What's the deal with Etsy?

I'm an Esty member and I have sold a few things, but I haven't put many things up. I use it to help me determine what to charge by looking at similar items and what they have sold for. Yes, people make money on Etsy, but unless you are mass-producing something (which kind of defeats the whole point of the site) for pennies, labors of love or hobby don't really make profits. I spend hours on a single piece, so if I divide the price of the item, say $10 by 6 hours, I made $1.66 an hour! =)

I was surprised to discover that boutique and specialty shop owners buy from Esty members! Their unique little stores mark up the "one of a kind" items for a profit. If your items do well in their stores, you get repeat business.

For answers to your shopping trends and posting/purchasing cycle, you may consider contacting one of the admins on Etsy and ask for that info. Very down-to-earth people run that site. One thing you must do is market yourself to the people you know now. Email your shop link to friends, family and co-workers. Even if they buy offline, it helps your shop to grow. Good luck!

I'm a current Etsy seller, so I can tell you what I've experienced. I started my shop with the hope of making a few sales to support the cost of my hobby (which is pretty inexpensive to begin with.) I figured at $0.20 per listing, I could put up a couple of items and test the waters without much financial committment. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of sales I made in the beginning and a year and a half later I have over 100 sales. That said, I am not by any means making a fortune here. I'm a stay-at-home mom and I use the profit from my sales mostly to buy more supplies for the hobby, making it a "free" activity for me since money is tight. It's also generated a little extra that I can use toward Christmas shopping and such. I consider my shop a success, but then my intent was different than someone who wants to make a living from it. My store is mostly a hobby that gives me something to do that isn't child-related. I'm sure I could be more successful by dedicating more time to it, but having been pregnant and now raising an infant and toddler during the time my shop's been open, it just hasn't been possible for me.

As for shopping trends, people shop pretty early for Christmas, and you always have to take into account the time it takes to ship an item. There are also those items that are customized and take longer, so I know some shops that required purchases by the middle of November in order to make them in time for Christmas. Your best bet is to list things early and then continue listing throughout the shopping season. It's definitely not too early to be listing for New Year's, in my opinion. My plan for listing Valentine's is right after the new year and throughout January and the first week of February.

I don't know the demographics for Etsy, but I do follow my own shop on Google Analytics and I have hits from around the world, and have made sales in countries as far away as Kuwait. The bulk of my shoppers are from the US and Canada, but Etsy now offers the ability to list items in non-US currency, so that may attract more foreign traffic. It would be my guess that most of the shoppers are women, just because so many of the craft hobbies are done by women, but that is a complete guess.

Here's what I did before I opened shop - I did searches every day on the items I wanted to sell to see trends and identify my main competitors. That gave me lots of helpful information, like how well things were selling and what price they were selling at.

Good luck!

Some people -- those with unique or really great products -- make money. Lots of people shop on Etsy from all over the place. It's a great solution if you want something really unique for a gift.

If you sign up, be aware that you are a business, with all the responsibilities (taxes) and liabilities (people can sue you for product liability) of a business.

Bottom line, it looks easy but it's a lot of work to design your product, get your supplies, make the site banner and avatar, research mailing costs, etc. Those who do the work probably make money. Those who don't, well, they don't. Good luck whatever you decide.

Tell the TRUTH. Complain, and include the major points that you posted here. The seller/maker may not have taken or referred to the original request. If you dont let her know that you are dis-satisfied, she will never know. Another point is that you may be dealing with an unscrupulous person. Not all Pagans are as honest as others. She may not be a Pagan at all, but an artist in her own right, who "branched out" into our world. When we contract for "certain" items, we try to be specific. ther religions may not realize that those "specifics" are very important. I am an herbalist. I ask many questions BEFORE I provide a product. Herbs fulfill TWO MAJOR functions in our world. Only one is nedicinal, but even there, some should not be used by certain people. I am trying to make some very nice wands and canes(to be used as wands). I have drawings of my designs. They are shown and copius notes are taken. Design, length or wand, length or handle, wood used, finish and some others. Strongly suggest you not deal with online sellers/makers without references. Way too easy to get taken.