How to make money selling things on Etsy

Do you know about Etsy? This internet market is intended only for "unique things."

Almost anything qualifies as this, including candles, clothing, jewelry, bath bombs, and greeting cards. You're good to go as long as your things are handmade, vintage (defined as being at least 20 years old), or craft materials.

According to reports, there are over 95 million active shoppers and over 7.7 million active vendors on Etsy. If you can create something that people will want to purchase, there is undoubtedly an audience.

You may start generating money from Etsy in a matter of days if you have the correct product and utilize the insider advice provided below.

What kind of earnings are possible on Etsy?

Let's be honest: Your ability to earn money solely hinges on how well your shop does.

Some people generate a consistent side income of £20 to £30 per month, while others make enough money to give up their jobs and work exclusively on Etsy. So, is it worthwhile to sell on Etsy?

It's unlikely that selling on Etsy will make you a billionaire. However, if you adhere to a few straightforward guidelines, you should be able to easily generate a small side income while studying while doing something you genuinely enjoy.

How to make money on Etsy

How to start selling on Etsy and earning money is provided below:

Select the merchandise to sell.

This is the challenging step, but if you make the right decision, it may be the beginning of a brand-new company. It doesn't even have to be a tangible object. On Etsy, many sellers offer digital downloads for sale or produce images that users may use on their websites and social media.

Why not check around the website to see what other people are doing if you're truly suffering for ideas of what to sell on Etsy to generate money? Consider this a chance to get creative, but be careful not to steal someone else's concept!

This is the optimum time, if you're truly focused, to design or order a prototype of your product. It will make it simpler to take product images, let you preview how it will look, and let you check the construction quality.

Select a name for your store and a logo.

Don't spend too much time considering a name for your Etsy store. Your sales won't be significantly impacted by it. You can still make changes to your store up to five times after it has gone live. Avoid being overly complicated or brilliant and attempt to come up with something short and snappy. To make sure your name doesn't conflict with anything else, try searching for it on Google.

Once you've chosen a name, Canva makes it simple to create a unique logo for your business. This free online application is quite similar to Photoshop but is much, much simpler.

Use a website like Fiverr to hire a designer if you don't feel confident creating the logo yourself.

In addition, we advise getting a custom domain today that is the same as the name of your Etsy store in case you decide to grow. It simply takes a short while.

Make lucid and appealing photos of your products.

Compared to eBay and Amazon, Etsy places an even greater emphasis on this. A great shot, more so than your store name and emblem, can truly make a difference in this situation since your product has (ideally) never been seen before.

If you've already developed or ordered a test product, this ought to be simple.

Appearance at what other retailers selling comparable goods are doing, pick the look you like the best, and then put similar efforts into creating your own.

Put some money aside.

Selling on Etsy isn't completely free, unlike many other online marketplaces, as each listing costs about 18p. We believe that £1 will be more than enough to get you started if you spend it on listing six goods.

While we advise opening a Standard account, which is free, you might want to think about paying for an Etsy Plus account, which costs about £9 per month. This gives you access to resources that will help you stand out from competing stores, such as bonus advertising credits and shop customization features.

Being seen at first in the very competitive Etsy market might be challenging. However, continue with a free Standard account if you're unsure that you could make the money back with profit after paying the monthly costs.

This is a fantastic technique to advertise your company online for free if you are social media knowledgeable.

While we're talking about money, you should consider how much your item will cost (s). Calculate the total cost of production (including any upfront expenses dispersed among a few units) before determining the selling price.

Make sure your prices are high enough to pay your expenses and turn a profit, but avoid being extortionate. Since everything is done online, if you overcharge, someone else will undercut you and steal all of your customers.

Make a postal schedule.

Look into the cheapest shipping and packing options for your creations. Although using the post office may be the simplest option, if your things are particularly large or heavy, a courier service may be a better choice.

Before moving further, be sure you are aware of the expense. When it comes down to it, there is nothing worse than charging £2.99 for delivery and having to pay £4.99 yourself.

When establishing up your Etsy store, it's vital to avoid getting too complicated. The best course of action is to simply begin.

You risk never opening your store if you focus too much on making everything perfect. Additionally, if you post something online, you can always make changes.

How much does selling on Etsy cost?

In comparison to some other selling websites, Etsy's costs are somewhat convoluted. Every time someone purchases something from your store, there are three main types of fees that are charged:

A listing fee is charged for each item that is put up for sale. Each listing costs about 18p and lasts for four months, or until the item sells, whichever occurs first. If you have multiple products available, you can set them up to automatically renew. You will be charged about 18p to keep each item active after it sells.

When you make a sale on Etsy, a transaction fee of 6.5% of the sale price (including postage and packaging fees) will be assessed.

A processing fee of 20p plus 4% of the total payment is required (including postage).

Offsite advertisements charge (optional): If you permit Etsy to promote your listings, you will be charged 15% of any sales generated by the advertisement. You have the option of forgoing product advertising.

