Etsy Review – An Honest Look For Buyers And Sellers
Introduction To My Etsy Review
Nowadays, everything greatly depends on the internet. This is where we spend too many hours communicating, getting the latest news, and getting entertained.
In fact, it is tough to imagine how to do these things without the internet. With the explosion of social media, the situation got even more intensified.
Accordingly, the way that we used to buy and sell things has dramatically changed too. This article will talk about an online place for you to buy/sell whatever you like.
Online Shopping
The idea of buying/selling things without leaving the house is not novel anymore.
People started being online several decades ago. And, now, you know how important it is for us.
Actually, online shopping has been transforming our lifestyle for many years. Perhaps, one of the main reasons to shop online was the new-coming challenges, and obstacles people used to start experiencing as the population increased.
Back then, you had to waste your time driving to a mall, finding a parking slot, dealing with all those noises on the streets and stores.
Finally, you used to like something and buy it. For obvious reasons, you cannot act like that anymore. Instead, stores got help from the internet and started selling their products to people. That's how the idea of online shopping was created.
So, what are some of the benefits of online shopping?
- It's very convenient when you shop from your office and home.
- The prices are usually competitive.
- The variety of products are definitely wider.
- Also, it is easier for people to send a gift when they are far from each other. For example, my family lives in Europe, and I live in Canada.
- You have more control over your shopping. In online shopping, you never get irritated by pushy salespeople trying to make you buy something.
- You are not embarrassed to compare prices. No one is watching you when you are hesitant to buy something because the price is high. Even when it's expensive for you, you can check everything to determine whether it's worth the price.
- Shopping online is an extremely time and energy-saving activity. You don’t need to drive to the place. You don’t need to hang around for several hours. Everything is greatly organized in online shopping.
Different Forms of Online Shopping
So, as we learned here, online shopping is an electronic commerce business. Basically, it allows people to buy any products they want using a web browser or a mobile app.
How many different ways of online shopping do we have? Let's find out in the following section.
You can buy whatever you need from an Instagram page, Telegram channel, or a website.
Among all these, buying from a website seems the most reasonable one. Thanks to the fact that people trust online shopping websites right now, the industry has been revolutionized.
For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping was skyrocketing because people knew they would receive their wanted products without any problems.
Etsy! An Online Shopping Platform
The idea for creating Etsy is not new at all. It's just like other similar websites such as Amazon. It is a place for buying/selling things.
However, there are some differences too. We will talk about these differences a bit later. Here are some of the features of the Etsy platform for you:
- A one-of-a-kind community: It is a place where buyers and sellers are directly communicating with each other.
- Support independent creators: Interestingly, Etsy doesn’t run any warehouses. It doesn’t keep the products by themselves. Everything is in the hands of buyers or sellers. In other words, Etsy plays the role of a medium between them.
- Peace of mind: Also, the issues of security and privacy are vital to people.
However, Etsy makes sure that nobody is going to misuse your personal information.
What Kind of Products Does Etsy Sell?
Etsy offers very diverse items in many different categories. Its categories include Jewelry & Accessories, Clothing & Shoes, Home & Living, Wedding & Party, Toys & Entertainment, Art & Collectibles, Craft Supplies, and Vintage.
How is the Safety and Security on the Etsy Website?
They claim to have one of the most secure systems of buying and selling online. In particular, they protect your personal information on your account. Also, they have a clear procedure concerning payments. They use Transport Layer Security technology (TLS) to encrypt all credit card information sent to Etsy. Also, they imply credit card processors tokenize all credit card information. According to Etsy, they don’t save any information related to your credit card.
Critics Over Etsy, Are They Valid?
Many shops have started selling on Etsy. However, after a while, they have been shut down because the owner has failed to make any sales.
This is one of the critics of Etsy. However, Etsy doesn’t seem to be the problem here.
Most of the time, there is something wrong with us, but we blame Etsy. Here, we focus on things that we usually don’t do correctly and then expect everything to go fine.
Not Having the Right Attitude by Being Impatient
Many people start their shop and expect to get too much money all of a sudden. Basically, people get impatient and close their shops.
Then, they start blaming Etsy for that. It shouldn’t be like that. You have to wait for a while to see the result. So, it's better to take responsibility for your action.
Not Having Any Plans – Educating Yourself is Key
Shopping online is not just about opening an online shop and trying to sell things to people. There are always many things to learn.
You should keep educating yourself and assess what you need to learn more.
This is something many people neglect and end up selling nothing. So, the best thing to do is preparing yourself for the job by learning constantly.
Not Having Good Quality Photos And Poor SEO
Although you can take amazing photos with your cell phone, there is always a better quality photo.
You have to learn how to take impeccable photos with your cell phone or buy a professional camera.
Humans, by nature, are visual! They will be attracted to high-quality photos.
