What: American e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies
Expected pay: variable
Commissions & Fees: $0.20/listing fee, plus 5% commission
Where: Nationwide
Requirements: 18 and older; or 13 and older (with parental permission)
Review:
PROS:
- Large community of shoppers
- Manage and run your own business
- Freedom to create
- Set your own price for products/items you want to sell
- Helps marketing your business easier
- Reasonable fees
CONS:
- A lot of competition from other sellers
- Fees can add up – $0.20/listing, 5% transaction fee if you sell anything. If you use the site’s payment processing, there’s another fee. You can also pay extra to have Etsy provide shipping labels and on-site advertising.
- Sometimes kicks people off the platform without warning or appeal (can hold buyer payments for up to 6 months if you are removed)
- Poor customer service
Recommendations
Other sites to consider: Ruby Lane, for crafts, antiques, art, and collectibles; Society6 or RedBubble – print-on-demand services for t-shirts or cups
What Sellers Say: (From Reddit)
I have a really successful shop, I’ve spent the last five years building it into what it is. To be honest I’ve had zero complaint with Etsy until now, lately the people who message me are SO annoying. Mainly it’s people asking for free products because they are influencers, randoms asking a million questions who never intend to buy (I suspect competitors), people who if I don’t respond within in an hour will message me again and again. (This is all new) At first I let it slide off my back, but now with Etsy taking about 1/3 of my $ I’m feeling so stressed about Etsy in general. I don’t enjoy the platform, anyone else feeling this way?
I have more than 600 5 star reviews since April. I clearly care about my ratings, my product and my customers. If you feel the need to leave me a bad review because of something the post office did prior to reaching out to me, I am not only NOT going to reach out, I’m probably going to reply so that it is locked in and you can’t make it worse, and I’ll be sure to mention how I wish you had reached out for help. Once you leave that review without reaching out, you’ve already damaged my shop in a way that you can’t reverse by changing your review. I am at a loss on why I should even bother if you didn’t have the courtesy to contact me before hurting me. Esp for postal issues in a pandemic.
I have owned my shop since 2012 and it is my full time job. I started my company with zero overhead and it has grown to where I can bring in anywhere between 1,000 – 2,000 a week. My items are not expensive – but if someone orders a lot, it definitely adds up quickly. I think the key is to start small – i see a lot of shop owners get over excited and spend too much on overhead to start with. creating items is hit and miss. I have adapted a philosophy that different people like different things and so I try and cater to everyone as much as I can. A full time shop is a commitment for sure – some weeks I probably work a lot more than 40 hours, but I really love what i do and so it doesn’t feel like work to me. I have the freedom of working from my own office, but I also face the stress of fluctuating market.
