Treasured! Deep in the Pretty

'Deep in the Forest.....' by 58andGrace

70s Knit Shades of ... illkniterate $3.00	Leather Faux Crocod... hugeancestor $28.00	Tree of Life Neckla... JewelryDeli $19.50	Tender - An Earthy ... peifferStudios $24.00
Vintage Army Jacket Lilyedenn $55.00	Mother Nature green... theothermagdal... $17.38	Deep Green Californ... vintagepickins $24.00	Mini watchmaker bot... deadsound $9.00
Moss and Ivy - natu... ForStrangeWome... $25.00	Deep Forest Wool Ba... baloo $34.00	Vintage 1930s Green... CuriousCrowVin... $75.00	Victor Electric Add... jillhannah $125.00
Journey into Myster... elgarboart $30.00	Vintage 2 Inch Wide... CynicalGirl $2.25	Rustic distressed s... tinahdee $70.00	Vintage forest gree... Wavalee $58.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

'Give Me the Words to Speak' by BucktoothedBunny

Thank you to VelvetMorning for the title!

BOGO Sale - Mounted... CatherineAnnDe... $35.00	Tout Doucement AlisonTyne $35.00	High Five Hand Etch... ThePolkadotMag... $85.00	A Pair of Tea Canld... kaftansarafan $18.00
Manly Shave Gift Se... DirtyDeedsSoap... $35.00	Earrings Topaz Crys... fivelittlegems $16.00	Photographic Print ... instantt $23.00	vintage 1950s set o... Luncheonettevi... $70.00
Black and White num... ARTinVENICE $38.20	White Chocolate Cov... tookies $14.00	Necklace - sterling... realisationcre... $93.00	Give Me Words To Sp... VelvetMorning $15.00
Helen... Earthy red... cocoricooo $54.00	Vintage Beaded Earr... VintageScraps $12.00	Vintage Style Woode... inspirationsby... $6.00	Antique Doorknobs w... jillhannah $60.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Is Free Shipping Profitable?

Yesterday on NPR I heard a news story about L.L. Bean's new free shipping on everything policy. Everything. Apparently, recent market research showed the #1 reason a customer decides to buy something from you instead of your competitor is free shipping.

If it's a matter of sales versus no sales, it's probably better to sell (assuming your prices aren't already so low you lose money on your items). But if it's just more frequent sales versus less frequent sales, it gets a lot harder to know the "right" answer.

Questions to ask yourself:

• How high are your shipping costs to begin with?
• Will increased sales more than make up for the shipping costs?
• Can you increase your current prices to cover the shipping costs and still gain enough customers to cover shipping costs?

That last question is the one I'm going to play with. Market research shows that customers irrationally would rather have free shipping and pay the exact same amount more for the item. Now, on Etsy that means paying 3.5% fees on your shipping costs, too, but if you make more sales, it's worth it.

My shipping costs are high. I ship heavy and/or breakable things all the time and I abuse bubble wrap until I can safely drop the package down the stairs without damaging the contents. Plus I like to make my packages look like presents (wrapped in recycled wallpaper samples for attractive durability), though I do that on my own time and don't figure that into my costs. Can I really get away with selling, say, my ebony Pyrex mugs for $60 if I offer free domestic shipping?
I'm going to try. If everything flies off the shelves, I'll let you know.
And send NPR a thank you card.


Another fabulous article showing how to think about free shipping and set up a formula for figuring out a good number for "free shipping over $__" can be found here:
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/improving-website-conversion/shipping-charges.html

Treasured! Alongside a Gazillion New Favorites

I just got the convo that I'm in this new Etsy treasury, and holy crud are there a lot of items in here that are now on my favorites list. Those Oxford shoes are to die for (and I promptly hearted just about everything in annacarinavintage's shop), I'm strongly coveting the LanaStepul checkered skirt, and the mid-century modern lamp from birdie1 is a completely awesome find. I could go on with the necklace, photograph, ornament, purse, etc., but it's easier to just post the whole treasury and let you see for yourself:

'as simple as black and white' by boohoobluewhale

Vintage 1980s Black... annacarinavint... $36.00	Milk Glass Fenton H... jillhannah $65.00	Classic Black Onyx ... Beteabon $25.00	MADE TO ORDER-Vivie... Innerversion $225.00
Vintage Black and ... STLvintage $10.00	Mid Century Modern ... birdie1 $75.00	Retro Inspired Cott... LanaStepul $59.00	Black and White Dia... asecretshop $24.00
Framed Cameo Neckla... awedore $32.00	Huge Vintage Black ... Glamaroni $15.00	New Item --- (2) Pa... ShugabeeLane $219.00	Littlest Round Coin... wildmustangs $20.00
Untitled BW (from t... totally80sgrrl $75.00	Black and White 4 i... Rigmarole $9.75	Black rutilated qua... odalisca $25.00	vintage flats in me... ElasVintageFin... $52.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

In other treasury news of today, my recently listed 1950s Tupperware ketchup and mustard dispensers made it into a very fun and summery treasury:

'Nice Day For A Picnic' by TripleCTreasures

Vintage Hand Crank ... AliceIdella $40.00	Vintage Photo Teen ... americathebeau... $2.25	Vintage 1960s Kodak... TheVelvetBranc... $44.00	Thermos Brand Red P... mysistersbarn $16.00
Vintage Wicker Picn... TheVelvetBranc... $52.00	vintage INGRID pici... rustyvintage $17.00	Faded Shabby Chic V... 51VC $40.00	Vintage green bait ... cabinwindows $12.00
Vintage Retro Ice B... TidBitz $10.00	Vintage Tupperware ... jillhannah $20.00	Picnic Chair Great ... funretro $25.00	Large red Coca Cola... myler4 $150.00
Vintage 1980s Red P... BasyaBerkman $25.00	Vintage Lighter Flu... funretro $15.00	Adorable Vintage Su... poppyandbean $22.00	Big Red . Avant Gar... RecycleBuyVint... $13.99

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

There are a number of treasuries I've been in recently and haven't posted, but you can always see them all by going to http://www.etsy.com/treasury/search/?search_query=jillhannah

I do want to post one I loved from a few days ago that contained a clock I want want want:

'Honey, let's redo the kitchen in Mid-Century Mod!' by katieale

Pair of Vintage Eme... FunVintageLivi... $18.00	Mid Century Red Pla... BarkingSandsVi... $95.00	Vintage Mid Century... DaveysVintage $75.00	footed wood cutting... thelittlemarke... $40.00
Vintage Retro Bubbl... TeamRuster $7.00	Cathrineholm bowl hazelhome $80.00	Mid Century Modern ... horseandharevi... $20.00	In the Kitchen - Mi... handz $19.00
Lion Star Mid-Centu... StringbeanStud... $24.00	Mid-Century Vintage... jillhannah $20.00	Mid Century Danish ... junk2funkbiz $1200.00	Vintage catherineho... lunaparkfoundr... $130.00
3 Vintage Colorful ... DandelionGirl $36.00	avocado green fondu... pinkshirtsncar... $25.00	Mid Century Slat Wo... puscake $150.00	Mid Century Modern ... VintageEye $16.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

Enjoy!