Selling on Etsy Reviews: Is Selling on Etsy Worth It?

Panna Kemenes

21.02.24

7 minute read

Etsy is one of the leading global ecommerce marketplaces. It competes with other heavyweights such as Amazon and eBay in terms of sales and global reach.¹

Etsy connects buyers and sellers in the handmade craft item category—89.9 million active buyers and 7.47 million active sellers, to be precise.² ³ But does it make sense for your business to start selling on Etsy? Or would an alternative marketplace be a better option?

This article looks at selling on Etsy reviews, as well as the pros and cons of Etsy for sellers. It will also cover some alternative providers, so you can make a better decision as to whether or not to sell on Etsy.

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Selling on Etsy Reviews: Quick Overview

Here’s an overview of reviews on selling on Etsy. These ratings include both buyer and seller reviews.

Review site	Rating
Sitejabber	3 / 5⁶
Reviews.io	2.3 / 5⁷
Trustpilot	1.5 / 5⁴

Compared to the millions of active buyers and sellers who use Etsy, these reviews represent only a small portion of users. Etsy has just over 13,000 reviews on Trustpilot, while having just under 600 on reviews.io.

Positive reviews of selling Etsy emphasize Etsy’s suitability for small business owners starting out.⁸

Negative reviews complain of Etsy’s lack of customer support in resolving seller issues. Reviews on selling on Etsy also complain of sudden seller account suspensions without reason.

Read on for more:
Pros and Cons of Selling on Etsy What Products Make the Most Money on Etsy? How Much Does the Average Etsy Seller Make? Etsy Alternatives Conclusion: Is Selling on Etsy Worth it? Receive Etsy Payments with Wise Business

Pros and Cons of Selling on Etsy

Let’s take a detailed look at the pros and cons found in selling on Etsy reviews.

Pros of Selling on Etsy

Here are some of the top pros found in reviews on selling on Etsy:

Ease of setup. You can have your account up and running, with products listed in a few hours, if not less. Compare this to the time involved in building your own website and securing your online checkout. Etsy enables you to quickly enter the market, allowing you to make sales faster and reach your customer base.
No hosting or domain fees. As you don’t need to build your own website, you won’t have to worry about paying domain or hosting fees. You also won’t need to pay a website developer or set up a payments processor subscription.
Quicker product visibility. As you’ll be entering a marketplace of more than 89.9 million active buyers, your products will receive immediate attention. Instead of spending months developing an SEO strategy for your own website, Etsy will give you an audience from the get-go.

As you can see, there are some key features that make selling on Etsy worth it.

What Are the Cons of Selling on Etsy?

Here are the main cons found in reviews on selling on Etsy:

Saturated marketplace. Although Etsy will expose your products to millions of active buyers, it will put them alongside millions of competitors' products. As of 2022, there were 7.47 million active Etsy sellers. That can make competition fierce. You’ll need a solid keyword and branding strategy to make your product stand out. You’ll also likely have to pay and budget for Etsy advertising.
Difficult to build customer loyalty. The 89.9 million active buyers on Etsy aren’t looking for your handmade items only. Instead, they’re looking for all handmade items. Unlike buyers searching your own website for products, Etsy buyers can always be drawn to a competitor product for a better price. Because of the lack of customization options on Etsy, it’s difficult to build your brand image and connect with customers. For example, it’s difficult to form an email marketing campaign through Etsy.
Transaction and currency conversion fees. For every item you sell, Etsy charges a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price, including delivery and wrapping. If you list an item in a foreign currency, you’ll be charged a currency conversion fee of 2.5% for every sale you make.
No shipping support. Unlike other marketplaces, such as Amazon, Etsy sellers are left to sort out the order fulfillment process themselves. You’ll also need to deal with customer service issues relating to shipping, such as damaged items or refunds. This can cost you a lot of time that could be better spent on other key business tasks. It could also end up costing you more if you’re a high sales volume merchant, compared to using a service like Amazon FBA.
Offsite advertising fees. Etsy purchases advertising spaces on partner networks. You can opt to have your product listing advertised offsite. If a buyer clicks the link and orders within 30 days, you’ll be charged an offsite ad fee. This fee is 15% for merchants who’ve made less than $10,000 USD within the past 365 days. For merchants who’ve made more than this amount, you’ll be charged 12% per order. When you add in listing fees and transaction fees, the offsite ad fee can eat into your revenue.

What Products Make the Most Money on Etsy?

Etsy is all about handmade, personalized craft items. So it’s no surprise that the top-selling category on Etsy is handmade, personalized jewelry.¹⁰

Some of the other most popular product categories include:

DIY craft kits
Printables (such as personalized to-do lists, planners or resumes)
Digital artwork
Journals and notebooks
Stickers
Personalized gifts
Wedding products
Zero-waste products

That gives you a wide range of product categories to specialize in as an Etsy seller.

