Etsy, started with an idea to expose crafters, artisans, and small businesses to a wide range of audiences is now a global name with whooping 86.53 million active seller and buyer accounts. Just in 2019, Etsy conducted sales of around $4.97 billion, which surprisingly grew to $10.28 billion by the next year, primarily due to the pandemic.
Indeed, Etsy has emerged as a profitable online marketplace for crafters and artists. If you too want to be a successful seller of unique goods or handmade and creative pieces on Etsy, you have landed at the right place. In this article, I will explain everything you need to know to start selling your items on Etsy.
Let’s begin with the basics first.
What is Etsy?
Etsy is an America-based eCommerce company that only deals with handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. The categories of products include handmade toys, jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor, furniture, and art, along with craft supplies and tools. Etsy is unique in terms that every item sold here is either crafted, collected, or curated by its sellers.
The platform was introduced in 2005 for small, indie artists, creators, and collectors, as well as for customers looking for personalized gifts, collectibles, and goods.
The idea was proven to be a huge success by the third year of its launch when it had almost 50 million users and earned $26 million in revenue. Moreover, in 2018 Etsy scored 2 million sellers and 50 million products listed on its site. Arguably, it is now a paradise not only for independent sellers but also for those who craft their products and manage their inventory at the same time.
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Benefits Of Selling On Etsy
The biggest benefit of selling on Etsy is that you don’t have to compete with the mass manufacturers while selling in the consumer marketplace. This is just a primary advantage, there is a lot more to it. Let us find out:
1- Opportunity To Grab More Special-Interest Customers
Small businesses or people doing business from home do not have enough capital to start their own store. Also, large-scale shopping stores lack enough demand for those products, which curbs the profit of sellers.
On the other side, Etsy caters to a huge special-interest customer base to those sellers, as it isn’t limited to specific geographical regions. People from across the world can come and create their community on this mainstream outlet to buy non-mainstream products like handmade jewelry and bodycon apparel.
2- Helpful Seller Community
Unlike other eCommerce platforms where sellers face cutthroat competition, undercutting each other by reducing price, Etsy operates quite differently. The eCommerce market has a strong, united, and friendly community, called Etsy Community.
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While it might look like forums in Amazon Seller Central, Etsy Community is more friendly and has a personal touch. Also, there are Etsy Teams of different niches. These are the group of sellers you can join for product sourcing recommendations or assist each other in promotion and advertising.
3- User-Friendly Platform
Etsy caters the ease of use to people with zero coding skills. Anyone can open a shop in minutes by following step by step process. In fact, it is highly praised by the sellers for its user-friendly features.
When you start with Etsy, you may encounter limited customization features, but template-style editing fills up the gap, which is easier and more approachable. Besides, you can download all your sales and product data anytime to keep a track of your budget. Its mobile app is a boon for adding listings on the go, instant customer engagement or simply checking the updates on sales.
4- Pre-Existing Customer Base
The toughest part of selling creative and handmade items is to create a customer base. People looking for such items are not available everywhere. Since Etsy specializes in creative products, people know where to reach to get the products of their choice. This helps first-time sellers by making it a bit easier to break into the market.
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5- Additional Etsy Benefits
In addition, there are many other benefits that rarely any other platforms offer. For example, there are no additional monthly fees and the fee for listing is as low as $ 0.20 and remains active for four months, or until they are sold.
Other than that, as per Etsy’s Advertising & Marketing Policy, it pays for your product advertisement across the internet through Offsite Ads. In return, you just have to pay a fee when you make a sale from one of those ads.
What You Can Sell on Etsy?
You can sell any handmade items physically made or created using original designs, vintage items that are at least 20 years old, and craft supplies used in the creation of an item for special occasions.
Now, you already have a basic idea of what you can sell on Etsy. Still, it is wise to go through the details, because Etsy has its Prohibited Items Policy that you need to follow before you get started with the marketplace. Once you have a clear idea about this, move to the next step.
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Fees For Selling On Etsy
Before you learn about selling on Etsy, it is essential that you know about the fees involved in the process. Setting up a shop on Etsy is 100% free, but there are three types of charges that you have to pay. Let us see what are they:
1. Listing Fees
While listing products for sale, Etsy charges you $.20 for each item as a listing fee. It is valid for four months, after which you can either wait to expire the listing or renew it by paying another $.20.
