Vintage buyers: are yours collectors, trend setters or thrifty?

If you are a vintage seller, you already have a defined target market. Etsy defines it for you by limiting "vintage" to items over 20 years old. Plus, not everyone wants to buy pre-owned merchandise.

So we just limited our target market by, say, 50%. Every vintage seller is a niche seller. That was easy!

Within vintage there are at least three types of buyers:

Know your target market

• collectors
• trendy shoppers
• thrifty shoppers

Who are your buyers?

• What motivates them to buy? 
• How does your shop appeal to those motivations?

Consider the buyers who come to Etsy and browse vintage shops... They want to buy something. Sometimes they will buy something they had no idea that they wanted until they saw it. 

What made them decide to buy? You need to crack the code.

Great product selection helps, but it is not the only factor.

Sellers need to identify why some items sell well. Harness that information and use it to sell more stuff.

Pinpoint your most effective listing style

Separate yourself from the products you sell... just consider the listings themselves. Not the "what" is being sold but "how" it sold. What is it about the listing's style and makeup that buyers are responding to?

Consider the details of some listings that sold right away. Look at a few items that were barely in your shop before they sold.

Ask yourself some questions about the makeup of each listing.

Wording & listing setup

• Keywords. Check for keywords common to the titles or descriptions of your best-selling listings.
• What was the opening sentence in the first paragraph? 
• Description: how did you "talk" to your customers?
• Were listings more effective if  you gave some history of the item? 
• Were listings more effective if you suggested ways to use the item? 
• Where in the listing did measurements appear?



Collectors are unique buyers

• How did you manage the "attributes" fields on the listing creation page?

Photos

• How many photos did you use in your best selling listings? 
• What backgrounds did those photos have? 
• Were the images staged to show the item in use with props, or were the photos focused on the product alone?

Here is more information from Etsy about taking effective product photos.

Are you styling photos?

Target buyer

• Consider what you know about who bought the items (age, location).
• Was the item a gift?
• Look at their Etsy profile. Can you see preferences in their favorites?
• Was the buyer a collector, trendy or thrifty? Does the same listing style appeal to all three?

After gathering this data, analyze it. What made the listing effective?

Now, go make more listings like that.

Fun market research to improve your vintage online selling

Cozy up with your favorite device

Many of us realize that we need to do market research in order to improve our business. Yet, how exactly is it done?

There is an easy way. It is as simple as taking your favorite device and browsing the internet. Sound fun? It is! Why not give it a try?

(First, make a cup of your favorite beverage. Sit back and relax.)

Choose an item for sale

1. Choose an item that is currently in your shop, available for sale. Look over your product. Think about its overall use and who you think would be the person to purchase it. (No stress - this is just to get your mind warmed up.) Linger a bit, noting the color, size, texture, where it is to be used, how it might be displayed.

2. Next, go online, using Google, Bing and even other search engines. Search for a similar product as a shopper would. (No, you are not looking for yours. However you may very well find it during this process.)

Your goal is to see all the places, the venues, that show up for similar products. Example: you are selling a vintage fish brooch. Search for "fish brooch." Observe the array of ads, shops, pictures and locations. Enjoy the process... browse. Click some sites that look interesting.

3. Next search images. What appears? Select the links and observe how similar products are being sold. Read the product descriptions. Look at the pictures. How are the items being used? How are the similar items staged in their photos?

Who is your target market?

4. Find blogs that feature similar items. Read the posts (and even comments).

5. Browse Pinterest. Find some magazines. Locate similar products that are pinned and featured. What is being said? How is it being said?

6. Sip some beverage. Mull over your observations.

**There, that was fun!**

From all this shopping (I mean research) you should be able to identify some patterns about buyers:

• approximate age
• gender
• occupation
• home or office styles
• trends (like colors, textures and patterns)
• related products of interest
• location (USA, Europe, etc.)
• income level
• families? individuals?
• even personality, attitudes, behavior

Now you can see who your customer is. 

What else do they love, use or collect? (What other items could you be selling to them?)

