One thousand five hundred eighty-one.

Recently saw someone on IG post about how many stickers they have sold thus far at markets. And of course, I tripped and fell running to my analytics to see how many I sold. I don’t think I had checked this year until I saw that. 

Because I am who I am, I went down a rabbit hole of comparing my numbers to last year, seeing where I fell short and where I improved. And if you have read any of my other blogs, ou already know exactly where those highs and lows landed.

SPOILER ALERT: Markets sucked, but wholesale was amazing. Online sales were meh. 

I went into this week with no clue what I was going to write about. I even crowdsourced some ideas on stories. But when I rabbit-holed yesterday, I figured this would be a great blog post. If you gave me some ideas, I put them all in a note for the future! I appreciate the ideas as well!

One thousand five hundred eighty-one.

1,581. That’s how many stickers I still need to sell this year to match last year's number.

The entire reason I was able to rabbit-hole this hard is because of Shopify. All of my selling platforms lead into Shopify. So I can see everything with just a few clicks of the button. If you use Shopify (plus Faire, Etsy, or Square), I highly recommend funneling everything into one place or switching over completely.

I love being able to customize reports and comparing to last year. Not only is it fun to look at, but it helps set goals! (goal setting is going on the list for a future blog!)

When I looked at the data, a few things jumped out: 
My top sellers? Nearly the same as 2024. 
My Trader Joe’s sticker? Fully unhinged. Two wholesale accounts order them in the hundreds, and it’s the only design I ever order 500 at a time because otherwise I have a fear I will lose sales!

On the flip side, the “surprise” of the year was realizing how many people buy my Patreon stickers at events but do not join my Patreon. I currently have 11 people in my Patreon, but I need to order 25 of a design. So those extras get taken to events.

I swear, I include a flyer in every bag that basically begs them to join, and out of 1,257 event sales this year I have gained a grand total of… one Patreon member. 

I don’t know how the math can be that bad yet still so consistent. It almost feels criminal. If anyone has tips, pleaseeeeeee put them in the comments.

Honestly, I really expected to sell more stickers at events overall. Stickers are usually my show-stopper, crowd-pleasing product, but this year I averaged a little over two stickers per customer. I even have the 5 for $16 deal. 

Part of the reason things feel off is that this entire year has felt weird financially. Costs are up. The government spent forever in shutdown limbo going into the busiest season. The general vibe of the economy feels like it’s being held together by dental floss and stubbornness. 

So I’m not exactly shocked that some of my numbers dipped. I even went into the year setting a lower goal for markets. I lowered my market goal by $5K heading into the year, fully aware 2025 was going to be a shit show. I am 87.35% of the way to my goal tho!

The one area that truly showed growth was Faire, and that’s only because I actually whole-assed that part of the business. Every time I put good energy into wholesale, wholesale delivers. 

Meanwhile, markets took a nap. Out of 17 events I can directly compare from last year to this year, only four brought in higher revenue in 2025. Four. Out of seventeen. That’s not even an oof; that’s a full-body sigh.

Looking at the sticker total gives me this weird mix of proud and sad. Proud of wholesale. Sad about the overall number. 

But also hopeful, because 2026 is the year I start easing away from markets and into a business model that doesn’t leave me crying into my canopy tent. 

If I can hit last year’s number in a year like this one, it’ll prove that even when things feel unstable, people are still shopping small and still appreciate a good laugh in sticker form.

So what am I going to do to get that goal? Work on getting a few more wholesale orders and putting in a little more effort into social media. When I am at my last 3 markets of the year, I am going to encourage people to get those 5 for $16 stickers. 

I do have a couple of ideas for sticker social media posts: 

🧡 I want to show off the underdogs. The stickers I really love but don’t get the attention like the best sellers. 
💙 Encourage people to send a sticker as a mini “thinking of you” moment to their friends. They can leave a note at checkout for the recipient to see. It will be all in good fun! 

The bigger takeaway here is that these numbers are telling me exactly where I need to work next year. 

Wholesale is growing. 

Online and DTC need attention. 
A website refresh, a real social media plan (emphasis on “real,” because I’m pretty sure I’ve never had one), and more consistency are all on the list.

So yes, I am 1,581 stickers away from matching last year. & yes, I’m absolutely going to try to hit it. My feelings will only be a little hurt if I don’t hit it…

Going to sell some stickers now…
Xo, Erin 

PS: all stickers in this post are what I consider the underdogs, and I think they just need a little attention on them! If you click the image, it will take you straight to the page!