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by slapshot
5555 days ago
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Etsy has a huge UI challenge right now: as the volume of listings increase, it becomes harder to find things that I'm interested in. Even text search is quickly overwhelming, because it's hard to describe new and quirky objects that are Etsy's biggest draw (for me). If Etsy could create a good "we see you've bought quirky post-industrial greeting cards, maybe you'd be interested in ____" function (much like Netflix, Amazon, etc) then it would be greatly improved. It's a much harder problem to sovle than Netflix and Amazon because many items are one-of-a-kind (nobody else bought exactly what you bought), but comparisons of trends across sellers, across keywords, and across image features might work. Etsy has an experimental "pick the object you like most" feature that leads to some results, but it doesn't allow narrow enough focusing yet: http://tastetest.etsy.com/ Same for the "explorer" view: http://www.etsy.com/explorer |
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This might sound harsh, but what I tend to see is a lot of beginner or wannabe crafters selling the only thing they can make: generic knit beanies or a cheap bag with some felt shapes cut out and glued on.
For every truly artistic, quirky item or piece of jewelry created by a skilled artisan there are ~20 simple, cheap things that (I'm guessing) almost no one buys.
Why does Etsy have to let everyone and anyone in? Is it wrong to consider some type of approval process or "hey we noticed you haven't sold anything in 6 months" filter?
Edit: to add to that, one area I think Etsy should increase their focus on is in fine art (photography, paintings, prints). Sites like 20x200 are doing well and I think it would be good for Etsy to have an area of their site dedicated to getting good, curated art on the walls of people's homes.