In case, you make a sale and you have a listing set to auto-renew, Etsy will charge you another $.20.
2. Transaction Fees
For each sale, you will have to pay 5% of the total sale price + shipping + gift wrapping to Etsy.
3. Advertising Fees
As already discussed above, Etsy publishes on-site or off-site ads for your product promotion, and for this Etsy charges a specific amount.
How To Start Selling On Etsy?
Before diving into the process, carefully review Etsy’s legal terms and policies. This way you will get to know about everything before getting started, including fees and required product standards. Now, let us quickly learn about how to sell on Etsy in a step-by-step process:
Step 1: Create an account
Like any other online marketplace, you will have to create an account before getting started. For this, you simply have to go to Etsy.com and click Sign in on the top right corner.
As you can in the above image, there are several ways you can log in. Log in using an account with Google, Facebook, or Apple. Otherwise, select Register and then fill in the blank bars. After entering the information and clicking on the Register button, Etsy will inbox you a confirmation email within a few moments. Follow the instructions given in the mail and your account will be active.
Step 2: Enter The Profile Picture And Bio
Once your account is active, the next step is to add your profile picture and bio so that others in the Etsy community will know about you. Besides, it will also make your account look authentic for customers.
Begin by expanding the drop-down menu from the You section on the right corner of the screen.
Navigate to Account Settings > Public Profile where you need to provide your store information as given in the image below:
For uploading your image on Etsy, here are a few things you need to take care of:
- Keep your profile picture smaller than 10MB and at least 400 x 400 pixels in size.
- Go for a square image to avoid picture distortion on the site.
- Choose .jpg, .png, or .gif only as image file format.
After you are done with uploading the image tick the checkbox Shop in the Include on Your Profile section to add your shop to the public profile. When all done, click on the Save Changes button and move to the next step.
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Step 3: Open An Etsy Shop
If you go to Etsy.com and scroll down a bit, you see a page like the one below:
Simply click Open your Etsy shop. Now you have started the process of opening your store. Here are some more steps that you have to follow to complete the process.
1- Set Your Shop Preferences
In this step, you have to select the language, country, currency, and time commitment for your shop.
- Shop language: Etsy offers 10 languages to choose from and the shop language you select is the default language you will use to describe your products. Once you select your default language, you won’t be able to change it later. However, you can add translations in other languages later after opening your shop.
- Shop country: Select the country from where you operate your shop.
- Shop currency: It is the currency that you will use for product pricing. If your shop currency is different from the bank’s currency, Etsy will apply Currency conversion fees.
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2- Add Shop Name
Of course, naming a shop is crucial for any shop owner. Make sure you do it right by choosing a name that is easy to remember and reflects your style.
There are some other things that you need to take into account before you decide the name of your shop:
- The name should be 4-20 characters in length.
- There shouldn’t be any space or special characters between the name.
- It must not have profanity.
- It must not conflict with any other brand’s trademark
The name you choose may not necessarily be available on Etsy, as you can see above. But Etsy will provide you with a list of suggestions that you can consider for naming. If you don’t like the suggestions, you can get some tips for choosing a shop name by Etsy.
3- Stock Your Shop
Now, you have to add products to the listing.
Click Shop Manger in the right corner of the screen, if you’re a new seller.
Here, you will see the + (plus) icon. Click on it to add images or videos, add all the related details, set up shipping, choose marketing options, and at the end Publish or save the listing.
4- Choose The Payment Methods
Provide your customers methods of payment in your shop. If you are staying in any of the eligible countries set by Etsy, you will use Etsy Payments. The benefit of using this payment is it provides customers multiple options to pay for your product. Also, all payments get consolidated in your Etsy Payment account.
If your shop doesn’t fall under eligible countries or in any case Etsy Payments are unavailable, you can use your own PayPal account.
5- Set Up Billing
You may need to enter credit or debit card details to open your shop based on the country your shop is located. The following types of cards are accepted on Etsy:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Discover
- Carte Bleue (France)
Sellers in certain countries have to keep their credit or debit cards on files for identity verification. Initially, a fee for authorization is charged to verify the card entered on file, but after card verification, the charge is dropped from the statement.
