Buy and Sell on Etsy
Etsy is one of the best and most popular search engine is an American e-commerce platform founded on June 18, 2005. Etsy business has been operating as a public e-commerce website for the past 15 years.
The headquarters of Etsy are located in Brooklyn, NY, in the US. Etsy search engine is quite trustworthy due to its vast experience in this industry.
Etsy store is primarily focused on vintage things or selling handmade goods and specifically promotes small business owners. It serves as a marketplace for different users to easily sell handmade or craft supplies.
Different items that are displayed for sale on Etsy platform include:
- Jewellery
- Clothing
- Bags
- Craft supplies
- Art
- Furniture
- Home decor
- Toys, etc.
Due to its vast variety of vintage stuff, Etsy stands apart from other similar e-commerce platforms. You may think that selling on popular e-commerce marketplaces like Flipkart, Amazon, etc. is better than selling on Etsy.
But the advantage of Etsy over these platforms lies in the fact that it deals in unique vintage products. So etsy is the right marketplace that drives the target audience that is interested in such products.
Let us say you want to sell your handmade cards on a marketplace. It is better to sell your handmade cards on Etsy rather than on Flipkart, Amazon, or other e-commerce platforms.
This is because Etsy attracts people who are intrigued by unique handmade products. You will rarely gain any profits by selling such products on other marketplaces.
This is due to the target audience that visits other marketplaces does not have a taste in vintage products.
Hence, Etsy is a unique marketplace that can work as an open craft fair. The platform had approximately 1,240 employees as of 2019. By the end of 2018, it had more than 60 million products.
Lastly, the revenue generated by Etsy in 2018 was $603.7 million. These figures are enough to demonstrate the credibility of this e-commerce platform.
The website of Etsy is etsy.com. You can visit this website for two purposes: buying and selling. Etsy helps its users purchase and sell a variety of vintage products, craft materials, and handmade items.
Let us have a look at the different features of this e-commerce platform.
Learn how to sell goods on Etsy!
Features and Tools
1. Powerful Tools
Etsy has several tools that help you manage your online store. No matter if you are a beginner or you are making your thousandth sale, it will help you manage your shop in less time.
2. Manage Your Store from Anywhere
Etsy helps you manage your online Etsy storefront from any corner of the world. You can easily connect with your customers, update items, and manage orders on the Etsy app from your smartphone.
So, no matter if you are traveling or staying far away from your workspace, you are just a click away from managing your online store on Etsy.
3. Promotional Tools
Etsy also has many promotional tools that can help you attract a larger target audience to your products. You can promote your listings and share your items on social media and Etsy by using the platform’s free promotional tools.
4. Data Analytics
Etsy has a feature called data analytics. Data analytics can help you improve your sales and stay on top of your business. This is because it provides detailed statistics that help to exhibit your performance and traffic.
5. Seamless Payments
You can accept Etsy payments via PayPal or other methods on Etsy. This will help the buyers pay through the method that suits them.
6. Different Plans
Etsy has several tools for different kinds of businesses. Such tools will help you achieve the main objective of your business. You can also get access to the advanced tools by subscribing to Etsy’s optional monthly subscription.
7. Standard Plan
The standard plan is the basic plan. All the users of Etsy community get access to the features of the standard plan. The standard plan has all the features necessary to help users start and grow a creative online store. Moreover, the standard plan is free.
8. Plus Plan
As the name suggests, a “plus” plan is an additional plan. The Plus plan includes a slew of extra tools to help users advance in their businesses.
It has all the features of the standard plan and some additional features as well. The cost of the Plus plan is $10 per month. Let us have a look at some of the characteristics available in the Plus plan.
Customization Features
The Plus plan provides users with different customizable options. These options will help you to govern the look of your online store.
Some of the customizable options available in the Plus plan include the featured listing options that can help you highlight the listing of your website or the new banner templates.
Back in Stock Option
As the name suggests, the “back in stock” option will let your customers know that a particular product is back in stock. You can inform your customers when the item is back in stock through emails.
Moreover, to avoid a shortage of stock, you should always plan your inventory according to the popular listings.
Advertising and Bonus
The Etsy plus plan also helps you receive $5 in credit and another 15 listing credits. These credits will help you promote your products monthly with the help of Etsy advertisements.
Custom Domain
The Plus plan offers subscribers a custom.com domain for half the price or a.store domain for free. These web addresses will help you promote your listings on Etsy.
The customers can easily find your online store on Etsy using your web address. So, these are some of the additional features of the Plus plan.
Apart from the plans, the users need to pay the basic or standard fees needed to operate your online store on Etsy. Before we take a look at the standard fees, let us know about the customer support of this platform.
