making a website ?

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cjd1980

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Sep 3, 2008
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Hi everyone I'm thinking about getting a website to sell my knives. I know very little about computers and such and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. I was also interested if anyone had any experience with etsy as i was thinking that might also be a good way of testing the waters thanks for the help.
 
"I know very little about computers and such" - just more the reason you should upgrade to at least a gold membership, and sell your knives here at BF. It will be much easier/cost efficient for you than owning a domain and maintaining an up-to-date website (so many websites are being paid for yet they're dead with the most recent updates being years old). If you have enough knives to justify creating a website, a dealer membership might be better for you. Lots of people make websites with little comp exp by using website builders.

Are you aware Etsy has certain guidelines for selling products? I think your for sale items have to be handmade by you or someone who has given you permission to sell their handmade goods, or your knives have to be 20+ years. Oh, and, 'craft supplies'. :rolleyes: LOL. If anyone knows I'm wrong on this feel free to correct me.
 
A friend of mine sells on Etsy and does OK. They charge for listing items and a commission when you actually sell something. Also a commission for the method of payment (VISA, Pay pal, etc). I think there may be some other fees as well but not sure. If you have your own website you avoid some of this, but you must pay the website builder/manager (unless you do it yourself), and the aforementioned payment handler.
 
If you don't know much you might want to look into a WYSIWYG (stands for - what you see is what you get) site builder like WIX, I've never used WIX personally but I have built websites, getting traffic to your site like Don said is an entirely different subject.. but if you want to do it yourself, that's where I'd go.. There are also already built and established websites for sale - check out flippa.com, another alternative is to outsource the building of your website to a freelancer - check out Upwork.com (but you're going to want to learn how to update it and such)
 
I have sold most of my knives through BF, Instagram and word of mouth. I wanted a website to point people that aren't on BF or Instagram to my knives. In addition I explain pricing on the site so I don't have to retype it in every email that I get.
I just started a website using squarespace.com. It took me about a week working on it a few hours a day. I'm not very tech savvy so I wanted a template that I just had to "fill in the blanks". It was pretty straight forward to construct. Feel free to check out my site. www.ericksonknifeworks.com
 
I bought a knifemaker membership here really to support the site. I have never offered a knife for sale here of my making. If I was far enough ahead on current orders to want to sell to the public, I would start right here in the marketplace. I think you are more likely to find educated buyers who know what a quality knife is. I did register my domain (faithforgeknives.com) but I don't pay to host it. Most people find me on FB or Instagram. on a side note, a buddy of mine keeps wanting me to buy "iwillcutyou.com" but they want a lot of money for it. That would be pretty funny though.
 
cjd1980 said:
Hi everyone I'm thinking about getting a website to sell my knives. I know very little about computers and such and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

I was also interested if anyone had any experience with etsy
Click to expand...

Why you no read their terms of service ?

https://www.etsy.com/ca/legal/prohibited/?ref=list#Q3
https://www.etsy.com/ca/help/article/5087


What I've seen of etsy is crafters checking out the photos of other crafters and ripping off their ideas.

There are few sales and they all seem to be low $
 
12345678910 said:
Why you no read their terms of service ?

https://www.etsy.com/ca/legal/prohibited/?ref=list#Q3
https://www.etsy.com/ca/help/article/5087


What I've seen of etsy is crafters checking out the photos of other crafters and ripping off their ideas.

There are few sales and they all seem to be low $
Click to expand...
Maybe he only wants to sell Kitchen knives on etsy? I don't sell there, but if I did it wouldn't be a problem. I only sell tools. Something is defined as a "weapon" by how it is used, not what it looks like. I only make tools. Tools are allowed. I guess if they had a real problem with it, they would boot knifemakers to make room for people who make and sell vagina hats.
 
I would check out squarespace... very easy to set up web pages on there. A lot cleaner and more professional looking than wix.com
 
Kevin McGovern said:
Maybe he only wants to sell Kitchen knives on etsy? I don't sell there, but if I did it wouldn't be a problem. I only sell tools. Something is defined as a "weapon" by how it is used, not what it looks like. I only make tools. Tools are allowed. I guess if they had a real problem with it, they would boot knifemakers to make room for people who make and sell vagina hats.
Click to expand...

I didn't say he couldn't. I only encouraged him to do primary research direct from the source., Costs-fees, prohibited content- it's all there in the FAQ

A friend of mine makes and posts stuff on Etsy, no sales; just requests for more photos and info on how he made it. Then posts by that user a week later posting the same unique idea at a lower cost.
 
Seems to be a lot of Pakistan "Damascus" on Etsy.
It's hard to compete with that. Kind of like selling custom knives at a flea market.
 
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