Has anyone started an Etsy shop?

[Suddengeekgirl]

Can you tell me all about it?

How easy it was to set up
Do you sell much
General pitfalls etc

Thanks! :)

[marissab]

Sorry no answers but watching for responses

[Suddengeekgirl]

Anyone?

[GemmaTeller]

Yes, I've two etsy shops, a folksy shop and two websites.

I get far more traffic and orders through my etsy shops than anything else (second is my websites and lastly my folksy shop).

Its far easier to set up and maintain than a folksy shop and the stats page is really helpful.

You need to use your stats page and your search ads to their full advantage.

Etsy is huge and has thousands (and thousands) of sellers worldwide, so you have a lot of competition.
You need to offer worldwide postage to compete, if you just offer UK postage you're really narrowing down your market.

Its all relevant really, if you just list three things and expect them to sell the next day, you're going to be disappointed, you need to be patient and network.

[CockyFox]

I've got one, it is not too successful but I have had a few sales, I only sell to uk and EU but most of the buyers are USA based. That market is closed to me as selling there invalidates my insurance.

[Suddengeekgirl]

Cocky - what insurance do you need?

[UniqueAndAmazing]

i have.
dead easy.

you're charged 20p or listing, but they don't take it till you sell.

[GemmaTeller]

The charges are 20cents per listing and each listing lasts for four months or until its sold, whichever comes first.

When your item sells you are charged 3.5% commission on the selling price, again billed monthly.

You are billed monthly for whatever you have listed/sold.

You can pay monthly for search ads to boost your searchability.

My etsy bills average £100 - £120 per month

[GemmaTeller]

Yes, you would need craft insurance.

Craft Insurance is specifically for Crafts People who manufacture / sell their product from home, studio, workshop or small craft unit or via craft shows, exhibitions, galleries etc

You would need one that includes Public and Product Liability.

If you shop around you can get it from about £30pa

I use www.cmtia.co.uk/

[ConfusedPixie]

I'm setting mine up for this autumn so watching with interest!

Can you sell the same items across the sites? What if somebody buys the same thing before you can take it down elsewhere?

Can you get craft insurance that covers you elsewhere or is it stupidly expensive?

[UniqueAndAmazing]

you just need public and product liability here, i think.

(at the moment I'm sole trader, so have that all covered under my shop insurance, it includes distance selling)

[wfrances]

hi
sorry to hijack the thread
but can /should you have liabilty/product insurance if your not a business?
i sew a lot and have made things for school and church fairs, but not as a business just a hobby
do i need to get some sort of insurance ?

[CockyFox]

Sorry I started that about insurance, yes I have public and product liability cover, mine covers me for craft fairs and distance sales to UK. and the rest of the EU.

I don't think you need insurance to donate things (or donating all profits) but if you are selling for profit for yourself then HMRC see you as a business and you need to be registered and insured.

[UniqueAndAmazing]

yy - if you only take money to cover costs (not labour) then you don't need to worry, but if you are taking money to make a bit extra (and HMRC sees profit as any income after expenses, not including your own time/labour), then you need to tell HMRC.

[UniqueAndAmazing]

(you don't need to register as a company, just self-employed sole trader, but you will need insurance too.
if you ring HMRC they will tell you everything you need to know)

[lolalotta]

Gemma why are your Etsy bills so high each month? Are they all relisting fees????

[GemmaTeller]

Commission fees and relisting fees

[Suddengeekgirl]

Gemma - if you don't mind me asking... Are your fees so high because you sell a lot of items each month, or becaus they are 'high ticket' items or another reason!

You wouldn't pay that sort of fee if you weren't listing much or if it wasn't selling like hot cakes? I'm guessing your shop is rather successful! :)

[GemmaTeller]

A bit of both - my shops are wedding related

[lolalotta]

Gemma would you get in trouble of you linked your shop? I would love to see it!

[lolalotta]

P.S: What's a commission fee?

[GemmaTeller]

When your item sells you are charged 3.5% commission on the selling price

[Khaleasy]

I sell an item on Etsy every 4 days, which isn't a lot but it has taken a year to get to that point!

My Etsy fees average about £10-12 a month.

80% of my customers are in the US

[Khaleasy]

General Pitfalls - there are a lot of people selling on Etsy. A unique product is unlikely. (There are also a lot of customers though)
Etsy change their algorhythms a lot so it can be hard to keep getting found in search; it requires a LOT of effort to be noticed.

Have a look on their forums, loads of things being chatted about there:
www.etsy.com/uk/forums

Don't be disheartened if you don't sell straight away. It took two and a half months for me to make my first sale. I have made 111 sales in total now (but I put in next to no effort now). I have found from reading extensively about other shops that 2 years can be a turning point for a shop as can listing more than 100 items.

These two links are a really good insight into Etsy sellers, and are normally quite a good read:

www.etsy.com/blog/en/tags/quit-your-day-job/


www.etsy.com/blog/en/tags/featured-shop/

[GemCheshire]

Hi Suddengeekgirl

I have both an Etsy (US based) store and a Folksy (UK based) store and although both are easy wnough to set up and use, I don't find that they bring in much ££