Fantastic advice! I've been a handmade seller on etsy for a very long time...but due to the recent bots im finally just thinking of selling directly via social media. One thing that really erks me as a seller is that when you sell on a platform like this, buyers will usually always tell ppl that they 'bought it on etsy' NOT.."I got it from (shop name/artist)". As an artist, I want recognition for my brand. You won't get that on etsy.

I have been on Etsy 4 years doing handmade cards 100% handmade lol I’m not very computer literate, I’m now on 3,200 sales, the average is 5 sales per day at the moment, I’m never going to be a millionaire but love making the cards coming up with new designs, my new baby cards are my niche and even have a couple of bestsellers 😊 it’s very satisfying to hear that ca ching still gives me a buzz 😊 like you say it does take time to build up your shop and find what customers want, build up your ratings so customers can trust you, a it’s hard but rewarding to know someone out there actually likes your work enough to buy it ☺️good video Kim, thank you ❤

her eyes really match with her sweater...so gorgous...

Best advice I've heard online is, "forget the BS and focus on your goals and what works best for you". Awesome!!

The frustrating thing about trying to drive traffic via social media is that nobody likes or shares anything anymore. I've had people contact me about something I made that they saw on my page, but THEY DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO LIKE THE POST! Incredibly frustrating!

I much prefer channels that are honest about the struggle, the good and the bad. Channels that are always telling me how amazing everything is, just make me feel worse about myself. Knowing that the struggles I face are the same as people similar to me, is what keeps me focused and moving forward.

I so appreciate your honesty. I’ve been on Etsy since 2010. I won’t get rich with my shop but I stick with it because there are times in between the frustration, it can be very rewarding. Yes, change is always happening, so you have to try to keep adapting.

While it is easy to say that Etsy is "saturated", it is not as simple as that. Saturation, I believe, is more niche-centric. I don't believe that my niche (bird feeders) is saturated at all. Yes, there are a lot of feeders out there when you do a search, but I don't think it is a tough nut to crack. Not like if one decided to open a shop selling earrings, for example. If I were to advise someone wanting to sell on Etsy, I would have one word: passion. Whatever it is you're trying to do/make/sell/yada, you better have a passion for it. It's that passion that gets you through those bad days and keeps you going.

Hi Kim, I have been working on an Etsy jewelry shop since November of last year. I have made 2 sales but I am still pushing forward with the shop since I love making jewelry. I love watching your videos while I am working on stuff. They are straight forward and I love your honesty.

Gurus have a lot to answer for regarding setting up false expectations. You're a lot kinder to them than I am, 😅 I believe that the vast majority know they're peddling bull💩 hopes and dreams, but they know it gets views. I have an artist friend who wanted to sell their painted artworks as digital downloads on Etsy. They thought, WOOHOO, passive income! Once I explained to them the work involved in gaining traction, they immediately quit. Like... for starters, passive income as a phrase is misleading anyway, coz you're really just doing the work up front for later gains. It's not like you can just fling a turd onto etsy and do nothing and suddenly you're a bazillionaire. Secondly, you have to keep doing the work! Like you rightly said, things change. And even if you're not trend-hopping, you still gotta make things people want to buy right now. Oh dear, I'm wall-of-texting your comment section, I'll shut up now. 😂 Thanks for the video Kim!

Thank you. Thank you so much. Even though we have finally made the transition from our direct shop being the main "breadwinner" from Etsy - we STILL have our Etsy shop. I also follow Etsy Seller boards, etc. I get so tired of the posts of folks wondering WHY they aren't making 6 figures selling stickers with "purchased digital art", etc. Or folks trying to tell them they just haven't gotten the most effective SEO (ours stinks, but we still manage to make sales?!?!) or they need to give Etsy even more money for ads when Etsy doesn't have the traffic to support it. I keep thinking of the phrase "a fool and his money are soon parted".

Thanks for the honest advice I'm currently sat on this decision your timing was spot on

Love the transparency and authenticity! I just opened my Etsy shop over a week ago and I mostly did it to accomplish the goal of, just start. I definitely know I won’t become a millionaire or get 100s of sales in a day. Super unrealistic. My goal was to start my own businesses and get myself out there. I thought I would only do online, but my hairstylist invited me to be apart of her first market she hosted and it went way better than I expected for myself! And made me realize, I have different avenues I can take with this. Mostly though, I’m just proud of myself for starting and pursuing this creative dream I’ve always had. This alone, is successful for me❤

Thank you for posting this. So many creators make videos that feel far too good to be true, or suggest how to take the "easiest" way to sell something and it usually makes me feel uneasy.

Honesty is key, you can find hundreds of people selling you something, showing you how to’s but there will always be those that Won’t give you the full script because they’re threatened by competition so you have to find out through trial & error on your own . This… I learned the hard way ! Lol

Thanks Kim. The ability to adapt and change - the best advice ever for selling on Etsy 😁

I love listening you your videos while I clean my house. Just opened my Etsy shop and my own shopify store. As I get orders on Etsy, I make content with it and send traffic to my shop through Pinterest and IG. That’s my strategy. I’m definitely not relying on Etsy and hope to leave it soon. Hoping to start a KZfaq channel too and make content and community that I can send to my website.

This was so helpful! Thank yoy

Fantastic advise. I have been within the handmade industry for some years, however have only been on Etsy since January and really giving it my attention. I have had 25 sales so far. I have been contacted by 'the bots' but never shut down! .... I enjoy what I do and feel it's right. I guess I just get frustrated that sales 'trickle' in.