9. Customer Support
Etsy provides customer service to over 1.7 million Etsy sellers. They provide education, information, and support to small and large businesses. This information is related to starting an online store.
Connect with Etsy
Users can easily contact Etsy’s customer service via email or phone call. This will help them to clear their queries.
Etsy Newsletter
Etsy also has a success newsletter that contains different tips to improve your online business. This newsletter will be delivered directly to your inbox.
Success Tips
Etsy provides its users with an updated seller’s handbook. This handbook will help you know the best practices and strategies to grow your business.
Forums and Teams
This option helps you to solicit questions from a community of sellers on Etsy.
If you like the different features of Etsy, you can start selling on this platform. But before that, you should know about the different fees and taxes required for selling on Etsy.
This fee will help you estimate the profits that you can earn using this platform.
Fees and Taxes Incurred on Etsy Shop
Etsy works as a middleman between sellers and buyers in different corners of the world. In the capacity of a middleman, this platform earn fees or commissions from such sales and purchases. So, if you sell on Etsy, you will have to pay some sort of Etsy fee to this platform.
Etsy will automatically deduct its fees from the sales that you make. But if you do not make any sales or have a negative account, then you will have to pay the fee amount to Etsy.com.
This amount is paid to the platform on the first day of the next month. In such a case, you will receive an email from the company asking you to pay them the required amount.
There are different types of fees and taxes on Etsy.com. You can always view your payment account from the application.
Follow the following steps to view your payment account. This payment account will include the different fees and taxes that you need to pay to Etsy.
- Sign in to the platform at etsy.com.
- Click on the “Your Account” option.
- Now open the “Shop Manager.”
- Click on the “finances” option.
- From the finances window, you can choose the “payment account” option.
- A new window will open, which contains your payment account. You can view the fees and taxes under the heading “Recent Activities and Fees and Taxes.”
The Etsy charges and taxes in your payment account are published in US dollars. You can see the fees in US dollars for a particular category in the description.
This fee is also converted into your currency at the market rate by Etsy. The currency conversion depends on the currency exchange rate.
The different kinds of fees or taxes that are incurred by the users on Etsy are as follows:
1. Listing Fees
The listing fee is $0.20 per listing. The users need to pay this fee for each listing, regardless of the result of their sales. Each listing expires every four months, according to the Seller Handbook on Etsy.
Each listing can contain an innumerable number of pictures of the product. For example, you want to sell bags in your listings. In the first listing, you put a handbag.
You can click on different pictures of this handbag from different angles. You can also click on pictures of the different colors of the same product. All such pictures are put into the listing.
Different pictures help the viewers get a better understanding of the products. This will, in turn, help you increase sales.
2. Auto-Renew Expired
Fees for auto-renewing expired listings are also $0.20 per listing.When a listing is automatically renewed, users pay this fee.
The users need to pay this fee regardless of their performance and sales. So no matter if you have a negative payment account, you still need to pay the auto-renew fee.
As mentioned above, each listing expires after four months. So your listing is automatically renewed every four months for $0.20. But if you want, you can also perform this process manually.
Renewing manually provides you with the option to either renew or avoid renewing. Renewing your listings manually makes more sense from a financial perspective. This is because if a product is not selling, you can save this fee by not renewing it.
3. Auto-Renew Sold
When you sell several quantities of a single listing, you are liable to pay a multi-quantity fee. This multi quantity fee is paid for each additional quantity that is sold from your listing. The cost of this fee is $0.20 for each additional piece.
So if you sell more than one item in the order, then the first item is not charged. This is because you have already paid a fee of $0.20 for the listing. So you are charged the same amount for each extra quantity that you sell.
4. Private Listing Fee
The cost of a private listing fee is $0.20 per private listing. If a buyer purchases the product of your private listing, then the fee is included in the payment.
5. Postage Label Fees
Sellers in some countries can purchase Etsy shipping labels. The price of these shipping labels depends on the type of label that you select.
6. Transaction Fees
Since Etsy works as a middleman between the seller and purchaser, it takes a certain percentage of the selling price of the products as its fee.
This fee is known as the “transaction fee,” which is in the form of a commission. The transaction fee is 5% of the total item cost.
This cost includes both the gift wrap and postage expenses. The fee is deducted in the relevant currency of the seller. This means the platform first converts the fee into the payment currency of the seller at the market rate.
But the transaction fee does not include the fees incurred with Pattern. Apart from the transaction fee, a delivery transaction fee is also charged on Etsy.
This fee is also 5% of the postage cost of different items. The delivery transaction fee differs from the postage label fee.
7. VAT
The value-added tax, or VAT, is incurred on two types of fees. The processing fee and the seller fee The VAT on both these fees may differ based on the amount.
