Wondering why you need to start an Etsy shop?
Trying to start your own business can be very daunting. Maybe you are an artist or maker with an amazing product but no platform to show it off.
Or perhaps you know you want to start a shop but don’t know what to sell yet.
Maybe you have no idea where to start.
If you are stuck between creating your own online shop and selling on a marketplace like Etsy then hopefully I can help.
Here are 9 reasons why you need to start an Etsy shop today and why starting on a marketplace can set your new business up for greatness.
What is Etsy?
You may already know that Etsy sells homemade, one of a kind goods.
But what is it really?
Etsy is an ecommerce marketplace that allows anyone to sell handmade or vintage items. The range of products sold is incredible, from diamond jewellery to dog beds it seems like etsy has it all!
Unlike other platforms such as ebay, amazon or vinted, Etsy is more specific about what is allowed to be sold. Your product must be handmade, vintage or a craft supply.
Etsy recently updated their terms so that you can now work with a production partner to make your items. A production partner is “a company or individual (who’s not part of your Etsy shop) that helps physically produce items based on your own, original designs”.
This is a massive advantage if you sell or are looking to start selling Print on Demand (POD) products and you want to make Etsy more of a Passive income stream.
My Experience with Etsy
I first started on Etsy as a teenager selling digital artwork. My shop failed miserably!
At the time I was heartbroken that my first ever business didn’t succeed, but I learnt so much that I now count as a blessing.
Even though my shop failed I could still see the potential of an Etsy shop.
After a few years and some other business ventures, I started a new Etsy shop in 2021.
Within 4 months of opening, I earned over £1800 in one month!
Needless to say, I was thrilled!
Now I want to help you get that feeling of success!
Here is why having an Etsy shop can be the best way to set up your business for success.
Trusted Marketplace
There’s nothing more valuable than a customer’s trust. And Etsy is already trusted by 81.9 million buyers!
As a new seller it can be hard to get people to buy from you because they can’t trust your product quality or customer service. But if you sell on Etsy, many customers already trust you as they know Etsy values quality sellers.
Customers also feel confident giving their personal payment information to Etsy as all transactions use SSL technology to encrypt the data.
This gives you a massive head start compared to individual sellers because without trust you are sure to not make any sales.
Easy to Start
Initially opening an Etsy shop is quite an easy process. Etsy also leads you through the process and there is always help available if you get stuck.
If you wanted to start your own website, it would take a lot of work and there is no one there that can help you with every problem you face. Obviously, you could hire someone to build your website but that is often expensive and quite a risk for a new seller who hasn’t made any money yet.
That is why Etsy’s easy to follow set up process is so great. You could open Etsy right now and have a shop built in an hour!
I have also made the Ultimate Beginners Guide to Etsy for anyone who wants to get started right away!
Low Start-up Cost
Etsy is perfect for a new business as it does not require a lot of upfront investment.
The only cost to you to start with will be the listing fees.
This is the fee for listing each item on your shop. You will be charged $0.20USD (or £0.20GBP) per listing that you upload. This is charged whether you sell the item or not.
Your listing will expire after 4 months if it has not sold. You can set your listing to “Auto-renew” meaning after 4 months your listing will renew automatically and you will be charged another $0.20. Or you can choose to manually renew them once they expire, which would still cost $0.20.
There are other costs involved in Etsy but these are only charged once you make a sale.
Personally, I think this is an amazingly low start up cost for any business, making it very accessible to new entrepreneurs.
Plus if you signup to Etsy through my link you will get your first 40 listings for free!
You can learn your Market
Launching a new product on your own website can be very risky. There is a lot of unknowns in your business and niche.
Launching first on Etsy poses less risk. You can then learn your market, see your competition and test your product before committing much more time and money to your own site.
I found Etsy particularly helpful when learning how to price my product.
Obviously, you will already have an idea of pricing, but having to compete directly with other similar sellers helps you gauge your place in the market. If you are able to charge more for a higher quality product. Or perhaps you need to decrease your price if you get many views but no sales.
Organic Traffic
Etsy is a MAJOR player in online selling and is currently ranked 4th in the world’s top global online marketplaces.
With an astonishing 397.5M visits/month you will have no shortage of potential customers.
The best part is they are already there! And wanting to spend!
Being able to get organic traffic from Etsy will save you from spending all of your budget on advertising. You may want to start running adverts one day, but as a beginner I would strongly suggest focusing on your product and your shop before plunging into the overwhelming world of advertising.
Etsy Support
As a beginner, you are going to get stuck.
You are going to face challenges and questions you have not prepared for.
Luckily Etsy offers support for nearly every problem you could face.
From getting your shop up and running, to customer queries. You can contact Etsy with any problem and they are there to help you.
There are varying reviews of how quickly they get back to you, and whether they can answer the question straight away. But they are always willing to help and are on your side. Etsy support is definitely a bonus as a seller and can be a life saver for your shop.
Get Customer Feedback
When developing a product and a business, customer feedback is like gold dust.
Whether its good or bad it will all help immensely when starting your shop.
No amount of work or research can replace the true opinions of paying customers.
Luckily, Etsy is one of the best platforms for gaining customer reviews. Many customers know you are a small business and want to help you by leaving reviews.
Treat every review you get seriously. Take any criticism on board and be willing to adjust your product or service if your feedback suggests you should.
Comprehensive & Easy to read Shop Statistics
As a beginner, I was very overwhelmed with my statistics. The views and visits your shop is getting, favourites, traffic sources, conversion rates…
It’s a lot to take in.
Etsy does a great job of breaking these statistics down and making them more accessible to beginners. They provide explanations for various terms so you can learn what each stat means.
They even show statistics on individual listings so you can see what is getting traffic and what isn’t.
Can integrate with some suppliers
If you are looking to use a production partner for a Print on Demand business then Etsy is a great option.
Etsy can now be integrated with certain suppliers such as Printful to make your business more automated and let you start earning Passive income today.
This means you can create your product with the supplier and send it to Etsy automatically. Then when you get an order on Etsy it will sync automatically to your supplier ready for them to fulfil for you.
If you are interested in starting a Print on Demand business make sure to check out my Ultimate beginners guide to POD so you can get started right away!
Hopefully you can now see why Etsy is such a powerful tool for sellers.
I personally love Etsy and will always sell on their marketplace.
But I don’t want you to think it is without it’s flaws… because nothing is perfect.
So you can make a fully informed decision I have outlined 7 reasons why you should not start an Etsy shop.
I have highlighted the honest downsides of the popular selling platform so you are prepared for the challenges you may face.
What do you think of Etsy? Have you found success?
Let us know below so we can all learn from each other.
- The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Making Money on Etsy
- How to Stay Motivated when starting a New Business
- 10 Healthy Habits for New Business Owners
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links and/or referral links which means I may earn a small commission or incentive if you choose to purchase or signup (at no additional cost to you). Please note that I will only ever promote products that I truly believe in and would recommend with or without earning a commission.
