My Etsy shop is sooo quiet now

[WeRD]

I opened my Etsy shop a few years ago and was blown away by the success of it. I managed to leave my 9-5 and live off of it alone. It was great, so flexible and I was making enough money not to need anything else, I couldn’t believe it. Fast forward a few years and the sales have all but dried up. I don’t know if it’s mainly that people just don’t have the extra cash anymore to spend on ‘nice things’. I’ve had to put my prices up a bit due to my increasing costs or it’s hardly worthwhile selling my items. I don’t know what to do 😞 I have a fairly decent social media following but it doesn’t seem to convert to sales anymore. I pay for ads sometimes but it’s not worth it for the number of orders I get in return. Do I need to shut up shop and go back to a ‘proper job’? How else could I save it now? 😢

Etsy is unfortunately now full of AliExpress stuff passed off as handmade, I used to do ok with a few sales a week (and stuff not expensive!) and it’s almost totally dried up now. A girl I know has a standalone shop that she survives on as sole income through her TikTok as advertising? Maybe an idea. I don’t use TikTok but she built her brand on there and does really well!

I’m still buying handmade items on Etsy, from small independent UK sellers. I haven’t had any problem finding the items I want, there are filters which are simple enough to use (I.e. show listings from the UK only).

I mainly buy things related to a hobby I have, so handmade project bags, hand-dyed fabrics, patterns. I’ve also recently bought personalised planners and items for an upcoming holiday, handmade cards and cake decorations.

I’ve never been asked/ pestered for a review either, although I tend to leave reviews soon after I receive an item as a way to support the small businesses I buy from.

Etsy has had lots of things that I haven’t been able to find on other sites, though I never use Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or Temu.

I am put off buying sometimes though, usually if postage is very high for the size of the item. When you can find similar items elsewhere they are often more expensive on Etsy, but it’s understandable when small sellers aren’t buying materials in bulk and are making things by hand.

I had a look at that as it sounded interesting but they are still selling stuff produced in India, under the guise of 'small uk businesses' and 'uk makers'

If its door wreaths they have had their day i think. I have 3 in total. Fab ones and honestly thats me done for uears. One for autumn/ spring and christmas. They are far too exp hand made wheh every shop including primark are doing them so cheaply .id never buy off temu cheap rubbish.

Get a regular job and have Etsy as a side hustle.

I sell both craft supplies and finished items and have done for over 30 years. At times it’s been my main income but at other times I’ve had another income as well. Currently it’s my main income and I’m developing a side line not craft related.

I’ve never sold much on Etsy. In the past I’ve done many in person shows and fairs they can be amazing for sales or they can be dire. It depends on the organiser getttinf the people through the door and once they are in people having money to spend. If you can get your items in local shops that’s better as you don’t have to sit there and sell them.

I do sell on eBay, but haven’t listed anything new for a while and the other day I was sent an offer for free listing and 100% off final value feed until April. Next week I’ll be back to listing on eBay. I can only presume that this offer is because eBay sales are dropping for a variety of reasons including few items being listed.

Lots of people are shopping on Vinted, it depends what you make to be able to sell on there. I can sell there.

Facebook marketplace has been successful for me and I offer to deliver locally.

I did try folksy a while back but didn’t get many orders maybe it’s time to try again.

I do think it’s mainly down to people not having spare money. Yes energy costs are going down in April but council tax will go up.

That’s really interesting, there’s another shop similar to mine who does this and they’re not on Etsy. She does a drop every month and I went on her website and every item was sold out. A lot of them were a poorer choice than the ones I have but I’m guessing the panic of ‘it’s going to sell out’ is what causes everyone to buy.

I’d have to delete all my stock and re-add it in batches 😂 but if it works…

You can't compete with TEMU prices.

Most of their stock comes from China, I believe, and it's essentially a slave economy. Their wages bill will be next to nothing.

I’ve recently bought a hair piece on Etsy.

two days later got a temu add (I have never had the temu app on my phone btw) for what looked to be virtually the same. But for less than half the price.

I am aware that the piece I ordered on Etsy is higher quality and I am very happy with it. Bu that kind of thing can’t be good for business, can it?

Do you have TikTok, YouTube shorts etc where you advertise your business? Production process etc? Do you have a business strategy that takes the current market into account?

I don’t know whether you can salvage your business tbh. But going back to work PT might be an idea.

edit: I think it’s really brave that your facing the situation head on and not burying your head in the sand. Good luck!

Can you set up your own website, spend a bit of time teaching yourself seo . People could sign up to a newsletter on your website . Your newsletter could generate revenue.

I love Etsy. I like to buy something special for someone on there and I find it's great as you can get really lovely unique items. But that's the only time I do because the prices tend to be quite high.
Could you lower the prices slightly?

I just got something off this site this week for the first time in ages. It was a personalised gift that was more then I would usually spend but as I can’t get to the shops this week took the risk.
It came and it was incredibly disappointing. The font in real life looked a lot different to the picture and it was really small. Like significantly smaller than advertised.
It really puts me off using the site. I won’t leave bad feedback or try and get a refund because I specifically chose a seller that looked independent and it’s personalised so can’t really return but if I had seen it in real life I wouldn’t have purchased it.
The last time I used the site was for personalised note books. When they came the quality was poor and there was a spelling mistake on one, which was their fault not mine.

