Well, I figured out why my pattern sales (and shop visits in general) have been way down over the last several months on Etsy. I'm talking 85% lower than last year, which is an absolutely batshit number. Etsy is no longer my main source of income, which it has been for years.
I was perplexed. I was downright baffled. I couldn't figure out if it was my prices or changes to Etsy's search or what. It was/is all of the above...but not exactly.
First of all, I personally do not buy patterns from Etsy unless they're not available from other places. I have no interest in lining the pockets of shareholders and I would rather more of my money go to the actual fucking artists. That being said, I did some searches for my patterns. They came up in the search results nicely. So I was sure it was my prices. My patterns are extremely detailed, even my older ones that I haven't gotten around to updating, and they are priced accordingly based on the effort I put into them with step-by-step pictures and video links.
You can still find my patterns if you do a really specific search, like "crochet murloc" and shit like that, which is where I went wrong when I was checking the search results for myself. The problem is that my patterns no longer show up earlier than the third page for more general pattern searches, like "beginner crochet patterns" and "amigurumi patterns" and whatever. The basic stuff.
The top listings for general searches are now pattern bundles of 300+ patterns for $3 and similar. They are not patterns made by these shops selling them. They are AI patterns and free patterns from elsewhere on the internet that these sellers don't even bother to remove the watermarks from. I recognize the patterns in the listing pictures. I also recognize known AI bullshit crochet images that have been circulating. They aren't even trying to pretend they made the patterns. These shops are also all paying to boost their listings on top of this, which is a practice I despise in general. The moral of this story is that Etsy is flooded with AI slop and trash people with no ethics, and buyers are falling for it, and it is fucking me and other legitimate creators in the ass.
Why would anyone buy a $9 pattern with step-by-step pictures made by an actual human person (me) when they can get hundreds of patterns that are either trash or stolen for $3? I don't stand a chance. I spent several hours reporting these shops but there are so many of them, and I almost think that some of them are the same person/persons because of how similar the bundles and descriptions are.
On that note, I spent about 80 hours working on this new pattern that no one is going to find on Etsy, and if they do find it, they aren't going to want to pay for it at the price I have it.
It's a customizable cat hat! Each part of the hat has several different versions of the piece to choose from so you can mix and match to make unique cats! I made Daijin, Artemis, a Siamese, and a sort of knock-off Cheshire Cat to create the pattern. This was a lot of work. Making patterns is a lot of work. Especially making good patterns. My goal is always for my patterns to be so well done that no one needs to contact me with questions (I abhor interacting with people and I go to great lengths to avoid it).
If you found your way here and you read all of my ranting (part of my brand is that I swear like a sailor) and you want this pattern, you can get it from Ko-Fi or Ravelry. It's also on Etsy, but don't. I mark up the price to compensate for the fees. I don't want you to pay more for it. I don't want you to support the corporate greed that is causing the rapid decay of society. Also, if you get it from Ravelry, I can send out updates if I add more to the pattern in the future (which I very well might do because I have some more ideas, but I needed a break from looking at it)!
Anyway, that's it. People suck. Etsy sucks. AI sucks and is literally ruining my life. But you should check out my new pattern!
