Is the Expense of a RL shop worth it to you?

Hi RL sellers, I have quite a few high-end things (and not-s0, too) and I've always thought about a shop at Ruby Lane but I would like to get an idea of sales.

On Etsy, I pay 20 cents a listing and a small percentage to sell, so that is hard to beat, but my sales are slow. I admit I'm hot and cold when it comes to promoting my own shop, but I need to move my stuff and it's not moving!

So the question is: Do sales at Ruby Lane justify the cost of doing business there?

Thanks so much. I really do appreciate any input.

Mona

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by 2Hearts Uptown @Ruby Lane on May 2, 2012 at 11:54am

Hi Mona,

I dithered about signing up for RL, and it has far exceeded my expectations both in terms of sales and being "seller friendly." With a B & M rented case, hardly sold enough to pay the very cheap rent. At RL, can get better prices and well established market for higher end inventory. RL has a fantastic international, loyal clientele, although Etsy is very well known, too. I don't know what you sell, but the international market makes all the difference for me; so results would not be the same if I weren't willing to ship internationally (most months, my #2 volume of visitors is Russian). One word of caution, is that summer tends to be MUCH slower, and for me April was very slow after 6 straight months of strong sales previously. If you do switch, give it at least 10 months to evaluate. Also, there are advantages to being "exclusive" to RL - much better traffic due to higher visibility in site searches. If you keep your Etsy shop as well, you won't get that. Good luck! (PS - am always curious about Etsy, as quite often when I do a google search and click to an Etsy item, it has sold!).

Permalink Reply by Suzy's Timeless Treasures on May 2, 2012 at 12:11pm

I just checked and for 2012, my cost of a RL shop compared to sales is 11.7%. I could get that a bit lower by writing more blogs for RL. I'm pretty happy with that as I love selling on RL, I like the way the site is designed, I think it's very impressive from a shopper's viewpoint (I started out as a shopper first). I think they do a great job promoting the site and management is very responsive to the shop owners.

Here's a link to the cost of a shop on RL, if you haven't looked into it already: http://kb.rubylane.com/category.php?catID=14

You need to decide if it's worth it for you based on your items. Most of my vintage items are priced at less than $100 . Good luck to you!

Permalink Reply by Waalaa on May 2, 2012 at 12:39pm

I'm sad to say I am on the fence about this. I absolutely love Ruby Lane and wish I could have an exclusive shop. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to do that because I don't sell enough on Ruby Lane to give up my Etsy shop. On the other hand, being an exclusive shop on RL gives you so many freebies and benefits over the non-exclusive shops that it is very hard to compete. It also makes my RL shop incredibly expensive - so expensive that I cannot afford to pay for some of the things that would increase my exposure, i.e. clicks, featuring, etc. My 2011 expenses for RL were a LOT higher percentage-wise than my Etsy shop (and a much higher percentage than yours, Suzy's - I can see why you are happy at 11.7%). Many months I barely break even and cover my RL expenses. But I keep my RL shop because I do love it and hope to some day have enough sales to either close my Etsy shop and go exclusive, or not be so affected by the fact that I am NOT exclusive! LOL

Permalink Reply by Graceful Antiques on May 2, 2012 at 1:10pm

I refuse to tell anyone where to go as I have been everywhere.

It really is like Cinderella shoes. What works for one will not for another. One thing to look at for sales are 2 things.

Your type of inventory and the customer base.

It is different for these venues mentioned.

I was at Etsy with 2 shops. It is not that I did not make sales as I did. It just did not fit me overall.

I really do feel for dealers and all of these malls. We have unique items and we sell in a cookie cutter chain store world.

Being doing this since 1996 as I sound like a broken record but it is all a learning curve and it all changes constantly as we have learned this week...

Time factor is also probably my biggest reason to stay exclusive. My personal life does not afford me the time to work more than exclusive to Ruby Lane. Now since RP is shutting down I will be more focused on my RL shop.

I once was on 7 venues at once. Lets just say it for me was not worth it. At all.

I will say I know of no other place online to be during Holiday season for vintage or antiques. With the months flying by wherever or whatever you do it has to be done in advance of this Season.

Permalink Reply by Suzy's Timeless Treasures on May 2, 2012 at 1:19pm

Great line, Sandy: "I really do feel for dealers and all of these malls. We have unique items and we sell in a cookie cutter chain store world."

One thing to consider is when to make the move if you are going to do it. 1st quarter was a very strong sales period for me as well as 4th quarter last year. 2nd quarter is still doing OK, but not as high volume or dollars. In June, July, August sales tend to slow down considerably. It takes 6 to 8 months for your shop to get established, to get the word out, to show up in searches consistently, etc.

Permalink Reply by Antique Beak on May 2, 2012 at 1:30pm

I have been on RL for 14 years now (12 in my current shop) and have been very happy with my sales overall. Make no mistake - it IS an expensive venue to sell on so the items you sell need to be of a certain dollar amount to be able to maintain a profit. The shop is very user friendly and the customer service reps generally get back to you quickly when you need help. I especially like the "chat" feature which grants you instant online help should you need it. That being said I am not exclusive to RL, I was for most of the time but decided to open a bird-themed jewelry shop as well, some pieces of which did not fit into RL's guidelines. I have not seen a decrease in sales due to this decision of 3 years ago although January and February were the worst months I have EVER had in my RL shop. (April was slammin'!) I have noted that Etsy comes up higher in searches than RL does and I see it referenced more in magazines (Country Living, Vintage Finds, Flea Market Finds) as the place to buy vintage items so perhaps your exposure would be better on Etsy for vintage and RL for antiques.

