In a four-month period in 2014, I turned $0.30 into $5,000 with Etsy.
Maybe it was timing or maybe it was luck, but I stumbled across a way of using Etsy that helped my Etsy shop start making sales just days after the first listing. And since it seems as if many of you are interested in opening Etsy shops, I thought it would be helpful to show you how to start an Etsy shop so you can open your shop with a bang. With the right product and a few key actions, you should be able to make far more than I have. Here's how I did it, and a few lessons I learned along the way.
How I Turned $0.30 into $5,000 with Etsy
It was May 2014 and my fiancé and I was gearing up to tie the knot. We would marry on July 19 and were throwing a DIY wedding.
We were trying to incorporate bits and pieces of our personalities into the wedding, and since I freaking love popcorn, we thought it would be fun to have a popcorn bar, and always looking for ways to personalize aspects of the wedding, I decided to design custom popcorn bags. I opened up Adobe Illustrator, obsessed over the design for our bags, and then bought one paper bag to test the design with. It cost $0.10.
I was thrilled when the bag printed perfectly.
A couple of days later, I was on the treadmill searching a wedding Facebook group for popcorn machine rental suggestions, and I noticed some brides asking about custom paper bags for their favors, candy bar, or popcorn bar. The chronic side hustler that I am, I wondered if I would make any sales if I listed our design on Etsy. I had a photo of the bag on my iPhone, so that morning I downloaded the Sell on Etsy App, set up a shop, and listed my first item for the $0.20 listing fee.
A week went by, then a week and a half. And then I got my first sale. As I customized the design for the first sale, a second sale, and then a third rolled in. And within the four months of opening the shop – including a two-week hiatus while we were getting married – we managed to earn over $5,000 in our shop. Etsy has allowed me to become a digital nomad and travel the world without having to worry about a paycheck. Here's how you can do this, too.
How to Start an Etsy Shop: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started on Etsy
So many people get stuck on the logistics of starting their shop, so they just never do it. After all, you have to:
• Think of a name
• Design a logo
• Make your items
• List your items
• Decide on pricing
..and it all seems daunting. But don't let these small things prevent you from making your first listing on Etsy. Here are a few tips to help it go smoothly and get your shop up and running as soon as possible:
Naming Your Shop
When you set up an Etsy shop, the first thing you have to do is name it. But when you go to name your shop, don't obsess over it! Think about it. When you last purchased something from Ebay, Amazon, or Etsy, do you remember the name of the shop you purchased it from? Sure, it's important, but it's not going to make or break your success. You have one chance to rename your shop, so pick a name right away, and you can always give it more thought later on.
I picked the name for my shop quickly by just choosing two words and smashing them together. You can use many of the same principles that I go over in my guide, How to Choose a Killer Domain Name in 5 Simple Steps.
Designing Your Shop
Many sellers obsess over their shop design, but people generally come across your items through the search engine, so it pays off to spend more time on your listing rather than the shop design. Basic is better than messy or under construction, and you can always design your shop after your first item is listed. As the saying goes, progress is better than perfection. Your shop design can be important but don't let it trip you up.
Creating a Logo
Creating a logo is relatively important, but unless you have graphic design skills, I would outsource the logo to somebody on Fiverr. Give them your vision for what you want it to look like, or a color palette if you have one in mind, and let them design one for you. I didn't even have a logo for my shop until at least two months after I listed my first item – and many sales later. Of course, logo and branding go hand in hand so if you want to get more serious about your Etsy shop then you should focus on creating a logo that will greatly please your target market.
Creating The Perfect Listing
The idea of this post is to have you “just ship it“. I don't want you entering analysis paralysis and freaking out about every aspect of your Etsy shop. Sure, you want to do things right the first time, but you can have the prettiest design in the world and the best shop name and it won't do you any good if you haven't listed your product. So here's what I want you to do:
Create a Prototype
One huge mistake that many people make when they initially start their Etsy stores is making more than one test item before they open their shop. They think they need several listings and variations on their item before starting. Here’s why this is flawed:
- Realistically, nobody will even pay attention to your shop except for your friends and family initially. So you don’t need to impress potential buyers right away with a lot of choices.
- If you spend hours creating your item in half a dozen colours or designs, how will you feel if nobody buys it? You’re going to feel discouraged. If you just create one prototype of the item, you can test and troubleshoot without being discouraged by all your hard work being ignored.
- If your item and shop is set up in a way that allows special orders, you’ll find that you get a lot of special order requests, and your hard work will be under appreciated because everyone wants something custom.