Have you tried googling your product to see if it comes up? Like PPs , I stopped searching in Etsy directly as had to scroll through too much tat but at Christmas when I was looking for a couple of specific things, i did a Google search and I got some Etsy hits and did order from there.
If you don't get hits then I'm not sure how to fix that but I'm sure there will be MNetters with the knowledge if you were to ask a specific question in another thread.
If you are getting hits via Google, then you need to work out why your products aren't selling. Is it something that would lend itself to being sold at an Artisan market? If so, might be worth trying one, partly for sales but also to get to speak to people and do a bit of market research.

I’ve had some really great experiences and some awful one.

one turned out to be a Chinese scam that pretended to be a British 1 man business.

Told me to return the item to their processing address. Well, the item never arrived, probably because the address never existed. The postal service insurance ended up covering the loss.

I was however very lucky with personalised leather goods. Pipe smoking pouch, wallets etc. (Christmas or birthday gifts in general)

I used to buy from Etsy and would be on it looking almost daily but nowadays I don’t even look. Like a lot of people I only buy what I need (bills and food) and no longer have any money for other things.

I hope it perks up for you though 🤞

I like Etsy stuff but I always look for items I see there (and also stuff advertised on FB) to see if the seller has their own website.

I like to see a proper address on the contact page, I like to read the About Me type of pages. Basically I like to shop knowing I’m supporting ‘local businesses’

i am a crafter, I’d love to be able to sell what I make but the hours that go into some of the things I embroider if only based on £5 an hour would be astronomical and obviously no one would pay that.

some of the things I purchase the most (and this is sewing based) are from following on FB people like Natasha Makes, she has a live fb several times a week. I often watch/listen to her whilst doing other things and am tempted into purchasing things to ‘make later’. Sarah Payne is another.

can your business branch out and use other methods of social media in a clever way to promote sales? Good luck 💐💐

havent read the entire thread, but have you considered moving to a new platform - something that totally celebrates genuine handmade - Not On Amazon n FB lets you promote, plus link to your own store, and it allows a selling platform. NewMonday also seems to be picking up. People are doing direct selling on IG rather than Etsy, and lots just direct to a shopify sales front.
I think Etsy is really a bad place now as your sole outlet, because as others say, its become saturated with stuff that simply doesnt fit the criteria of what it was set up for. Its got too big to find things too, so people are looking elsewhere for their unique gifts

I have only tried to buy off Etsy a handful of times and each time it felt scammy.

Items I wanted to buy seemed really cheap but when I clicked on the link there were all kinds of hidden costs and I found this time and time again.

For example I really wanted to buy a neon light written in my friend's name for Christmas and they seemed to be fantastic value but then when I clicked on the link the price advertised was not the actual price and a further costs were involved. I went to a different shop and the same happened again. It didn't just happen with this product either. I got it into my head that Etsy allow people to do this...a bit like on eBay where something will come up for £1 but when you click the link they make it up in the shipping costs. While this is against the rules, it's difficult for eBay to Police. I gave up on it and stuck to Amazon.

Have you thought of setting up your own website and running Facebook ads instead?

I can't add much except my voice to all the others: I used to love Etsy and love browsing through random items on there and buying bits I might never have thought to buy or want before I saw it. It was a bit like 'the old days' of browsing around real shops.

I still use Etsy now but I no longer browse like that, because of the pages and pages of mass imported rubbish. It's ruined that experience.

Instead I look specifically for what I want and mostly only from sellers I have previous good exerience with.

I also feel less confident about spending my disposable income so buy less overall.

I don't know what the answer is, tbh. However, I am appreciating the alternative websites suggested here, where I might be able to get that old browsing experience back again...

Are any of your items things that you could get your local businesses to buy and sell?

I remember times when Etsy was a platform for local crafts and arts people. Unfortunately, just before Christmas I was looking for new handles on there and was shocked by what Etsy has become- platform for re-selling crap from China.

How personal is this?

Same pictures - but you think on Etsy you're getting handmade, and Silver - no way are these silver

Did it look like the images on the site? No?
then report it, why let the seller get away with selling shit

@StripyBathTowel had a great idea

but dont just delete a re add your existing product. I dont know what you sell but genuinely come up with a new collection, could just be 2 or 3 items in a new colour/ theme etc and market it as a launch

Beyond this you need your own website. From what you have said you cant compete with the price and the imflux of drop ship product, so you will need your own website to really now adapt this business to work.
Shopify will be a good fit for you and is really simple to use these days. Have a play around with it.

Then use this to tell the story of you, your brand and your product. Where its made, what makes it special, about you, why you make it. Show people the process of making it and the story behind it.
This is where you can compete with the likes of Temu because there is absolutely a market for people that want to buy product that is hand made with a story behind it and understand there is a premium price for this. But you need to be effective in telling that story.

Use your instagram channel to tell that story and leverage the audience you have on there. Use video and show them the product and process.

as @StripyBathTowel suggested plan a launch in the next few weeks. Something new that your customers will be interested in. Start talking about it, show the process, get them excited. Say its limited addition, exclusive batch etc

Get them to sign up to an email to be notified when the new collection launches so they dont miss out. That way you have a ready made list of people that you can email when it launches.

but this should be done on all your own channels your instagram, your own website, your own email list.

you can then run your own ads on instagram to get people to your website to support all this too.

it’s a big change but you’re seeing that etsy isnt working, so a change to make things work is needed. If you love the product and think there is still interest in it, you can make it work