Note any clues for improving your listings. What terms are used that could help sell your items? What vocabulary style(s) do you see?

(Perhaps your research will even reveal a new selling venue to try.)

How is your pricing?

Think about the photos you have viewed that show a similar item in use. Can you show your product in the same setting?

Do you see room for improvement in your product (if you make it)? How about your photography? Staging? Item descriptions? Pricing? Title and tag keyword phrases?

Use the information you have gleaned. Select a listing that is not performing well in your shop. Make some changes based on your new observations. It could lead to sales!

This fun process can be repeated of course. The more different kinds of items you offer for sale, the more types of items you should check in this way.

Research one item. Meditate on your findings. Make some changes. Evaluate the results. Lather, rinse repeat for more items in your shop. Your sales should improve.

Go ahead, try it. You might like it.

Thanks for joining me in the online selling journey.

Need more information? Here are 30 ways to improve your Etsy sales. Here are some more ideas if your shop sales are tanking.

Target market - define yours for more visits and sales

When you build a house, you need a solid foundation. When you form a business of selling, you need to figure out who your typical customer is. Build your business on that foundation of your target market.

Many sellers feel that their target market is "everyone." But no one shop's appeal is that broad. You must delimit your potential audience. If you do not, you can get discouraged very quickly when sales are slow.

Besides, if your target market is "everyone" you need to market to them. No one can afford to market to everyone. No one.

Here is an example: if you are watching a major sporting event, you will see different commercials than shown during a children's cartoon. The same with an afternoon soap. Why? Even big corporations with a large budget target a specific market and not everyone.

With a clearly defined target audience in mind, it is simpler to determine how and where to market your items. In fact, small Etsy shops can easily compete with large shops by targeting a niche market. 

This does not mean that you are excluding people who do not fit your criteria. Rather, target marketing allows you to focus your marketing efforts on a specific slice of market, the people that are more likely to buy from you. 

The goal is to reach other people like them who could also love your products. Tailor your marketing to them. 

Most shops have a small market. How can we get seen by our best potential customers?

Defining your target customer is essential for effective selling. It is the most affordable, efficient, and effective way to reach potential clients and generate business.

To define your target market requires detective work. Ask yourself some questions:

Who is your current customer base? What are their common characteristics and interests? Which factors bring in the most business? Why do they buy from you?

What products do you sell? Make a chart. Include your types of products. Next to each feature, list the benefits each type of item provides (and the benefits of those benefits). For example,

Once you have your benefits listed, make a list of people who have a need that your items fulfill.

What about your competition? Who is their target market? Who are their current customers? It is not necessary to copy them, but you may find a niche market that they are overlooking.

What details do you need to concentrate on?  Figure out not only who has a need for your items, but also who is most likely to buy it. It is time for some market research. Here are some demographics to consider:

Who are your peeps?

• Age - 20's? 40's?
• Gender - male or female?
• Occupation
• Location - USA? Worldwide?
• Income level
• Education - high school? college?
• Family status - single collectors? Married mothers?
• Ethnic background

Target markets come in many shapes

Try getting even deeper, consider things like:

• Personality
• Attitudes
• Values
• Interests/hobbies
• Lifestyles
• Behavior

How do your items fit into your target's lifestyle? What types of things are most appealing to your target? How and when will your target buyer use your items? 

Does your target market use social media? Other websites? Should you expand to another selling website? Should you start your own website?

Do not break down your target too far... You can have more than one niche market.

Signs that you may have broken down your target market too far:
1. You can reach more than one niche effectively with the same message.
2. If there are only 50 people that fit all of your criteria.

Find a balance.

How do I find all this information?

Educate yourself about your target market. Read magazine articles and blogs that talk about your target market. Read material that talks to them. Peruse blogs and forums where people in your target market express their opinions. Look for survey results, or consider conducting a survey of your own. You could ask your current customers for feedback.

Once you have determined your target market, evaluate your decision. Consider these questions:

• Are there enough people out there who fit my criteria?
• Will my target market really benefit from my items? Will they see a need for them?
• Can they afford my products?
• What drives my target market to make decisions?
• How do I reach them with my message? Are they accessible?

