A couple of weeks ago Anglea from Gigee Marie contacted me saying the following:
I have been going back and forth about opening an Etsy shop in addition to my current online store (which is with Big Cartel). Considering the amount of traffic that Etsy gets, it is almost a no brainer, however, I have some reservations because it seems like Etsy takes a portion of your profits and charges you other fees, which can start to add up. In addition, you obviously can’t brand your Etsy shop with a layout/template, or a custom domain (I don’t think). With my current shop, the only fee I pay is the monthly hosting fee and I have the freedom to customize my domain, as well as my layout, with the ability to add multiple pages, social media widgets, etc. I get pretty good taffic to my site, but I do admit that my sales at in person events are much better than my sales online through my current site. Do you have any experience having both an Etsy shop AND a shop with another ecommerce platform? Is it better to just have a website with a link to the Etsy shop? Any thoughts or insights from you (or your readers) would be helpful.
I wanted to put this question to you because you have the most experience in this area. Please share your thoughts and advice in the comments!
Also, check out Angela’s shop for some fabulous purses!! I have a couple items on my wish list!
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You don’t have to have one or the other. If you have any ambition of running a successful creative business as more than a hobby, you should absolutely have a website in addition to your Etsy shop.
Now, whether to have e-commerce capabilities on your site or not is a bigger question. It depends on if you have the time and money to devote to it, which cart you use, and about a million other things. Generally speaking, it’s never a good idea for your business to be completely dependent on a third party like Etsy. You need a backup plan if they raise fees, close your account, or if traffic plummets.
If you’re doing well at in-person events, I’d find a way to incorporate that into your site – newsletter, event calendar, etc.
Just realised I misread your question! If you currently only have a shop on your website, there’s nothing wrong with also opening an Etsy shop. But I would keep your current e-commerce site to avoid being solely dependent on Etsy.
I used to have an Etsy shop and an Artfire shop, where I was only charged $6/month and that was it. I enjoyed the lower rates vs. Etsy but the sales were dismal. Etsy drives its own traffic and people feel comfortable shopping there because they’ve done it before with other sellers and they know there’s feedback and other protections in place in case something goes wrong.
As a buyer, I will say that I rarely shop outside of Etsy for handmade goods. I like using Etsy because it’s already linked up with my PayPal account, I can search my purchases when I want to buy something again from that same shop, and if I’m looking for something in general (like note cards but I don’t know which ones I’m going to buy), it’s nice to be able to search Etsy and find several options all in one place. Plus, I waste time online browsing on Etsy, using my Circle feature and the “recent updates from your favorites” as a way to add new things to my faves and make impulse buys. I wouldn’t do any of that on another site like BigCartel; I only go to those sites if I know for sure I want to shop with a specific artist, which just doesn’t happen all that often.
Jess
Angela,
I have both an Etsy shop and a big Cartel shop for my woodwork. I love having the two shops, it is hard to be found with your ‘own’ shop unless someone knows about you etc. I have found some wonderful customers through Etsy that I am sure would never have found my Big Cartel store. Each has its benefits and I do not find it difficult to run both. You have to work at your Etsy shop but it pays off. Etsy works hard to help buyers find you and I have no problems with their fees.
I matched my Etsy banner with my BC header ..Would recommend having both.
Hope that helps!!
Smiles, Brenda
I would recommend having an Etsy shop (for all the above stated reasons) and also having a website with it’s own shop. Etsy has it’s benefits, but you do pay for them- plus there is a bit of work involved in being found. For example, I usually renew an item once or twice a day (which I pay Etsy on Sale to do for me), list 3-6 new items a week, plus pay the fee for each item sold and then renewed. It definitely adds up. During slow times it costs me $40-60/month to sell on Etsy, and during the busy seasons $100-140/month. I consider it part of my advertising budget and generally a worthwhile business expense.
If you could drive as much traffic to your own e-commerce site for the same cost than maybe an Etsy shop wouldn’t be necessary.
I agree that you pay more fees through etsy, but the traffic that you get through etsy tends to make it work it-if you are worried about the fees-you may want to take a look at your pricing and see if there is room to raise your prices a bit to counteract the fees. I also agree not to be dependent on etsy-but honesty it tends to be where most people shop as well. I’ve struggled with the decision myself as well, but have found that it is best for me to continue my etsy store. Good Luck!
It is definitely a good idea to have an Etsy.shop and a website/Shop. I used Wazala for awhile which integrates right into your blog
I agree that the fees that Etsy charges are so worthwhile, for the amount of traffic you get, and the potential it gives you to earn! I’ve done a stand alone site in the past, and now I do Etsy only. The difference in my sales is quite amazing. Yes, you DO have to work at it though, constantly updating your shop with new stuff, renewing listings regularly, making yourself known in the “community”, etc. I started my shop in the Fall of 2010, and see my sales increase almost on a monthly basis. For me, keeping up with it is almost a full time job, but so worth it to me! Good luck!
