BYE BYE ESELLER ADS....WE'LL MISS YOU :(

UPDATE: We got a little message from Handmade Spark after they read our review below and they wanted to tell us that there is no need to "push people" to site as they are a " search engine optimization and social marketing service". The reality is that you do have to let people know you are there....the moniker states "find the people making great handmande things"....you can't find them there if no one knows you are listed. This is what we meant by "pushing people" to the site. You have to let people know where you are and this is just another site, like other social media sites ( facebook, twitter, etc) that you will have to advertise to others. We stick behind our review that the general purpose of this site is different than with the previous Eseller site. Its just up to the user to decide if it will work for their needs.

As some of you may already know, the lovely business tool ESeller Ads will be no more. Eseller Ads ( refer to mine in the lower left hand sidebar) was a way for sellers, whether it be Etsy, Artfire or Ebay, to promote their products with lovely rotating ads. Unfortunately they sent me and all the other users of these ads a notice that they will be shutting down the Eseller Ad site, so that means NO MORE ADS!.
Though this saddens me , the company will be putting all their effort behind there new venture Handmade Spark, this " is a search and seo marketing service that helps Etsy sellers free up time to design and create". Essentially what it is a place where you will get a "carousel ad" divided up by product catagory, that will then go to your "Mini Site" which is a one page site with all your product/company info and links. From there the buyer can then click on the link for your Etsy, Artfire , or what ever seller site you posted.

The up side with this is that for those of you who dont know anything about html and want one easy place to push your traffic, this may be an option....essentially it is an webpage. At the top you will have a little blurb "About Me" then below a mini product showcase that you scroll your mouse over to get the "big picture". Then on the side you have all your links (twitter, shop, facebook, contact me and etc). Also below, if you have a blog, it will post the updates for readers.
This makes it a good option for the "drag and drop" user who just wants something simple and professional.
NOW THE DOWNSIDE.....this is a paid service. It was $12/month, but they have now lowered that to $6/month. For that price you can really get your self a all encompassing website that you have more design control over. You will also need to push people to this site, so if you already have a website or even a domain name this will just be an added expense as well as work to get people to view this page, much like twitter, facebook and etc. You will no longer be able to have those lovely skyscraper ads for your blog either which is also a bummer.

I do love the concept and vision for Handmade Spark, but I wouldn't recommend this (at this stage) to anyone as a viable general business tool like Eseller ads was. I also don't know how many Eseller users actually have made the switch to Handmade Spark, since the overall concept is different than an Eseller user may need.

For more info on Handmade Spark :
http://www.handmadespark.com/blog/today-we-lower-the-price-of-handmade-spark-from-12-per-month-to-6
http://www.handmadespark.com/blog/handmade-spark-we-can-help-you-grow-your-etsy-business
http://www.handmadespark.com/blog/top-ten-reasons-why-handmade-spark-is-good-for-your-etsy-business