u/iSolemnlySwear88

Does number of active listings matter? I do run sales, ads, and do a lot of social media marketing but nothing seems to be helping right now and I am wondering if I have dropped below some mystery Etsy threshold? I know it is always slow at this time but I am seeing so few sales I am considering putting my shop on vacation until maybe July or August, when things start to pick up again, at least in the past. In 2024 I maintained around 300 listings in my shop, all year and was getting steady daily sales. I also kept my shop open all year. Last year, in 2025, I scaled down and only had about 100 to 150 listings, and since then, I am barely getting 1 to 2 sales a week- maybe more like 4 to 5 right before Christmas but I generally have more listings right before the holidays. I have let most of these seasonal items (Halloween/Fall/Christmas) drop off and did not renew them and I am noticing a real decline. I generally wait and renew these seasonal items about two month out before the holidays. Do you think people will be shopping early this year for the holidays with the economy?

I ask because, I would go the extra mile on my past orders but I think I am starting to 'quietly quit' this type of online selling customer service standard.

In the past I would use tissue paper, ribbon, sometimes either store-bought or handmade boxes. Also, I always add a handwritten thank-you note and sometimes a freebie in orders. I have stopped doing this on small, low dollar orders and I am not seeing any difference. These buyers are still leaving me positive reviews- without all the extras.

Also, as a buyer on Etsy too, I have noticed a lot of sellers just put the item in a polly mailer and send their items like this- with nothing that sets them apart from ebay or Amazon - no business card, no extra bag inside the polly (I have received tee shirts that were not even packaged in a bag inside and my polly shipment bag had holes in it from handling at the USPS??) and I am starting to wonder if buyers even care anymore or repeat buy from a specific shop on Etsy?