u/Puffin_Muffin38 — reddlx

Hi everyone, fellow nerd girl here, I've started a small shop where I sell clothing for (retro) gamers, kawaii fans, and neurodivergent people. I'm wondering if you guys would buy a varsity jacket (or shirt) like this for yourself/friends or husband/boyfriend? This design is specifically for moms and dads, but I'm also working on similar stuff for nerdy girls/boys/kids etc.

I'm looking for feedback about these designs, maybe it's too much (the large print) or maybe it's too generic, I'm not sure. I'm just wondering what you guys think, since some of you might be my target audience. I value your opinion and I'm eager to develop and learn from your thoughts. Thank you in advance!

Feel free to check out my Etsy shop in the link below if you're interested, I'm still learning and developing my shop, there's a lot to improve, but if you guys have any feedback or opinions, let me know in the comments. I'm very open to shop critiques but please be kind (just thought I'd mention that because I got burned down a little bit on the /retrogaming subreddit).

https://computercatdesigns.etsy.com

Kind regards, Emily

Hello fellow Etsy sellers! Looking for feedback and advice on how to improve my Etsy shop: https://computercatdesigns.etsy.com

Long story coming up, if you don't want to read it, scroll down to my numbered questions :-)

I started about 2 few months ago. I'm based in the Netherlands. I sell mainly t-shirts but also sweaters and some baby onesies. My designs focus on retro- and cosy gaming, but also kawaii and funny memes. What inspired me to open my shop? Basically I'm designing stuff about the things I like and identify with (lold videogames and 80s 90s nostalgia, I really like kawaii objects and animals, and I'm an neurodivergent introvert), but I think there are a lot of people like me out there who'd like my designs. I feel like by combining pixel art with cuteness and depicting introversy/neurdivergence in self mockery but positive way my designs I can speak to a lot of people.

My focus is on good quality garments (organic for babies and close to organic for adults) from trusted European manufacturers) and high quality product (my prints are from professional partners and established brands), but not the most expensive. So decent quality for a good price. My products are made to order and designed, heat-pressed, packaged and shipped by myself (so no fast fashion or dropshipping).

I've had 2 sales (one from a friend) and my stats are pretty decent, I think? 275 visits in total (if sharing more stats are helpful let me know), also quite a few products are favorited, but right know I'm worried that there's something (or more thing) in my shop that are withholding people from actually making a purchase.

I would like to take more professional pictures of my products but that takes a lot if time and/or money, so for now I've been using mockups (from Etsy or AI-generated). AI generated is probably something that's looked down upon but my thought process was if I make them suit my target audience and add elements to the images that make it original (since especially for t-shirts everyone's using the same mockups on Etsy) and personal (like adding kawaii plushies, old controllers, pixel art etc) that might make it look better than taking pictures myself. I also tend to write long descriptions with sometimes lame jokes in them, but I don't know if that's a pro or a con...

Anyhoo, here are my specific questions:

Do you guys think I'm presenting myself/my brand/niche accordingly? Does everything look in order, or can I do things better or differently? What is the most important change I need to make to improve my shop, what stands out (in a negative way, but you're also welcome to mention positives if there are any)
What is your opinion about mockups, how can you make high quality mockups if you don't have a lot of your product in stock (basically right now my shirts are ordered and printed when a customer buys them), and you don't have the experience and money to invest in taking real life pictures? All the online mockup templates you can buy look the same (skinny blonde women wearing comfort colors shirts) and I'm not sure they appeal to my target audience. Or am I looking at this the wrong way? Are my current mockups even a problem? Or is there something else that might hold customers back.

If there's anything else you'd like to ask, say or comment about my shop, feel free, I'm happy to take in any feedback or advice. I'm very thankful for your time and hope to contribute to some posts in the future. Kind regards!