How Much Does the Average Etsy Seller Make?

The average seller on Etsy makes between $43,000 and $46,000 per year.¹¹

It’s key to understand that different sellers have varying levels of commitment to their Etsy business.

For many sellers, Etsy is a side hustle that earns them a passive income. They might not put a lot of effort into branding and search engine optimization (SEO). In this case, they may earn less than $500 per month.

But for the sellers who treat selling on Etsy as their main source of income, the earning potential is high. In some cases, top sellers make millions in sales.¹²

Etsy Alternatives

If you’re still deciding on a marketplace for your products, here are some alternatives to selling on Etsy.

Shopify

If you’re trying to choose between Etsy vs Shopify, there are some key differences to understand.

Shopify enables you to set up your own online store. It gives you full customization options, with thousands of third-party integrations.

This means you’ll have full control over your online store and brand image.

In contrast, Etsy doesn’t allow for this level of customization and branding. Etsy is the one who’s in control of your online store.

This can make Etsy the perfect option for less tech-savvy businesses who simply want to connect their products to an audience.

Shopify has five tiers of subscription plans, with monthly fees ranging from $5 USD to $2,300 USD.¹³ Its transaction fees range between 0.6% to 2% or 0% when using Shopify payments. This can make Shopify more suitable for businesses looking to scale or those with high sales volumes.

Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade can expose your handmade products to a wider range of customers than Etsy. Amazon boasts more than 310 million active users, more than triple that of Etsy.¹⁴

Amazon Handmade is a microsite belonging to Amazon. It’s a marketplace much like Etsy, designed for handmade items.

Where Amazon Handmade takes the lead over Etsy is when it comes to shipping.

Through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), the entire order fulfillment process is automated. That means you can focus on selling, while Amazon handles the rest. This includes dealing with customer service issues, giving you more time for other business tasks.

You can connect a range of banks to Amazon, optimizing your business cash flow.

That said, Amazon Handmade’s fee structure could be more expensive for low sales volume merchants just starting out. This is especially the case for those on the Individual Plan, with a cost of $0.99 per order, on top of category referral commission fees.¹⁵

It’s also easier to set up an account with Etsy. If you want to become an Amazon seller, you’ll need to go through an application auditing process to be approved.

Conclusion: Is Selling on Etsy Worth it?

So, is selling on Etsy profitable? Is it worth it?

The answer from reviewers is yes. Selling on Etsy can be worth it. But whether it’s the best option for your business is another question.

If you’re looking to connect your products to buyers as fast as possible, Etsy is a great option. If you don’t want to worry about customizing and building a website, Etsy offers a simple solution to get you up and running.

Etsy is perfect for small businesses and those just starting out. If you’re not tech-savvy but want access to a large audience of buyers, Etsy will be your best bet.

For public listings on Etsy, you’re charged a listing fee of $0.20 USD.⁹ Listings expire after 4 months, which means you need to pay a listing renewal fee of $0.20 USD. For items with greater quantities, the listing renewal fee applies for each unit sold. Compared to the insertion fee charged by eBay or the referral fee charged by Amazon, Etsy’s listing fee is relatively cheap.

But if you’re a high sales volume merchant and want full control over your branding and customization of your online store, you might be better off with Shopify or Amazon Handmade.

If you want to streamline and automate your order fulfillment process, Amazon FBA may support your needs the best. If customizing your website and brand image is your top priority, Shopify can be your best bet.

Receive Etsy Payments with Wise Business

If you serve international customers on Etsy, the 2.5% currency conversion fee could hurt your profit.

But if you connect Etsy to your Wise Business account, you could avoid currency conversion fees altogether.

Wise is not a bank, but a Money Services Business (MSB) provider and a smart alternative to banks. With the Wise Business account, you’ll be able to manage more than 40 currencies all from the one place, and receive payments to local account details.

This means you’ll be able to withdraw foreign currency payments from Etsy directly into your account, without needing to convert them. This can save you a significant amount in fees.

Find out more about Wise Business

Setting up your Wise account details on Etsy

Make sure you have account details for the currency
On the Etsy website or Sell on Etsy app, select Shop Manager
Select Finances and Payment settings
Next to bank details, select Update
You might need to confirm your bank information if you haven’t before
Add your account details from Wise
If you're using USD, Etsy might send you 1 or 2 microdeposits to your Wise account to verify your ownership of the account. This can take 3–7 days to arrive, and you’ll need to go to Etsy and confirm the amounts received.
All set. Now you can get paid from Etsy.

When you do want to convert your funds, Wise will give you the mid-market exchange rate, saving you on hidden markup fees. You can also send your money to up to 160 countries.

Sources:

Sources checked February 2024.

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