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According to Statista’s report, as of the first quarter of 2024, as of the first quarter of 2024, 91.6 million active shoppers purchased items on Etsy. This proves that this platform is a fertile ground for both big and small businesses, especially sellers selling handmade and craft products.
But does it make sense for your business to start selling on Etsy? Or is selling on Etsy worth it in 2024? Don’t worry, Merchize will help you answer these questions!
In this article, we’ll introduce selling on Etsy, as well as the pros and cons of Etsy for sellers. It will also give you some success tips and alternative providers. By leveraging this blog post, you can make a better decision as to whether or not to sell on Etsy.
Is Selling on Etsy Worth It in 2024?
Yes, that is the answer to this question! Selling on Etsy can be worth it. With a wide range of buyers on Etsy, your products will approach customers efficiently even if you are a new seller.
If you don’t want to worry about setting up and customizing a website from scratch, Etsy offers a simple and quick solution to get you up and running. Moreover, you can list items for just a few dollars and don’t have to care about domain names and hosting.
Additionally, Etsy provides you with a set of tools to help you manage your store effectively such as analytic tools, promotion tools, and so on. These tools will support you in understanding your audience, optimizing your listings, and growing your business.
However, keep in mind that competition on Etsy can be fierce. You should focus on high-quality product photos, detailed descriptions, and excellent customer service to more stand out than other sellers.
Pros of Selling on Etsy
Etsy is a perfect marketplace for sellers who want to bring unique personalized and handmade products closer to consumers. So, selling on Etsy gives you many benefits, which you can learn about in the list below.
1. Reach a Large Audience
Are you a newbie with no social media presence and looking for a marketplace to reach customers effectively? If so, Etsy is the perfect solution for you. Indeed, the number of active Etsy buyers has grown to nearly 100 million in the past few years. With such a large audience, your products will be in front of customers as soon as they are listed on the platform.
2. Ease of Use
While building a website to sell your products is time-consuming and expensive, setting up an Etsy selling account is much quicker and easier. Etsy allows you to set up an Etsy shop in less than 10 minutes, without any technical skill or fees to create a seller account. This enables you to quickly enter the market, sell faster, and reach your customer base.
3. Low Startup Costs
Do you know that selling on Etsy has lower costs than other marketplaces? Unlike Amazon Handmade, which charges a 15% referral fee for every sale, you only need to pay 0.20 USD for every published listing on Etsy.
In addition, mastering Etsy SEO will help you increase visibility without extra fees. Plus, Etsy’s algorithm is more stable and simpler than those of Google or social media. This makes Etsy a cost-effective option for it easier to approach the right audience and remain there for a while.
4. Multiple Marketing Opportunities
Etsy invests heavily in advertising to attract more buyers to the platform, including TV ads, social media ads, and other marketing campaigns. As an Etsy seller, you can leverage this benefit to promote your Etsy shop, because of the increased traffic to Etsy and potentially more customers to your shop.
Apart from that, there are a ton of Etsy marketing features to help you attract customers, increase sales, and expand your business.
- Etsy Ads Campaigns
- Etsy Offsite Ads
- Link Social Media
- Coupons and Sales
- Team Up With Other Etsy Sellers
5. Rich Library of Knowledge
One of the benefits of selling on Etsy is the access to its vast collection of helpful resources. With access to the Etsy Seller Handbook, you can learn everything from search engine optimization for your Etsy listings to audience building and content strategy. Sellers can also use online courses and tools like EtsyHunt, eRank, or Alura to research the market and optimize their listings.
Furthermore, you can join an Etsy sellers community to collaborate with other Etsy sellers and discuss popular problems. By leveraging this community, you can learn more selling knowledge from other members. All of these things you can’t have as you’re on your own.
Cons of Selling on Etsy
In addition to pros, selling on Etsy has some drawbacks, which sellers must know before choosing this platform to start their business. Here are the main cons found in selling on Etsy reviews:
1. High Competition
Currently, Etsy has over 6.60 million active sellers and this number continues to grow. That’s why some categories are particularly saturated, making it more challenging—but not impossible— to stand out. For instance, when you type “custom canvas" on the search bar brings tons of similar listings.
