Selling Your Products on Etsy? Is It Worth Trying?

If you are a retailer or making some handmade stuff and trying to find an online platform to sell your products, Etsy is a good place to start. Among other online marketplaces, selling on Etsy is unique in the sense that women dominate the seller population.

Written by Kaloian Parchev

Last Updated: 26 July 2023

This post may contain affiliate links. You can find our full disclosure policy here.

Arts, handmade crafts, jewelry, paper goods, cosmetics, clothing, and accessories are common products that artists sell on Etsy. Moreover, some artists also sell digital items such as art prints, planners, stationery designs, or other forms of printed documents. For all those who want to sell on Etsy, in this article, I put my detailed Etsy review in front of you to help you weigh its worth.

These services are featured in this article.

What is Etsy?

Etsy is an online e-commerce platform where you can sell your handmade or vintage products in the quickest, cheapest, and easiest way possible. Starting in 2005 as a small start-up in New York’s garage, the primary purpose behind Etsy seller was to encourage small artists, designers, and creators to showcase their creativity.

The idea clicked with the audience, and Etsy grew into a proper marketplace. In 2023, it has over 5 million active sellers and an audience of 90 million worldwide.

Selling on Etsy

In comparison to the other option of selling online goods through building an independent website, selling on Etsy is a low-risk option. Start with setting up a professional-looking online shop, which is a matter of hours, and list sale items for just a few dollars. There is no need to deal with any other domain or pay any hosting fees. However, according to my Etsy review, you have to be patient to reap the real benefits of this e-commerce site. If you already have existing customers, they will find an easy way to reach you through etsy seller login, but getting familiar with the general audience will take some time.

Etsy Pros and Cons

To help you understand if Etsy is worth it for selling your products, as per my Etsy review, here are the most common pros and cons:

Pros

Easy and Cost-Effective Setup

In comparison to building a website, it’s super easy and low-cost to set up your online store on selling on etsy uk. There is no need to invest your precious time in building a website or paying others to design it for you.

Building an online store on Etsy has no upfront cost. Hence, selling on Etsy is a boon for small traders who can easily set up an online store with the minimum cost of listing, and then they are good to go.

User-friendly Interface

Another good thing about Etsy is its ease of use, owing to its user-friendly nature. You don’t have to be a tech pro to set up a store and sell on Etsy; anyone with little technical knowledge can do it.

An Established Market

Unlike starting your website, which usually takes months or years for search engines to make it appear on the front page, selling on Etsy is way easier. This is so because it has an established market where customers come naturally.

With a monthly traffic of about 378 million, selling on etsy fees is a diverse platform where you can find buyers from across the globe. Therefore, in my Etsy review, sellers don’t need to take much pain for marketing.

Ground for Experimentation

If you have started a new business, Etsy provides a testing area to experiment with before starting your independent website.

While selling on Etsy, you learn how to build your brand, understand your customers’ needs, and invest in your business.

Selling on Etsy gives you good hands-on practice with the business basics before you step into the market independently.

Cons

Automatic Selling Process

As this online market doesn’t belong to you, you have no control over the selling process. Etsy has its own rules and regulations, which can change anytime.

Not only can these automatic algorithm updates affect your visibility, but you also have no creative control to alter them. Etsy has few tools to track sales or create a customer interface.

Survive Without Branding

Selling on Etsy is different from running an independent online shop. Etsy gives you control over a few things to let shoppers know about you, such as your shop name, the text giving your product description, and their photos.

According to my Etsy review, you will first have difficulty selling on Etsy. As all of your competitors use the same font, layout, and colors as Etsy allows, you need to work hard to make your shop stand out.

Bear Transaction Cost

Setting up your online shop on Etsy is very easy and cost-effective, but surviving on this platform has a cost. You must pay around 15-20% of the sale value in the name of the listing, transaction, and Etsy payment fees. Also, the charges increase with the sales volume. But, in my opinion, it is still bearable. Compared to your wider reach with hundreds of thousands of users worldwide, these charges are negligible.

Product Limitations

Etsy has defined its niche, so it only accepts handcrafted, vintage, and other unique products. So, selling on Etsy requires you to stick to such niche; you are not free to sell everything you want.

Is It Profitable to Sell on Etsy?

Well, with a minimum cost for setting up your shop, Etsy charges you later for selling your products. These charges include:

A monthly plan subscription price

There are two different plans available. A standard plan that is free of charge and allows you to sell through the Etsy app and create coupons for you.

An Etsy Plus plan that costs $10 per month but offers you the ability to create featured listings, you receive listing credit and $5 ads credit.

Also, you get a 50% discount on the purchase of custom domains, promotional materials, and packaging.

Moreover, you can make your online store visible through advanced customization options.

Selling cost

For selling on Etsy, you must bear a range of selling costs. These include transaction fees (6.5%), listing fees ($0.20) per item, shipping fees (6.5%) on the shipping cost, payment processing costs ($0.25), and an additional 2.5% of currency conversion.

Despite all of these charges, if you think your product has a good profit margin, you will surely make money while selling on Etsy.

How Much Do Etsy Sellers Make?

There are many kinds of sellers on Etsy; some earn six figures, while others struggle to make one sale a month. Targeting the right audience is the key to earning more on this platform.

With so many competitors around, only those earning high profits on Etsy are targeting their potential customers. For instance, among so many jewelry sellers, all targeting women, only those who bring forward a unique idea get more sales. Bringing unique and customized jewelry designs, writing customer names on them, or making matching mother-daughter pieces are some ideas that can bring you more customers.

