

Show HN: Craft.ly - levirosol
http://craft.ly
We hatched this idea of a Kickstarter + Groupon + Etsy model last week, threw up a super simple landing page that day, then launched a more detailed landing page last night. What do you think of the idea as a whole? The landing page itself?<p>Since the Etsy / crafting world is so large and diverse, we're really trying to focus on the sharing of our site to get the word out. We are doing some minimal google ads and will be doing various tests to see what brings in the best traffic and converts the best.<p>Interestingly enough, good old fashioned twitter searching with hand authored tweets has had a super successful conversion rate. Well above 50%.<p>Anyways, there it is in all it's glory. We are very much interested in ideas for bringing in traffic, and increasing conversions.<p>Thanks!
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slater
4 pages with various e-mail forms does not a good "Show HN" make :/

edit to not be too snarky: I expected an actually working site, not a web
2.0-style "we're in beta, enter your e-mail address to be included in our
private beta!" page

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levirosol
snarkyness aside :)

what do you mean? I'm ultimately looking for feedback / questions on the idea
based on the info provided in the site. Should i have named the HN post
something different than Show HN? I read HN a lot and it seems there's no 100%
right way to put your idea / product in front HN.

but yeah, feedback is what I'm after. Not to show of a launched product.

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slater
I guess it comes down to what people expect from a "ShowHN" style post. I want
to say that ShowHN posts have been, for the large part, requests for feedback
on _completed_ sites.

If you need responses on the validity of your idea, a simple AskHN with the
outline of your idea would probably have yielded better results. I had a
similar reaction to Joachim, eg "this looks more like an attempt to get
signups"

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levirosol
Thanks for that response, and I think you're right.

live and learn right? :)

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bitsm
Getting paid up front is key for dealing with micro-businesses, so that's
good. But I have a hard time believing that "crafty" and "high volume" mesh on
any level.

Crafty businesses are homespun, bespoke businesses that rely on charm and a
personal touch. Group buying single-handedly destroys that. Crafters are also
very protective of their personal brands and would be very averse to doing
anything that might lead to angry/disappointed customers.

So, I don't see this taking off. Have you talked to any crafters about this?
Can you allay these types of concerns? And what types of handmade products
lend themselves to being made in short timelines and high volumes?

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levirosol
Help me understand your definition of "high volume". Based on the
conversations we've had with crafters (admittedly, few and people we know at
this point) we're talking volume on the scale of 10-20 items. Not 100's or
even 1000's.

We will be talking with more crafters before solidifying the model.

Further backing this is the ability that Etsy and other craft selling sites
give to their users for indicating a quantity.

As for products, it absolutely depends on the crafter. Items made with a
pattern will work great. Knitted items, quilted items, wooden crafts, metal
crafts, etc are all good. Even photography. It ultimately boils down to the
crafter being able to reproduce an item with consistent quality.

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greengirl512
I'm interested, but...not really enough information on the site right now for
a detailed critique. Is this going to be like the bastard love-child of Etsy
and Groupon? How's it going to work?

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levirosol
See my reply to vyrotek below.

It's really more along the lines of Kickstart than Groupon in that you put a
"listing" out to the public that has an end date, and people commit to buying
during that time.

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greengirl512
Ah, I see. Could be cool, as long as volume is limited to something the
crafters can handle (as everyone else has noted already) and the lowest
possible price is also something they can live with.

I signed up, for what it's worth, and would interested in it as a buyer.

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d4ft
Here's a problem I foresee: These groupon style sites do their business
because these vendors make money due to the volume. Whether its return
customers, or small margins adding together, or whatever, the whole reason
vendors get involved is volume. So one question: will indy craftsfolk be able
to handle the volume? If they get 1000 orders for their handmade leather
wallet, seems like people will start to get pissed after month 2 of waiting.

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levirosol
absolutely agree. We not talking volumes of 1000's though. We're on the scale
of 10-20. something your average crafter can accomplish (depending on the item
of course) in a few days.

I don't know that we will put limits though. I mean, someone could print off
1000 paper bookmarks pretty easily.

In the end, our rating / award system should help drive sellers to not over
commit. It's something we will have to deal with.

You're the 2nd or 3rd person to assume we're talking Groupon scale. I think we
need to do a better job of indicating the scale we're targeting. :)

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vyrotek
Is this similar to those social clothing sites where everyone votes on a item
that they would be willing to buy and is made available once it gets enough
interest?

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levirosol
No. Those sites tend to be mass produced (like 1000's) type things.

The idea behind Craftly is to be a place that allows someone who, say, makes
stocking caps by hand. They want to sell them, but don't want to invest a ton
of time w/o committed buyers, and don't want to spend a day setting up a
"store".

We plan to allow sellers to set tiers for their item. So for example, if 1-3
people want that hat, they pay $10. if 4-6, then the price drops to $9, 7-10
$8 and if more than 10 the price drops to $7.

Everyone who gets in on the deal gets the final price. So if your the 1st or
the 15th, you'd get the $7 price in that example.

Does that help clarify?

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justinxreese
A lot of the charm with crafts is being hand made and individual. Even if a
craft maker can make and sell 1,000 popsicle stick men, there is still the
illusion that each is unique and painstakingly made. When you present up front
that "we're going to make a bunch of popsicle stick men", it kind of kills
that, even if the same amount is being produced.

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levirosol
sure. We're not talking 1000's though. 10-20 is more realistic. Something your
average crafter can create in a few days.

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viggity
design looks nice, it'll be interesting to see how the site progresses