- It’s a waste of money and time, and it’s also a great excuse to not get the shop up and running, which is really just your self-doubt and fear pretending to be practicality.
So pick a design or color you think will do the best and create just one. Then you have to take amazing photos of it.
Take a Photo
The photo is the first point of contact between your potential customer and your product. If you spend 6 hours starting your shop, I want you to spend 4 of them taking the perfect photograph. Yes, my first photo was an iPhone photo with a grainy background and the contrast turned up too high, and I have no doubt that if I spent just a little bit more time taking a nice set of photos I would have been able to make $10,000 with that $0.30. Some photo tips:
- Neutral backgrounds always perform better than busy backgrounds
- Use props sparingly, but don't underestimate the power of a good prop
- If you're using a DSLR, turn up the aperture on your camera so that the item is in focus and the background is blurred
- Don't worry about investing in a great camera. Use whatever you have – an iPhone or point and shoot will do
- Study the photographs of successful stores who sell similar products to you. What makes them good? Try to replicate their technique.
In my free report, 6 Must-Have Tools for Etsy Selling Success, I've listed a couple of photography tools that I started with so I could take amazing photos just with my iPhone. Get the free report by clicking here to have it emailed to you. Once you have the perfect photo(s), you need to set your price.
Choose a Price
Choosing price can be difficult. There is a lot of advice out there to “charge what you're worth”, but if you're a new Etsy shop without any sales under your belt, here's what I'd do in your position:
1. Add how much it costs to make your item: How much does the material cost? Here is the calculation for my item: Paper bag: a $0.10 Printer ink: about $0.10 Total: $0.20
2. Add how much the upfront costs are: Do you have to buy any equipment or design elements? I had to buy a commercial font for a one-time fee of $5, and a vector for the design at $1. I could print an unlimited number of these designs with the purchase but I divided $6 by 100 sales as a moderate estimate. This is about $0.06/bag.
3. The cost to list the item: Unless you have free listings, the cost to list your item with Etsy is $0.20 – not per item, but per listing. That means that you have 100 of the same item in one listing, but it will only cost you $0.20 to list it. Etsy won't charge you $0.20 for every item you sell. They do, however, take a small portion of your sale, but you won't have to worry about that now. You can get 40 free listings if you sign up as a seller with my referral link: http://etsy.me/1MLPS3H (which will earn me 40 free listings as well).
4. Total With the three steps above, the total for my bags was $0.26 per bag, plus an additional fee of $0.20 to list the item. So each bag might cost $0.30 if I only sold a few orders for that listing.
Value of your time
If it takes you an hour to make an item, how much do you want your time to be valued? If you want to make $30/hour, add the cost of material to the value of your time and then you have what you need to make to have a profitable product.
Stalk Your Competitors
Go to the Etsy home page and type in some keywords to find other sellers who offer items similar to yours. What are they selling? How do their products differ? And what are their prices? New sellers need to be competitive, so price your item slightly lower than the competitors. As you begin to gain reviews on your item, you can increase the price from there.
Crafting the Perfect Description
Every single time I list a new item, I realize just how much I hate writing descriptions on Etsy. They need to be ultra-detailed, and although this may surprise you considering I tend to write detailed posts, unless I am super excited by the subject matter, detail isn't really my jam. But luckily, I have a shortcut for you… Find a seller who offers something similar, and use their product descriptions as a template for yours.
No, I'm not suggesting you plagiarize their product description! You don't want your listing to be exactly like another, and they also worked long and hard to come up with a detailed description, but it's completely okay to use tested methods. Make note of the details they've included, because chances are, they have included those details because their customers have asked about them.
For instance, say you decided to offer custom flasks. You might find a seller who has had a few hundred sales, like the seller who runs Jr Leather Craft (note that there is no affiliation between myself and the shop owner, but rather I just really like his flasks :)). You'll note that in this listing, the seller has included details such as when the item will arrive for Christmas, the materials that the flask is made out of, and the type of customization available:
You might consider including these details for your own product. As I was doing this for my shop, I found that other custom paper bag sellers on Etsy took custom orders. And I found that they usually had a separate item for special orders that the buyer could add to their cart. They usually had a “policy” for the size options and had some key words like “customized”, “personalized”, and “rustic”. I emulated them, personalizing and changing the content as per my item as well as my “brand”. Now that you have the perfect photo, an awesome description, and a prototype of your product, you can sit back and wait for your first sale. Well, sort of.
