Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, buying items on the internet was flourishing; however, it has unquestionably become even more popular now. E-commerce businesses such as BooHoo have seen a drastic increase in monetary revenue, with customers continuing to purchase from online stores even when brick-and-mortar shops resume operations.
Many people who have been put on leave or lost their employment are currently searching for viable alternatives to their previous careers that are now practical in the post-coronavirus era. Enter Etsy.
For a number of years, the online craft marketplace has been quite influential, but with the outbreak of the virus, its acceptance has grown even more. Many home-based companies have utilized Etsy to design a broad range of items, from masks to home decor to clothing for people entering the outside world. In light of people’s hesitance to go out for shopping, launching an Etsy store may be a lower-risk and rewarding venture.
What is Etsy?
Etsy is a website where people can purchase handmade and vintage items. Despite its reputation for being a place for arts and crafts, Etsy is a marketplace to buy and sell an array of products, such as clothing, jewellery, toys and even items for parties. This is an ideal opportunity for individuals or small businesses to get their special handcrafted products noticed and to create their own personal brand from nothing.
Etsy has a perk that isn’t shared with other eCommerce sites, in that it permits users to build their own digital store. This portal is simpler to locate and has more features than those found on places such as eBay and Amazon. An example of something that can be done is creating different colours and sizes for products, adding elements for customers to personalize them, and collecting feedback for everything that the store has for sale.
PROS & CONS OF SELLING ON ETSY
Etsy recently released a number of adjustments and they plan to carry on making modifications. Etsy’s number one concern is to produce income, so they will take measures that are advantageous for them, not necessarily for you.
The latest alterations appear to demonstrate that numerous disgruntled Etsy vendors are asking themselves if it’s a good idea to persist in vending on the website.
To help you determine if Etsy is worth it for your handmade business, here are a few of the most common Etsy pros and cons:
ETSY PROS
- QUICK, EASY & COST EFFECTIVE
Creating an e-commerce website is a simple process and can be done at a reasonable expense. You will either need to spend money to employ a professional to create your website, or spend time making it yourself. You’ll also have domain and hosting fees.
Etsy streamlines the processes of putting up listings, altering listings, and changing your shop’s details.
- ETSY HAS AN ESTABLISHED AUDIENCE
It would take a significant amount of time for a website created now to be listed on the first page of Google by search engines, possibly lasting several months or even years. Etsy is not nearly as competitive as Google, as Google’s database includes every website on the planet. Etsy enables you to create a digital shop which provides the likelihood of customers being able to view it right away.
- GOOD TESTING GROUND
Launching a business by selling on Etsy is a wonderful method to experiment with the market prior to devoting further time and money into a website. There is a lot of knowledge and activity that must take place when launching a handmade business. Etsy eliminates the need for constructing and taking care of an online site.
Begin to make money, establish your presence, get acquainted with your clients, etc. before making more commitments. What you gain from your experiences on Etsy can help to make sure that you are well-prepared to start your site quickly.
ETSY CONS
- COMPETITION
Etsy is a famous shopping destination and draws many customers, but is widely known among owners of handmade businesses as well. The market has gotten exceptionally competitive in recent times and all types of retailers are on Etsy, so you can’t assume buyers will automatically find your shop from there.
You must work or pay for those shoppers.
Time and money should be invested in amassing a solidarity of customers who only shop from your website, without being diverted to thousands of rival vendors or handcrafted items.
- COPYCATS
Given that many crafters are familiar with Etsy, it is easy for them to locate your item and reproduce it.
Inevitably, there will be imitators whether you are an Etsy user or not.
A good beginning in building your identity and making your exclusive product familiar to people will make it more difficult for imitators to take customers away from you. On Etsy, your products are sharing online space with similar items that can be quickly accessed by buyers.
- LACK OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY
When customers become subscribers to your newsletter, track your social media pages, and explore your website, it’s clear to see that they have a positive opinion of your company. When someone visits Etsy’s website, they usually understand that Etsy is known for stocking handmade items, not necessarily just yours.
Customers will find various merchants that supply similar items, likely deciding on which one to buy from depending on cost and delivery speed.
It’s like shopping at the grocery store. It is probable that you don’t recognize the agriculturists who cultivated the fruits and veggies and may not bother with what farm they are from, provided that there is a substantial assortment available to you.
But suppose you have become acquainted with a nearby farmer. You have been acquainted with the terrain where the vegetables are cultivated, spoken to the proprietors of the farm, and understand the practices they use, etc. It is more probable that you will develop a sense of devotion to that farmer and will make the effort to buy their vegetables.
Making it difficult to differentiate your store on Etsy can make it more challenging for people shopping there to become acquainted with you and your label, and consequently, construct a sense of faithfulness to your brand.
- LACK OF BRANDING
The brand of a business ought to be represented in multiple venues, but Etsy only allows you to customize a select few of them.
For instance, on your own website, you can adjust the colors, fonts, menu system, organization, online shopping experience, etc., but those modifications cannot be made on Etsy.
