Etsy is a website that connects merchants with shoppers. Its main purpose is to offer vintage items, homemade goods, art, and crafts.
Learn how to set up an Etsy shop and start selling.
What Is Etsy?
Etsy is an online marketplace where dealers and consumers may connect. Etsy sellers often sell a variety of handcrafted or vintage items.
Etsy was founded in 2005 as an online craft fair – an ecommerce site selling handmade and antique items. Consider the enormous craft fairs you may have seen as a child or maybe attended. The founders wished to reproduce that type of experience for buyers and merchants all across the world. As of 2018, Etsy was a publicly traded firm.
As of 2018, Etsy had more than 60 million listings, 2.1 million sellers, and 39.4 million buyers, with approximately $4 billion in gross goods sales. Etsy is a great place to look for one-of-a-kind items.
- Arts and crafts and crafting supplies
- Jewelry
- Paper goods
- Housewares
- Artisan foods
- Small-batch cosmetics
- Handmade personal care items
- Clothing and accessories
Many artists sell goods that may be downloaded digitally, such as art prints, stationery designs, planners, or other printed papers.
To qualify, vintage things must be at least 20 years old. Costumes, clothing, accessories, jewelry, pictures, housewares, games, books, and toys are among the vintage products sold on Etsy.
Key Takeaway
- Etsy is an online marketplace that links vendors and customers.
- Its main purpose is to offer vintage items, homemade goods, art, and crafts.
- Before you can build a storefront on Etsy, you must first create an account.
- When an item sells, Etsy charges $0.20 per listing plus a 5% transaction fee. You may also be charged additional fees.
- eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, and Amazon are platforms similar to Etsy.
What should you put up for sale on Etsy?
Before I explain you how to open an Etsy shop, let’s make sure what you’re selling is appropriate for the platform. Etsy is a marketplace for handmade and antique items. Handmade can refer to a variety of things, but it primarily refers to something that you developed or designed yourself.
We collaborate with a screen printer who prints Linda’s drawings on masks for her shop.
Though not literally “handmade,” the designs are produced by Linda and members of our staff, making them original and one-of-a-kind.
If that’s your thing, you don’t have to hand paint every graphic on a t-shirt.
You are fine as long as the product is something you made.
It isn’t even necessary to be physical!
Many retailers sell digital products such as designs and patterns that customers can immediately download.
How Etsy’s Work
Selling on Etsy is quick and easy.
However, it takes consistent effort and care on the seller’s behalf to generate listings that are searchable and interesting, as well as to give good customer service.
Plan: If you’re crafty and thinking about selling on Etsy, you’ve undoubtedly already got some ideas.
If you’re unsure, look around Etsy to see what’s available.
Begin with a single sort of goods to make marketing and organization easier.
As your Etsy shop increases, so will your offerings.
Register: Make an Etsy account and select a username.
Choose a profile photo, write a bio, and complete the other setup areas.
Read all of the policies and terms of service.
Create a shop: Once you’ve created an Etsy profile, go to Sell on Etsy (found to the right of the search bar on any Etsy page).
Choose your preferred language, country, currency, and shop name.
A professional user photo or logo, as well as a store banner, will help you attract clients.
Research: Because most Etsy shoppers use search to identify stores and listings, you’ll need to apply SEO best practices to appear in search results.
Keywords should be used in your store description, bio, listing titles, tags, and product descriptions.
Spend time researching comparable products so you know which keywords to target.
You should also look at price points for similar listings to help you decide how to price your things.
Stock:
Once your store is up and running, it’s time to start creating listings.
Include high-resolution images.
Use your research to produce searchable listings with appealing descriptions.
Set pricing to cover the cost of goods, your time, and listing and shipping fees.
Sell: Keep an eye on your account to observe what kind of traffic you’re getting.
To enhance sales, you may need to edit your listings with new keywords or photographs if clients aren’t finding your products.
To attract attention to your listings, you might want to consider running advertising for specific keywords.
Ship: Etsy consumers can provide feedback regarding you as a seller and the product’s quality.
Provide competent customer service, including details on how quickly the item is dispatched and a mechanism for the customer to contact you if there is a problem, for the greatest ratings.
To start a shop on Etsy, sellers are not need to hold a business license.
However, your city, state, or country may require you to obtain a license in order to lawfully sell and accept payments.
When creating your Etsy store, make sure to follow all local business and tax rules.
How Much Does Selling on Etsy Cost?
There is no cost to establish an Etsy shop.