However, many people underestimate the amazing power of taking professional photos of their products but blame their hosts for that.
SEO is another essential ingredient for your shop. In fact, it doesn’t matter if you are offering the best products in the world when nobody can find you online, right?
You have to use the correct headings, titles, keywords, and text to get some visibility. The better your SEO is, the more you are found on people's search, and the more likely you are going to make money.
Choosing The Wrong Category
Maybe, you have done everything great. However, you are not making any progress.
The first thing that comes to your mind is that Etsy doesn’t work for you, and you need to get out of it.
However, perhaps, the problem is not you, maybe, is the products you are selling.
People might not be interested in a specific product even if it's the best quality. It's like selling alcoholic drinks online in an Islamic state.
The problem is not you or the product. People don’t generally like it. So, don’t blame Etsy and figure out what products are trendy there.
The Niche Is Too Broad
Sometimes, people try to sell everything to everyone. There are some valid points on that and perhaps beneficial to your business.
However, it doesn’t work in the long run. In this situation, you don't even know exactly what you want to sell.
Maybe, that's because you are doing this as a hobby. If you want to be successful on Etsy, you have you find what your main interest is. For example, set one or two main categories and sell all the related products.
Also, sometimes, you think it's better to sell to everyone. Again, you have to avoid this. Instead, try to find out who is going to be your potential target audience. Find these people and start selling.
Not Bringing Your Traffic
Of course, regardless of what you do or don’t, thousands of visitors might come to Etsy every day and look for the products.
In fact, they are not your specific visitors. So, you don’t want to rely on them too much. It's much better to bring your own traffic.
You can do this by producing amazing SEO. For example, you can start advertising on social media and invite your followers into your Etsy shop.
Competing On Price
It happens many times when people compete on price instead of value. Don’t get me wrong. If you compete on price and come with cheap items and products, you might sell to some extent.
However, it might damage your business reputation. So, what does competing on value mean? It basically says you have to focus on things representing your products as professional items to the customers. It could include packaging, shipping, brands, etc.
What Are The Top Products On Etsy?
Obviously, everyone has his/her niche on Etsy. However, it's not bad to know what the most common products sold on Etsy are.
Amazingly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, some categories increased a lot.
So, it shows that top categories are changing, and you should be aware of that. For example, Art & Collectibles (357%), Suits & Tie Accessories179%), Beauty & Personal Care (123), Outdoor & Gardening (68%), and Drinks & Barware showed 53% monthly growth! That's amazing! Knowing this data will definitely help you choose your categories wisely.
Another way of finding out the best products to sell is by checking the top sellers. You can get inspired by them very easily.
You need to visit their content and try to copy their ideas and make them compatible with your business. For example, in the Craft & Supplies category, PlannerKate1 (8.7 million), Nicoledebriun (5.7 million), and Yakutum (5.8 million) are the best sellers with combined sales of over 20 million. You can easily find out the top sellers in other fields too.
Who Are The Biggest Rivals of Etsy?
Online shopping websites are in a big battle. It's the same as the competition between different social media platforms.
It's tough to decide where to start selling with all those big names in the industry. So, let's try to have a fair comparison between Etsy and other websites on the internet.
Before jumping into the comparison, let's review the pros and cons of Etsy again.
- First, it's straightforward to learn how to work with it.
- Also, it's a great place for handmade items.
- Besides, it lets you access a large customer base.
What about the cons?
- Well, there are numerous fees associated with it.
- Also, themes and customizations are not professional.
Alternative to Etsy
Considering the pros and cons of Etsy, you can choose other platforms. Shopify, Square Online Store, Bigcartel, IndieMade, and Zibbet are some of these alternatives.
Each of these platforms is specializing in a certain niche. For example
- Shopify is the best place for building and managing a strong store.
- Small merchants can greatly benefit from Bigcartel. Thanks to its options.
- Also, establishing sales channels is happening on Zibbet better than other ones.
So, you can check them out and see which one is the best suited for your business.
Summary
Nowadays, online shopping is a prevalent part of everybody's life. It has made our life easier and safer, considering the threats of the COVI-19 pandemic.
Here, we introduced one of the most popular online shopping websites called Etsy. It's straightforward to start your shop and to make money.
It has its fans and customers who visit regularly. Also, for some items, you can even make more money. There are some criticisms over Etsy's performance.
However, you should be aware that most of the time, your actions might damage you! So, avoid blaming Etsy if you are not successful in your business.
By following easy steps like generating professional photos and creating attractive SEO, you will start selling very soon.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Next, we will review eBay for you guys. Click here to read the review. Take care.
JeannetteZ
I would love to hear from you. Please leave me your questions, experiences, remarks, and/or suggestions about this article in the comments section below. You can also email me at Jeannette@WorkFromAnywhereInTheWorld.com.
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