to discount or not to discount… that is the question

I’ve seen many sellers run sales and discounts who had great results but running sales never really worked for me personally so I don’t really offer them at my shop. But with the recent down turn in the economy and sluggish sales, one can only hope for a sale by slashing prices and offering deep discounts. I am confounded with the mixed advice/ideas offered on the forum about the subject. And I need to move my item or stop going to thrift stores for like a month until I figure a solution of how and where to store my finds. Slower than usual sales, lack of space and my uncontrollable urge to go thrifting is what I’m confronted at this time.

Having almost 400 item listed for sale in my Etsy shop is quite overwhelming; having 400 inventory laying around all over my house is another story. And I still probably have another one hundred other items still in a box or plastic bag that needed to be inspected, cleaned, photographed and listed. If you’re a daily thrifter like I am then you’re bound to find something each shopping trip and therefore need to be very creative about storing such finds before hubby trips on one of your train cases and start to really get annoyed and would never let you out of the house again.

I have converted two rooms in my basement to store my inventory, half of the garage to store my packing peanuts and various sizes of boxes, part of the family room downstairs as shipping area and I’m still in need of space. The two instances where I spent a whole weekend looking for a sold item to package in the sea of my ever growing inventory was not a deterrent to stop my thrifting obsession, I take it as a sign that I need more shelves in the house.

So what to do, I have been thinking of running a sale, buy-one-get-one-half-off-or-something-the-like, free shipping is out of the question since most of my items are heavy. But I will definitely try some kind of discount sale in April for my Etsyversary, so stay tuned.

What do you think? would you discount price to boost your sales or maintain prices to preserve your product?

recent finds I really wanted to keep for myself

So I have been getting lucky in finding neat stuff from my latest thrifting pursuits. Or maybe it’s not so much the luck, it could be that I may be developing a keener eye; the things I used to ignore before I’m finding them now. I’m very selective when it comes to the stuff I pick for the shop and therefore finding myself having three piles of stuff at the end of my shopping trip, which are as follows;

pile 1: amazing stuff I might keep

Pile 2: amazing stuff I want to keep

Pile 3: amazing stuff I will definitely keep for myself and maybe hand it down to my daughter someday.

So these recent finds are actually in between piles 1 and 2. Stuff I really wanted to keep for myself, but I can’t because they either don’t go with the rest of my décor or I don’t have a space for it.

Unique and whimsical piano or desk lamp in polished brass finish with a music note motif.

Georges Briard large tuxedo ice bucket

Quirky 'wimpy' red and white cappucino cups and saucer made in Germany.

And a vintage body form (I will add photo later) which I don't have a clue how to ship if it ever get sold.

Please look for these items at Modish Vintage shop shortly.

my third entry for the day

Google Analytics (GA) rocks and treasuries too! I’m one of those obsessive compulsives that constantly checks their views on GA and with the sudden spike in views yesterday found out my miniature cups (which have been listed forever and relisted again) was on the front page treasuries, sadly no takers but nonetheless I’m very happy with the views. thank you!

mixed fruit kitchen décor

Do you love fruit décor? Strawberry, apple an pears? Well I do, there’s something so charming and cheerful about decorating with fruits especially with apples. I heart apple décor. I’ve collected and sold many apple decor in my shop and some I regretted selling, like these set of apple tin canister.

You can turn any dull country kitchen into a charming, and very inviting place by simply adding some colourful apple canisters or a strawberry jar, a dish towel, bowl, trivet or salt and pepper shaker with fruit patterns on them. And Etsy is a great place to buy those unique, one-of-a-kind vintage fruit décor (ahem, like my shop) .

If you want the total effect of country style decorating in your kitchen, add some curtain with gingham check pattern in red or yellow. Of course what is a country style room without some wicker baskets, rustic throws, handmade quilts and pretty decorative plates to add charm and colour.

Whether you are going for a country, cottage, shabby chic, French country look or simply a modern contemporary look, you can’t go wrong with adding a few colourful apple or fruit décor for a lovely finishing touch.

Please look for these items at Modish Vintage soon!!

sunny days are my most productive days

It’s been nice and sunny the last couple of days and I have been photographing like crazy. I live in the Norhtwest where it’s cloudy, rainy and overcast most of the year. And when it’s sunny and bright like today I had to put everything aside on my to-do list and take pictures first thing. Spring must be right around the corner because the bluejay is back in my backyard. He usually comes around much later like late February or March, but he was here today and I got to take a picture of him.

On another note, I am really excited to reach my 600th sale this weekend, which was a great milestone for a small hobby that turned into a full time job. So to celebrate, I treated myself to this...

A small tough ruffle zipper purse by madebyhank. She has the most lovely, original, handmade bags I've seen on Etsy.