Why Do They Want This Instead Of That?

The Riddler Question Mark Fingerless Gloves by TinyBully

I have been putting allot of thought into this question recently. My shop offers 3 products: golf club covers, football helmets, and patterns. I strive to have current items in my shop, like football teams during football season, and make sure most of the winningest teams are represented. I have been featured on the front page of etsy several times, and even made it to CNBC. Dont feel bad for me, I know these are impressive accomplishments, especially in a shop that is less then 2 years old.

This is what gets me; my number 1 item in terms of views is my Pittsburgh Steelers football helmet hat. It has been on the front page twice and was recently featured in a pre-superbowl etsy email. 3500 views and 77 hearts! That is 2000 more views then my next highest item. I have never sold that hat. I have had at least 20 custom orders based on that listing, but the original hat is still in stock.

OBVIOUSLY people like the hat and I am very happy to fill any custom order based on its design, but I will tell you this is not the only item this has happened with. I designed the Grateful Dead Dancing Bears golf club covers with my father in mind and ended up creating several versions of the bears for custom orders (including the panda) but did not sell the original 2. It doesn't stop there either. Do I not have my finger on the pulse of my customer? Why am I just slightly off so often? How do you figure out what people want?