How do you know if Etsy is the right marketplace for you? One clue is in the company’s history. Over 15 years ago, the founders realized how difficult it was for artisans to sell their handcrafted products in an industrialized world. So, they created a space where people could sell these products online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you make anything with your hands \u2014 woodwork, jewelry, scarves, paintings, candles \u2014 you can sell it on Etsy. And if you design items and have them made elsewhere? You can sell those products on Etsy<\/a>, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a world of mass-produced goods, Etsy buyers want something unique. They’re looking for sellers they can trust to provide high-quality, handmade products. They’re looking for the types of vintage goods you’d find at an obscure thrift store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this guide, learn everything you need to know about getting started as an Etsy seller<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n It’s no secret that selling on Etsy takes work. But that’s true no matter where you sell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefits of selling on Etsy are clear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re new to the world of e-commerce, Etsy is a fantastic starting point. You may eventually outgrow Etsy and move on to your own Shopify website<\/a>, or you may wish to sell on both sites. Either way, Etsy helps you get going. <\/p>\n\n\n Before we talk about the best things to sell, let’s start with Etsy’s shop policies<\/a> \u2014 in other words, what you can and can’t sell on the platform. <\/p>\n\n\n Now, let’s get to the fun part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What do Etsy buyers love to shop for on the platform? Jewelry<\/strong> is one of the top categories, but if you sell handmade pieces, know that you’ll be competing with a lot of sellers in that category. Marketing your jewelry in a seasonal gifts category (Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.) can help drive sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many Etsy jewelers purchase supplies to make the jewelry they sell on Etsy. What if you tap into the craft supply<\/strong> market instead? <\/p>\n\n\n You can also offer complete craft kits<\/strong> for kids and adults alike \u2014 jewelry-making kits, painting kits, or needlepoint kits, for example. This is an especially helpful option for those who love crafts but don’t feel they have the skill to sell their pieces on Etsy. You don’t have to make anything yourself. Just put together a kit, take excellent photos<\/a>, and post your listing on Etsy. Craft kits make perfect seasonal gifts, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you love to crochet, knit, or sew? Selling handmade clothes, socks, and other accessories<\/strong> is an ideal way to make use of your talents. People who shop on Etsy already value the unusual, so your one-of-a-kind clothing item may just make them swoon with delight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can even sell wedding and bridesmaid dresses. <\/p>\n\n\n Kids’ clothing<\/strong> is also a hit on Etsy. Parents love finding unique or customized outfits for special occasions and family photos. A personalized onesie for newborn photos, anyone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other popular categories include handmade toys, vinyl mugs, stickers, party decorations, candles, phone cases, enamel pins, houseplants, handbags, and art<\/strong>, including digital art. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Try PickFu for free<\/a> and get feedback on your product designs.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n Before you begin pricing your products, take a look at Etsy’s fees. For sellers, the processing and transaction fees for selling on Etsy are as follows: <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you create an Etsy business account, you’ll set up a payment method to pay your fees. If you use Etsy Payments, the selling fee will come directly out of your payment for a purchased product. Learn more about fees in Etsy’s Help Center<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n Setting up an Etsy shop is simple and straightforward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First, you’ll create an Etsy business account to set your shop location, your language, and the currency you use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll then enter your shop name. It may take a few tries before you find a name that no other seller has. <\/p>\n\n\n Next, you’ll be directed to create your first listing and add photos. Etsy helps you understand which types of product photos your buyers will want to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For more on Etsy’s photo requirements, read our guide to sizing your Etsy listing photos<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n After filling out the rest of the information on the listing page, including your product description, shipping information, pricing, tags, and production partners, you’ll be able to post your shop’s first listing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The next step is deciding which payment methods work for you, setting up billing for what you will pay Etsy, and then finalizing shop security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll be on your way to selling on Etsy in no time. <\/p>\n\n\n Who doesn’t love free shipping? Buyers may be more likely to purchase from your Etsy shop if you offer free shipping. But how can you do free shipping in a way that doesn’t impact your income?