I have a handmade shop on etsy that I started almost at the beginning (2006) & its my full time job. I recently opened a POD shop about the same time as the shop you reveiwed as kind of a side hustle. I was having some good luck with it (as a beginner in POD) until a couple of my listings started gaining some traction (several sales, a few favorites & add to carts). When the "12 people have this in their carts" showed up on my listing it was a like a big banner for the bigger, more established pod shops to steal my design which pretty much killed my traction. It just seems so easy for these big shops to steal the little guys designs with all these browser plug ins now. As much as i enjoy the design aspect of POD (it reignited my creative spark as i was getting burned out) i think my time is better spent focusing on my handmade items where its much harder for people to steal my work (it still happens but its definitely harder than stealing POD designs). But i havent seen anyone hit on this issue. Most pod channels just hark how many hundreds of thousands of $ they make. Really enjoy your honest take on it.

You're an absolute breath of fresh air. Always looking forward to your videos. I appreciate your knowledge and HONESTY big time!

What you are talking about is Marketing... Design and Marketing, Thanks for the Video

Tx a lot Nick for the review and the tips. Confronting at times, or hard to accept. But yes, I know I've got some work to do. 😊

This Channel is a Gold Mine for knowledge. Thanks a lot kind sir.

Finally someone who is HONEST! Too many beginners believe all the BS that so many etsy "experts" spout out about making millions and dive in to Etsy, making it an oversaturated marketplace with a bunch of real crap for sale.

I feel like you advise is the most authentic albiet discouraging advise I’ve heard yet. I want to believe the quick money claims are true but I know that’s not usual if true at all. It is very confusing with all the KZfaq videos out there. I did separate and open more than one shop. One is mostly handmade another POD. and I have others I haven’t put much work into yet and I’m thinking I may have missed my 3 month Etsy support boat on those. This review helps me know although I have some work to do fixing some things I’m not too far off so I haven’t wasted my time. Thank you for this.

Thanks for the help!!

Great video! Thank you.

Brilliant video. I often wonder when youtube gurus who promise monthly income of thousands of dollars from POD + Etsy will change the disc, and start giving some realistic, real life figures. At the moment Etsy t-shirt section is a sellers only platform, no one is buying, everyone is selling. I Have a few items (not POD shirts) on the first page of etsy, with 100% visibility and tons of "likes".... but no sales. It seems like people just stopped buying clothing items on this platform. If I had to guess, I would say that there was a huge spike in early covid days, when everything was shut down and online stores were the only option, However, this surge has now transformed into massive drop when people are back to purchase in physical stores ,and additionally had bad online experience regarding Dropshipping and Chinese fast fashion crap.

Thank you so much for your videos. They are so helpful and a breath of fresh air for being honest. I have a question - I opened a store in 2021 as a digital planning store), but quickly abandoned it. I changed direction this year and started a POD gift shop under the same shop (changed the name etc, but the past sales are still there from the first one). I’m not getting much traction - which I expected this early on - but I’m wondering if the fact that my store is 2 years old and only showing a handful of sales is hurting me. Should I continue using this store or change to a brand new one and start again from scratch? The shop is Larch Tree Avenue. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you. Greetings from Croatia.

Love your channel

Thank you for all the ideas you gave us in this video, they make so much sense. I will get to and check my store and update it to your suggestions. I am going to set a new goal for listing as one a day. That is what I have been sort of doing as it takes me too long to do much more. I have been trying to get to six as some KZfaqr suggested but to do one listings well takes time. I have a question, I started my store last October according to Etsy but by the time I got it setup with a few listings, I had to go and do a business course for three months and it was full on with assignments. So I really started working on my store at the beginning of April this year, so I only have a few sales. So I want to remove the sales number and date in the about sections because it is 2022 with little sales. What do you think about that. What does Etsy think about that? If you recommend it, would you tell me how to do it, if you know. Sorry about the long story. 😊

Another problem is that she's making general designs.. A bit more niched and she could do well. Instead of making designs for people who love affirmations She can make designs for eg. Yoga moms, yoga teachers, yoga lovers that love affirmations or female yoga lovers that love affirmations👌🏾

It doesn’t matter if it is a best selling store or a store like this, I think flat lay mock-ups look so much better for the thumbnail photo. When I go to a store, and I see various model mock-ups, it just does not look professional, flat lay mock-ups look so much more clean and professional. The ones that have all kinds of different model mock-ups just look wild. I know you need to have them, to show how the product fits, but, for the thumbnail, nice flat lays look so much better.

Hi, thanks for all your videos! I was wondering, if you have different categories of products in a store. Do you still only list only 1 item per day or can you list multiple as long as they are not in the same product categorie?

Excellent tutorial - thank you ! I'm about to start my Etsy POD shop and wondering if I should have mugs and t-shirts as seperate shops or start with both ?

