First Impressions of Artfire

Wow, my first impressions of Artfire are pretty great! They provide you with a 45 day guide on how to be successful on Artfire, so of couse, like the nerd I am, I am trying to keep up with the instructional guide. One of the instructions on Day 8 says to post in the forums. In Etsy, I've always been hesitant to post in the forums because those people are intimidating! Really, I read through them sometime and some of the things that people say are, well, mean. lol. I know, I'm such a wimp because I don't want someone to be a meanie to me, but well, I don't. If I'm not being an as* to them, why should they be one to me. I mean, the golden rule of life is still in effect last time I checked.

Anywho, I had gone through some of the forum postings at Artfire and they have a specific section for newbies like me. I read some intros that people made about themselves and felt confident enough to post a new thread about myself. And you know what? Those people were soooo nice! I mean, they were helpful, even in their critiques which I greatly appreciated. There is a way to tell someone that something they are doing is wrong or sucks. You don't say, hey newbie, your stuff sucks. You compliment on what you like and give advice on how to improve something you thing needs changing, which again, I totally appreciate. There were alot of well-wishers and positive vibes and I really enjoyed that. I even got a compliment on the banner I use in my shop (which is the picture in this blog). Made me feel really good about myself. Yes, I'm pretty low maintenance that banner comments make me feel good. lol.

So far, Artfire totally rocks!

Hello Artfire.com

I've been doing a ton of research on improving my online promoting as well as trying to take the appropriate steps to be successful. While on my search, I came across a website called Artfire which is similar to Etsy in it is an online marketplace where crafters and craft suppliers (and I think Vintage sellers) can sell their items. I had never previously heard of Artfire and although I have only started selling on Etsy, I think I made my first Etsy purchase 4 or 5 years ago. Gosh, I can't even remember.

These are the things I learned in my research on Artfire:

- Artfire is fairly new, in that they seemed to have started around 2008
- Artfire's pricing works a little different - at least for listing. You pay a monthly fee (right now it's around $12.00/month) for unlimited listings.
- A buyer doesn't have to be a member to buy, they can just buy from your shop directly.
- Paypal isn't the only online payment option, you can also use Google Checkout, Amazon
- Items posted on Artfire become available in Google Shopping

All this I learned before actually going to the website. I decided to go over to the website to check it out. Right now (as of August 2011) you can have a promotional 1 month membership for free and if you do not notify them that you do not want to be a seller within a month, then the credit card you provide will be billed the monthly fee after 30 days. It appears that before (back in 2008 and 2009) they offered 2 different types of memberships. A "Basic" membership and a "Pro" membership. A basic membership used to be free and you had to pay for a Pro membership, which would entitle you to utilize many of the tools that Artfire provides which helps to get your shop more visible on the web. I don't think they offer the basic membership anymore (or I didn't see an area for types of membership). I decided to sign up, for at least 30 days and see what happens. You know, the "No Harm, No Foul" rule in effect.

I will keep you posted on how it goes as with the Etsy shop. My first impression though, on trying to establish my shop is that it is definitely not Etsy with a different name. It's definitely different - not bad or good yet - just different. It'll take some adjusting but hopefully it's a success. I have the 2 shops open for now, let's see if I can keep up!