Scam Convos...Sellers Beware

I received this Convo today... I have reported it to Etsy. I believe It is a scam. Notice the way the English is not "right". (i would like to purchase some of it in bulk order) and "price lists" (when the wording should say Price List not the plural).  "I saw"-- that should read 'I see'.  She also goes from capitol I to small i's in her words.

Granted some of it is minor grammar mistakes that anyone could make, but When you read the convo out loud you can see that is not how natural Americans talk....and together with the subject is the other red flag.

Plus the fact that she is trying to get me to sell her my things off of Etsy-- which is a Major No-No.

AND the fact that I only have 1 Quilt up for sale.. and I don't promote my shop as a Quilt shop. That was the biggest Red Flag to me.

Also- she doesn't have any feedback, nor does she have a shop...and she just joined today!

Here is the convo:
Hi there!
I saw that you are selling quilts ,and i would like to purchase some of it in bulk order.
Can you please send me your price lists together with your phone number that i can call?
Or you can email me at ... (I removed her email).
Thanks!

I also know that there are other scams with sellers trying to get your phone number and bank account information. I have had team members tell me of ones where someone convos to ask about an already sold quilt-- that they will pay more for it-- if you just refund the difference to them..

Another-- watch out for the persons asking you to put your item on their web site-- then if it sells there-- they will pay for it and you ship to the customer.... a drop shipper.

I have not responded to her as I don't want to encourage her. I am not interested... as much as I would love someone to buy a bunch of items from me...But I want it done legally.

Understand... also that with Yahoo or Hotmail or even Gmail-- you do not have to give your real name or age or zip code or anything. You can totally make up a new identity for yourself.

Sellers- Just be careful.. I get that we all want sales.. but I like Etsy and have no desire to mess that up. I think if some convo you get--- doesn't feel right, it is best to just report it and let them handle it.

Have a good day...

Do You Have New Items in your Shop?

Are your are sales slow?  I will be posting a series of posts about what works for me and what might work for you. This is just the first.

The time of year is probably the cause.. Jan & Feb are traditionally slow in the crafting and bricks/mortar shops.

But could it be that you are not working your shop? 

I know from past experience that I need to list something in my shop every 5 to 6 days or I come off the front page of a Google search. Everyone is different. I have a friend who also has an Etsy shop and her time frame is 3 days. Check your own times. 

I had been helping another team weed out it's non contributing members and noticed that the ones with little to no sales-- have just listed a few things and walked away. I had one lady tell me, that she doesn't check her shop until she gets an email saying she sold something-- she has been here 2 yrs and has only sold 3 things. I predict that if she continues to carry on this way-- it will be another 2 yrs before she sells the remaining 5 items in her shop! 

People-- You have to work your shops to get sales.. and that means listing new things in your shop. Think about it.. when I go to a shop.. I don't want to see that this item has been sitting in your shop for almost 4 months ( I can tell in the list view of your shop)... and basically that you just walked away. 

I get that some of you are discouraged.  But if you never have anything new in your shop-- why would I want to come back to see the same ol' thing. When you are out and about and stop into a store and they never get in anything new-- you don't go back. You write them off. And they eventually close their doors. 

I know that I only have to list 1 thing every 5-6 days.. So, when I am sewing-- and I have made say 8 things... I space out my listings. I don't have to list them all the same day. Sometimes I do.. but my shop is established and I don't worry as much.  I can list 1 of those 8 items every 5 days and still be on the front page. That is the goal-- to be on the 1st page of Google. 

I will be talking about helping you get more sales in the coming blog posts... My thoughts on what is working for me... and what I am reading on the forums that works for you.

Next post with be about Avatars.

 

Stay warm everyone, Linda/The Homespun Loft