Landing Your Very First Sale
Getting to your first sale is exhilarating. And it's also like getting to the top of a small mountain. Once you are at the top, you gain momentum and it's downhill from there. It's fine if you want to just sit back and wait for the sale to come to you. But there are better ways. You can do one of two things after you have your first product listed:
- Sit back and wait for your first sale
- Track interest and test different scenarios until you hit a sweet spot.
I'll be completely honest and let you know what I did, but then I'm going to tell you what I would do if I were to do it over again:
How I Lucked Out
Because the shop was meant to be a side hustle for me, as opposed to a career, I took door #1 – to sit back and wait for my first sale. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long, and about a week after I posted the listing, my iPhone notified me that I landed my first sale. I was lucky that before I'd even shipped my first sale, I landed my second and third.
What I'd Do Next Time
If I were to take the Etsy shop very seriously, I would have taken a different approach with landing my first and subsequent sales. And this just so happens to be the approach that I've taken with a couple of new items I've released:
- Create a spreadsheet and record how many views and favourites my listing(s) had daily
- Include the price of the item, and the photo that is shown, and the keywords on the spreadsheet
If your item has 100 views each day but only 1 person is favoriting your item and you haven't made a sale, the keywords are probably fine, but your photos or description is missing the mark. If many people favourite the item but you haven't made a sale, the photograph is probably fine, but the price or description is failing.
So test different solutions. For instance, in the photograph scenario, test what happens if you drop the price by 10%. Test it for a week, and if you still haven't received any more sales, play with the description of your product. All the while, track your views, favorites, and sales in your spreadsheet with the appropriate information.
Advertising or Sponsoring Your Listing
Many people take a different approach to landing sales: Advertising. There are a number of ways to go about this. You could:
- Create a Facebook page for your shop and pay for a promoted Facebook post linking back to your shop
- Promote the items directly in Etsy to show up above the rest of the “like” items
- Create Google ads for your listing
- Sponsor posts on Twitter
There are a myriad of other ways to advertise for your item, but these are the best bet. If you have studied the listings of successful sellers who sell similar products, test the market, and advertise your listing and you still don't have any sales, you may have picked the wrong product. But because you only made one prototype (right?!) it's no big deal. You can just go ahead and test another.
Now Go Out and Conquer Etsy
This isn't rocket science. You can definitely create a successful Etsy side business. Just list your items, and you can figure out Etsy shipping, packaging, and getting to $1,000/month later. And the beauty of having your own eCommerce business? You can choose to grow it, or just have fun with making some extra money on the side with it. And Etsy even has a vacation mode. So you won't have to worry about your shop when you go away 🙂 Now stop procrastinating and start working on listing your first product!
Congratulations! You've made it to the end of this monster guide.
Love how detailed this post is. I have a few products that I’ve considered posting, and this just gave me the kick in the pants to go out and try them.
Thanks so much, Sarah. I ask, you responded. You rock!
I aim to please, Angela! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
What is your shop name? I’m interested to see your designs!
Also, great post, it really hints at the heart of the matter: if you’re thinking about opening a shop, just do it!
Hey Ana,
My shop’s name is Vintage Apricot – I didn’t want to link to it in the post because I’m always testing and didn’t want Unsettle’s influence to skew the results 🙂
What a great post. You’ve given my wife the courage (and step by step details!) to taking our first entrepreneurial step via an Etsy store. Thank you for that.
In a recent email to your subscribers I think you asked us for one take-a-way we would like to receive from the site. I deleted the email before responding, but wanted to let you know that more stories and examples like this are what I would love to see more of. Seeing the step-by-step actions people took to get the entrepreneurial ball rolling (and with which they had some success) makes the whole process seem a lot less intimidating.
Paul,
Thank you so much for the feedback. It’s nice to know that I’m on the right track and that your wife is starting her store! So exciting.
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This is one time I regret having taken your advice to dive in before I actually ever read it! I missed out on the referral, rats! Thanks for the great write-up, I’ll be referring back as I work on the shop between diapers and feedings 😉
I’m just glad you started the shop, Revanche! That’s the first step 🙂
I have tried to open an Etsy shop before, but it had no hits eventually I had to take it down. I was unsure of why it did not take off. I guess I did not have the right items or photos were not good or just did not give the shop enough of my time. Therefore, I really liked this post. Its a real eye opener and work well with step by step instructions on what to do. Hopefully this will help me understand what went wrong, and to avoid that mistake when I start my shop back up again.
