Etsy is the most popular platform for artisans, craftspeople and everyone else with a unique product to sell. The benefits of selling on Etsy will convince anyone to migrate to the platform, market their products, find buyers and grow their business.
So, what makes Etsy unique? Among all the e-commerce platforms out there, it’s the one specifically built for small businesses specialising in handmade products. Once you know the benefits of selling on Etsy, you’ll realise that joining the platform is one of the best decisions you can make for your small business.
What is Etsy?
Before we get to the advantages of selling on Etsy, let’s understand the platform first. Etsy is an online marketplace where you can only sell handcrafted products, materials for crafts and vintage objects that are more than 20 years old. This makes it different from other e-commerce giants such as Amazon or eBay, where you can sell practically anything.
You can only sell handmade products if they’re made by you. You can also sell products made by others if they fall in the craft supplies or vintage category. In other words, you can’t be a reseller of handmade goods on Etsy.
This doesn’t mean you have to be a crafting expert to be on the platform. You can search for crafts supplies, decorative objects, old clothes or accessories from places like flea markets and start selling on Etsy.
The benefits of selling on Etsy
If you’re a craftsperson, artisan or small business owner, these are the main advantages of selling on Etsy:
1. Unique positioning
One of the biggest benefits of selling on Etsy is that the platform has a specific positioning. If you deal in mass-produced goods, you can look at other marketplaces such as Amazon. But if you have a unique and creatively made product, you should be looking at Etsy.
And customers know that too. Those who come to Etsy have already made up their mind about what they want and more importantly, know what they won’t find here. This ‘buyer intent’ will help you successfully market your products.
2. High reach
With Etsy, you can reach millions of potential shoppers worldwide. 90 million active buyers visited the marketplace in 2021. This would be difficult to replicate if you were to do it on your own with a website and social media presence.
This number has been consistently growing over the years. What’s more compelling is the fact that out of these, 36.3 million were repeat buyers. That shows loyalty to the platform. This helps new sellers not only reach buyers with the right product but also retain them.
3. Marketing boost
As a seller, you want the marketplace to invest in its marketing. That’s because, with a bigger audience pool, you’ve more people to attract to your store. Etsy has been aggressive in its marketing, with ads on TV, social media and other platforms to lure buyers to the platform.
The company invested close to $600 million in marketing in 2021 and has made it clear that it will be increasing that amount. Etsy has stated that it will be using influencers, tastemakers, podcasts and email marketing to get more buyers.
4. Low costs
For small business owners, selling on Etsy is more cost-effective. Compared to large marketplaces, the cost of selling products is low on Etsy. Listing and transaction fees range from $0.20 to $0.30 per product.
Even with the increase in transaction fees from 5 per cent to 6.5 per cent in 2022, Etsy still has competitive rates for sellers. Amazon Handmade, for example, charges 15 per cent per sale whereas eBay has a 13.4 per cent transaction fee per sale.
5. Tools and resources
Among the benefits of selling on Etsy, one of the biggest is that the platform makes it easy to get started, list, market and grow your business. It offers several resources and tools, which are highly beneficial for small businesses that may not have sufficient expertise or resources.
You don’t need a photographer since you can generate professional product images with mockup photo generators. With AI writing tools, writing product descriptions is easy. To create designs for marketing materials, you can use tools such as Canva. All these save you both time and money.
6. Better targeting
Etsy enables small business owners with enhanced marketing opportunities. These include automated email campaigns, personalised product recommendations and much more. With SEO tools, stores can improve their visibility in search engine results.
All these help small business owners improve their lead generation and conversion. Eventually, the platform allows you to build a community around your store.
So, is selling on Etsy worth it?
These benefits of selling on Etsy make it a compelling proposition for small business owners, craftspersons, and artisans. Without any marketing experience or expertise, you can get started and build a sustainable business. All you need is a truly unique product.