Etsy... Should I... Or Shouldn't I?

[Root 66 Woodshop]

Well,

As the title says... I've been talking to people over the Xmas period, and although my website is almost complete they've suggested that I also go Etsy...

I'm not overly sure as to what Etsy's all about... (Did you see what I did there? )

Been chatting with another member on the forum and I've asked them if they've considered it...

Is it all it appears to be, or is it a bit of a rip off?

Would love some help with it...

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

I never had a lot of success on Etsy, I always put it down to be because it’s mainly a US based site I think.

Folksy might be another option, as it’s the same but UK based.

 

[Mr D]

I've used Etsy and Folksy.

Etsy is pretty good - as a UK buyer I tend to search for UK listings.
As a seller I've sold a few items on there. Its better than amazon or ebay for crafted stuff.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

I've been having a nosey and there is an Etsy UK ... only issue I have is they ask for credit card details... if it was debut card, I'd be happy to use that... but I don't get why they want you, as a seller to have a credit card... I'm trying to get rid of it, I don't want to use it...

 

[Opinion87]

I've bought some cool stuff on Etsy.

 

[Mr D]

I've been having a nosey and there is an Etsy UK ... only issue I have is they ask for credit card details... if it was debut card, I'd be happy to use that... but I don't get why they want you, as a seller to have a credit card... I'm trying to get rid of it, I don't want to use it...

It's a US company all right.
They think everyone has a credit card. Just use a debit card.

 

[alan1302]

Have the changed recently? Never had to have a credit card before.

Etsy is good for sales - but a tough market as you would expect. Does not seem to be enough people looking on Folksy to make it worthwhile.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

It was originally set up for independent sellers to sell craft stuff the made themselves, but unfortunately changed when they saw the jingle of money and let it run much more as a copy of ebay but with tighter limits on what they sell, I have brought a lot through them without any problems, If you are into any craft type things its still a good place to look

 

[Mr D]

It was originally set up for independent sellers to sell craft stuff the made themselves, but unfortunately changed when they saw the jingle of money and let it run much more as a copy of ebay but with tighter limits on what they sell, I have brought a lot through them without any problems, If you are into any craft type things its still a good place to look

Company follows the money and keeps going. Not really a new concept.
Lots of companies change over time - you can usually tell who they are by the fact they keep going.

 

[mrka]

I don't like their transparency.
They make you think it's only 5% fees, but then they come up with some other things like, transaction fees, supplier fees and whatever else fees! In the end it's like 15% or 17%. Also when you make a listing, they automatically select the 'advertise on etsy' button, what a croc of shi**... I didn't see this as it's very small and hidden, and they tried to charge me £15 in 3 weeks! Their heart was there (10 years ago) now they have overly monetised it!

 

[RobinBHM]

My wife is addicted to etsy, she spends loads of time browsing, often buying handmade jewellery etc.

I cant see the sellers making more than pin money.

 

[alan1302]

My wife is addicted to etsy, she spends loads of time browsing, often buying handmade jewellery etc.

I cant see the sellers making more than pin money.

Will vary a lot on Etsy - some people will sell something at cost or even less and be happy but am sure plenty make a living on there.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

I would never sell anything at cost... I have a way of marking up my products...

If the 15-17% bit is true which @mrka states, then that's easily sorted too... I'll just stick an additional 20% on to cover this... it's not a lot on some of my products, about a tenner to be fair...

Who chooses the courier, them or me? Do I put in the courier costs as an additional things or do I mark the products I'm selling up to cover courier costs?

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Competing items show you the competition, you can sell within that range and compete, of sell higher as long as your marketing descriptions installs confidence in the public to understand why they are buying a higher price. Handmade or Genuine leather are often used terms that mean nothing and should be avoided as they do not justify a higher price as neither are a sign of quality,

Whilst Leather made by xxx a 100 year old company who only make their leather in the traditional Oak tanning method that takes 12 months to make is a selling point so make a good story about perceived quality.

Remember to your customers you are unknown unlike say Hermes of LV who have history and massive marketing behind them to enable them to sell at £1000 plus for a simple item

 

[Alison Moore]

I'm passionate about crafting when I'm not working, and have opened an ETSY shop in the past. I also belong to some very active facebook craft groups and the general consensus is that Etsy is fine as long as you're willing to dedicate a lot of time to it. It relies on you regularly monitoring your listings and making amendments - then you'll appear higher on the results. If you just list and item and leave it, you wont get many sales.. So in summary, if it's your business and you can dedicate the time to it then go for it. If it's just a sideline for your hobby then you'll probably do better on facebook. Good luck with whatever you chose to do!

 

[Virtual Assistant UK]

Etsy is okay traffic wise but you have to make sure you do good key word research and use the right key words in your listings.

Folksy generally is very slow in comparison to Etsy and you have to drive your own traffic there for the most part. You would get 3 times the sales on Etsy than you would on Folksy without having to do any traffic driving.

The fees on Etsy can be a little high since the fee change but they do get you traffic. It's not good to have all your eggs in one basket so I'd say it's a good thing to have your own website too. It's best to diversify and be on a couple of different platforms at the same time in my opinion but Etsy is an okay platform. There are a lot of US buyers on there so if you can, you want to make sure you ship to the US as well.