Flashlight, light toy, no batteries, no switches.

 I've been taking used motors and running them like a generator to make light.
Been making them for about 20 years.
I posted them on etsy a couple yeas ago but haven't sold many.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/219179116/led-light-toy-hacked-from-used?ref=shop_home_active_1&sca=1

  I thought a flashlight made from used electronics,
that doesn't have batteries or switches to corrode
and should outlast the grandkids of whoever buys it
would sell fast.

But I'm a terrible marketer.
I get just a few visits to my etsy store a month.

How I sold 2 this year:
I walked up to the "will call" tent at a festival,
with a toy hanging out of my pocket.
The ticket lady asked me where I got it.
I told her I made it.
She told me her husband bought one a few years ago and said he should have bought all 4 I had.
She called him, told him I had them on etsy and he bought 2,.. so far hehe.

 I also have to mention just because this is permies and I think everyone will get a laugh out of it;
My testing reveals that it will stop a child's crying like that (fingers snap).
I was in Aldi and a 2 or 3 year old was crying,
could hear it all through the store.
Well guess who was in line right in front of me.
I rolled it slow down my arm (so it doesn't get too bright) once, tapers off,..
twice,.. the most peaceful face you've ever seen on a child.
 I looked behind me at the people in line,
standing there with their mouths open.
Just case studies, no double blind testing.

I don't mention that on my Etsy
At an auction or in church it has always worked,
But I can't seriously make that claim.
It's the funniest thing about this toy,..
I find myself hoping to cross paths with a crying child/test subject.

So if you get a chance check out my Etsy site,.. let me know what you think of it or any improvements I can make.

I can see why this might calm a young child. Our son was colicky as a baby, and one of the few things that would usually calm him was walking back and forth in front of our big LED christmas lights. They really love the different colors. Movement is great, too. Babies LOVE fans. They're mesmerized by them.

Any chance you could take a video of your light in action? Posting it on youtube would really help--you could put a link to that in your listing so people could see it working.

Some higher quality pictures would also help a lot!

I really like the idea of lights that need no batteries, and I'd really like to see how yours looks in action. How long does it stay lit when you charge it? I think this would be GREAT for keeping kids happy in power outages.

How safe would it be for kids to use?

Oh, I just realized you do have a youtube video, but the link doesn't work. It's the link to edit it, rather than watch it...

Ah-ha! I was able to isolate the youtube video link data from the link you had.

Here's the video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x79w4ALFP2I and the video embedded for people to watch:

Hi - these look interesting. I think one of the problems is that Etsy has over 2 million people selling things. To get found by potential buyers is difficult on Etsy. The other thing I would say is that it is always good to post clear, crisp pictures on a listing. The pictures on yours are a bit blurry. And finally, when I tried to click over to the youtube link (I had to copy and paste it since it was not a live link), the link brings me to a youtube page where I have to log in first before I can view the video. I, for one, would not be able watch the video since I don't have an account with youtube. Ideally you would have the video link live and also have it go directly to your youtube video. The smoother you can make the experience for a potential buyer, the more likely they are to stick with you. The video is important for your product since it is so unique and a bit difficult to get a sense of without seeing it. And finally, do you have many tags behind the scenes for your product? Tags like "flash light", "childrens toy", "led lights", "sustainable gifts", "recycled gift", etc.
I looked at the video, meanwhile, from the post Nicole provided, and that, too, is blurry. I also notice on the video that there is quite a bit of flashing with the lights. That could perhaps be a concern, especially for parents, since flashing lights can induce seizures, headaches, and other symptoms. https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/triggers-seizures/photosensitivity-and-seizures  Could you, perhaps, make it so it doesn't flash? That might make parents more open to the idea of purchasing it.