6- Open Your Shop
Once you are done with the billing setup, click Open Your Shop. You can make changes to your shop even after it is open. Your Etsy shop may have either of the following web address:
- https://www.etsy.com/shop/yourshopname
or
- https://yourshopname.etsy.com
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Step 4: Manage Your Shop
After you have opened your shop and listed your items, it is time to focus on other factors that might impact your business development and growth.
- If you follow customer service best practices, you will be eligible for Etsy’s Seller Protection Policy.
- Check out what you should do after your first sale.
- Get Sell on Etsy app to manage your shop on the go.
- Learn more about Etsy’s Review system.
- If you are planning to get a few weeks off, learn how to turn on vacation mode.
Packaging And Shipping On Etsy
Packaging and shipping might seem to be the only and less important step to close the order, but as a beginner, in eCommerce, it is wise not to ignore its significance. Surprisingly, consumers do care about the packaging design and influence their purchase decision.
It doesn’t need to be fancy at all. A simple packaging box with decent wrapping to protect the product is enough to make your impression. There are ways you can go for:
- Amazon: If you are a new seller on Etsy and started at a low scale, Amazon could be a great place to pick up packaging supplies. They have a pool of assortment of boxes, mailers, and wrapping materials. Further, you can make the packaging even more impressive by adding a handwritten or printed thank you card with some information about the product and your shop.
- Dedicated packaging companies: When your business grows and you start receiving orders in bulk, you can move to dedicated packaging companies. They have a specific range for minimum packaging orders with the option of customization. It will also cost you a bit less.
- Shipping Options on Etsy: Etsy also provides USPS and FedEx as a carrier to its sellers. All you have to do is to measure the package size, weight, and enter these details with other information into Etsy. Based on the size of the item, the default shipping option is selected which could be standard first-class or priority mail. If a customer needs it early, you can provide shipping upgrades on your products that are available in the shipping section. Now print the shipping labels and affix them to the packages.
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How To Find Customers On Etsy?
Marketing, branding, and promotion are the next vital steps required to take your business to the next level. Besides having a great list of quality products, you need to focus on making your products visible online and easily found by your target audience. To ensure your customers find your products and existing customers stay updated about your new products, there are some proven marketing tips you can follow:
- Always optimize your shop for Etsy search. Don’t forget to add your location so that your shop appears in the list in local searches.
- Open a social media account for your shop and keep posted about your business and latest products.
- Go for marketing your shop through Etsy’s paid advertising options like an ad campaign, offsite ads, and social media.
- Offer discounts to shoppers through sales and coupons. in order to entice and encourage customers to buy more.
- Etsy Local events are a great idea to connect with the consumers through fairs and markets in the seller’s area.
- The Etsy community and teams are highly useful networks to share marketing tips and sell to buyers in person.
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Free Tools For Etsy Sellers
Selling on Etsy can be an overwhelming experience if done rightly. To ensure all your cards fall in place, you also have to take care of many other aspects than what is mentioned above. Since you are limited resources, you can’t do everything on your own. The best idea is to automate the necessary processes. Here is a list of top tools to help your business work the best way.
1- Adobe Photoshop Express (Photo Editing Tool)
The very first impression of your product is impactful if its image is visually appealing. But you are neither a professional photographer nor trained to operate photo editing tools. Hence, you need a tool that converts your ordinary photo into a professionally clicked image without any hassles.
Adobe Photoshop, already a leader in the photo editing software industry, launched its free version called Adobe Photoshop Express for the first time. So, it is not tough to guess the quality of the image it will produce.
While the paid version is completely for the professionals, the Express is entirely aimed at beginners looking for high-quality software for quick edits. With a great user interface, it allows you to effortlessly operate basic image editing actions, such as perspective, contrast, exposure, saturation, and spot removal. It also enables you to select preset dynamic effects.
Besides, editing is possible for images saved at any location, be it your device, Dropbox, Facebook, or Google Photos. Another option is to share them directly from Adobe Creative Cloud. Images edited using Adobe Photoshop Express are non-destructive, so you can get back the original photo whenever needed.
