unreliable. Mostly use the website via Safari. Hopefully it has been improved with the new site improvement rollouts of February, 2017.

Accessories for Work

1. Absolutely buy a case. I have dropped my iPads numerous times. I have broken three cases, but not the tablets.
2. Carrying one around. I use a vintage Coach bag. I have also used various other crossbody style bags.
3. Camera lenses. Inexpensive on eBay. Close-up and fish-eye.
4. Tripod adapter. Take another look at my setup for inventory management. My older iPad is attached to a tripod with an adapter that is available on eBay.

Internet service. If you use cloud storage such as iCloud or OneDrive, your photos will be uploaded and stored. That is a good thing. However, the process can take up a lot of bandwidth, slowing down your Internet WiFi service. We have just upgraded our Internet service at home from 3 to 25 mbps. That allows for streaming video on multiple devices.

We also pay for some extra cloud storage. Apple's is 99 cents per month.

So, have you been inspired at all to try out a tablet? I enjoy mine much more than I expected to: reading and working while we travel. Streaming movies while folding laundry. Video chatting with friends and family. Playing Spider Solitaire at bedtime...

Are you using a tablet to help run your Etsy business? Does it work well?

Here is an Etsy team for tablet users.

Shop updates - are you missing out?

Etsy's Shop Updates have been around since the end of 2015. How have they worked for you?

It seems that a lot of sellers don’t take full advantage of this great tool. Do many still lack mobile devices? Or is it because sellers don’t see the point? 

 Why should we do shop updates?

Shop updates in my mind take the place of treasuries. (Admittedly, they are not as much fun.) Shop updates appear on the front page, increasing the exposure of our shop. We can upload photos of our items and other associated pictures and market our shop. It's a golden opportunity to show our creativity, and make a connection with the followers of our shop. 

Shop Updates appear on our Home Page

Shop Updates can be viewed in two prominent spots: 

1. On our Home Page. 
2. Next to our About Page.

Between our reviews and About Page.

They represent our shop, our brand. Shop Updates can build trust as to the authenticity or our shop, our love for vintage, our seriousness as a vintage seller.

We all have the opportunity to tell our shop’s story on a day-by-day basis. Isn’t that better than just once? At the same time, we can share our Shop Updates on some social media channels. It is a mini-blog, a form of shop promotion.

You will see shop updates from a shop if you:

1.      Favorited the shop.

2.      Favorited an item from the shop.

3.      Bought something from the shop.

4.      Own the shop.

If you're at all active browsing on Etsy, you will have updates coming through your feed. If you don't like a particular shop's updates, just shut them off (three little dots in one corner).

In my shop, I notice that featured items have a higher rate of selling. Other sellers feel the same. Perhaps our shops get a little bump up when we post. Or perhaps it is just the extra exposure our item receives.

How to post an update

You must have a mobile device that runs on iOS or Android. The alternative is to load an Android emulator on your PC (something like BlueStacks).

1.      Open "Sell on Etsy" app on your smartphone or tablet.

2.      Select "Shop Updates" in the menu (top left corner).

3.      Push the blue bar that appears across the bottom.

4.      “Take photo” or “choose existing photo.”

5.      Pinch and zoom. You can tweak your photo. (You will want to do any major editing before this step.) Select “next” in the top right corner.

6.      Tap the photo is the spot where you would like the orange Etsy tag to show.

7.      Select the item from your shop that you wish to promote. (Occasionally there are issues with this step. I have had to delete and reload the Sell On Etsy app a few times because this step failed to work.)

8.      Adjust the tag placement if necessary.

9.      Type a sentence or two that addresses “What is happening in this photo?” Be brief and upbeat.

10.   Push the blue bar, “Share on Etsy” which publishes it.

11.   A screen gives you the option to share your post on social media pages (Facebook, email, SMS and "Copy"). 

It's all done. Wasn’t that quick and easy?

Shop Update Visibility

Shop Updates show up on your feed from shops you have favorited or bought from. They are also part of our shop’s front page. Shop Updates are positioned between your reviews and About Page.

On your feed, you can hide certain updates, or all updates from a certain shop. (I do that if a shop just posts the same pic of their item that is on the listing or I don’t like their stuff, or if they just post too many updates in a row.) Look for three dots on the bottom right corner of the update you want to hide.

Ideas for Updates

Etsy is a venue designed for creative enterprises. It can seem daunting to come up with ideas for vintage shops. See dozens of ideas for vintage sellers here. 

How Often?

Etsy Traffic (right column)

Some sellers post updates rarely, less than once per month. How often do you want to appear in the feed of interested shoppers? I’ve seen a shop post four updates right in a row (Too annoying. I just deleted it.)

Some shop owners object to seeing their own updates in their feed. However, Etsy is letting us see how our updates fit into the rhythm of the feed. How often does your Shop Update feed refresh? I’ve read that once every 2-3 days is a goal to try. I actually aim for once per day, but sometimes miss.

Shop Overview Dashboard. Look for patterns.

It may seem like common sense, but I recommend placing your Etsy tag as close to the item as possible or even on it. We wouldn’t want our featured item to be removed from the photo during any cropping.

Hashtags

Using hashtags in our shop updates may improve our post if we plan to publish it across certain social media channels.

Edit or delete later

Sometimes it is necessary to edit or delete a shop update after posting it. To do that, open the Sell on Etsy app. Select the post. Your options appear when you tap the three dots in the top right corner display: delete, edit caption, move tag or share.

Stats

Shop update stats show up in two places:

1. In the right-hand column (traffic from within Etsy). 

2. Shop overview dashboard. Hold your cursor over days/months(/even hours). Below the chart it will tell you how many shop updates within that period.

Here is more information from Etsy about Shop Updates.