Great video again! My Etsy store got suspended last week, over something I have little clue about but I have a hunch it was because I logged into my account from different computer in different town, just to switch my store's Vacation mode off. I submitted an appeal, but got a more or less automated denial rather quickly. Still not explaining WHY my store got suspended. This is the kind of wanton gangsterism Etsy does, not to mention their technical support is downright hostile. I was quite bummed by this for the first couple of days, but now it's starting to feel oddly liberated. Mostly thanks to your videos, I had already started preparing for things to go awry with Etsy, and building a website/Online store of my own (as it was already built-in to my web hosting service). I was hoping the two to co-exist for a while, but now I'm not missing the pressure from Etsy anymore, and I can focus on actual products and more exclusive, but more committed customer base.

Been thinking about this for a while….. and this, I believe, is the deciding factor -> if I have to drive my own traffic so much I may as well open up my own web shop.

Lovely Video. I'm on etsy since 2020 and by no mean I get a lot from it :) It's a hobby and I love to make videos about how I create my products (also really solid handmade products... if you know you know.). Do I dream to earn more money with it? Yes. Is it possible? Hmm maybe with a good marketing strategy, but then the aspects of a hobby gets lost. So yeah, I think I stick with my 2 orders per week and just be happy about it.

Perfect timing, Kim! I have a dormant Etsy shop, but have been planning to open a 2nd shop since last year. I held off to see where Etsy was going with all its "growing pains," and finally decided to open my new shop a few days ago... until Etsy hit me with a $29!! setup fee (I'm in the US). I'm currently deciding if it's worth the cost or if I want to simply rebrand my current shop.

Finally, an honest video. Thank you.

3 minutes in and my decision is made. It’s a NO from me. I’ve seen enough videos on the issues and I don’t need the headache. I stopped buying from Etsy quite a while ago as it’s a lot of junk to sort through to find actual handmade items. Don’t have the time or patience for that. I had a shop back in the beginning and let it go after several scams. Sad, we need a real handmade sight!

Thank you for the honest advice- it was extremely helpful

This was so helpful! Thank you! I am thinking of starting to sell my crochet bags on etsy.

You are so true ! thank you for sharing for newbies ❤

some real talk never hurts

been selling on Etsy 4 yrs and not had any problems . Sure its competetive but that makes me try harder. From what ive learned/read in the past it was an easier ride.

something that i've noticed, usually from crochet artists, is that the way they scale their business is by moving to digital with patterns and that that is the natural progression of every crochet artist. In reality, handmade businesses are hardly scalable when you're staying ACTUALLY handmade, and with their chosen niche (usually plushies), there isn't much in way of improving/ displaying your skill enough to justify a higher price.

Again, regardless of handmade or not, there may be a gap in the market but no market in the gap. Hand made sellers still need to do product research and see if their product is in demand. Then they can supply. Etsy will not leave money on the table, if your item is in demand / fills a need, Etsy will push it.

I loved this. Thank you!

Recently had my shop closed for no reason! Impossible to get ahold of anyone. It’s terrible

I had £327 revenue from Etsy in 2023.. £250 profit... I wasn't really doing it properly til October I'd say.. which is when sales really started to be regular... I'm currently at £255 for the year so 🤞 I'll beat 2023 😁 I know I could make more by doing overtime but it's not the point.. if I was doing it for money I would definitely have given up by now.. at the weekend I designed/modeled 2 more pieces of Victorian dolls house furniture 😂 I do really feel relaxed and enjoy the designing.. it's the listings, photos and customer interactions I find stressful

So if I have to drive my own traffic I may as well use other platforms.

Great honest advice about getting your own traffic! However, I'm not going to go on Etsy! I will just use a combination of my own website and social media platform to drive the sales! There is so much advice on what people should do that it has become overwhelming and confusing for many. Most want handholding through the process; sadly much of that is unobtainable. So people jump from one person to the next gathering snippets here and there trying their best to put it all together in a coherent way! It seems we are all going about it the wrong way. We should address what it is that we want from our business instead of constantly comparing competitors' work with ours! We don't derive a great deal of satisfaction from doing this and it can be depressing!

yep. I had to work away for a week at my other job so had to put the shop on vacation mode.. I knew the algorithm was going to hate me for it so I launched a 25% off sale for the 4 days before I could post out in the desperate hope that ETSY would love a good sale and this would reawaken the shop... well this little experiment failed.... miserably. Yes I made one sale but only because I directed the purchaser to etsy so she could take advantage of the Sale. Which she did... This didn't work I had 2 view yesterday. 2, before I closed the shop it was about 30..... while away I continued marketing and pushing people to the shop so that wasn't the problem. So I made a sale gave away 25% of my income from the item and my shop is dead in the water...... yes folks are telling me to hang on in there it will pick back up but its been 5 days since I reopened and I was only shut for 6 days..... I am in this for the long haul but it is so grrrrrrrrr.

With all the issues Etsy seems to face, I think that some other plattform is gonna take it's place in the near future as no1. Since genuine craftsmen are litterally pushed away from the plattform by dropshippers.

Drop shipping shouldn't be allowed on handmade platforms.

Your gremlin description… Hit a little too close to home😂

Can I ask - has your shop been shut down by Etsy and you had to get it back opened - if so can you do a you tube about it?

I just have subscribed to etsy ads for1 month 1$ a day. I will let you know if it worth it or not.

How did we get through a video like this without the "P" word 😂 x

A lot of people favorit my shop. A lot of people put my items in their carts (sometimes 3 people). But nobody buys . I just shipped 1 item from canada to UK. They charged taxes on it. What do you think they are going to do with those taxes ?

Hola guapa que cambiarias en la vida

I'm sorry but this is not a help to me. So glad you're doing great!

Might as well go with a stand alone shop and not stay on that platform

💯👏😁