Etsy Fee Increase Survival Guide Planters GI3DPrints Great Gift Ideas

 

These cute planters are made of PLA Plastic from Etsy Shop GI3DPrints

Recently I posted about Etsy sellers who are complaining about the fee increases to shops and how some sellers were going on strike.   Suffice to say, I still feel Etsy is the best small shop platform for sellers who want to take their art or craft or vintage business or art supply business to the next level.  Now it may be true that for the small business, there are a lot of fees, however, mostly if your item sells, which is the good part.  You don't have to pay much to play, merely a free shop and a listing of .20 (unless you buy the monthly shop upgrades .  If and when you sell, then they will come at you with (effective/ 4/11/22 the fee increase went into effect from 5 percent to 6.5% sales fee ) and be possibly hit with additional fees such as payment processing fees and/or offsite ads fees if they apply. 

A group of Etsians took to doing an Etsy strike to protest the fees, and the overall dismay was picked up by news sources such as The Verge, The Street, MSN Market Watch and more.  Etsy's CEO actually posted the increase in the forums in case sellers missed their emails,and explained that the additional fees will be used to help Etsy grow . What's even better?  Sellers can take a survey listed on the bottom of that forum post to express their thoughts on the matter.  I am wondering how many people missed the tiny survey link at the bottom of that post in the forum?  Find it here:  A Message from Etsy’s CEO Josh Silverman on our Co... - Welcome to the Etsy Community

Etsy shop:  GI3D PRINTS how cute are these plastic dino planters? 

Case in point, part two of the podcast I recorded gives ideas for the Etsy seller to survive the increase, and a few ideas to make up for this hike.  I even talk to Harry at Lightbringer Designs and discuss great business models to make you think.  I really love GI3DPrints who makes custom PLA plastic fantastic planters which make great gift ideas; and I go into the fact of how we can look at the "wow" factor in their shop and apply to ours....listen to the podcast below! 

Suffice to say, I won't be going on strike, I love Etsy and still think the platform gives makers an easy to list storefront, easy to list way to display items, gives you built in feedback and the customer's ability to "favorite your shop" (which enables repeat business) and ease in taking payments and paying out state taxes.  Starting with a Shopify store means you must start from the ground, and I tried it once.  No time for all of that.  I also know a few people who got "instafamous" and sell strictly with a standalone shop and drop their items on Instagram posts.  Crazy lucky....whatever works for you I suppose. 

Plastic Bag Rugs, Not Rag Rugs Recycled Plastic Fantastic

My most recent find, at an antique store, was a crocheted interesting funky plastic bag rug. 

When the plastic bug bites, it stings.  I don't just look for melmac in thrift stores, antique malls, or rummage sales, I actually pay attention to all things plastic.   I recently stumbled upon some great plastic bag rugs, and bought the one above in the Serendipity Antiques Mall, a small multi level mall in old town Shrewsbury, PA for a steal. 

These are not exactly rag rugs, but made via crochet quite the same way.  I have found out information on them, and talked about them intensively in my most recent podcast episode. Not only is this a great way to reuse vintage plastic bags and keep them out of the landfill, but they come in quite interesting shapes, patterns, and colors. I find them holding up well in my home, better than any mass produced cheap throw rug I can find.  This is a great way to recycle plastic and keep these items out the landfill.  Enjoy. 

For the Love of Legos

Adrian!!!! It's Rocky Ornament on alowisheskitsch at Etsy! Sweet Little Lego Man!

The Lego Plastic Block Enigma

I was a 70's kid. I lived in Lego land. I could spend hours playing with those little plastic blocks. I would rather build in Lego land than play with Barbies. What was wrong with me?  I wonder if somehow, they have inadvertently formed me into a plastic junkie.    Truth is, most of us had toys that were plastic, whether it was plastic dolls, plastic cowboys and indians, or plastic trucks and cars.  Maybe even bath plastic boats, or rubber ducks? I just think when you entered Lego land it was more of an addicting little play world.  Build, destroy, build, destroy, build, fall apart, built, bust up, build, rebuild, build bigger....must...build.....ack!

This great and rare vintage Lego set available on Etsy at tarlotoys !

According to Wikipedia, Legos were started by the Danish as wood toys. What?  I can't imagine them not being plastic, can you?  Of course when they figured out how much cheaper it was to produce them in plastic, they switched. Some early examples are museum worthy, and not to mention a pretty penny!

Sport this Lego purse, many styles available at Agabag on Etsy!

Adults Love Legos, If They Say No, They Are Lying

I worked with an ADULT guy at Diamond Comics. I remember him telling me about his Lego creations and how he was going to work at Lego land  Parks some day. Well, he won a contest and low and behold packed up his family to live his dream. Soon I'd get emails of his creations and he was making their displays (of which are huge.)   Imagine my surprise when I realized this guy is getting paid to play with toys ALL DAY LONG.


Now, for those of you who visited such places as Lego land, just admit it. You claim the trip was for your kids, but you really wanted to go and ride that Lego roller coaster yourself. You just won't convince me otherwise.

For the Lego lover, a vintage lego brick ring. how lovely!  At Gr0glmann.Etsy.com

Lego is Freakin' Huge

Just how big is Lego?  It's huge. In fact I think it's a cult. There are forums just for Legos, Lego Wikias, Websites dedicated to making Legos, adults who collect Legos, kids who want to grow up and be the next big Lego Display artist in Lego Land......sigh.  Oh, get this, do you think it's odd that in my spell check program, Lego is listed and auto corrects, but Etsy is not. Goodness!  Speaking of which, on Etsy, as I've displayed above tons of crafters are using Legos in their art. Used and new, Lego is a serious business.  Who would have thought those cute little plastic blocks would turn out to be loved by so many? 

Legos are being used for crafts, like these keen Lego Ornaments, buy them at agabag.etsy.com

Tell me, what are you best Lego memories?

About the Author:
Thanks for visiting Melmac Central aka my RetroChalet blog. I love all things vintage, plastic and retro.  I would appreciate you liking my Facebook page for the Melmac blog here, or even check out my RetroChalet shop on Etsy. Drop me a line below if you have a favorite lego memory <3.

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