Hi, I have a question regarding POD return policy. What is your opinion? How about the return time-frame? I know I would refund or exchange for a manufacturer defect or error. But what if they ordered the wrong size? I do post to check my size chart before ordering in my description and as a listing photo.

Would you overall advise against opening a POD shop now? Or with diligence and following all of your advice (& understanding it will take a long time to build)…would you advise a different kind of shop? Digital downloads, maybe?

Hello! Question: you talked about posting one listing per day. Would it also be acceptable to post, for example, every two or three days? Still consistent, but not quite as often as everyday. Thanks! I really appreciate you videos.

Another problem with her shop is the prices.. Eur40 for a t-shirt is way too much on Etsy when other shops are selling for as low as $6

I have a handmade jewellery store on etsy but didn't have the time and products to make it look good for a long time. Now that I have learned from you how to deal with the problems, I can start making the store looks good. The only question I have is this. I opened the store 2019 and now I am looking into making it better and put more than 8 products since before 2024 it was not important. Should I just follow your advices and make it a good place to make money or should I totally close it and open a new store with the same products? Would that make the store looks more desirable and would etsy look at it differently or not?

So what would be the recommended speed of listing? And is this advice for digital products as well?

Question: store opened in Jan about 150 listings, if I need to delete an item should I also add an item to ‘make up’ for the deletion, along with my regular daily added item? I have a few items that are not the quality I wanted.

I have a POD shop for shirts. Im about 45 days in with maybe 80 listings and 25 sales. Should i remove some of my listings with low views to get down to around 45 listings? Any help appreciated. Great video!

What do you recommend as a price for a T-shirt? And how does one do video of a T-shirt, especially if POD?

Hi Nick , this is something off topic but I’m interested to hear what you think of this situation? I tried 2 weeks ago to change my payment settings so I could receive payments from sales in a different account.I got an error message saying that did not work , after contacting support about 8 times over the last 2 weeks no one has been able to assist me and my shop is now stuck with no way for customers to buy and pay for my goods , support deleted my old account as they thought it would fix the problem.I’m beside myself now as the last message I received from them was they have no time frame to fix the problem but they are aware of it ! ,,

You say about pricing, but with POD you have no choice really on price, it’s expensive because of the price from the pod company.

Could you tell me why etsy seller use names for the listing titles? For example "Modern Cards and Gifts Sign Template, Cards and Gifts Table Sign, Cards and Gifts for Wedding Printable Sign in Multiple Sizes - Claire " or "Modern Place Cards Template, Printable Wedding Place Cards, DIY Wedding Place Cards, Wedding Name Cards, Elegant Place Cards - Celine " are there any affect for my listing? Thanks in advance!

A question on price, how are we supposed to compete with the big seller who sell shirts for $8. I've seen advise telling you to list new items at a lost to get sales going and then after a month raise the price. Etsy will keep showing that item because of all the sale it got at low prices. Is this valid advice??

I totally agree it is ' good design' that is what will set your store apart, and there are a lot of non-designers thinking great, I'm going to create designs to make some money on sell them on etsy. And it's NOT that easy, your example illustrates that (No offence to the owner of that store). Do you think a person with graphic design experience would do better at this? I'd like to create my own store and I have been working in branding & design for decades, but your videos are a little negative about the whole POD journey, and make me feel like I'd still have no real chance of being successful. Surely there is a little hope for people out there who are just starting out? Love your honestly though.

I have a question. I've posted too many listing for the amount of time I've been in business and I'm wondering, would it be okay if I didn't list items for a few days before continuing? I plan to do one listing a day after my little break.

So when I open my shop do I not add several listings at once? I under slow and consistent but I’d think I would want at least a full page ASAP?

Hello! I just opened a POD shop on Etsy a few days ago, and I'm committed to implementing everything you recommend. I have a few questions. Is there a point where it's OK to list more than one item per day in the shop? Or would you recommend that I continue with one listing per day, even one year from now? Also, what do you recommend POD sellers put into the video and photo portion of the "About" section? Thank you for your time!

So I tried to find any decent video mock-ups on place it that would feature the Balla Canva 3001 t shirts (or any other popular one) and I couldn’t find one. So is there any other places to look for or probably I should get myself a couple of samples to make my own videos of it? The downside of it is that I won’t be able to get a lot of videos in this case.

Hi! My POD shop is only a couple months old. I’ve been listening to the advice of listing 10 a day, or even bulk create 100 designs in a day. I can’t work that fast but still I have more listings than I should considering I’ve only made two sales (from family). What you said about how this hurts conversion rate of the shop makes total sense. So if I deactivate some listings now, will it reverse the negative effect of having listed too fast? Thanks so much!

Hello Nik, It's Christyna from The Trader Shop. I received an email from Everbee/Cody that tells me that I have 321 total trade mart alerts. Words like "horse, soap, strap etc. " are considered trademark words. If we are not allowed to use those simple words anymore, how in the heck can we communicate and describe our items, we might as well switch to body language and don't speak anymore. Please clarify and please provide me with alternative terminology. Thank you so much. Happy day. Regards MHS & More LLC & Staff Members.