On the other hand, this fierce competition also drives sellers to lower prices and increase promotions. If you don’t keep up, your potential customers will be lured away by other stores that offer lower prices and more promotions. You’re susceptible to idea theft due to Etsy’s “Popular Now” and “Best Seller” badges.
2. Numerous Etsy Seller Fees
Although listing an item on Etsy is relatively inexpensive($0.2 per product), it’s not the only fee you’ll have to pay as an Etsy seller. Some long-time sellers have complained about increasing seller fees, which can eat into profits.
Here’s a breakdown of the fees you must cover when listing your products on Etsy:
- Listing fee: 0.20 USD per item.
- Transaction fee: 6.5% of your item’s price for every sale you make.
- Payment processing fee: Charged for each transaction processed through Etsy Payments, based on the gross order amount).
- Shipping fees: You’re responsible for paying for the delivery of physical goods (this can be covered by the buyer if you don’t use the “free shipping” option).
- Advertising fees: This is an additional expense you have to consider if you want to run Etsy Ads or offsite ads (depending on your budget).
In addition, if you want to get the Etsy Plus package and unlock more tools, you must pay $10 per month.
3. Unexpected Suspensions
Account suspensions are nothing new for sellers on Etsy. Many Etsy community members have shared stories of their accounts being suspended repeatedly and unexpectedly without any explanation.
Etsy aims to maintain a fair marketplace by enforcing policies against the sale of prohibited items, copyright infringement, and excessive customer complaints. If your account has been suspended, it’s likely due to one of these issues. To resolve the situation, follow the instructions in the email Etsy sent you and contact support if you have any questions.
4. Rise of Mass-produced Goods
In many Etsy categories, non-handmade products and factory-produced products have flooded. Besides, the production costs of these products are often lower than those of handmade goods. This allows them to sell all at a lower price and compete directly with handmade sellers, taking away their monopoly on the Etsy marketplace.
This also comes with new opportunities since Etsy has enabled print-on-demand sellers to enter the market. Unlike handmade products, print on demand products are more convenient to produce and easy to scale up. While print-on-demand items are easier to produce, sellers still need to create original designs, ensuring that the products maintain a sense of originality and creativity.
5. Lack of Branding
A business’s brand can be expressed in many ways, but on Etsy, your control over these touchpoints is limited. While building your website allows you to customize colors, fonts, navigation, layout, and the overall shopping experience, Etsy restricts these elements. On Etsy, your brand identity is conveyed only through your shop’s name, images, and text.
For instance, if you have a high-end brand, it’s hard to make your Etsy store stand out more than competitors because everyone shares the same fonts, colors, and layout. In contrast, your website gives you full control over every detail, allowing you to create a luxurious feel that suits higher prices.
In this case, if you are selling print on demand on Etsy, you can use the branding service of Merchize. With this service, you can design your own packaging. We will help you print and package your own packaging for your products.
Best-selling Products on Etsy
Regarding Etsy, we all think about handmade products and personalized craft items. So it’s no surprise that the top-selling category on Etsy is handmade, personalized jewelry.
Some of the best things to sell on Etsy include:
- Custom apparel: T-shirts, Hoodies, Sweatshirts, Hawaiian Shirts, Shorts, Sweaters, Socks, Hats, Bags, etc.
- Wall Decor: Canvas, Posters, Flag, etc.
- Bedding: Pillows & Covers, Blankets, Bedding Sets, etc.
- Lightings: Custom Shape Photo Night Light, Photo Frame Light Box, Name Night Light, etc.
- Wood decoration: Custom Shape Wood Sign, Wood Key Holder, Round Wood Sign, etc.
- Ornaments: Wood Ornament, Ceramic Ornament, Shaker Ornament, Glass Ornament, Acrylic Ornament, etc.
Adding products from this list to your Etsy store can help you attract more consumers and boost your sales significantly.
Tips for Success on Etsy
Selling on Etsy can be quite hard, but also gives many benefits for sellers. To succeed on this platform, you need to employ effective strategies and a mix of creativity to stand out in a ton of sellers and attract more consumers to your store.
