By Ponderer July 29, 2023 5:46 pm Category: Business (0.0 from 0 votes) Rules of the Post Write A New Article How To Post Here Rate this article (5=best, 0=poor)

Well, after a full month with the Etsy ad operating, I sold sixteen Hummy Wands in that time. My net is around $220-ish to $230-ish. I had targeted netting $15.00 per unit, so $14 and change isn't too far off. I'm pretty sure that I'll raise the price a dollar to $25.95 when we get closer to the holidays. But for now, this pace is fine. Actually feels like it picked up a bit in the last week.

A lot of people are buying them for gifts for their bird loving friends and family. One woman bought two, which is sweet because it doesn't cost any more to ship two of them. They weigh nothing.

I'm getting a pretty strong feeling that they are going to go gang-busters come Christmas time. I still have two and a half dozen in stock. That reminds me... I gotta stock up on the red clay.

All in all this has been a very fulfilling experience. I already have two 5-star reviews. When I read the first one I kinda started to cry. I felt like everything I'd gone through with this project was worth it just for that feeling.

And ya know, we're doing okay for the time being. So I'm just gonna leave the profits in the corporation account. It ain't income until I draw it.

Cited and related links:

1. etsy.com

Comments Start Below

by Curt_Anderson on July 29, 2023 8:14 pm 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 by Indy! on July 30, 2023 12:57 am Good job, Pondy. 👍 by islander on July 30, 2023 4:55 am What a refreshing post to read first thing this morning !! Good going Pondy !!! 👍👍👍 by Ponderer on July 30, 2023 7:26 am Thanks guys! 😀 by Ponderer on August 29, 2023 5:49 pm * * * BEST SINGLE DAY EVER! * * * I got three orders today (SO FAR!). Never gotten three in a day before. And if that wasn't bitchin enough, one of the orders was for FIVE UNITS! I made an extra $20+ on that order because the shipping for all five in one box was 75-cents more than shipping just one. They weigh almost nothing. Sold a total of 41 units so far in 36 orders. I'm actually getting really excited about Christmas coming... for once in my life. Well, since I was maybe 11 or something. I think these things are gonna be flying outta this little apartment. etsy.com by Indy! on August 29, 2023 6:09 pm Excellent work, Pondy. Who did the photo on the website? Good work on that too. What is the red clay for? by Curt_Anderson on August 29, 2023 6:10 pm Super! Here in southern Oregon, it’s hummingbird time. They flitting about our flower gardens now. You might note the latitudes of where you are sending your products. by Ponderer on August 29, 2023 7:02 pm Thanks, guys! I'm powerful stoked! Indy!, the photographer is an old friend of mine and the model is his mom. by Ponderer on August 29, 2023 7:58 pm Curt, they've been all over. It would take me a little while to make a list. None from Hawaii or Alaska yet. by Indy! on August 29, 2023 8:44 pm What is the sales deal on Etsy? What percentage of the sale do they take? Just wondering... Are you also on ebay or any other site? by Curt_Anderson on August 29, 2023 8:56 pm Ponderer, I am guessing that your product is and will be seasonal. Christmas and other holidays, but also natural seasons. For us here it's now when hummingbirds descend upon our flowers; their visit lasts about a month. One of my old employers once said that business is a game, and money is how you keep score. Congrats on your winning streak. by islander on August 30, 2023 6:26 am Ponderer ~ Good going !! I believe you've got a winner ! 👍 by Ponderer on August 30, 2023 8:53 am "What is the sales deal on Etsy? What percentage of the sale do they take? Just wondering..." -Indy! They take 3.5% right off the top. But I am also using a sales tool they offer where they put the ad up on other sites like Google and Facebook and Instagram and others like that. Around half of my sales come from those "off site" ads. They get another 6% for that, but it's really been helping bring sales in and I'm still close to my target profit. They have a really detailed dashboard where you can see just where everything is coming from. After all is said and done with materials, taxes and taking out for shipping that I include, I net a bit over half the sales price of $24.95. Between $13.50 and $14.75 or so. And since I was looking at making $15 apiece on them when I first started out, I am fine with that. I may raise the price a dollar though when we get closer to Christmas. They do something though that has a lot of Etsy sellers freaking out. They "hold back" a percentage of your money for 30 days or more before they send it to you. They say that it's so they can deal with refunds and such. Some sellers with really tight profit margins are getting creamed by not having access to all their money so they can buy materials for more products. They've been doing this for about a year and a half. It doesn't really bother me. I haven't even taken a draw yet from the company funds. We're fine just leaving it there for now. The balance is steadily growing even with buying materials and packaging and stuff. I could take out our entire initial investment amount right now and there'd still be lots left over. And right now, I am only on Etsy. I'm fine so far just with that and it's keeping everything really simple. I don't really want a huge ton of orders coming in all of a sudden. Now that's a weird thing for a business owner to be able to say. by Ponderer on August 30, 2023 8:57 am Curt, we seem to have hummies here all year. I have several regulars who never migrate apparently. But there are a lot that come through here at different times of the year. Yeah, this is all kinda feeling like a game. It's been fun playing so far. by Indy! on August 30, 2023 11:56 am Wow - that's a great deal, Pondy. by Ponderer on August 31, 2023 1:52 pm DANG!!! The record is broken already! There were no new orders this morning, and then when I just checked again there are four!!! Donna and I are kinda hoping that if this really takes off, she can quit her part time job and we can just do Hummy Wands. by Donna on August 31, 2023 4:19 pm Five minutes ago she got another order for 2 Hummy Wands!! That makes 41 orders and 47 Hummy Wands since June 27th when she received her first order. by Ponderer on August 31, 2023 6:21 pm Geez! Today felt like work! Not very used to that. 😁 Just started another batch yesterday and I'm down to only 4 left in stock with today's order. I'll have to start another run as soon as this one is done. by Indy! on September 2, 2023 12:20 am Next stop… Shark Tank! by Ponderer on September 2, 2023 8:00 am Somebody already went on Shark Tank with a hummingbird feeder. Look at this contraption...! This thing must retail for over $75 easy! And one of the investors on the show actually partnered with them and gave them $75,000. 😲 by Ponderer on September 2, 2023 8:05 am With that kind of investment, I could have a couple injection molds made for the flower and reservoir holder and pump these things out by the thousands. by Curt_Anderson on September 2, 2023 8:21 am If that program has just aired, get ready for a surge in your sales. by Indy! on September 2, 2023 6:52 pm Maybe look into 3D printers - they're getting very affordable. by Ponderer on September 4, 2023 8:43 am That contraption has been out at least a year or so, Curt. I even saw a video recently about a severely handicapped little girl who was wearing one while all covered with blankets in a wheel chair and was quite elated to watch the hummies feed with it. I don't like to knock another entrepreneur's dream project. But I was extremely encouraged to see a product that I believe is inferior to mine doing so well. Indy!, I've thought about a 3D printer. But I don't really think it would speed things up much. I think it would take longer to print 12 of these than it takes for me to make them by hand. And then there's that surface texture and all the support sprues that would need to be sanded down and finished. When I take the polymer clay flowers out of the oven, they're done. Boom. it only takes me a couple hours to make twelve of them. There's the rest of the unit to make of course. But the flowers and the pod attached to the wire to hold the flower reservoir are the only parts made from scratch. Go To Top

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