Gina Luker - How to Start a Home-based Etsy Business

Copyright 2014 by Morris Book Publishing, LLC

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ISBN 978-0-7627-8483-7

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Imagine stumbling upon the absolute best craft fair, vintage show, and supplies store youve ever encountered in your life. What if you could go there any time, day or night, from anywhere in the world, and do it in your pajamas? That is the magical world of Etsy. Shopping on Etsy is quite delightful; you can find whatever in the world makes your heart singno matter if its bad 1970s fashion, upscale home decor, or one-of-a-kind, high-end art. Shopping on Etsy is wonderful, but selling is even better; the mega-website is a huge market whose audience is ready to buy.

Besides being a marketplace for buyers and sellers, Etsy is a community filled with artisans from all walks of lifefrom potters to bakers to jewelry makerswho connect to one another for support, ideas, and inspiration. The resources throughout the site come from not only the shop owners, but also Etsy headquarters. The website, with its young, fresh vibe, attracts more than just random stuff; it has become a beacon of lifestyle experts who are on the pulse of their mainstream audience.

Etsy found its audience the old-fashioned way: through word of mouth. Originator Robert Kalin knew when he started the website in June 2005 that if he built a brand by putting the focus on the customer, then those customers would in turn promote it. Kalin explains, When you have a service that people feel enthusiastic about, they spread the word and pass it on.

Kalin also decided that it wasnt in the best interest of the Etsy brand to pursue traditional media outlet advertising, so he stuck to his idea of making his website seem more like a social media experience by including features such as an Etsy blog, craft videos, community-driven seller groups (known as street teams), and a section that focuses on seller tools and articles that highlight shops throughout the website. His strategy worked, because almost 80 percent of members learned of Etsy through a friend.

Learning the markets on Etsy basically boils down to three sections: handmade, vintage, and supplies. Each section has a unique audience, but there is also steep competition. You have to decide which path you want to go down (and you can mix it up all in one shop) and learn to abide by Etsys rules.

Handmade: Any item that is handcrafted by artisans or designed by them and created in their studio is considered handmade. This includes items that are premade and embellished/altered by the shop owner.

Vintage: Items that are clearly identifiable as twenty years of age or older qualify as vintage. Clothing, home goods, collectiblesanything goes as long as the item was produced more than twenty years ago.

Supplies: Items having the primary purpose of being turned into something else are supplies. Some items can stand alone, but if they are a staple of creating any craft, they are considered to be supplies.

Now that you have a better understanding of the three markets on Etsy, lets look at what makes each one unique.

Etsy Tip

One shop can design, cut, and sew a whole shirt from scratch, while another shop can purchase a premade shirt and add embellishments with paint/fabric/other mediums; both items are still considered handmade.

With more than thirteen million handmade items listed on Etsy at any given time, the numbers alone show that the marketplace is huge. The bad news, of course, is that if you decide to go the handmade route, youll have to compete with a lot of sellers. The good news is that there are plenty of customers to go around. In the handmade market, the average purchasing customer is a female twenty-four to thirty-five years old who has a little money to splurge and tends to purchase gifts for others more than for herself.

Creating handmade items generally means that the cost of time factors more heavily into the price than the financial cost of the goods themselves. If you love being creative, this may be the market for you.

Etsys handmade section is broken down into many different subsections, so there is a specific market for anything and everything you can dream of (and even things you never knew existed).

Art

Because art is a subjective term, and the website bills itself as a promoter of artists, art is a huge section on Etsy. You can find everything from fine oil paintings to acrylic works, plus pastels, photography, mixed media, and even digital designs throughout the website.

Handbags & Clothing

Most women would agree that you can never have enough handbags or enough clothes, so of course these are popular items, whether they are meticulously created by highly trained designers or simple pouches sewn by the average seamstress. An unknown clothing designer who fills a much-needed void in the market (like plus-size or menswear) can do very well.

Bath & Beauty

Nearly sixty billion dollars was spent on bath and beauty products in 2012 in the United States alone. The beauty of selling lotions, soaps, and beauty products is that customers have to replenish their supplies, so they will come back if they find a product they love. And, because repeat customers are a huge resource for this type of shop, if you have impeccable customer service youll see your customers over and over again.

Books & Zines

Working with digital clients means they could very well be more interested in electronic versions of classic print products such as books, magazines, patterns, and tutorials. The bonus is that once you have created electronic literature, the only additional labor is simply e-mailing your customer the product. Digital publishing shops are also an excellent way to create continual income on items with little to no overhead.

Candles

Similar to the Bath & Beauty sellers on Etsy, candle sellers have the advantage of selling a product that needs to be repurchased. This creates repeat business. Finding the perfect candle scent isnt always easy, but if your products find a loyal following, this type of shop can catch on like wildfire.