Part 1: How to Make Money Selling Arts and Crafts Items on Etsy
If you enjoy arts and crafts, did you know you could make money selling them on Etsy? In this two-part series, I’ll be revealing how you can do this to generate a second income or even a full-time living.
For anyone who may not know, Etsy is a website where anyone can set up an online store for handmade craft items. You can also sell ‘vintage’ items that are at least twenty years old, and art and craft supplies.
That means Etsy has a particular appeal to anyone with a creative talent. Even if you don’t, however, you can still sell items made by other people. You could even offer products sourced through online auctions, car boot sales, second-hand shops, and so on.
- Right now, as you may imagine, there is a huge demand for attractive face masks and coverings. This could be a great product to offer on Etsy at the moment, although of course you will be facing some serious competition!
Table of Contents
All About Etsy
Etsy started in New York in 2005 and has grown in leaps and bounds ever since. It is now a world-wide operation with offices round the globe.
Today Etsy has over 46 million active buyers and 2.69 million sellers. As of October 2019, 60 million products were listed for sale on the site (source: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/etsy-statistics).
One thing to note about Etsy is that a high proportion of users are women. Etsy doesn’t publish any figures itself, but an estimated 86% are female. One study reported that the typical Etsy customer was ‘an 18–34-year-old college-educated white female with no children, who makes less than $60,000 a year’.
Of course, that is a broad generalization, and in practice both buyers and sellers may be from other demographic groups as well. But it is still important to bear in mind that this is the typical profile of the potential buyers you will be targeting.
What Sells on Etsy?
Etsy is a marketplace for handmade craft items. Just a few examples include jewellery, tote bags, key chains, scarves, clothing, scented candles, duvet covers, sandals, mugs, soaps, cosmetics, phone cases, kitchen and garden accessories, and many more.
Many sellers offer buyers the opportunity to personalize their purchases. For example, they may be able to have their name and/or photograph incorporated in the design. Custom portraits (human or pets), usually created from photos, are also very popular.
Vintage items, especially clothing and jewellery, sell well too. And there are many people making good money on Etsy selling art and craft supplies, from beads to jewellery-making tools, yarns to knitting patterns.
How Does It Work?
Anyone can join Etsy and set up an online shop on the website. It’s easy to do, and no technical expertise is required.
Even better, there is no charge for creating a shop either. There are just a few fees you will have to pay once you’re up and running. One is a listing fee of 16p per item to have it displayed in your shop for four months. There is also a 5% transaction fee and a payment processing fee of 4% plus 20p.
Obviously these costs must be taken into account when pricing products (discussed next time). But they are still a lot less than the overheads you would have to pay if running a bricks-and-mortar store.
There are various ways you can collect payment in your shop, but the simplest (and most popular) is Direct Checkout. This will allow you to accept payments by credit or debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, bank transfer, and more. If you use Direct Checkout, Etsy will accept payments on your behalf and transfer your earnings (less fees) to your bank on a fortnightly basis.
It is, of course, up to you to arrange shipping of purchases and you can charge what you like for this. You will also need to liaise with your customers and follow up any queries.
Other than that, all you have to do is make your products and count your profits!
Choosing What to Sell
This is clearly a crucial decision, and it isn’t something to rush. Spend some time browsing the Etsy website to see what the most successful shops are selling. You can get some idea how successful a shop is by noting how many reviews it has received and how many times it has been favourited.
Don’t make the mistake of choosing a product to sell simply because you like it. And, especially, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to offer something new or original.
On the contrary, there is much to be said for looking for products that are selling well on Etsy and offering something similar yourself. Remember that people will be actively searching for things such as tee-shirts, bracelets and handbags. By contrast, if you are selling a ‘pink thingumijig’ or some other unique item, nobody will be searching for that, so attracting potential buyers will be much harder.
Here are a few more tips for deciding what to sell…
- Other things being equal, try to choose small items that are easy to pack. The lighter the better as well, as this will keep postal costs down.
- But try to avoid choosing items that are delicate or fragile. We all know what can happen to them in the mail!
- Consider whether products can be customized or (even better) personalized in some way. As already mentioned, such items are very popular on Etsy.
- Choose something you like and enjoy making. If it sells well you’ll be making large numbers, so don’t pick something you will quickly get bored with.
- Choose something that photographs well too, as people make buying decisions largely based on this. More about photography shortly.
- Ensure that the supplies or raw materials you need are easy to obtain. You don’t want to have to close your shop because your only supplier has shut down.
- Finally, think about the cost of your time. If making the product in question is very time-consuming, will you be able to charge buyers enough to make it worth your while?
Naturally, if you have a particular creative talent, you will want to sell products that capitalize on this.
Even so, it’s important to think carefully about the matters above, and see how you could channel your skills into making something that not only showcases your talents but will also sell well and make you a decent profit.
Of course, whatever decision you make now isn’t set in stone. If your first choice product doesn’t sell, you can always try again with something else. Your only costs will be the raw materials and Etsy’s (low) listing fees. Even once you are selling successfully, you should be constantly refining your product range and looking for new things you can offer your customers.
Next time I will take you through opening your Etsy shop, pricing products, taking photos, promoting your shop, and more.