Sellers are instead charged fees for listing and selling things.
Sellers must pay a $0.20 listing charge each item, as well as a 5% transaction fee when the item sells.
This is 5% of the listing price plus any shipping, personalization, and gift-wrapping fees you apply when you buy the item.
The transaction fee is not applied to sales tax, GST (Goods and Services Tax), or HST if you are selling from the United States or Canada (Harmonized Sales Tax).
If you are selling from somewhere other than the United States or Canada, sales tax should be included in the price of your item and will be deducted from the 5% transaction charge.
You can also choose to use extra fee-based services such as:
- Etsy Payments: has a processing fee that varies depending on where your bank is located.
- Etsy Advertising: pay-per-click ads that are automatically displayed depending on your daily ad budget and a “auction price” established by the number of listings that match the same search parameters.
- Shipping expenses: Etsy offers the option to purchase shipping labels; fees vary depending on the carrier and add-ons (like tracking and insurance)
- Currency conversion: only charged if your listings are in a currency other than the currency of your payment account.
Unless you cancel renewal for a specific listing, Etsy listings renew automatically every four months.
You will be charged Etsy’s regular listing costs when your listing auto-renews.
Etsy automatically sends you a monthly statement, at which point all fees are removed from your payment account.
You are not need to take any additional action if there are adequate cash in the account to cover your fees.
If there are insufficient funds, you must pay all remaining fees within 15 days.
Do I Really Need an Etsy Store?
Etsy is a marketplace designed exclusively for crafters, artists, and vintage dealers to sell their wares without the need for a physical business or a separate e-commerce platform.
Etsy enables each seller to create a personalized online shop with complete e-commerce features on a platform that consumers are already familiar with and trust.
This can lower your overhead, minimize the amount of time you need to spend selling at consignment stores and craft fairs, and make it easier to connect with clients all over the world.
Etsy is especially useful for selling downloaded things (printables).
Etsy allows you to keep the file on their site so that buyers can download it immediately after the transaction from their Etsy account.
Etsy Alternatives
There are other online markets you can use if Etsy isn’t the perfect venue for what you want to sell.
Each one caters to a distinct group of customers.
Each marketplace’s listing design and pricing structure are unique.
Before you begin listing your products, be sure you understand how much it costs to sell through a platform.
- eBay is a virtual marketplace for buying and selling a wide range of goods.
Sellers can list both new and used items.
- Poshmark is a fashion marketplace where you can buy and sell apparel, shoes, and accessories.
Sellers can list things that are used, new, or boutique.
- Mercari is a Japanese e-commerce platform with operations in both Japan and the United States.
Users can purchase and sell both new and used products such as apparel, furniture, gadgets, vintage, and handcrafted items.
- Amazon provides a marketplace where third-party sellers can list a wide range of commodities such as furniture, toys, electronics, books, apparel, jewelry, office supplies, personal care products, and more.
You can also develop a business website with integrated shopping, credit card processing, and e-commerce if you wish to sell online without using a marketplace.
How to Open an Etsy Store
It is simple to open an Etsy shop on the platform; simply follow these eight steps.
- Open an Etsy account.
You can create an Etsy account by clicking on the “Sell on Etsy” link, entering your email address, name, and password, and then clicking “Continue,” as seen below.
You can also create an Etsy account using an existing Google, Facebook, or Apple account.
Furthermore, if you already have an Etsy consumer account, simply log in with your credentials and then click “Open Your Etsy Shop” to begin building your own store.
- Configure your shopping preferences
Then you’ll be taken to the “shop preferences” screen, where you can configure the basic parameters for your store.
To begin, select your default language, which will be the language in which you will describe your things (after opening your Etsy shop, you can choose to translate your page into other languages).
Then, select your native nation and the currency in which you want to list your things.
If your bank currency differs from your shop currency, currency translation costs (2.5 percent of the sale amount) will apply when consumers make purchases.
Finally, you’ll be asked whether you’re a full-time, part-time, or “other” vendor. This is a question that Etsy asks for its own purposes, but it has no bearing on your ability to open an Etsy shop.
- Select a name for your Etsy shop.
Coming up with an Etsy shop name is when you can start getting creative. Your shop name should be intriguing but simple for customers to remember, and it should reflect your products and ideals.
Your store name can be anything you want as long as it adheres to Etsy’s guidelines:
- Four to twenty characters long.
- No special characters or spaces.
- It must not be a name already in use by another Etsy seller.
- There are no trademark infringements.
- No profanity.