Permalink Reply by Deer Path Vintage on May 2, 2012 at 2:39pm

Thanks so much, everybody. You've given me much to chew on here. Antique Beak, I agree that Etsy seems to have more exposure than RL, and that's kind of what prompted my question. I'm watching Etsy grow, but my sales aren't growing along with it. That could be partly my fault -- lack of promotion, and lack of knowing what's hot and what's not!

I have a blog that I sorely neglect and I don't participate as much as I should in the forums. I have a life outside of Etsy that I blame on much of this, so I have to decide for myself how much work I want to put into this. Nobody else can help me with that part!

But again, thanks for giving me further insight into Ruby Lane. I'm surprised to hear that they're already dropping Ruby Plaza. Anyone know why?

Mona

Permalink Reply by 2Hearts Uptown @Ruby Lane on May 2, 2012 at 2:41pm

RE: Ruby Plaza - it's the usual suspects - not enough traffic, thus not enough sales.

Deer Path Vintage said:

Thanks so much, everybody. You've given me much to chew on here. Antique Beak, I agree that Etsy seems to have more exposure than RL, and that's kind of what prompted my question. I'm watching Etsy grow, but my sales aren't growing along with it. That could be partly my fault -- lack of promotion, and lack of knowing what's hot and what's not!

I have a blog that I sorely neglect and I don't participate as much as I should in the forums. I have a life outside of Etsy that I blame on much of this, so I have to decide for myself how much work I want to put into this. Nobody else can help me with that part!

But again, thanks for giving me further insight into Ruby Lane. I'm surprised to hear that they're already dropping Ruby Plaza. Anyone know why?

Mona

Permalink Reply by CheriShops - Admin on May 2, 2012 at 4:50pm

I was exclusive for a while, thinking it would be "just right" in having both an RL and RP shop...I really did not see a dramatic upswing in traffic or sales while I was exclusive, but then, after the glitches with the server change over the holidays resulted in poor sales, and then ongoing glitches for me in my shop owner functions, I decided to reopen my Etsy vintage shop and also a store on eCrater, which has begun to bring in more sales, even tho I only have very few items on it thus far. Not being exclusive again did not result in much of a change in traffic or sales, and the glitches, plus the fact that I am also now working other jobs so less time, really did dampen my enthusiasm for my RL shop. Throughout this time I maintained higher traffic to my RP shop, and surprising sales even tho I wasn't adding much

Now that RP is closing, I am relieved I have the free eCrater store to list all my stuff on as there is no way I could afford to put it all on RL, and some of it doesn't fit the Etsy shop

To answer your question Mona, I do feel having a shop on RL is worthwhile as it is the best site for nicer AVC items,(and like Sandy, I have tried 'em all over the past 10 years) but I have to keep my inventory number low to be able to afford it. So I add stuff during the month and then move the items before the clock strikes midnight on the 1st and those maintenance fees add up.(sad that I won't be able to move them to RP after it closes, but glad I have the other options now)

One thing I really prefer with Etsy is the 20c listing fee is for 4 months and it runs from the day you add till 4 months are up, unlike RL where you pay 30c to list and then another 30c for each month the item is on...it is amazing how all those 30c quickly add up, and then the $20 monthly advertising fee on top........... I also get a lot more traffic to my Etsy items than my RL ones, even tho I promote RL more?? which I guess reflects the overall higher traffic on Etsy per se.

Permalink Reply by 2Hearts Uptown @Ruby Lane on May 2, 2012 at 5:53pm

What does AVC stand for?

CheriShops - Admin said:

I was exclusive for a while, thinking it would be "just right" in having both an RL and RP shop...I really did not see a dramatic upswing in traffic or sales while I was exclusive, but then, after the glitches with the server change over the holidays resulted in poor sales, and then ongoing glitches for me in my shop owner functions, I decided to reopen my Etsy shop and also a store on eCrater, which has begun to bring in more sales, even tho I only have very few items on it thus far. Not being exclusive again did not result in much of a change in traffic or sales, and the glitches, plus the fact that I am also now working other jobs so less time, really did dampen my enthusiasm for my RL shop. Throughout this time I maintained higher traffic to my RP shop, and surprising sales even tho I wasn't adding much

Now that RP is closing, I am relieved I have the free eCrater store to list all my stuff on as there is no way I could afford to put it all on RL, and some of it doesn't fit the Etsy shop

To answer your question Mona, I do feel having a shop on RL is worthwhile as it is the best site for nicer AVC items,(and like Sandy, I have tried 'em all over the past 10 years) but I have to keep my inventory number low to be able to afford it. So I add stuff during the month and then move the items before the clock strikes midnight on the 1st and those maintenance fees add up.(sad that I won't be able to move them to RP after it closes, but glad I have the other options now)

One thing I really prefer with Etsy is the 20c listing fee is for 4 months and it runs from the day you add till 4 months are up, unlike RL where you pay 30c to list and then another 30c for each month the item is on...it is amazing how all those 30c quickly add up, and then the $20 monthly advertising fee on top........... I also get a lot more traffic to my Etsy items than my RL ones, even tho I promote RL more?? which I guess reflects the overall higher traffic on Etsy per se.