I originally had an Etsy shop, then opened my own Big Cartel website, and although I love having the freedom to design, redesign, add pages etc to BC, Etsy does provide some sort of exposure. SOOO Many people know about Etsy, and the site requires no marketing on my part. I make sure everything’s listed properly, and I let it be. Big Cartel is my baby. Yes, agreed that the extra fees are a b••ch, but the exposure is necessary, especially for me since I’m still new.
If I were you, and you really wanted to open an Etsy shop, just put a dozen or so of your items on Etsy and focus your BC for the rest. That way you don’t spend too much.
I hope that helps.
Your success on any site depends on how good your products, the demand for them and their uniqueness…and how much you market your products. I do agree the big cartel has lower rates but most of my customers order from Etsy becuase this is where i originally started selling. I constantly close my shop because i cannot keep up with orders but i do hope Etsy lowers their fees
Etsy rocks!!!!
I have both an Etsy shop and a Big Cartel shop. I recommend having an Etsy shop in addition to another online shop. While my gross sales on Etsy are higher, the per purchase amount on my own website shop is higher meaning customers buy more at one time on my regular website. I think having something besides and Etsy shop gives people more confidence in you and your creations.
I think I will always have an etsy site in addition to my own (I use indie made for my online shop). The fees really aren’t high on etsy. Many people renew items often, but since the default search was switched from ‘recently listed’ to ‘relevance to search terms’ there’s no point in listing more than once until an item expires which is somewhere around four months. $0.20 for four months? Not bad. You do pay a percentage when an item sells (somewhere around 3%), which seems ok to me since I’m charged that amount for credit card processing capabilities at shows/festivals anyway. The one aspect that I’m not really into with etsy is direct checkout. It seems like more fees and complications, so I stick with good ol’ PayPal
. Etsy has always paid off for me in terms of exposure and sales, but I wouldn’t give up my own customizable domain for anything!
Thank you all SO SO much for your feedback! This is extremely helpful. I did end up opening an Etsy shop in addition to my Big Cartel shop to sort of test it out, so we’ll see how it goes
This topic is always interesting!
We have discussed about it several times into the handmade Italian community too.
Among all those questions, here in Italy, we can’t even open an e-commerce into our own website unless we already own a VAT (that long code that says you’re a professional paying all the taxes etcetc).
But here for little brand and crafter having it it’s too expensive. Taxes are almost 50% of the income. So here we have this “double trouble”…
BTW at this time I totally agree with the fact that the best thing would be to have your own site + shop and eventually one on Etsy (that’s the msot famous market place for the handmade other that bring many new eyes on your products)
I have an etsy shop (don’t have an e-commerce one yet!) Most of the traffic is from etsy itself, and not from my website or facebook (the main places I post). I do get a a couple orders from London surprisingly – they like bunny cards. : ) so I think it’s another source of traffic, including international exposure (I’m in NY), and I’m making more than I’m investing in the .20 fees, etsy percentage and paypal fees. I do charge a little more to make up for it and people seem to still buy the items.
You can specify the name of your shop – mine is cynla.etsy.com – which is easy to list on my business card.
I agree about Etsy – the traffic makes it worthwhile.
I wanted to add to a previous comment about just set it up with a dozen items to see how it goes.
I found that my sales were fairly quiet with a dozen items but once I hit 60 things took off. Also, when I added a link to my blog I had another increase in sales. I think it gives people confidence in your business when you’re doing more than just etsy.
Another thing I do is post photos of everything I ship each week (I make personalized jewelry) on my facebook page and then tell each person that they can take a peek at their jewelry there. Many end up “liking” my facebook page and at least comment on their item which builds other people’s confidence in my work. I’m not sure if that would work for non custom items.
I don’t want to repeat the fantastic advice above but there was one point you made that I don’t think anyone else has addressed:
‘Is it better to just have a website with a link to the Etsy shop?’
If you have managed to get a potential customer to your site (with all your branding and flat, monthly fees rather than per-transaction fees) the last thing you want to do is send them to etsy instead and pay more for their purchase or even lose the sale as they find someone else’s store to buy from!
I have my own website homepage that links to my 3 Etsy shops. Years ago, I had items for sale on my website, but I found it very difficult to drive traffic.
My online sales have always been about half of my local, in-person, and home party sales. Like others have said, I prefer to have my eggs spread across several different baskets!
I am the owner LunaTeal Jewelry and I did not entertain the thought of using Etsy. I wanted to flexibility of my own site but I know several designers who have both: Etsy and a business site. The answer lies in how much work you want to do. A website takes more work, of you don’t outsource it’s maintainance. Etsy may take less work but you have to adhere to their terms and give a percentage of your sales.
Etsy, in my opinion, is a wonderful option for the novice but I you are a businesswoman looking I standout, do that with a website of your own.
I would do both. The traffic on Etsy is huge, even more so now if you have Direct Checkout turned on to accept credit cards. It requires some work but not as much as marketing a stand alone website would.