If you try to input a name that is already in use, Etsy will propose several potential alternatives, as shown in the image below:
Overall, Etsy advises the following recommendations for choosing the right name for your shop:
- Use suggestive descriptive names: You can use words or phrases that convey the emotion of your brand as well as words or phrases that define what you’re selling. AllThatsRustic, Natural Succulents, and Littlecatdraw are a few examples.
- Try abstract names: Abstract names can offer a unique touch to your store and make it easier for clients to identify your store while looking online. Examples are Qualtry, Pegai, and Auramore.
- Use your name: Using your name is a simple and quick alternative that allows you to effortlessly change or adapt the things you offer.
It will be more difficult to identify a business that merely utilizes your name, so Etsy suggests adding a modifier such as “Studio,” “Inc,” or “Workshop.”
JennfierCraftCorner, DIYMike, KobieMoorePaintings are few examples.
Before you launch your Etsy shop, you should spend some time to choose the perfect business name – because you can only alter your name once after you’ve begun.
Furthermore, if you intend to expand your Etsy shop to a business website, Facebook page, Instagram, or even an official business name, you should conduct additional research to ensure that you can obtain things like a business domain name or DBA (doing business as) that matches the name of your shop.
- Fill your shop with merchandise.
Listing your items is the next step in learning how to launch an Etsy shop.
Separate methods are required for listing physical and digital objects (for example, printable stationery, patterns, stickers, and gift tags).
We’ll show you the fundamentals of listing a tangible item; if you’re listing a digital item, visit Etsy’s guide.
Add images
Etsy suggests at least five photos per item (a maximum of 10) so that shoppers can see your product from different angles, and that your images be at least 1,000 pixels square.
Furthermore, if you have variations of a product, such as a t-shirt in several colors, you may post photographs of those versions so that shoppers can see all of their possibilities.
Make changes to your thumbnail
Think of your thumbnail as your product’s headshot; it’s the first image of your item that consumers see in your shop, via search, and elsewhere on Etsy.
Make certain it’s an excellent one.
Complete your listing information.
Given your 140-character constraint, provide your item a title that explains the product in as much detail as feasible.
You will also be able to submit an in-depth description, a bulleted overview of the product, and extra information such as the product’s category and kind.
You can preview your listing for a Google search result in the description section, which can assist you optimize for e-commerce SEO.
Furthermore, you should pay close attention to the part named “renewal options” in your listing data.
As we’ll see in the section on Etsy costs, if you choose “Automatic,” your listing will automatically renew once it expires every four months.
You’ll be charged a 20-cent fee each time the listing renews, so keep this in mind while you’re setting up your shop.
If you’d prefer renew or delete expired items yourself, you can do so here by selecting “manual.”
Finally, you should use all 13 “tags” provided each item. Shoppers find your item by typing keywords into the search field, so think backward and consider what a customer may type into search to find your item. Those are the keywords you should use for your tags.
Finish your inventory and price.
In this part, you’ll input the price of your product, any applicable sales tax, quantity (if you have more than one in stock), SKU number (if you have one), and variations.
You can add variations, such as sizes, materials, and colors, and then connect the photographs to those variations.
Set your shipping cost.
You’ll enter all of the pertinent information about your shipping operations here, such as the shipping services you utilize, charges, country of origin, processing time, and item weight and size.
You can also have Etsy calculate your shipping costs for you (which they recommend).
In this situation, you must enter the item weight and size (when packed).
Based on that information, you can then preview the shipping price that the buyer will see.
After you’ve created your Etsy shop, you’ll be able to create “shipping profiles” to rapidly update items with the same shipping charges.
Make your listing public.
You can preview your complete listing to see how it will appear to customers before publishing it.
You can include as many listings as you want when you first start your Etsy business.
Etsy suggests at least ten listings since the more listings you have, the more likely buyers will find you.
However, keep in mind that your listings will not be active until you complete the setup procedure, so you don’t want to spend too much time on a large number of listings if you want to start your store soon.
- Determine your payment preferences.
After you’ve added your items, you’ll need to configure your Etsy payment options.
First, decide how you want to receive payments; options include PayPal, check or money order, “other,” or Etsy Payments, which is the most common method of payment for sellers. You can accept credit cards, debit cards, Etsy gift cards, shop credit, and other payment methods with this option.
Etsy currently requires any seller that is eligible (depending on their area) to accept Etsy Payments to do so. Similarly, while Etsy used to accept PayPal as a stand-alone payment method, beginning of May 15, 2019, merchants in qualifying countries, including the United States, must utilize Etsy Payments with integrated PayPal. PayPal is no longer available in these countries on its own.