8. Advertising Fees
The two types of advertisements for which a fee is incurred are offsite ads and Etsy ads. In the off-site ads, you will be charged approximately 15% of the total of your order. But this fee is charged only if you earned less than $10,000 on Etsy in the last year.
However, if you earned $10,000, the advertisement fees are 12%. One of the most important aspects of the offsite advertisement fee is that it never exceeds $100 per order.
On the other hand, the fee for your Etsy advertisements can vary. You can highlight some particular products in the search bar on Etsy using these advertisements.
9. Payment and Deposit Fees
Etsy Payment Processing Fees
The Etsy payment processing fee is incurred only by the sellers who accept their payments on Etsy. You can view your Etsy payment processing fees in the payment account. It is visible under the fees and taxes section of this account.
Etsy Payment Deposit Fees
The deposit fee is also accrued only for those sellers who accept payments through Etsy. Moreover, this fee is applicable only in certain countries. When you make a sale, you can check on your Etsy payments and deposit fees in the Payment Account section.
Currency Conversion Fee
There is a possibility that the sellers list their items in a currency different from the currency of their bank account. In such a case, the platform may convert your funds to the currency of your bank account.
For this, a 2.5% fee is charged for currency conversion. After knowing all the expenses that you are likely to incur on Etsy, you can start your Etsy shop.
Many steps can help you start your online shop on Etsy. Let us have a look at them.
Steps to Start Selling on Etsy
Step 1: Set up An Etsy Account
Etsy.com is the digital marketplace that will help you sell your products. Create an etsy account. After opening this platform, you can click on the “sell on Etsy” link. This link is located in the upper right corner of the screen.
After clicking on this link, you will be redirected to a new window. Move to the bottom page of this window, where you will find the option to “Open your Etsy shop.”
After clicking on this option, a small screen will appear in the previous window. This screen will ask users to sign in to the platform. You can sign in by using three options. The first option is to sign in using your email.
On the other hand, the last two options are to sign in using your Facebook or Google ID. You can choose any of these options to continue creating your online store.
Step 2: Shop Preferences
As the name suggests, your shop’s preferences include different features like the language, currency, and nature of your business. The nature of your shop option asks whether selling is your part-time or full-time job.
Another option about nature includes situations where selling is a part-time job for you, but you want to pursue it full time. The software also asks about the shopping country.
After entering all the relevant details, you can save and continue.
Step 3: Name the Shop
This is one of the most crucial steps in creating your Etsy shop. The name of your shop will be a reflection of your brand. So, it is very crucial to select a name with the utmost wisdom and care.
The name of your shop should also align with the products that you sell. It should help the visitors get an idea of the items in your shop.
You should also remain careful about the length of your shop name. Etsy requires its users to keep their names between 4 and 20 characters. Moreover, the name of your shop should not have any spaces or special characters.
After entering the required name, you should click on the “check availability” option. This is because the name you are looking for may already be in use.
In such a case, the platform will display a message regarding the same. It will also provide you with additional names that you can keep instead of the previous name.
Now, after keeping the required name, you can click on the Save and Continue option to enter the next window.
Step 4: Stock Your Shop
After keeping the name of the shop, you are ready to fill your shop with your products. You can do this by entering the products on Etsy in different listings. After clicking on each etsy listing, you will enter the manual listing window.
From here, you can add the pictures and other important information about your product, like inventory, color, price, etc. Let us have a look at the different features of this step, which are necessary for the sellers to fill in.
1. Add Pictures
The sellers should add pictures of their products. The platform advises these sellers to input at least five pictures of a single item. The sellers should take these pictures from different angles.
This will help the buyers have a better understanding of the product. Moreover, the pictures that the sellers take should have a clean background.
2. Thumbnails
Thumbnails refer to the first picture of your listing. This is the picture that visitors come across while purchasing your products.
So, it is very important to keep an appealing and intriguing thumbnail that can attract visitors. Thumbnails dominate the look of your shop.
So, you should be consistent while selecting the thumbnails, and they need to be a reflection of your brand. Moreover, thumbnails should also exhibit information about the product of a particular listing.
So, adjusting thumbnails is also a crucial part of your listings.
3. Listing Information
After adding the particular pictures to the listing along with their thumbnails, you need to fill in the information about the listing. This information includes the product description and title.
The buyers will purchase the product only if they are satisfied with the description of your product. So you should thoroughly describe your product to the buyers through the product description.
While filling in the listing information, it is also important to make use of the 13 tags. These 13 tags are available for each listing.
The tags allow buyers to easily find your products based on keywords. So, the 13 tags are generally 13 keywords that can attract traffic to your product.
4. Inventory, Price and Quantity
Price is one of the most important factors in the sale of your product. You should enter the cost of the items in the product listing. While choosing a price, make sure that you take into account different costs.