 Nicole Thanks for letting me know the video address was so messed up.
And thanks for posting the link here.
I can't get it to be a simple link,.. or don't know how to.
I talked to etsy about that once.
They mentioned a place to put a video,.. but it's more for doing a video about me and my shop.
It wouldn't be in my for sale post but somewhere else,.. that wouldn't help much.
I changed it to the link you posted.
I don't know why that doesn't automatically turn into a link when I cut and paste it from the address bar.
I figured it was something Etsy doesn't want.
You asked, "How long does it stay lit when you charge it? "
I think the video probably helped you understand that it only lights while spinning.
 You are right about it being fun for kids during power outages.
I think it would be great for spelunking, searching caves. Because if the batteries ever run out in your flashlight you'd have to feel your way back out.
It's nice for tent camping because it's easy to find. If you bump it, it lights up.
I'm going to add those tags.

I'll work on better pictures with something beside it that will show it's size.
As far a a better video, I'll find someone with a better camera.
All the other videos he takes look better than the one of my light toy but I don't know what he did differently.

Annie, thanks for the suggested tags.
I hadn't thought of some of those, I have them now.
As far as being safe for kids.
I've worked to make them safe. No swallow hazzards. No real sharp corners.
People who have bought one, end up buying one for each kid so they don't fight over it.
When they were bigger they were like a metal club with sharp corners,..
so I made them smaller. Now they don't weigh enough for one child to injure another.
I haven't tested them as a seizure hazzard,.. hard to find a willing test subject.
I've never heard of it having this effect.
Even though it does flash, one light goes out as others turn on.
It's one of the things that makes it what it is, the flashing is what makes it look so nice.

I have made a few flashlights using these stepper motors, a few caps and rectifiers,.. all salvaged from used electronics.
Housed inside a plastic bottle.
It doesn't flash,.. or stay lit long enough.

Hi Craig;  
My wife does Etsy.  The first year or two were rather poor. Then she joined a group (Florish). Not suggesting you do, but here are a few things she has mentioned.
As Annie mentioned Tags are important. Changing your tags multiple times over the year to reflect the seasons, holidays , birthdays , graduation.  You must make the masses notice you or you will be left with few sales.
Also mentioned is the photo's. Liz takes bunches of every item.She uses her samsung 8 phone, it takes super good pictures. Much better than any of our standard camera's. She says pictures are everything to sales at Etsy. People are on their phones , small print, they don't read it ... they look at the pretty pictures and the bottom line price.  I haven't been to your store yet but free shipping draws buyers in like flies! Just raise your price to cover the shipping , all the buyer will see is FREE... they like free so you get the sale.  Another thing is continuing to post new items as often as you can. This keeps you on the first page buyers see not page 13.
Super quick response to orders ,professional looking packing all make a difference. Hopefully good feed back / reviews will build up your reputation.

Last year Liz grossed $4000, Whoo Hoo ! I told her that this year she needed to gross $8000... she laughed at me ... went yeah sure thing .  Well she did it ! more than $8000... after congratulations I told her next year its $16000!   She can do it ,NO she WILL do it! That's the kind of girl she is!    You can to!  Just believe in yourself and your product and toss yourself out there it will pay off.

If you want to make a real flash light do like the pump flash light we had back in the 1950's.  It use a squeeze handle with a ratchet that spun a fly wheel which kept the generator going until the next squeeze. You may be able to use the gear that is with the motor and zip tie as the ratchet.
By the way the whirring noise, flashing light which woke up the barking dog scared the bear so bad that he tore through the entire camp ground flattening tents.

clear pictures of the product are most useful when selling on the interweb. all I saw in your ad was colored lights. It also maybe be helpful to have more detail on how it works or something like why it does not need batteries, think in terms of features and benefits when creating advertisement then follows through in your advertising, in ad class they taught us frequency, reach and continuity in creating effective sales and promotions campaigns.
in past I've found some eBay to be very good place to sell stuff as long as it was priced right and ad/product description and photos are honest.

or you may even might be able to sell how to diy plans to build product

maybe something like

fun or emergency light without every buying batteries-------feature and benefit.


hope some of this might help