Hey guys! This is a something that I receive a lot of questions about so I thought I would address them in a post. I have been on Etsy for a few years now and overall I love it and would definitely recommend it to those of you who are interested in opening your own creative / design business. However, as with anything, there are some negatives as well.
PROS:
1. It's User Friendly Etsy is super easy to set up and to use. Some other sites that I've used have been pretty tricky and have taken a week or two to set up but with Etsy, you can really have it all set up in as little as one day. Other steps in the process of running your business are easy too, like printing shipping labels, uploading photos, and communicating with customers.
2. Reputation Etsy is a super popular, global website that has a great reputation so you know that you're not going to experience any major problems. It has proven itself over time.
3. Advertising Etsy makes advertising super easy! You just set your weekly budget and they do the rest. It is really effective too and has paid off several times over for me.
4. Community When you join Etsy, you really become a part of a community of buyers and sellers who love to support small businesses and that is really fun! I love how easy it is to communicate with other sellers and with my customers, and I think that Etsy makes the experience feel really personal.
5. International Selling on Etsy means that your products will be in front of a worldwide market, reaching people that would be difficult to reach on your own without that platform.
6. Digital Products Etsy makes it really easy to sell digital products, like my digital prints. You just upload the file, list the product, and then people can buy it and instantly download it. Money comes in - you do nothing! Pretty great.
CONS:
1. Competitive There are a countless amount of shops on Etsy. Getting your listings to stand out from all of the others can be tricky, especially in the beginning.
2. Customization It can be tricky to put your personal stamp on the look of your shop. With the exception of the header on top of the shop, there isn't any other area to customize so shops all tend to look the same. Which brings me to...
3. Brand Recognition People often say "I got ___ from Etsy" rather than mentioning the name of the specific shop. This can make it really difficult to get your name out there, and for people to recognize your brand. I find this to be the biggest negative when it comes to selling on Etsy.
4. Fees Add Up As Your Shop Grows Etsy charges per listing and transaction, which is great when you're first getting started but as your shop grows, it becomes much more shop effective to use an E-Commerce site that charges a flat rate per month.
You can check out this video that I made for more details, and subscribe to my Youtube channel if you haven't yet! :)
Do you sell on Etsy? Do you agree with my pros and cons? I'd love to hear in the comments below! Have a great weekend!
I also sell on Etsy and although I am fairly new I agree with most of your pro and cons. I'd say its definitely frustrating at first having a huge global market and yet it being so competitive, something which I was not expecting. I sell crocheted accessories (http://etsy.me/1ezk8Bk) so an added con for me is that people can't feel or try on any of my stuff which is definitely a con to selling online in general.
ReplyDeleteToday is my Fifth year on etsy. Yes I totally agree with your pro's and con's as my business has grown the fee's are really high. I now have my own e-commerce with Ecwid a great shopping cart by the way. The only trouble is getting my customers to my site. I do have a few but many have not followed along to my site.
ReplyDeleteI love etsy though and will remain there until I find it not to be a great tool to build my business. Thank you for your post.