Etsy Seller Interview with Paula of peblsrock

How peblsrock got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

Collecting sea glass was something I remember doing as a child, long before it became seen as a collectible that had value. Returning to Seaham Beach as an adult not only restarted my interest in finding the glass but also inspired me to research a little about the history of the glass and how and why it appeared on the beach regularly.
It was this research that led to my discovering that sea glass was actually a sought-after collectible, and from there it was a natural step to discover how and where to sell these little gems, and from there we discovered Etsy and soon had connected all the dots. The last element was to move to Seaham in order to have more access to the beach at no expense.
Meanwhile, with my partner Dave, an idea formed about calling the business Peblsrock and the sea glass pieces Pebls. This name sounded friendlier and "smoother" than the normal name as used in the US, "shards." To us, shards were sharp, pointy pieces of glass, and these were smooth, well-rounded pebble-shaped pieces. So the name Pebl seemed unique and appropriate.
Over the following decade, I built up a large collection of Pebls and was able to provide a wide selection of colors, patterns, etc. to eager customers. Over time, the shop built up a following among the sea glass community, which we added to with local fairs and later an invitation to run a pop-up shop in the newly opened "Lookout Cafe '' on the quayside of the new Seaham Marina. As you can imagine, COVID made life difficult, and post-COVID, visitor numbers have remained low. However, UK sales have grown from roughly 5% of our overall sales to around 50% currently.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

My favorite pebbles are multies and some that we call Flip-Flops, which have unusual qualities that people find fascinating. The best ones tend to sell immediately, but there are some that I can link to.

And I'm particularly proud of my "rockpool" jewelry, which is made from chipped or broken sea glass pebbles that I crush and add to earring trays before sealing with glaze to create eye-catching results. An example is...

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

Wow, that was a long time ago. I think it was fairly quick—days rather than weeks. It soon led to word of mouth spreading within the community. Since then, having tried all kinds of advertising, none of which worked, we rely on three methods: word of mouth, Etsy promotion of products, and a regular ad running in Beachcombing magazine, a US magazine that sells to many countries, including the UK.
In recent years, we added to the sale of glass items when we introduced a pocket guide to sea glass and subsequently guides to specific areas, such as marbles, black glass, poison bottles, and even a guide to drilling and making jewelry with sea glass. These guides have helped increase sales and, to a lesser degree, encouraged visitors to come to Seaham and search the beach for themselves.
Another thing that attracts visitors is the National Glass Center in nearby Sunderland.
https://www.nationalglasscentre.com as it helps to explain the extent of glass making in the area and how stained glass making was responsible for many of the colors and unusual pieces found on N.E. beaches.

Managing peblsrock

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

I share the handling of the shop(s) with my partner, Dave. We use very few external tools other than social media apps, and we’ve recently switched to printing postage labels on Etsy to simplify the processing of orders. With so many items being quite small, we can easily handle packaging and posting ourselves. Only occasionally, when selling large amounts of bulk sea glass to crafters and jewelry makers, do we need to involve courier companies.

The future of peblsrock 

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

Realistically, we know that there is a natural limit for finding sea glass at Seaham, as the practice of dumping glass waste out to sea was curtailed some time ago, and so the pebbles that we have found over the years have been gradually dwindling in number. With the advent of rising sea levels, it seems likely that sea glass hunting will end, either when the raw materials run out or when the beach disappears when low tide is where high tide is now. We plan to continue selling the pocket guides, playing cards, and other items on Peblsart, but we know that the clock is ticking for the continued existence of Peblsrock. It may take years yet, but we’re under no illusion that the opportunities will dwindle as the value of pieces found will increase due to rarity. The prospect is exciting and scary at the same time.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

The best advice we can give is simply to choose a sustainable business idea, one that isn’t out of your control in terms of sourcing your raw materials or items needed to produce or prepare your finished goods.
Apart from that, don’t be shy about adding your profit margins. Supermarkets and many other businesses regularly add a margin of 3–40%, which gives them room to offer discounts as and when desired. However, try not to need to discount if you can avoid it, as you’d be surprised how much more you would need to sell to offset even a small discount!
Finally, research carefully what Etsy can do for your business; there are plenty of options, tools, and support available, and I’d advise using as much as you can!

‍Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.‍

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Variable, as it’s a very seasonal business for a lot of what we sell. It can range from £50 to £350 per week.

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: Typically, we aim for around 300% profit, but as much of our stock is found on the beach, it’s almost all profit and is dictated by the perceived value of the items we sell.