1. Choose the Right Products
No matter which e-commerce platform you sell on, you need to choose the right products that meet the needs and preferences of customers. Even if you have optimized your search engine (SEO), it only can be effective when combined with a well-thought-out product strategy.
2. Use Captivating Item Photos
After choosing the right products to sell on Etsy, using high-quality and captivating photos is equally essential. This is the first important factor that influences the decision to buy a particular product on this platform. Professional and high-quality photos are often easy to attract visitors at first sight. Without them, buyers may pass on your product in favor of a more visually appealing product. Therefore, in a crowded marketplace like Etsy, having outstanding images will help you get closer to success and profit.
3. Optimize Keywords for SEO
When thinking about Etsy selling tips, using related keywords, and phrases is a must-have. Indeed, as people shop on Etsy with specific products intend to buy in mind, they often start their search by typing words and phrases into the search bar. In this case, sellers need to think like customers to determine what keywords they are likely to use to find your products.
Additionally, you need to regularly check which keywords are working and replace those that are not working with others that may work better. This requires careful thinking and data analysis, but it is not as complicated as you think.
4. Build Loyalty Customers
Instead of only finding new customers, caring for old customers is essential to build your successful business. One of the most effective strategies you can use is offering a loyalty program. In this program, customers will receive discounts or exclusive access to new products. This encourages them to turn back your store efficiently.
Additionally, you can inform customers about new products, sales, and updates via email or newsletters. Ensure that your customers have already agreed to receive your marketing emails. Besides, sending personalized thank-you notes or small gifts and responding quickly also creates a good impression and makes customers come back to your store.
5. Encourage Customers to Buy More
There’s no denying that every customer loves to receive a bargain when they purchase an item. So, providing attractive promotions such as discount codes, free shipping, holiday promotions, etc. will encourage customers to buy more from your Etsy store. Apart from that, these promotions are effective in converting new customers and convincing shoppers to come back to get high-quality items.
Etsy Alternatives
If you’re looking for alternatives to Etsy, there are several e-commerce platforms and marketplaces worth considering such as Shopify, eBay, Amazon Handmade, and more. Even if you want to sell print on demand products on these marketplaces, it’s possible. Merchize will help you achieve this goal by integrating POD fulfillment services for the above platforms.
Shopify
With more than 2.1 million active users worldwide every day, Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the world. It allows you to build your own online store, manage sales, market to customers, and accept payment in digital and physical locations. Moreover, you can add extra features to your store with thousands of third-party integrations. That means you’ll have full control over your online store and brand.
Shopify has 4 tiers of subscription plans, with monthly fees ranging from $19 USD to $2,300 USD. Its transaction fees range between 0.6% to 2% or 0% when using Shopify payments. This can make Shopify more suitable for businesses looking to scale or those with high sales volumes.
eBay
eBay is an online marketplace that allows you to buy and sell a wide variety of items, from cars to electronics to clothing. This marketplace is known for its auction-style and fixed-price selling formats.
On average, eBay takes between 10% and 15.55% of the final selling price in fees. This percentage can increase if you’re selling internationally or using promoted listings. It’s important to factor in all of these fees when pricing your items to ensure that you’re making a profit after all fees are taken into account.
Amazon Handmade
Amazon has more than 310 million active users, this amount more than triple that of Etsy. Therefore, selling on this platform will help your handmade products reach more consumers than Etsy.
Amazon Handmade is a microsite belonging to Amazon. It’s a marketplace much like Etsy, designed for handmade items. Additionally, Amazon also helps you improve shipping with an automated fulfillment process. You just need to focus on selling, while Amazon handles the rest.
However, Amazon Handmade’s fees could be more expensive for new sellers with low order numbers. Indeed, if you use the Individual Plan, you must pay $0.99 per order. Besides, you’ll need to go through an application auditing process to be an Amazon seller.
In conclusion, Etsy offers a variety of great opportunities for sellers of handmade, personalized, and print-on-demand goods. However, the answer to the question “Is selling on Etsy worth it" depends on a lot of factors. You should carefully consider the benefits and drawbacks of running an Etsy store as well as your own needs to decide whether selling on Etsy is for you.