Thanks for your incredible insight on this topic
That’s funny, my wife just started talking about opening an Etsy shop last night and then I stumbled across your post.
Do you have our house bugged?
Ha ha! It’s meant to be. Are you going to start one?
Well, she’s chosen a name, worked out a product line, and ordered fabric for some prototypes. We’ll see how she likes actually making the product!
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Hi Sarah, my only question (so far) is how did you print on a paper bag? Many thanks and gratitude for the article, Lisa, NYC
Hey Lisa!
We have a very specific printer that allows us to do so. We tried out a few different printers before getting to this one – they just ate the bags. Are you thinking of starting a business related to printing on something difficult to print on?
Sarah, to be honest, I wasn’t, but your post gave me a whole bunch of new ideas (to add to the ones I’m already working on…!).
Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for this post- found your post from startupbros. Very timely too, as I’m thinking of selling skin jewelry tattoos online. Not sure if i’ll be using Etsy yet, but it’s a possibility. Are you familiar with the process of printing skin tattoos by any chance?
This was great feedback!! Thanks for posting these tips.
I enjoyed very much your article,but I have checked your store and it looks like you got only 92 sales.Do you have another Etsy store?
Hey, Liz.
Nope, just the one. I’ve been lucky in that some of my customers were companies, so they were large sales. If you sell something at $5, you’d have to make a TON of sales to earn much money. If you have a higher priced product, you can make fewer sales and earn more.
Etsy is not my main business – not by a long shot. It’s a side hustle and something my husband and I do for fun (with quite a bit of success) so when we get too busy with other things, we put the shop on vacation. We’re at the point where we turn down more sales than we take.
I also travel quite a lot, so while it looks like my shop has been live for over a year, it’s probably only been active for half of that.
Not everybody will be in the position we’re in where we can turn down sales without any issue. We’re very fortunate.
One thing that is holding me back from starting a shop is knowing I’ll have to pay taxes on it. It’s not the monetary paying but the actual work and organization of doing taxes for a business that is daunting. I don’t know the first thing about that!
Hey Mandy,
Thanks for letting me know what’s holding you back. The best part about this whole taxes thing is that there are accountants to help you with that! Don’t be afraid to hire one when you do start.
Thank you for rekindling my hope! to me you are a goddess!!
God bless you and wishing you many many more sales!! and joy and peace and all of that too!!!
Thank you so much for this post!
Thank YOU, Melanie, for reading 🙂
Any advice on shipping?
In as much as how much to charge for shipping, or where to ship from, or keeping shipping costs down?
I would still like to know which printer is best for printing on paper bags 🙂
Hey Lisa,
I’m not sure which printer is best for printing on paper bags since I’ve only tried a few, but I can tell you that we have a Canon MF series printer.
Thanks, Sarah.
Thank you for taking the time to help us..
Wicked Woodworking store on etsy,I do t know what I’m doing wrong ,maybe you can look at my shop and tell me,I had no sales for like a month,then boom,2 in one weekend,and now nothing again,zero ,zilch,like my shop doesn’t even exist anymore…..help???
Hey Patrick! I so wish I had time to look at everybody’s shop individually. Perhaps your descriptions aren’t compelling enough or don’t have the right keywords in them?
Thank you. You inspired me to sell on etsy. Im an artsy and my work does not suck but my sucess at selling it has been hit and miss and I have been a struggling artist long enough.
Thank you for the advice. I have been thinking a lot about opening a Esty store, to actually do something with my graphic poster design. There is that fear in the back of my mind, of failing. But you’ve given me the kick in the butt, I’ve needed. Thank you again.
I’m excited to see where you take it, Cat!
I want to thank you for NOT posting a ton of ads here amidst all this great information – just sharing honestly and boldly about a REAL experience from your life. I just found your posting today, and read the whole page. I never do that. 🙂 Best wishes to you!
Hey Karen – thank you so much for saying that. I find ads frustrating as a reader of blogs so I couldn’t do that to my own readers. I really appreciate the feedback =)
Hello Sarah ,thanks for the inspiring post ! I just have opened an Etsy shop and waiting for the first customer, I hope it happens soon because it is very discouraging nobody appreciates your work.Please could you give me your opinion and advise about my shop ( https://www.etsy.com/shop/Akcesora) ,it means a lot to me 🙂
Thanks again,
Bibi 🙂
Thanks for sharing this. I opened my store a month ago and no sales yet. I’m working hard to list 2-3 items per week.
