Should I start an Etsy shop?

Hello, welcome to Gracium.

My short answer to the question “Should I start an Etsy shop?” is a hard YES!

My Etsy shop front: gracium.etsy.com

Before we begin, let me introduce myself.

My name is Grace, and I’ve been running Gracium on Etsy for 4 years now. To this date I made 2089 sales, 76.1K revenue (in CAD). These might not be big for some, but I am proud of my achievement.

I am not the star seller you would see on Pinterest or Youtube who made 1000 sales on the first month. I might not be able to give you instant magic tricks, but I can share a realistic experience of growing a business with hard work and honesty.

I remember researching small business tips which made me feeling so overwhelmed and small. If you ever felt like “How do they become so successful on such a short time?” or “I made no sales over the first 6 months, am I doing something wrong?” or “Maybe starting an Etsy shop was a wrong idea,” I hear you. I am sure my story could make you feel better.

Let us begin!

*Disclaimer: What I share here is solely my opinion based on my personal experience

If you are thinking of starting a handmade business and considering Etsy as your platform, here is what I liked about Etsy.

1. Super easy to start

Have you ever tried to build your own website to sell? Then you would know how intimidating it looks at the beginning - Buying domain, subscribe to a commerce plan, design, marketing, and more. While I would still recommend starting your own website, it could be overwhelming and many people would give up there.

Etsy is super easy to start. You name your shop, and list your items according to their set template. That’s it! It is easy as fill-in-the-blanks. No set up fees. You can have your shop ready to go in less than an hour.

2. Almost no money to set up

To open an Etsy shop, you only pay $0.25 (CAD) per listing. That’s it. No set up fees.

So if you have 10 different items you want to sell, you only need spend $2.50. If you have 100 items, that’s still $25.

Yes, Etsy do take fees, but that’s only after you make sales. Etsy roughly takes about 11% of your income. I agree that it is a significant amount, but you can cover the loss by raising your price 11%. You can worry about it when you sell so much that your Etsy fees cost more than having your own website.

For example, the cheapest Business Plan on Squarespace is USD 18 per month. If you sell more than USD 1980 per month, and you have enough loyal customers, then it would be better to sell on your own website. But until you get there, I would recommend staying on Etsy for the benefits and convenience that it gives you. My next point is the biggest reason that I stayed.

3. Gaining audience

Selling on Etsy is competitive, but it is far easier than competing with the whole world!

Gaining audience is so hard if you are selling on your own website. You would have to spend a decent amount for marketing if you want to appear in the search results.

In Etsy, you are only competing with other Etsy shops, and you appear higher if your item sells. Yes it could take time, but it can be done with right strategies (more on that later). It took me a full month to sell my first item, and almost a year to get busy, but I was able to get there without spending a dime on marketing. I don’t think I could have done it elsewhere.

4. Get customers worldwide

I know many people start a business because family or friends strongly recommended them to. You share what you made, and they say “you should sell these!” Then you start to sell it to people around you, then word of mouth travels, and you expand your customers that way. While I think it is a great business model especially for items that do not ship well (ex. food), it could limit your customers in your local areas.

Maybe I am a weirdo, but when I started my business, I wanted to prove myself without the help of friends and family. I did not want any pity sales. I wanted to sell to people that I do not know. And it worked. My first customer was from Texas (I live in Toronto, Canada), and I still remember the joy that someone that does not know me at all paid money to buy my work. Later I was able to meet customers from all over the world.

How would this benefit you?

First of all, much greater market. I am a Canadian seller, and I found that my sales are almost 50:50 USA and Canada customers. USA market is much greater, so why not reach them as well?

Also, think COVID. Toronto had one of the longest lockdown while other regions and countries resumed gatherings. The lockdown had tremendous impact on event businesses. Many of my products are wedding-related, and I wouldn’t have survived if my customers were all from my province.

Yes. International shipping is definitely a challenge, but I think it is worth to at least ship to close countries. More on this later.

5. Customers appreciate your work

Most customers on Etsy respect your craftmanship. They come to Etsy because they want handmade stuff, something that is not manufactured but made by an actual person. They appreciate your work, and are willing to spend money on it. They understand that it is handmade items that cannot be rushed or bargained.

Yes there are customers that aren’t (more on this later), but among 2000+ customers I had, there were only 2-3. I would say that is a great ratio compared to other platforms.

In conclusion, Etsy is a great place to start your handmade business!

Yes, there are pros and cons to Etsy which I will cover later, but overall I recommend it. Besides, there is nothing much to lose! Don’t hesitate and get started!

Best,

Grace

Feel free to leave me your thoughs, comment, or questions!