Why you buy what you buy

I was rushing last last night/early this morning to tidy up my Etsy earring store, The Ears Have It. Seeing that the best selling items were getting buried at the bottom of items I was relisting, I created a category called, "Best Sellers". I chose the top five selling items for this category as one of the last things I did before I fell exhausted into bed at 2 o'clock in the morning.

 This morning, not particularly thinking about the store I had spent so much time tidying up last night, a thought occured to me. These Best Sellers were trying to tell me something I had been chasing after for a couple of years. They were lying in wait until I had a chance to calm down from the frenzy of creating stock and promoting them before the tapped me quietly on the shoulder and said, "Hey, you need to notice something here".

When they got my attention, they said, "Hey YOU! This is your target market!!!"

Startled, I drew back for a moment. This wasn't what I was expecting to learn. In fact, I wasn't writing this article in search of who my target market was. I had simply seen a trend of all my best sellers being items that incorporated symbols and the thought fascinated me. In fact, to diverge here for a moment, they made me proud of my customers. With all the Facebook posts and even one on Twitter recently about Gay Pride, Hate Crimes, Homophobia, etc., etc., etc. my customers are strong, brave and not afraid of these parts of their lives.

How do I know this?



Because they dare to wear those symbols that others find provocative. Peace signs, Ankhs, Rainbows, symbols that point towards one's Pagan Path, towards their sexual orientation and even their political beliefs. I dare not presume to say any one of my customers are any of these things just because they purchase them, but they are definitely enlightened individuals that dare to wear what they want to wear in a world that sadly would judge them - right or wrong, for what they chose to accent their couture.

So, because our outer selves are a reflection of our inner selves,  I ask you to ask yourself and your customers why do we wear what we wear? Dig deeper than the "it's pretty" or "the colors match my outfit" excuses. Why are they not afraid of other's base (and sometimes ignorant) reactions? The answers might lead you and them to a journey of self discovery and help you serve your customers better in satisfying their need to stand up and out in their world.