I have had my site up for a few months now and have only had 1 sale. I have constantly lowered my prices which gives me hope that someone will buy from me. I really do believe I have great pictures because I took a lot of time setting them up so i am not sure what to do now. My main item that everyone favorites is the customized bath salts. They can pick their scent and I design the outside of the glass Jar with whatever they want… messages, names, pictures etc. The jars are huge! Most hold 35 oz. im not sure what more I can do.
Hey , how does the shipping work? Do we need to tie up with logistics providers separately?
Are the customer payments made through etsy?
Appreciate your guidance. Thanks
Fantastic! Thank you Sarah. This great article helped me get motivated to open my store. I get bogged down by the business-y details, but you’ve provided the push I needed. ❤️
So glad it was helpful to you, Rebeccah!
Hi my name Lisa and I just open my own bridal store sell chair covers chair sashes napkins hand made kissing ball Pom poms all hanging decor party decor flower girl baskets ring pillows and more and I am thinking of open a store through etsy and the one thing everyone asks me to do and I run this business from home is to personalized napkins coaster favor boxes bags bathrobes and more how can I do this from home I was going to get in those programs to be a affialte programs but if I can buy the machine and do it from home then I will and I have all the media channels and have a few customers and I have few shop from the platform and I’m doing good but if I could personal items it would be a major hit cause I’m a bride myself and that what made me decide to sell online from home where can I get my own machine to personalize my customers items and I was thinking of add banners from other co and making Exta from there but i want my customers to come back me to not go to another big chain and I’m also a wedding planner where can order our items online for cheaper pricing and I have a customer who wants to buy the garden chairs and where does wedding planners get all there stuff cheap cause all my other items had made so I wanted to know where wedding planners get there stuff and where to buy a machine for my house to personalize napkins bathrobes favors and so on
With this machine I will be open a store through etsy but I can’t without this I’m a home base store website owner and my husband to me had made me shelfs in the other room and the other hallways and everything has labels just like a factory but we don’t have the machine power like the factory we sell on all the platforms and social media channels and we are doing good need the machine for my customers to personalize items
Does anyone know how to post ebooks or some type of downloadable book on Etsy? I write children’s books and want to sell them on Etsy as downloads. Thanks so much!
Thanks for all the great advice. I am very interested in joining ETSY. The only thing holding me back is the shipping part. This cost is hard to estimate. I will have some items with a glass jar so I guess I will have to buy bubble wrap and boxes. And then there is the actual cost of shipping- USPS, UPS, Fed Ex…. Any advice on this?
Thank you! An idea to open an etsy shop occured today. Love your step to step… It is my next project!! Thank you!!!!!
Hi there! About how many items would you suggest to start an etsy shop?
Hey Megan
It depends on what stage you’re at but the more the merrier, usually – the magic number for handmade tends to be around 50.
I may be a few months late in reading this… But I wanted to say thank you!! My hubby and I just created our Etsy Shop with these beautiful trays that we’ve handmade —
BezalelsWorkshop
and we’re really hoping it takes off! Listening to all your advice! Thanks again!!
I’ve been sitting at my sewing machine churning out Christmas gifts and wondering if I could do something more with a hobby I enjoy so much. Then I stumbled on your article *kismet* I think I now have just enough knowledge to take the leap of faith. Thanks so much Sarah.
Wow, what a fantastic article. You are a genus. I have leart something from you and am sure, very soon my ByAfrica Etsy shop will be ready to rock.
I’m getting ready to retire and would like to earn a little extra on the side through stay. The only craft I know is making wire jewelry. Do you think Etsy is too flooded with jewelry?
Hi! This is an amazing article that probably is going to save my life one day. I just had one question. Regarding shipping fees, how did you decide what was a good fee to put? I am not sure if that is a silly question or not. my post code is 60302 if that helps.
Fabulous article! I have an idea for something that started as a one-time thing I wanted to make for a co-worker as a Secret Santa gift, and has since taken hold in my mind as something I would like to do regularly to make some extra money. Your step-by-step approach is detailed but not intimidating. Thank you!
The info was very helpful. Do you have any tips for inexpensive shipping?
Hi All,
i am new to etsy. need your guidance for the same. i am coming up with handmade products like leather jewellery and wooden inlay. kindly answer the following questions
a) How will be the payment made to me
b) it is wise to start as company or individual to promote the products
c) Shipping process
d) How to know the demand of a product in market
Waiting for your comment
I did it! Opened my Etsy shop today. Thanks for the nudge. Now I just need a customer….