I don't see the ABOUT page. If I click on mt photo icon I get to the about box but there is no place for images or videos. Did Etsy change this?

Oh my, I started my Etsy store 2016 but actively started listing this year as many listings as I could listening to so the wrong visits. One said, almost 1000 listings. Can I deactivate listings to get listings back down? Instead of a new store?

lol who is paying 35-40 euros for a generic POD shirt, the price is the biggest issue here

Hi. I can't see the option to add photos and video to my Etsy shop page. How do I do that?

The problem is, with mock ups, for POD, you really should have the exact T-shirt you are selling. For example, if you’re selling a certain brand and a certain style, you should find a mock up with that brand and style. I am not sure if any of the places where you can get mock ups have the exact brand and style. I know people sell them, but, then, everyone has the same mock up photo. I like to see a store that has all flat lay mock ups, myself, for their thumbnail. I think it makes the store look so much better. Sure, have the model mock-ups, in some of the other images, but not the thumbnail. You can use any old mock-up, really, as long as it is good, for digital products, but I think you should have the correct product for POD. Also, what is the issue, right now, 10/20/23, with stores/listings getting deactivated? Some people think it is because of these mock-ups. I hate going to search anything, over there, because you get the same images, over and over. You can really tell who their target audience is, just by the first three pages, of any search. It’s pathetic. I am waiting for a video, from you, about what is going on. Supposedly, they want you to use the print providers mock-ups, but I am curious what your opinion is on the matter. 😊

What plugin are you using that shows what tags they are using?

How do you recommended making videos for artwork such as framed prints or canvases? I have been selling art online for a long time, and it has always been recommended that you focus on the Art itself not flashy images and websites, and in this case videos.

So, if I am already in the situation where I have listed too fast, what do you recommend to get the balance right? Should I deactivate several listings and slowly re-add them, or better ones, at a better pace? Or, am I just sunk already?

Is the "Shop Anouncemts" the "About"? Cause I cant find it.

Hi, I just opened my Etsy shop this Jun I have listed one item a day I have now 30, but my visits are low 2 to 1 a day no sales yet. is this normal or am I doing something wrong? Any kind of feedback will be appreciated. Thanks

The listed dates arnt the date they were listed it's when they last sold

Thoughts on Cassiy Johnson and her now start up course?

So to be clear best to start with one product and then add one product per day? Or start with 20 and add one per day?

There’s nothing wrong with listing 2 items a day. The problem is they have ugly mock-ups and generic designs. That’s why no sales.

I had to say that Placeit does have some videos but they're not great! A lot of the time the product that the video is of, it's not the right product. I also have a huge complaint that the people in the videos stick their tongue out in the middle of the video or they are pointing at the shirt and I don't like it. I also don't like the fact that the models are not very good and see to be all the same are. Placeit does not have a very good variety of people to choose from that fit my brand or a way to make your own slideshow or video yourself with certain models. placeit also doesn't have all the products that I sell in my store. Getting and or making mockups is a huge problem for me. I can not order all my products and shoot them myself. I am a professional photographer, so I know what I'm looking at when it's wrong. I would say at least 85% of the work that I've seen from placeit is terrible photography and very amateur. Even with the work that I have used from them I've had to take into photoshop and readjust the images or crop them, re-color balance them, try to fix overexposure, take out thing's in the Image that shouldn't be there etc.. Then I asked myself the question why am I paying this company when I have to do all this extra work on the photos? This problem has kept me from listing items in my shop because of not being able to find good mockup photos and video. Buy them from Etsy they all look the same! I don't want my store looking like everyone else. The models are all in their 20s and very few models are older than that and they're not the best looking models. Not saying they have to be runway models either, but not frumpy looking, or not put together. One of my biggest complaints is the models are covering up the designs with their arms on T-shirts. As for POD being easy, it isn't and one thing you don't cover is how much time it takes to actually list your products SEO takes time and I did watch your 10 minute SEO video I have to test out your theory, because I've been told the other things. I'm still not making sales yet. I have views and visits not a lot, but getting better. They're just not converting yet. I'm also being found on Google more than on Etsy? I do only have 49 listings right now, due to having, some health issues that force me to stop working for a bit. So I have been posting my listings in batches it also, takes time design. I'm not one of those that just writes text on T-shirts and sweatshirts.

You said listing fast makes Etsy not trust you but you didn’t say why.

Oh this sucks. Happy Egg store is shut down.

The designs are generic. Prices too high.

Honestly, those designs look like they were bought at Creative Fabrica. Nothing fresh or original. And there's two of the same right next to each other. Yuck.

I'll be a little more blunt. That store is terrible. 100%

Is anyone else having issues with their comments showing up ?