Etsy has a reputation as being an excellent site for selling crafts and handmade goods. A lot of people have a side-hustle of making something like cross-stitch, paintings, candles...the list is endless. Etsy is your platform.
However, it might not be right to think about Etsy as a small e-commerce platform for crafty niches. The site has experienced incredible growth, and that has brought opportunity for potential sellers. More consumers are using Etsy than ever before, and that means that there are opportunities for those who can spot a niche for selling.
Check out the incredible growth that Etsy has seen as a company, with sales more than doubling in 2020.
Canada often gets forgotten about in the e-commerce market, with sellers focusing on the US market, which is undeniably worth far more money overall. However, this can quickly lead to markets getting flooded. Anyone who has tried to sell in a competitive marketplace on Amazon will have seen this first-hand.
The sales in the Canadian e-commerce sector have reliably grown in recent years, too:
So, what are some of the reasons for selling on Etsy? Why is this such a big opportunity?
As we have already stated, the growth in e-commerce in Canada is one of the key reasons for shifting to the platform. There are thought to be almost 200,000 sellers on Etsy based in Canada, and according to research, for 28% of these, Etsy is their only occupation.
Okay, so it isn’t huge, but the average price for an item is around $30. The average price of an item on Amazon is between $6 and $27, depending on how you calculate it.
People aren’t going to Etsy to buy the super-cheap items on the market, and that means there is an opportunity to find a decent profit margin.
Being able to make goods yourself can increase the profit you’re making. That’s why so many people are able to make Etsy their full-time careers.
Compare it to importing a product that costs you $10, and you sell for $20. Your profit margin may be just a few bucks after you’ve accounted for selling fees and advertising.
If you sell the same item for $20 and make it yourself for a few dollars, the profit margin is suddenly much more appealing. You may be making $15 profit for each sale, meaning that even a niche business can thrive.
Etsy is just one of the platforms to sell on, and Canada just one of the countries. International sellers make up a huge part of the platform’s options. Check out the graphic below showing international sellers on the US version of Etsy, courtesy of Statista.
Once you make a success of Etsy, you can move to other platforms including Amazon, Walmart, and even eBay.
This is not the only selling option for Etsy, of course, but many sellers have found success with print-on-demand, meaning they can make items to order. That means that products can effectively be listed on the platform with just a prototype and made when a sale goes through. No wasted stock.
Etsy is true to its roots in terms of the types of items that they allow people to buy and sell. They tend to fall into one of three categories: Handmade goods, vintage items, and craft.
A lot of sellers seem to play things very fast and loose when it comes to their definitions of these categories, but it is safest as a seller if you can stick to one of them.
Etsy is pretty flexible with these definitions. You won’t get away with selling something that is totally out of line with these, but you do have some leeway.
Current listing fees include a payment processing fee, transaction fee, and a possible offsite ads fee. This is only incurred when you sell an item, so though it may eat into your profit, it is not a fee that will set you back and leave you owing Etsy money.
As with selling in every country, there are some simple tips to help you to improve your chances of success on Etsy.
With Etsy doubling its sales in some parts of the world last year, the time to get involved with the revolution is now, especially if you can offer products in the craft or handmade niches in Canada, where competition remains incredibly low.