This will enable you to earn enough profits to help your business grow. You should not lower the price to a very low level. Though this will attract traffic to your product, it will lead to a loss in your revenue.
Besides the price, you should also enter the quantity of your stock. Moreover, you can enter information about your product variants, such as different materials, sizes, colors, etc.
If your product has the option of restocking, then you can mention that in this section as well. The inventory section also has an SKU option.
SKU is the code that you want to allot to your particular product. In case you are just beginning your listing, you can choose the SKU code for the first product as 001. But filling out the information in the SKU option is not compulsory.
5. Shipping Fee
This step also requires users to enter the cost of shipping for their products. While entering the Etsy shipping costs for Etsy customers, you also need to enter other relevant details.
These details include the country of origin of the product, its size, weight, processing time, etc. The sellers can also modify these pieces of information later according to their requirements.
Some of the business owners sell online offering free shipping while some charge minimal shipping costs.
At the end, you can preview your listings. This will help you take a look at your shop from the customers’ point of view. You can always improve your shop’s flaws by previewing your listings.
But if you feel that your shop is good, it will boost your morale and give you the confidence to start selling. Once you click on the finish button, you are done completing your first product listing. Now, you can repeat the above steps to add the second listing in the same way.
Once your listing is ready, click on the “Save and Continue” option.
Step 5: How You’ll Get Paid to Sell on Etsy
After your listing is complete, you have to decide on the payment options or methods. These payment methods will allow you to receive your income from Etsy.
There are different electronic payments available on this platform. But the most commonly used payment method on Etsy is PayPal.
There are even other alternatives for enabling Etsy payments. The sellers can earn revenue through debit cards, credit cards, store credit, or Etsy gift cards.
Thus, this step helps you to receive the fruits earned from the hard work of the above steps. Once you input the relevant information, you can click on the save and continue button.
This will take you to the last step of starting your online store on Etsy.
Step 6: Set up Billing
Setting up billing information requires the users to provide their information, from which Etsy can charge for their taxes and commission. This information can include any credit card information.
The billing information primarily depends on your country of origin. The platform requires your credit card information for authorization.
Once you provide this information, your last step is over. Your online shop is created, and you can sell your vintage products from here.
Now you are ready to optimize your shop and promote your products. The promotion will help your online business to grow.
Market, Promote and Optimise Your Shop
It is very important to create certain marketing and promotional strategies to help your online shop grow. Marketing will help your customers stay informed about your new products.
It will also help to attract new customers to your online store and, hence, increase your sales.
Some of the ways that can help you market and optimize your online store are as follows:
1. One of the best ways to market your online store is to optimize your shop search on Etsy. This will make it easier for users to find your store. You can do this by adding your location. The location will easily help the local users find your store.
2. You can also promote or market your shop through paid advertisements.
3. To spread the word about your online store, link it with different social media accounts.
4. The sellers can also make use of different discounts and coupons. Such discounts or coupons serve as an incentive for potential buyers to make their purchases.
5. Etsy’s community and teams are another great feature of this e-commerce platform. This feature can help you link with other sellers and shoppers. In this way, you can have a look at your competitors and perform strategically.
6. The profile feature is another feature that can help sellers gain an advantage over their competitors. The sellers can create their profile on Etsy by including a short bio about themselves along with their picture.
The description will help your visitors learn more about you, increasing your credibility. This will help you build personal connections with the users and tell them about your products.
7. Apart from adding your personal profile, you can also add a store bio. The store bio, as the name implies, is the section in which sellers are required to write about their online store.
The store bio can have a maximum of 5000 characters. You should create a store bio that helps your visitors feel a personal connection with you.
8. Besides describing yourself and your store, you can also add various shop policies in your Etsy profile. Shop policies include different FAQs and other questions that your customers may have about your online store.
These questions may include return policies, delivery times, shipping timelines, etc.
9. Etsy has certain marketing tools that can help you increase your target audience through social media. One of the newest marketing tools on Etsy allows users to share their products on different social media platforms.
The sellers can share the links to their products on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. So, you can use this platform to attract the target audience from several other social media accounts as well.
Is Selling on Etsy Worth It?
Thus, Etsy is a global marketplace and helps to increase your earnings by selling products. These products may be a reflection of your talents, like craft items or handmade products.
Moreover, you do not need a team to start working on this platform. According to the researchers, approximately 79% of sellers manage and sell their products on Etsy account solely on their own. Also, 97% of these sellers work from home.
As a result, you can easily work from home and earn more money. But you should make sure to learn Etsy SEO techniques while using this platform.
These techniques will help you attract a larger target audience by improving the ranking of your production access search bar.
Moreover, keeping an eye on the data and statistics regularly will also help you improve your sales strategies and techniques.
Selling on Etsy is Worth It!
