Etsy, Forward Ho!

Have definitely noticed the negative backlash-against-Etsy trend in the last year or so. This seems to have picked up momentum this Spring, ('09), which on one hand, is disheartening, in that 'why bother, I'll never make it' vein; and on the other, is sort of worth keeping my eye on, but not letting it rule my path. The grumbles (primarily) spring from the sheer numbers of sellers on Etsy leading to all handiwork simply getting drowned out by the crowd as people list and re-list in an attempt to keep at the top of the search pages, and I reiterate: Etsy is crowded! However, if I'd continued selling on Ebay, as I started out, I may actually be further along right now.
New sites have sprung up as a reaction to the dissatisfaction, more on those tomorrow, as I believe that they are worth watching as well. Yet, something in my gut tells me that leaving Etsy before one even gets in a good toe-hold is not the way to go, either. I think everything is work, whether or not one aspires to be a lawyer, a psychotherapist or an artist. There are a great number of us both on the planet and in this country. It's just the way it is.
In discussions with the Masterminds who help me out, (you know who you are) our feeling is that it is important to start small, and strong. Work your local angle and get known the same way a local band would. Most bands work the local circuit before expanding to the coastline, and only then go national. I think the thought with Etsy was that a few of the original artists seem to have made it "easy" or "quickly" on wide scale. I think that a few may have been spotlighted to some acclaim when the site gained media attention, however overall I'd say that nothing is really as easy as it seems. Everything requires due diligence.