Thanks for your article Sarah. I get bored easily with articles about Etsy because they all seem to repeat themselves, but yours actually gave me a fresh perspective. I relaunched my Etsy shop last spring, and although it was just meant to be a hobby it seems to be picking up a bit of momentum. I find packaging and shipping items to be a bit tedious, and I’ve been thinking about adding some digital designs to my shop… so the automated Etsy email can package and ship for me, lol!
Anyhow, one little comment I wanted to make. Etsy does actually charge you $0.20 per item listed not as a one-time listing fee. So if you list a quantity of 10, they charge you $0.20 up front, then after the first one sells they charge you another $0.20 to maintain the listing for the remaining 9, and so forth. So if that quantity of 10 sells, it will have cost you $2 just to list them (in addition to the percentage they take on the value of the sold item). Here’s a link to Etsy fees:
https://www.etsy.com/ca/help/article/136
Can I open a shop using only my iPad mini? I don’t have a full computer. I could use my husband’s PC, but will that be compatible with photos I take with my iPad? Should I go buy an Apple laptop?
This is by far the best article on opening an Etsy shop that I’ve read. Solid material delivered in an easy to understand form. Thank you so much!
What is your shop link? Thanks for all the good info.
Awesome and inspiring.
For sharing your products on social platforms, I suggest to use social media management tools.
I use Outfy, one of such tools. It helps you sharing your products on FB, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Wanelo, Fancy and many more!
You can check their website for more details.
love reading this & excited about my etsy shop
loved your article! I’m a bit new to this but am interested in selling on Etsy. I do have one question; do you need a business licence/permit?i’m completely confused on this point.
Awesome article. Maybe I missed it, but what is your Etsy shop name, I want to check it out!
Perfect, easy to follow how-to article! Thank you very much for so generously helping all of us “wanna be’s”. Looks like I will be able to get my shop up and open for business in no time. What fun this is going to be!! Best of all with ETSY there will be no time spent away from home keeping the shop clean and neatly stocked, as some of us creative types are not very tidy! Best wishes to all the others you have inspired with this wonderful article????.
Hello,
I just signed up on etsy through your post!! 🙂
I too was inspired by this post and acted accordingly. It’s been close to 2 months now, 482 views and I haven’t sold anything ????. I’m reasonably confident in my photos (though I’m sure a model would help, maybe I can hire a friend’s child), pricing is also OK judging by other “like” listings. I’m sure it will happen and hope burns eternal. I guess my point is it might not happen in alignment with your enthusiasm. Any feedback would be appreciated etsy.com/shop/sandyinstitches
Loved this post. Opened my shop using the link and appreciate the free postings! My shop is AzulPanda if anyone wants to check it out!
Funny thing…
I looked up your store and it doesn’t seem to exist.
Yes, it’s on “vacation mode” likely permanently. I travel far too much to maintain it.
Really enjoyed reading this guide! I’ve literally spent a month trying to come up with the perfect name and any other reason to procrastinate before I open up shop on Etsy. So reading this has given me a lot of confidence!
Also .. I love that your site is on vacation mode and you’re “traveling far too much to maintain it”. Really make me smile to know you’ve probably done successfully well on Etsy to be traveling a lot.
Hey Chanelle,
Etsy isn’t/wasn’t my full time business, so it’s definitely not the sole thing that enables me to travel but it did help!
Hi! Question for you?..where do ( or did when you were in business ) you get the paper bags? I’m so confused on the concept of what I can buy as craft supplies and then resell as handmade. I know that’s what people do, but just need help and clarification on what is able to be resold? Like if I want to sell little sachets or burlap sacks of herbs I grow or something. That’s what is holding me back. Where do I get the sacks or sachets since I technically didn’t make them? Etsy newbie clearly. Thanks!!
Hey Cate – I used a local packaging supplier. You can get those types of things from places like Amazon, eBay or Alibaba.com, or look for a local wholesaler.
Great article! I really enjoyed it.
I do have some concerns tho. I am planning on opening an account on etsy but I will be working with an outside manufactures. Does anyone know how complicated and strict that process is? and what I should and should not say when I am applying for it?
I read all the instructions on etsy, but am not sure how strict their management is…
What about shipping? Thats the part I am unsure about. I am in the process of setting up my Etsy store and I am very confused about the shipping,.cost, do I just do it tgrough Post office? Ect.. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you
I can’t get a link for my shop. When I put my shop name in the search engine it says shop not found. I’ve looked at my dashboard and it says 5 views and one like. What am I missing?? Please someone help me. Thanks tiffany