The best part, there is a free mobile app to use even on the go, which supports iOS, Android, and Windows platforms. Features may not be as advanced as the professional photo editing tool, but the result you get is nothing less than a pro. Certainly, perfect for new Etsy sellers.
2- Sell On Etsy (Market Analysis Tool)
To create a road map for your business, first, you need to know how well your business is performing. Since the process is time-consuming, automating it seems to be the best idea which will significantly save your time and energy.
For a beginner, probably there is nothing better market analysis tool than Sell On Etsy. It gives a complete understanding of your business performance by creating fully automated sales events for your eCommerce store.
The stats on Etsy show you both the volume of the traffic in your shop and the source of the traffic, except Etsy Ads promoted in Etsy search or search traffic in the Etsy app. The graph also includes the search terms people use to find your listings.
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Additionally, it will display the number of visits, orders, conversion rate, and revenue. The number of times people looked at your listing is also mentioned in the graph. You can compare the data between a chosen time frame and that exact time frame the year before.
3- eRank (Complete SEO Tool)
As already covered above, if you want your shop in Etsy listing you have to optimize your shop for Etsy search. A comprehensive SEO tool like eRank is one of the best free researching options to improve your Etsy listing’s ranking.
The eRank dashboard displays several metrics, which give ideas to improve your Etsy shop and suggests different products to add to your shop. Other than that, you will find long-tail keywords on eRank that buyers are searching for, not just on Etsy but other online marketplaces as well.
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You can monitor your own listings and determine if the changes improve your ranking. With eRank you can also track if your listings rank on the first two pages of Etsy for a given search term.
Other than tools, eRank also has endless hours of free tutorials and advice on YouTube that you must leverage to boost your new business on Etsy. As a free tool, eRank indeed has a lot to offer.
4- MERCH TITANS (Tag Generator)
Simple and fast, Merch Titans is the next tool you must have as a newbie on the Etsy marketplace. The very basic reason behind its recommendation is its simplicity. With an extremely easy user interface, anyone can generate top tags for Etsy in no time.
You only have to create an account and confirm your email address to start using it. Once registration is over, start your search by entering a seed keyword. For example, enter ‘paintings’ and it will immediately generate over 100 tags and the number of occurrences in current listings.
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Use as many keyword tags as you can so you get the maximum SEO benefit. However, using descriptive keywords that accurately define your products is the best. For instance, if you have a floral wall art-themed Etsy shop, you need to use SEO keywords that perfectly depict the theme. Keywords like the flower, bloom, budding, blossom, bouquet, flower-themed art, floral signs, and similar ideas can help you to reach your potential buyers.
Merch Titans is a very simple tool. It doesn’t produce any other data like search volume, ranking difficulty, or CPC. But for beginners, it is a good start.
5- Etsy Pricing and Finance (Pricing, Taxes, and Finance)
Lastly, you can use Etsy itself as a free tool for pricing your products and managing your finances. Handling business involves a significant amount of stress, especially in pricing your items, bookkeeping, and taxes.
Etsy is an excellent tool for finding the most useful and practical information to ease off your stress. It has a wealth of information that gives insight into how you can manage your finances as a seller.
Using the tool, you will learn the exact way of fixing the financial issues rather than asking around or simply guessing the solution. There might not be a pool of articles to help you, but as a new seller, they are enough to guide you through the initial journey as a seller on the Etsy marketplace.
Summary
Etsy has emerged as a solution for millions of sellers with small-scale businesses looking for a platform with better exposure. It is a well-designed marketplace that has accommodated new and first-time sellers dealing with unique or handmade products, helping them to break into the market with little more ease.
Indeed, opening a store on Etsy will pave a path for millions of visitors browsing through the marketplace and looking for unique products. If you are planning to start your business journey with Etsy, surely it is a wise decision.
But remember, doing in-depth homework is always a good way to start. The article above has covered as many possible topics as possible to help you learn more and more about Etsy. If you have gone through it thoroughly, you will be able to take maximum advantage of a built-in customer base on Etsy that takes years for other eCommerce platforms.