<\/p>\n\n\n\n One solution is to offer free shipping but price your items so that the cost of shipping, or at least most of it, is covered within an item’s price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also set up Etsy’s free shipping guarantee, which means that any orders from your shop that total $35 or more automatically receive free shipping. This incentivizes your buyers to purchase several things from your shop, earning you more cash right away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Etsy has more information about how to provide a free shipping guarantee<\/a> and how to price your items to include shipping costs<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\r\n Want to know a neat way to offer art or photography while avoiding shipping costs and the burden of post office visits? Try offering downloadable digital art or art prints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Downloadable art can be less expensive than prints: buyers do all the printing themselves, saving you time and money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or you can offer t-shirts, vinyl mugs, stickers, and other print-on-demand items from Etsy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of stocking inventory, you create a design to print onto a blank product each time a buyer purchases it. This is allowed on Etsy as long as you create the design yourself and disclose who makes your blank product.<\/p>\n\n\n Redbubble is a popular print-on-demand site, and it’s free to list items on Redbubble. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The difference between Redbubble and Etsy is that Redbubble handles everything but the creation of the art: production, shipping, customer support, everything.<\/em> All you do is create and upload art. Because of this, you only get a portion of sales \u2014 a royalty essentially, which is paid to you once a month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Etsy allows you more control over the production, which can result in more profit when it comes to print on demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, you’ll need to coordinate with a third-party printer like Printful or Printify to print your designs from Etsy. <\/p>\n\n\n It’s always a good idea to diversify your marketplace. If you’re looking for additional places to sell your handmade goods, you may want to check out these three sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you dive headfirst into Etsy selling, it’s helpful to know a few pros and cons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First, the pros: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, the cons: <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, Etsy is still one of the best places for artisans to sell their work. If you’re new to the e-commerce world and want to host your own storefront, Etsy can be your running start. <\/p>\n\n\n Before you sell a product on Etsy, it’s important to split test your product photos and descriptions to see how your target audience responds. With PickFu, you can test product ideas, variations, and pricing and get consumer feedback within hours or less. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even better? Using PickFu’s audience targeting<\/a>, you can focus your polls on respondents who are Etsy shoppers<\/a> to better understand their preferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s an example of a product poll<\/a> targeting Etsy shoppers and Amazon Prime members. The seller wanted to know which of these three wooden bowls shoppers would be most likely to purchase. <\/p>\n\n\n Respondents chose Option A. Here’s how some of them explained their votes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With every PickFu poll, each respondent votes for their favorite option and explains why they liked it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You could also run an Open-ended poll<\/a> to get feedback on ideas for products you want to sell or to gauge price sensitivity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more on setting up your Etsy shop, check out our guide to the best Etsy seller tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTable of contents<\/h2>
Is selling on Etsy worth it?<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Etsy's](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Screen-Shot-2022-01-04-at-2.24.05-PM.png\")
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What are the best things to sell on Etsy?<\/h2>\n\n\n
What you can sell on Etsy<\/h3>\n\n\n
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![\"An](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/personalized-etsy.png\")
<\/a>What you can’t sell on Etsy<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Best items to sell on Etsy<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/jewelry-supplies-2.png\")
<\/a>![\"An](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/bridesmaid-dresses.png\")
<\/a>How much does it cost to sell on Etsy?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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![\"An](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/earth-anvil-ak.png\")
<\/a>How to make a shop in Etsy<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/etsy-shop-setup.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/enter-shop-name.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/create-listing.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nCan free shipping work with Etsy?<\/h2>\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PICKFU-First-Ads-Horizontal-Banner-2a-1.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PICKFU-First-Ads-Mobile-Ad-2-2.jpg\")
<\/a>\r\n<\/center>\r\n\n\n\nEtsy and print on demand<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/digital-download-art.png\")
<\/a>Redbubble vs. Etsy \u2014 what’s the difference?<\/h3>\n\n\n
What are some similar sites to Etsy?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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<\/li>\n\n\n\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/aftcra.png\")
<\/a>Pros and cons of selling on Etsy<\/h2>\n\n\n
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How Etsy sellers can use PickFu<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/wooden-bowl.png\")
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