How to Start an Etsy Shop – Step By Step

Etsy can be a great choice for those wishing to engage in e-commerce and begin selling their products online rapidly. So, “How to start an Etsy Shop?” In this article, we will discuss the details of how to start selling on Etsy. In this way, you become an Etsy seller. Today, we will explain all about how to start an Etsy shop, its steps, and all the little details you might need to know for your Etsy journey to start. Throughout this article, we will provide you with everything you need to know.

So, without any further ado, let’s start learning about starting an Etsy shop together. 

What Is Etsy?

Before answering how to start an Etsy shop, let’s get to know what is Etsy little. Etsy is the world’s largest global marketplace, mostly focusing on handmade goods. It is also the best marketplace to sell handmade products, vintage goods, and the materials needed to make handmade products. We can call Etsy a community where many small business owners exhibit their products, where almost every product is original and unique.

What to Sell on Etsy?

To sell on Etsy, the products must fall under the categories of handmade, vintage, or crafting materials. It’s important to note that reselling products purchased from another manufacturer or selling items that you haven’t designed yourself is not allowed. However, the good news is that these categories are quite broad, and there is a lot of flexibility regarding what you can sell. 

For example, handmade products can include anything from jewelry and clothing to home decor and art. Vintage items can range from antique furniture to retro clothing, and crafting materials can consist of supplies for knitting, painting, and other artistic endeavors. With such a diverse range of products, there’s always something for everyone on Etsy.

Handmade Products

• Handmade products must be made by you or designed by you.
• Products that bear your design but are produced by a third party also fall into this category.
• You must provide information about all production partners involved in producing the products.
• You can also sell digital products under this category.
• The photos you use when selling handmade products must be original.

Vintage Products

• The products you sell as vintage must be at least 20 years old.
• The style is vintage, but newly manufactured products are not included in this category.
• Etsy reserves the right to request detailed information about the product you sell.

Craft Supplies

These products are products used to make handmade products. For example:

• Materials such as wool, yarn, and wood.
• Sewing materials and tools such as paint brushes.
• Paints and paint materials.

Advantages of Using Etsy

Before starting the answer to the question of How to Start an Etsy Shop, let’s talk about the advantages of Etsy. Etsy stands out as a superior choice among online sales platforms and traditional brick-and-mortar shops due to several compelling reasons:

Firstly, Etsy boasts a vast buyer base, including approximately 7.52 million people, which surpasses most Etsy alternatives and far exceeds the audience a brick-and-mortar shop can reach.

Secondly, geographical restrictions are non-existent on Etsy. Unlike a physical shop that can only attract customers within its locality, an Etsy shop can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection, thus expanding the potential customer base exponentially.

Thirdly, Etsy offers built-in advertising through Etsy ads, allowing you to promote your products prominently in Etsy searches, marketplace pages, and category pages. This feature is not available on all online marketplaces, giving Etsy a distinct advantage.

Lastly, Etsy Plus provides additional business-friendly tools that most other online marketplaces lack. These tools enable you to customize your website, business cards, and shipping materials, ensuring that your brand makes an excellent first impression and reinforces it after your customers have made their purchases. This can be a crucial factor in retaining customers and building brand loyalty.

Benefits of Using Etsy Ads

Using Etsy ads can bring many benefits to sellers looking to promote their shops and drive more traffic. One significant benefit of Etsy ads is that they help increase your visibility on the platform. By promoting your listings through Etsy ads, you can ensure that your products are seen by a wider audience, including users who are actively searching for items like yours. This increased visibility can lead to more views, clicks, and, ultimately, sales.

Another benefit of using Etsy ads is that they can be a cost-effective advertising option for small businesses. Etsy ads work on a cost-per-click (CPC) model, meaning you only have to pay when someone clicks on your ad. This allows you to set a budget that works for your business and only pays for the results you get. Additionally, you can monitor your ad spend and track your ROI, so you can make informed decisions about your marketing budget and adjust your campaigns as needed.

Finally, Etsy ads offer various targeting options that can help you reach the right audience. You can target your ads based on keywords, geographic location, and other criteria to ensure that the most relevant users see your listings. This targeting can help increase the likelihood of converting views into sales, as users who see your ads are more likely to be interested in your products. Overall, using Etsy ads can be a valuable strategy for sellers looking to promote their shops and drive more traffic. With increased visibility, cost-effective pricing, and advanced targeting options, Etsy ads can help you reach a larger audience and ultimately grow your business. Also, check the Etsy SEO tips for more information.

Things to Consider When to Sell on Etsy 

When asking how to start an Etsy shop, you should consider the question of when selling on Etsy. The products you sell on Etsy must be completely your design. If there is a person who helps you with the design, you must describe this partner when entering the product (when listing the product). The photos you put during the product entry to sell on Etsy must be your own photos. If you plan to sell a vintage product, your product must be at least 15 years old. If your product is the design materials, you must present such products in the CraftSupplies category. Regarding the production and quality of these materials, Etsy expects you to be transparent. However, there are also products that you cannot sell on Etsy.