Imagine, for illustration, that you sell something for £10 plus $2.99 for shipping (not from an offsite advert). You'll pay a listing fee of £0.18, a transaction fee of £0.84, and a processing fee of £0.72. This comes to £1.75 in total.

Amazon Plus

Additionally, Etsy has launched a Plus subscription, which is more expensive but offers access to more benefits and services.

You can access additional features like the following for about £9 per month:

More individualized shopping

15 listing credits, 50% off a custom.com address, or a free.store address for a year, plus about £4.50 in monthly Etsy Ads credit

Option to notify customers when your products are available again.

Is Etsy Plus pricey?

On this, Etsy vendors hold wildly divergent views. Some people think the Plus subscription is a really decent deal considering the money you get back each month in the form of listing credits and adverts.

Others believe that discounts are not worthwhile because they still don't provide you the greatest deal possible on items like marketing materials and personalized domain names.

Before purchasing a membership, carefully consider your needs and all the terms and conditions. If you won't use all the features, it might not be worth the extra money.

advantages to selling on Etsy

Still not sure if it's the correct move for you? The following are the key benefits of selling on Etsy:

Audience

Etsy isn't the biggest marketplace, but if your goods are unique and handcrafted, it may be one of the most lucrative for you.

Buyers are significantly more interested in the quality and distinctiveness of each individual listing on Etsy than they are in price or location, giving it an advantage over other selling platforms like eBay or Gumtree.

An Etsy shopper wouldn't anticipate their search to produce a page full of identical things, in contrast to the average eBay or Amazon client who may enter a search keyword and list everything from lowest to highest price.

This makes it much simpler to stand out if you've made something unique, regardless of the price.

Features

You must set up a shop before you can begin selling on Etsy. You are urged to do this while also include a logo, banner, and description with links to your social media accounts so that visitors may learn more about you. While Etsy offers a variety of methods to add a personalized touch, eBay seller pages are frequently somewhat faceless and basic.

All of these elements are utilized by the top Etsy companies to develop a distinctive brand that customers will look up by name. You can also set one up directly through Etsy (for a cost) if you want your own.com address to link directly to your business.

You may offer personalized goods more readily on Etsy thanks to its alternatives. Additionally, since creating unique orders could take a little longer, you might charge more for them. Additionally, you have the option to develop promotional coupons to reward your social media followers or promote client loyalty.

When you need a break, you may also close your store, which is a wonderfully helpful tool to give devoted consumers peace of mind when they return and see an empty store.

overseas possibilities

Many UK-based Etsy sellers we spoke to confirmed that a surprisingly large portion of their orders originate from outside, particularly the US and Australia.

People are less concerned about obtaining their shopping promptly because each item is manufactured to order. This implies that you have access to even more potential clients.

The drawbacks to selling on Etsy

The following are drawbacks to selling on Etsy:

Costs and sluggish payments

You have the option of receiving payments every week, every day, every two weeks, or every month. It may take a few days for the money to reach your bank once they have been "paid," though.

When you might need to pay for postage before then, this isn't ideal.

Once your business is operational, it can also be challenging to keep track of all the listing fees, commissions, and payment charges. Additionally, they are charged in a large sum once a month.

Do not consider all of your Etsy payments as profit; instead, set aside funds to pay them.

It is mainly a US-based website.

Regrettably, UK vendors are at a disadvantage to their American counterparts. For instance, shipping times are frequently longer, postage costs are higher, and prices will display as $6.80 for a US buyer rather than £5.

You don't have all authority.

Owning an Etsy store is not the same as building a website from scratch. You don't have total control over every element of the design, and creating your own distinctive brand is more difficult.

Additionally, although they won't do it unless you break the rules, Etsy technically has the right to ban you from the site at any moment.

Also keep in mind that having your own website is frequently seen as more "professional" if you do want to turn your Etsy store into a full-fledged business. Starting a business on Etsy is a great idea, but if it succeeds, you may want to move to a different platform.

What to sell on Etsy in order to profit

Here are some illustrations of the top products to sell on Etsy in order to profit:

Stickers

Personalized t-shirts, glasses, and bottles

Notebooks

jewelry prints, jewelry

knitting instructions

card greetings

pins with enamel clip art.

But on Etsy, individuals are selling all kinds of incredible handcrafted things. The better, the more unique. Don't limit yourself to just what's most in demand; we've seen successful stores offering everything from food to nail polish.

Some advice for selling on Etsy

Alternatives to Etsy

The top Etsy substitutes are listed below:

Need a fast sale? Almost sure, you've heard of eBay. The same kinds of goods that you might anticipate seeing on Etsy are sold there by a lot of people. eBay can be the platform for you if you can keep your costs low enough to be competitive and want to sell products rapidly.

You don't want to send abroad. For exclusively UK merchants, Folksy is a handmade-only (no vintage items) marketplace.

Would you like to stop paying commission? Shopify starts at just £19 per month and enables you to open an online business without any listing fees or commissions. Depending on your volume, this may be a less expensive choice.

Do you sell clothing or accessories? If your Etsy company concept involves fashion, there are many online clothing marketplaces, including Vinted and Depop.