I got excited from the post and was ready to sign up for Big Cartel but they only use PayPal for processing. I want something that takes credit cards without PayPal.
Thank you all!!!
I have Etsy and a WP E-commerce site.
I have 2 Etsy shops and a Storenvy shop. I got the Storenvy shop only recently because I found out that it doesn’t charge any fees, just the fees you’ve got to deal with as far as PayPal is concerned. There are some nice features, but not as many as Etsy has. Plus, the traffic has not been great. If I have a dip in sales for a while at Etsy, then sometimes I’ll turn to Ebay and Craigslist to make a few sales. (I haven’t moved much jewelry this way, but jewelry supplies do sell well in both places.)
Etsy is a great place to sell, though it does take some work, like knowing when to list, when to renew, how to describe your item (never do this when you’re tired, by the way!), and you have the option to rearrange the items in your store so that your customer sees your store exactly the way YOU want them to see it.
I wish you the best in your new Etsy store!
I just want to say a super big THANK YOU to all of you wonderful readers who helped Angela with her questions! Your opinions and shared experience is exactly what I was hoping for. I love it that are so willing to help another maker as she navigates the best way to get exposure.
Let me know if you have a question that you would like me to ask our readers!
I agree with Claire on your question : “Is it better to just have a website with a link to the Etsy shop?” If you have a client that is on your website and would like to make the purchase I would say keep your ecommerce site for the economical standpoint as well.
Good Luck and thanks for the great question!!!
I am working on a rebranding of my business, and when I am finished I will have one of each. My plan is to do something a little bit different on the etsy shop than on the domain website to keep things fresh (since I do things with my product ordering in more than one way). I think it’s a great idea to have both, if you can afford it.
Hi Angela!
I’ve recently been in the same boat only the other way around. I built my website and opened a Big Cartel with a custom domain to park at my site as my e-commerce. I’ve been selling on Etsy for the past 2 years and my sales are good there but my new Big Cartel site wasn’t paying for itself. You are right to worry about branding with Etsy it also takes a lot of work and time to be found. For me I decided to go with a big Etsy mini on my web site for my shop page and ditch Big Cartel. I don’t think it hurts to have both and I wouldn’t close your other shop until you’ve explored Etsy further. Best of luck!!
I’ve used Etsy and Big Cartel, and sometimes both. Right now I’m just on Etsy again (with my own separate non-selling site) but am always looking for a better e-commerce situation that works for one-of-a-kind items.
I also really dig Big Cartel. Every change they rolled out while I was there was well-tested, well-communicated, and much needed. (I wish I could say the same for Etsy.) And their customer service was great. But the Paypal-only-ness of Big Cartel is keeping me away. I really hope they’ll upgrade to a credit card gateway soon, even if it’s just Paypal Pro. I’ll go back the moment they do!
You do have to understand that even though there’s a shop directory and good SEO, Big Cartel is not a community with built-in traffic like Etsy. You’ll need to bring your own audience, but the people you bring , the branding, and the money are all yours yours yours! But if you go into it knowing what to expect, I really recommend it.
I have an etsy shop and a website. My website offers me options that I can’t get with etsy, such as showing as many sold items as I want so customers can see what’s available for custom orders (not just what’s sold on etsy). The link to etsy is seamless, when a customer clicks on a photo of what’s for sale, they are automatically sent to that item on my etsy site. I think having a website is a way to show customers that you’re a professional.
I’d suggest opening an Artfire shop. Artfire is GREAT! It’s only $12 a month for a store… no listing fees, no final value fees… list as much as you want…. great advice in the forums…. and great/prompt communication from Artfire staff… all for a flat cost of just $12.00 a month.
I spent 2 years on etsy, had over 100 items listed, communicated in the forms, made treasuries, tried the “relisting game”, spent $ advertising my store, etc. and it still took many months before I got the first sale, and very few after that (I would go months without any sales). On Artfire, I have my first sale within 3 weeks of opening and have gotten sales every month this year.
Of course, it’s good to have more than one shop, so you could try both if you’re able to make enough product to keep up multiple shops.
I do still have a few items listing on etsy, but sales there are still as slow as they’ve always been. On the other hand, I have a friend who can hardly keep up with her etsy sales, so I guess maybe it depends on what type of item you sell. So, try them both and see which works for you!
There are also image suppliers that sell high quality printable images to use in your etsy creations. If you’re looking for inspiration or a new source of material, some of these images aren’t very expensive, like http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageRetroAntique
I’ve had an Etsy Shop since 2008 for my art and intuitive readings/astrology reports and have been happy with it BUT I’ve had quite a few customers over the years NOT ABLE to figure out Etsy and manage check-out so I direct them to my website instead…so yes, definitely a good idea to offer both!
KathyCrabbe.com
Artist/Astrologer
My biggest question is this: I have a unique gift basket business…where I use a box or basket, fill it up with goodies, wrap it up, and sell. Even though I design the gift basket, most of the items I put in the basket or not homemade. Can I still sell it on Etsy?