As we mentioned above at the beginning of the article, Etsy is a platform where you can sell handcrafted products or raw materials for such products. Selling on Etsy with the product you buy from a store is called “reselling” and is prohibited. 

You must be personally present at the production stage of the products you exhibit here, or you are putting the raw material of handicraft products on sale. In addition, Etsy can scrutinize the products that it suspects to be handcrafted and close them for sale if necessary.

Some products are prohibited from being sold on Etsy. Some of these are:

• Human body parts
• Products that support and promote violence
• Animal products
• Products with pornographic and erotic content
• Alcohol products
• Medical drugs
• Tobacco products
• Narcotic substances
• Products that contain, support, or encourage hate speech
• Illegal products
• Weapons and dangerous goods

How to Sell Your Goods on Etsy?

You need to open a shop to sell on Etsy. Now you will see that this is not difficult in the continuation of the article. Everyone has handicraft works that they started as a hobby at home. The topics of knitting, jewelry, sewing, baby, painting, clothes, bags, and berets are endless. First for yourself, then for your friends and family, they start to take up a serious place at home. After learning how to sell your products, let’s answer how to start an Etsy shop.

How to Start an Etsy Shop Step by Step

Naturally, you need to open a store before selling on Etsy. The process may seem complicated to you at first. But don’t worry; we will explain everything you need to do to open a store on Etsy below. In this way, you can easily open your store and start doing e-commerce.

Here are the steps for you to follow when starting an Etsy shop:

• Open Your Etsy Account
• Enter Your Etsy Shop Information
• Upload Your Products
• Enter Your Account Details
• Enter Your Payment Details
• Organize Your Etsy Shop

Open Your Etsy Account

The first step you need to take before opening your own Etsy shop is to open an Etsy account. For this, follow the steps below:

• Go to the Etsy Sell website.
• Click the “Get Started” button in the center of the screen that opens.
• Enter your e-mail address and click “Continue.”
• Enter your name and set your password on the screen that opens.
• Or register automatically with one of the Google, Facebook, or Apple options.
• After logging into your account, you can enter the store opening page by clicking the “Get Started” button.

Enter Your Etsy Shop Information

After opening your account, you can start creating your own store. For Etsy store opening operations, you first need to determine the language, country, and currency options.

• Select your preferred language, country, and currency on the page that opens.
• Choose the best option that suits you just below the form.
  • Selling is my full-time job 
  • I sell part-time but hope to sell full-time 
  • I sell part-time, and that’s how I like it 
  • Other
• Click on the “Save and continue” button.
• Specify your store’s name on the open page and continue with “Save and continue.”

Upload Your Products

After specifying the store name, you will enter the product upload page. Here you can add the first product you want to sell.

• Put a photo of your product from different angles in the “Photos” section. (Min: 1 – Max: 10)
• In the “Video” section, you can add a 5-15 second video about your product.
• Then, in the “Listing Details” section, enter the title of your product, information about the product, category, refresh frequency, product type, description, and other information.
• In the “Inventory and pricing” section, select the price of the product, the local and international price difference, and the quantity you want to have in stock.
• After that, in “Variations,” you can add different variants of the product.
• The “Personalisation” section allows your customers to personalize their products.
• In the “Shipping” section, you can enter shipping and dispatch information.
• After filling in all the information, click on the “Save and continue” button.

Enter Your Account Details

After you have entered your products, you need to determine how you will receive your payments.

• Select the country you are in.
• Enter the account details you wish to receive payments from.
• Enter your personal information.
• Add your address and telephone number at the end.
• Click “Save and continue” to continue.

Enter Your Payment Details

To sell on Etsy, there are several fees and payments that you’ll need to keep in mind. These costs may include listing, transaction, payment processing, and shipping fees. 

Listing fees are charged each time you create a new listing for an item, and transaction fees are charged when you make a sale. Payment processing fees are charged when you receive payment from a buyer, and shipping fees are dependent on the shipping method you choose and the weight and size of your package. 

It may seem like a lot of costs, but it’s important to remember that these fees help cover the expenses of running an e-commerce platform like Etsy. Additionally, many sellers find that the benefits of selling on Etsy, such as access to a large customer base and easy-to-use tools for managing sales, outweigh the associated costs. As with any business, carefully considering your expenses and budget is essential.

In this section, enter the information of the credit card you will make your payments and the address of the invoice to be issued to you.

Organize Your Etsy Shop

• After entering your payment information, your store will open.
• From here, log in to your Etsy seller panel, edit it as you wish, enter information about your brand, and add all the rest of the details. 

Congratulations, if you have finished all these steps, you can now start selling on Etsy!

Conclusion

Today, we tried to explain to you how to start an Etsy shop and helped you learn all the necessary steps to sell on Etsy. We are hoping that this article will enlighten you through your Etsy journey. If you have further questions about Etsy, please ask them in the comments section below. As Dopinger, we are here to help you with all of your digital marketing needs. Hopefully, we successfully helped you solve the “how to start an Etsy shop” question. See you in another article!