Furthermore, if you are eligible for Etsy Payments, you must include this in your payment options.
— Enter your bank account and residential address (as indicated above) to receive Etsy payment deposits.
- Set up billing
This stage is entirely dependent on your country when opening an Etsy shop.
Etsy may request a credit card for identification verification purposes in certain regions.
You’ll also need a credit card on file so Etsy may charge you selling fees
If you’re a seller in the United States, you can enroll in auto-billing, which means Etsy will charge your credit card on file for any selling fees you incur, so you won’t have to worry about paying your monthly statement.
- Open your shop
You have now successfully learned how to build an Etsy shop.
Your shop will be open once you click “Open Your Shop.”
Your shop’s URL will be in one of two formats:
- https://www.etsy.com/shop/yourshopname
- https://yourshopname.etsy.com.
- Make your shop unique.
It’s time to start selling online now that you’ve launched your Etsy business.
After all, merely starting an Etsy business isn’t enough.
Your digital store, like a physical store, must be easy to find, attractively designed, intuitively structured, and continually updated.
Here are a few extra parts you may complete to ensure your Etsy shop starts (and stays open) successfully:
Include a biography and a photograph.
Visitors to the site can learn more about you as a business owner and as a person outside of work by viewing your public profile.
You have complete freedom in your bio to say whatever you wish to the public.
Tell us about your background, hobbies, and qualifications, as well as the story behind your goods, mission, and why you love what you do.
Create your policies.
Here, you’ll address any concerns your customers may have concerning your production, processing, shipping, and payment processes.
Include an estimated processing and delivery time so that your buyers know how long it will take for their things to arrive.
Include your return and exchange policy, as well as the payment methods you accept.
If you selected “other” in your payment preferences, you must include information and instructions regarding this payment method in both this area and each listing.
Sections should be added.
Sort your products into categories to make it easier for shoppers to find them.
Sections will show on the left side of your webpage, similar to a navigation bar, and will include the quantity of products in each category.
Rearrange your Items
Feel free to reposition your items on the page.
Include a “about” section for your store.
Your store, like your own “about” page, deserves its own bio.
You have 5,000 characters to tell customers about your company’s beginnings.
Remember that Etsy (and its buyers) respect transparency and openness, so don’t worry too much about writing typical marketing copy; simply be genuine.
You can also include anyone who assists you in producing and creating your products or running your business, as well as images or videos of your studio space or creative process, as well as links to your store’s social network pages.
Make use of Etsy’s social media platform.
Advertising your Etsy store on social media is critical for gaining new customers and keeping your present customers informed about new products.
Fortunately, Etsy makes this extremely simple; using the platform’s social media tool, you can rapidly update all of your social channels with business announcements, new listings, store milestones, outstanding reviews, or specific items you’d like to advertise on social media from your phone or computer.
Etsy Fees
So, what exactly are Etsy fees?
Etsy, like every other online marketplace, charges its merchants fees for listing and selling things.
Although joining and launching an Etsy shop is free (unless you choose a premium subscription plan), you must pay for the costs associated with doing business on Etsy.
These fees will be withdrawn automatically from your sales funds if you use Etsy Payments.
If you still owe additional fees at the end of the month, you must pay them like you would any other bill.
In this case, if you are a US merchant engaged in auto-billing, Etsy will charge the credit card you have on file automatically.
If you operate in a country that does not accept Etsy Payments, you will be responsible for monitoring and paying your monthly bill on the site.
Having said that, Etsy charges three sorts of seller fees: listing fees, transaction fees, and payment processing costs.
Fees for listing on Etsy
Listing fees are seller fees charged by Etsy to list your items on your shop.
When you post an item on Etsy, listing costs are deducted from your payment account (which you set up in step six).
This Etsy charge must be paid for each goods listed, regardless of whether or not the product sells.
A listing expires after four months, and if you wish to maintain it on your shop, you must renew it and pay an additional 20 cents.
It’s worth noting that listing costs are charged in US dollars, so if you run an Etsy shop in another nation, your listing fee may alter depending on the exchange rate.
Transaction fees on Etsy
When an item is sold, Etsy charges a transaction fee.
Etsy’s transaction fee is 5% of the entire item cost, including shipping and gift wrap, and is charged in the currency of your selling.
As a result, if your payment currency is not the same as your listing currency, Etsy will convert the fee amount from the listing currency to your payment currency using the current market rate.