Etsy buyers can only become familiar with your company through your shop’s moniker, the visuals you provide, and the words you select.
SELLING ON ETSY REVIEWS
Examining reviews for Etsy can be worthwhile for finding out if selling on the site is suitable for you. You can find reviews for Etsy on sites such as:
- Sitejabber
- Trustpilot
- Consumer Affairs
It is important to remember that the ratings provided on websites such as Etsy come from both customers and vendors.
Customers are giving Etsy a 1-star rating in their reviews based on the experience with one single seller. That 1-star should go to the seller, not Etsy. The impact of these reviews can distort your understanding of how advantageous it is for you to sell items on Etsy.
Merchants give many reviews as well, however, the majority are not satisfactory. When researching the estimation of an Etsy rating, one will observe it is based on only a small amount of reviews relative to the amount of individuals that employ Etsy.
So let’s take a look at the review sites that have Etsy reviews and count how many of those reviews are 3 stars or less:
Out of 2033 people that reviewed Etsy on Sitejabber, 790 rated it 3 stars or lower.
Out of the 3231 people who reviewed Etsy on Trustpilot, 2229 users gave it 3 stars or less.
Consumer Affairs does not give an exact percentage, but based on the chart it appears between 30-40% of people rated Etsy with three stars or lower. If we agree to a figure of 35%, that would represent 280 individuals.
What are some Etsy alternatives?
If you are unsatisfied with Etsy as an outlet for selling your products and services, there are a plethora of resources at your disposal.
If you opt to use a different web-based market, pick one that caters to a distinct clientele apart from Etsy and is concentrated on a distinct field (e.g. a market for selling hand-knit items or one for artwork).
If you are seeking a universal marketplace for handmade items, merchants in the field normally rate Etsy as the number one, with Amazon Handmade as the runner-up.
Setting up an Etsy shop
Setting up an Etsy shop is a straightforward process. After you make a profile using the option in the upper right corner, you should see a link to “Sell on Etsy” near the place where you view your profile and cart. This can guide you through a systematic procedure where you can choose your nation, browse language and money, as well as identify what to name your shop.
You will then be required to put in some supplies for your freshly opened store. There are numerous options here:
Add photos
Pictures are essential in enticing people to click on your postings, as well as convincing them to purchase. Pictures should be a minimum of 2000 pixels wide in order to meet the requirements. Standard images taken by your camera phone or DSLR are usually of this size. It’s crucial that they are of a sizable resolution so they can be magnified to view the product in further detail.
Posting pictures of items is beneficial, but don’t overdo it. Doing so allows you to observe minute details and assess the item from different perspectives. It’s essential to take note of the picture you include first, as it will be the ‘thumbnail’ image which viewers observe when they find your post.
Once you have uploaded the picture, you can cut and move it around to make sure it looks attractive. Despite this, quite a few people who have been using Etsy for a long time have a tendency to have multiple photos within one picture preview, like displaying various hues of the item, which has to be accomplished prior to uploading.
Describe your product
The title of any listing on Etsy is exceptionally important. Discovering your products is the most important thing, so it’s usual for them to be filled with many applicable key words related to that kind of item.
The manner in which you proceed will be different depending on the item that you are trying to market. If the item is highly distinct and lacks many rivals, it may not need a huge number of extra keywords. If you are up against a lot of competition or if the product is widespread, you may need to provide more thorough information.
Other elements which assist people in locating your goods are the classifications and features. The type will decide which section your item appears under, serving as a broad way of filtering out items. Attributes such as colour and special event can be useful for shoppers to pinpoint desired items, in addition to making your product stand out from the competition.
Finally, you have tags. Tags are additional words that are not necessary to be in your title, but they give more details about your product and what it offers. These are created to aid individuals in locating your item based on factors such as its material, size, and other characteristics. You should make certain to utilize all 13, encompassing all that you think individuals would be looking for even though the significance of their value to searches is debatable.
Customisation options
If you are including a trait in your product, you might want to give various customisation possibilities as well. Options might include engravings, the inclusion of a specific feature (like a wire in a face mask), or custom-made items instead of a selection of predefined options.
This is usually attained by employing Variations. When selecting a type for your list, you will be presented with a selection of pertinent characteristics to pick from. You can opt to pick “I offer more than one” as opposed to just a single option (such as “Pink”) from the drop-down menu. This gives you the capability to incorporate pre-set or personalized Variations in the portion entitled Variations below, as well as distinctive costs and/or amounts for every single one.
You could alternatively offer customisations by creating an Individualised Listing. You can enable individualisation for existing postings by going to the Listings part in your Store Manager. This will permit you to incorporate a text box into your postings, where customers can enter the type of customisation they want, usually in the form of a statement or term.
Finally, it may be beneficial to provide clients with the option of ordering custom-made goods without specifying the details of the product in advance. You can enable customers who visit your store to make a custom order by navigating to the Settings and then Options in your Shop Manager. This will enable individuals to click on a link and explain the type of item they want you to create. These requests can be turned down, but must be accomplished within a time period of between 6 to 8 weeks.
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