We need to talk...

I've only been with Etsy for a few months.  And in that short span of time I've learned a lot from her... mostly that I need to work a lot harder on my product photography and that if I don't have hours to spend every day on the forums promoting my items they won't get seen by anyone outside of my small group of friends (who graciously tolerate my occasional facebook posts about my shop).  The bloom on our relationship, which seemed so very keen and exciting at first, has faded far too fast.  I've only made one sale that wasn't to a real-life friend, and while I know that between the lousy economy and the saturated jewelry market I should have more patience and see how things go with the upcoming holiday shopping season... but I just don't see things working out.  Honestly Etsy, I'm sorry.  But we need to start seeing other people.

You see, I recently met a new site called ArtFire.  He's technically still in beta and I haven't done hours of research yet, but so far I'm seeing him through the rose colored glasses of an exciting new relationship.  Maybe the newness will wear off in time but I've just got to give it a chance or I'll always look back and wonder "what if...?"

I love that he has a single monthly fee for unlimited numbers of listings and re-listings.  That his searches pull randomly so the constant re-listing so my item will show up in searches won't be necessary with him.  I'm positively swooning over his ability to set up coupon codes.  And I look forward to finding out if the rumors about his responsive tech support are really true.

I know that perhaps I'll be let down, it wouldn't be the first time my high hopes ran away with me... But I'm willing to take that chance because maybe, just maybe, we'll live happily ever after.

And now seems like perfect timing.  ArtFire is preparing to get out of beta and is offering a limited number of people a chance to lock in a $5.95 a month rate for a pro account. 

I probably won't abandon Etsy completely, I'm not that kind of girl.  I've only just set up a basic free account on ArtFire so far... I want to take things slow at first and make sure we're really right for each other before taking the next step.  And besides, I've already paid listing fees that will take most of my items with Etsy through the winter holidays.  But I expect that very soon I'll be sharing a link to a lovely new shop and that ArtFire and I will make each other very happy.