Whew, that is a lot of work! Here is a fun way to do it. Defining your target market is the hard part.

Once you know who you are targeting, it is much easier to figure out how to reach them and what message will resonate with them. Visits and sales will follow.

So, who is your target market? How can you reach them with your message?

 Here is more reading. Here is a recent forums discussion on the subject.

Still stuck? Here is a great case study on finding your target market. (More information on the subject from Etsy.)

Basics of Vintage Pricing

In the old days before Etsy, pricing was easy. You put your vintage item up for bid. The auction price was what it sold for.

With the advent of set prices and buy-it-now, we must figure out prices for our items. How is that done for vintage items?

Start with five basic questions

1. What is the demand for the item? Is its color popular?
2. What is its condition? For some types of items, condition is more important than others.

3. Is the item complete? Is it truly usable, or only displayable? Are the box and parts present?
4. Will the shipping add a tremendous amount to the final price?
5. How long can we wait to sell the piece? Can we easily store it and be patient to wait for our price? Or do we need to ask a lower amount to move the item quickly?

Pricing Research

Next, research prices

• Search Etsy for the item... check how your direct competition is pricing.
• Search the Internet for the item... in a broad image search you can see what is out there.
• Search eBay for the item... low end sold prices are visible when you check the box in the left column.
• Search Ruby Lane for the item... there we see more expensive pricing.

For special types of items, there are more websites. For example, www.replacements.com can be helpful for china, glass and flatware. Amazon.com and AbeBooks work well for books.

Consider what you have into the item. What did you pay for it? What kind of profit margin do you need? Can you factor in a 10-20% discount for coupons or those who ask for a better price?

Take a realistic look at the piece. How does it compare with what is already for sale? What have similar items sold for?

We must view our item within the context of the market and price it accordingly.

We walk a fine line. 

If the item is priced at the bottom, shoppers may assume that something is wrong with it and pass it right by. If we shoot for the moon, the high price could also turn off potential buyers.

I picture myself shopping. I make a search and see a page of results. I filter as to price. Which item would I choose based on the selection?

However, not everyone shops that way.

This brings up the questions of who are our buyers, and how do they shop?

Pricing goes hand in hand with marketing and branding.

are we the cheapest or best?

I took a marketing class many years ago. My takeaway was that you can market yourself as either the cheapest or the best.

Given the choice I try to market myself as the best... but with more moderate pricing. That is because my Etsy shop has a bit of a primitive Maine theme.

Niche shops can add a bit to their prices in general. Vintage sellers who specialize can attract more repeat buyers. They have less overall research to do. Here is more information why specialization is a good idea.

How do we attract better buyers?

Most of us would rather market toward upscale buyers. They are willing to pay more, right?

Ways we appeal to higher end buyers:

1. Make your shop look complete with everything filled out, your about page, banner, avi, etc.
2. Photograph your items well.
3. Have interesting items that appeal to upscale buyers.
4. Emit an aura of quality.

To whom are we marketing our items? Who is our target audience?

Here are some more ideas for raising the bar for your vintage shop.

Availability

If the item is rare, you can price it higher. However, there has to be enough demand for it so that someone will want to pay the price. As vintage sellers, we must pay heed to trends in design and fashion.

If there are a lot of the item already for sale on Etsy, I tend to price mine toward the bottom. That is how I handle the issue of direct competition based on price.

pennies or whole dollar increments?

What are your price points?

When you go shopping, take notice of prices. Upscale stores usually round to whole-dollar amounts.

Discounted pricing usually end with penny amounts like .95, .99, .88 and the like.

If we are marketing to upscale buyers, then round to whole dollars. If we aim to be the cheapest, then use "discount" price points.

My own take on price points? On the other E where it can be a race to the bottom, I use .95. On Etsy, I use whole numbers. The exception? Items in my bargain section are generally priced with the .99 ending.
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How comfortable are you with pricing your vintage goods? Do your prices reflect all of your costs including time and effort?

What tactics do you use when setting prices on Etsy?