To estimate how much money, you can make on Etsy, go through the following steps:

• Check different products and their categories.
• Search for other products with the same listing as yours.
• Get a rough idea of how many sales the seller makes in a year.
• Estimate the average price of your competitor’s products; for instance, add all prices for 3 differently priced jewelry items and divide them by 3.
• To get an idea of their revenue, multiply their average price by sales. You get a rough estimate of their one year’s sales by dividing the total revenue by the number of years they have been selling on Etsy. This revenue includes material costs, Etsy fees, marketing fees, etc.
• Now, be realistic and determine if you could make more or less money than your competitor. For instance, if you have to hire staff to create handmade stuff or art designs for you, cut that chunk from your profit margin.

Only after thorough analysis you would know how much you can earn through this platform.

Etsy Payment System

The Etsy payment system allows buyers to choose their preferred payment method, while the seller gets all the payments in one place: your bank account.

Some shops use PayPal as a payment method for buyers. Sellers in India, where PayPal didn’t work, could use Indian Payments. This method involved a third-party payment partner, offering UPI and Net Banking to Indian buyers and PayPal to other buyers.

How to Boost Your Etsy Sales

Is selling on etsy worth it? According to my Etsy review, you can boost your sales on this marketplace through these steps.

• Sell the most profitable products, such as candles, soaps, jewelry, photography, sewing, etc.
• Offer sufficient types of products. For instance, under each of the above-mentioned categories, you need to offer from 1-5 types. As in jewelry: earrings, necklaces, and rings; under the bath and body category, you can offer soap bars, liquid body baths, hand lotion, etc.
• Offer entry-level products that make it easy for new customers to try them. Usually, products with a lower price point than the average price of your products, while maintaining the quality of work, can act as entry-level.
• Promote your products to find more potential customers. Social media posts work only if you do them in the right way. Attach your shop link to your social media pages to help new customers connect.
• Attach photos with a good product description that allows shoppers to make decisions with confidence. Without sufficient information, shoppers hesitate to buy.
• Offer sales techniques to encourage new customers to try your products.

Etsy Customer Support

Etsy has standard customer support with a help center, live chat, email support, and support through social media options.

However, the most expected phone support still needs to be included. Live chat support is fast, and a chatbot can solve most issues and even help you set up your store on Etsy.

You can find anything related to selling on Etsy in its help center. Also, Etsy’s social media channels offer a good way to get support.

Taxes on Etsy

If the IRS of your Etsy shop reaches $20,000 in sales or you have more than 200 transactions for one year, Etsy issues you a 1099-K form. Also, if your business is expecting to owe more than $1000 in taxes for a year, to make it easy, you can pay one-fourth of the tax each quarter. Of course, these estimated taxes are for those earning in six figures; starters who are just establishing their business need to wait until their business flourishes to get there.

Other taxes include sales tax, which a seller collects from the buyer and submits monthly, quarterly, or annually.

What are Some Alternatives to Etsy?

In 2005, when Etsy started as a new e-commerce platform, it was the lone vendor in the market. However, over time, many competitors have established themselves to rival Etsy.

Storenvy

Like Etsy, Storenvy is a marketplace allowing a range of unique items to be sold on its platform. These include arts and crafts goods, jewelry, beauty, tech, etc.

Storenvy offers a separate storefront on its platform and an excess-to-open market that works best for smaller retailers. However, compared to Etsy, Storenvy is a smaller and less known e-commerce site with an upfront cost of 15% commission fee on its marketplace.

Shopify

Another competitor of Etsy is Shopify, where you get a free hand in designing and branding your storefront for this platform. This platform offers you robust tools to set up your store.

Also, it doesn’t imply any restriction on the number of products you can sell. However, on the downside, this site doesn’t act like a marketplace. Hence, you must put extra effort into marketing and driving traffic to your shop. Also, a subscription plan is mandatory to set up your store on this platform.

FAQs

What am I supposed to sell on Etsy?

You can sell any unique handmade items, vintage stuff from the mid-century, and craft supplies. For instance, handmade jewelry, digital artwork, notebooks and journals, personalized cards, homemade beauty, and bath items, etc. Forbidden items on Etsy include animal products, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, illegal items, mature content, internationally regulated stuff, etc.

How much does Etsy cost?

The Etsy Plus subscription plan is worth $10 per month. Also, it makes an Etsy commission from product sales through Etsy. For every order, the Etsy transaction fee is 6.5%.

How can I offer free delivery of my products on Etsy?

You can offer free shipping on Etsy for domestic orders. Another way to do this is by adjusting the shipping price within the item and offering free shipping. This way, customers would be happy with the free delivery, and you won’t lose any money.

Is Etsy a reliable platform?

Etsy is one of the most reliable and safest online e-commerce sites that protect buyers’ and sellers’ information. Selling on Etsy also offers safe payment options as it offers a two-factor authentication option for your account security.

What is the most sold product on Etsy?

Gifts are the most popular products for selling on Etsy, with over 29 million listings. The second-most-sold item is wall decor, which has less than half the listings as gifts.

Conclusion

So, this is my Etsy review, and after going through the facts mentioned earlier, we can conclude it. In short, selling on Etsy is great if you are a small retailer who needs wide exposure to showcase your products to the world.

What makes Etsy unique is its product choice, creativity, and exceptional designs, which make its products different from others. To start with, the Etsy store is intuitive and straightforward without any upfront cost. As a general recommendation,you should start with the basic, free monthly plan.

If you succeed in making a good amount, continue on this platform, or you can quit. Initially, you must put in a lot of effort to make your store visible, and you have little control over the selling process. Also, there are Etsy commissions, listing, transaction, and payment fees. So, analyze beforehand, calculate the costs, and profits you can make, and then choose whether or not to sell on Etsy.