It is crucial to remember, however, that if currency conversion is required, Etsy will charge a 2.5 percent fee for this service.
Fees for Etsy payment processing
When an item is sold, you will be charged a payment processing fee if you take payments online through your Etsy shop using Etsy Payments.
Etsy’s payment processing fees vary depending on where your bank account is located.
Etsy charges 3 percent + $0.25 each transaction for US sellers.
Furthermore, if you are a seller in a country where VAT, or value-added tax, is levied, Etsy will include this tax in both payment processing and other seller costs, as necessary.
Extra Etsy seller fees
Although the three major types of seller fees charged by Etsy are listing, transaction, and payment processing, there are several exceptions.
First, if you buy your shipping labels on Etsy, you’ll have to pay the fees associated with the mailing labels you select.
Shipping label rates are determined by geography and other shipping options.
Second, if you sell items from your Etsy store in person using Square that have not been synchronized with your Etsy shop inventory, Etsy will charge you a 20-cent fee each transaction in addition to Square’s card processing fees.
Finally, if you wish to use some Etsy add-on services, you must pay the fees associated with those services.
For example, if you use Etsy to advertise your shop and products, you must specify a daily budget for the campaign and pay per click.
Furthermore, as previously stated, while creating an Etsy shop is normally free, Etsy does offer one paid subscription plan:
Etsy Plus
This package includes Etsy ad credits, extensive customization options, and special discounts, as well as expanded and advanced tools to help you grow and manage your Etsy business. Etsy Plus will cost $10 per month, in addition to the usual fees mentioned above.
Etsy selling Pointers/Tips
Now that we’ve covered how to launch an Etsy shop, let’s go over some top advice from Etsy shop owners to guarantee your Etsy business gets off to a good start.
- Take professional (or professional-looking) photographs.
- Curate your shop.
- Use SEO to make your store searchable.
- Set a reasonable price for your goods.
- Keep your funds in order.
FAQs
You presumably have no questions now that you know how to build an Etsy shop and optimize it for sales, right? I’m kidding! Many questions remain unanswered, but here are some answers to some often requested ones.
What is the cost of opening an Etsy shop?
While it is free to sign up for and start an Etsy shop, Etsy charges US sellers 20 cents per listing plus an additional 3 percent + 25 cents per transaction. If you sell items from your Etsy store in-person using Square that are not synced with your Etsy shop inventory, you will be charged a 20-cent Square manual fee per transaction, in addition to Square’s credit card processing fees.
How are Etsy sellers compensated?
There are various ways to pay on Etsy, including PayPal, check or money order, or Etsy Payments, which is the primary method of payment for sellers.
You can accept credit cards, debit cards, Etsy gift cards and shop credit, and other payment methods with this option.
Who pays for Etsy shipping?
Sellers are in charge of shipping sold items to buyers.
Even if a shipping or fulfillment service is used, the seller is ultimately responsible for getting the items to the buyer.
You can, however, choose whether to cover the expense of shipping yourself or pass it on to your clients.
How long does it take to receive payment from Etsy?
The majority of sellers prefer to get paid weekly. Payments are transferred to your bank account every Monday in this situation, and it will take another two to three days for the payment to be available. You can opt to be paid on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Is it worthwhile to start an Etsy shop?
Definitely! Etsy is simple to use and inexpensive to start, so even if you don’t like it or don’t sell anything, you’re not losing any money. Linda has had hundreds of sales in the few months she has been running her shop and is enjoying it more and more!
Is a license required to sell on Etsy?
No. Because the platform is quite simple, you will be prompted to submit basic tax information and the rest will be handled automatically. If you sell a specific amount in a calendar year, you will receive a 1099 tax form in January, which you must file with your taxes. If you are already a licensed business, you can choose that option when creating your shop.
What kinds of things can I produce and sell on Etsy?
Basically anything! Etsy is an online marketplace for handcrafted and vintage things. This implies you can’t go out and buy a bunch of mass-produced products to resell on Etsy. Sellers must produce or design the items.
Crafts, bath and cosmetic goods, toys, garments, accessories, jewelry, home items, digital designs, and other items are available.
Conclusion
You now understand how to build an Etsy shop! Congratulations for taking the first step toward turning your passion into a business! The possibilities on Etsy are limitless. Just keep in mind that what you put into it determines what you receive out of it. And keep an eye out for more value-added articles to help you expand your Etsy shop.
Now go out and start selling!
