If you’re an artist, craft enthusiast, or vintage collector, and you want to monetize your hobby, skills, and talent, then what you need is Etsy.
Etsy is an e-commerce website that focuses on craft supplies, handmade items, and vintage pieces. It’s the ideal marketplace for crafters, makers, and creators!
You still need to consider a number of things before proceeding so you won’t fall short with your new eCommerce business.
How many listings should I have to start a new Etsy store?
Most Etsy starters start with 10 to 20 items. This lets you test things out first and see if you’re selling the right items. This is a small number, but it’s the safest way to get things going as you increase the chances of selling, this way you won’t end up with fee losses to the site.
How Many Products Should You Start With on Etsy?
What’s great about Etsy is that unlike traditional eCommerce sites like Amazon, Etsy doesn’t compete with sellers like you. Instead, it’s just a platform where you can sell products to people who are most likely going to purchase from you.
There are currently more than 2 million sellers on Etsy.com, but you don’t have to worry about competing with the big brands. There is plenty of room to flourish on the site!
Why? Because there are also nearly 40 million active buyers on the platform.
There’s no magic number on what the perfect amount of products you can start with as it depends on the items’ availability, type, and market.
You need to test out the waters first, so to speak.
Most Etsy starters start with 10 to 20 items, but you can also start with 30 to 40 items. This is more of a risk, but it can help you get your shop noticed faster.
Note that there are around two million sellers on Etsy. One of the ways to stand out from the crowd is by putting as many items out there as possible.
Just make sure that you don’t overwhelm yourself and your shop.
Quickly scan our article that talks about Can You Use Videos on Etsy Shops and Listings?
Is There a Recommended Number of Products for Etsy Stores?
It is vital that you make your shop look legitimate, well-maintained, and active on the Etsy site.
One good way of doing that is by having many items, perhaps around 40 to 60, if you’ve gained enough momentum from the start.
Slowly add more items from your original 10 to 20 items and work your way up from there over time. You will also want to start with low, but profitable prices.
This can help you garner trust with new customers and help get good star-rating reviews. New customers like to see many items in a new store, as it lends credibility to you and your new brand.
Having 40 to 60 items also is also convenient for shipping reasons, allowing customers to buy many items without having to ship from several different stores.
How Many Listings Can You Have?
There are a lot of different listing caps and goals that sellers have on Etsy – depending on how much help they have or how many items they sell.
Many long-time Etsy sellers recommend that you don’t go beyond 100 items if you are on your own. If you are a small company, the site doesn’t favor shops with over 500 items, as fees can mostly offset profits.
For example, if you sell jewelry, it is best that you don’t get too many listings out. This can exhaust buyers in their searches and overwhelm them enough to make them leave your shop.
You don’t want to make it too hard for them to narrow down their options, as the jewelry market is incredibly saturated.
You also don’t want to post all your items at once. Bring them out one by one, or better, two at a time – this can get new customers excited about updates to your shop!
They may wait around once a week or a few times a month to see what you’ve got to sell!
Try holding back your inventory for a while and time your listings right. By doing this, you’re able to ensure a healthy frequency that customers are looking for!
Is There a Minimum Number You Need?
It is recommended that you post a minimum of 20 items.
In many cases, this is the magic number for new shops! It creates a sense of security on the part of the buyers who want to see a shop that not only has content to sell but is looking to create new content in the future!
Take note that you don’t need to stick to only 20 items. Build up your shop and add newer, better items over time.
Too many items when you first start can lead to lower sales because customers will have a hard time deciding which item to buy.
They often like to peruse new shops to see what they have to offer, but they don’t want to spend more than five minutes with one shop.
To avoid this, you can start by listing items from your best work during your debut. Don’t bother listing products that you don’t find interesting or compelling enough for your target market to buy.
Finally, choose your audience wisely!
Know who your market is going to be and make sure that you are working hard to make them happy and keep them interested!
How Many Variations Can You Have?
A variation of a listing is something like “size” and “color.”
This is usually in regards to clothing, but for other items, it could be in regards to different types of materials used (gold, wood, iron, leather) as well as cloth or ink.
You can only have two different variations for one listing – such as “size” and “color” – however, those variations can have multiple options.
For example, you can have “Sm, M, Lg, XL, XXL,” under the category of size, while color could be as many as you offer.
Because you are only allowed two different variations for one listing, it is important to get creative with your customer’s options!
For example, under “size,” you could have different versions of small, medium, and large.
This could be:
- Small – [Insert Style Here]
- Medium – [Insert Style Here]
- Large – [Insert Style Here]
This is good for items with different styles and formats that you want to keep in one listing.
For example, if you sell tank-tops with different back styles (such as racerback, halter, spaghetti strap, etc.), you can list those styles alongside their corresponding size.
Then they would pick the color of that racerback tank top.
You should also be reading our article which talks about How To Start A Slime Shop On Etsy
How Many Categories Can You Have?
Choosing sub-category options are pretty simple because they are often given automatically when you choose your item’s main category.
An item needs to have just one main category, plus two or more sub-categories. For example, if you are selling jewelry, you would be under the jewelry category with “earrings” and then “dangle earrings” as sub-categories.
Another nice thing about Etsy is that you don’t have to worry about adding the tags manually. Tags are also automatically created as soon as you choose your main category.
Tags are used as a reference point to direct users to a specific item whenever they type something using the search bar, which helps customers find your items quickly.
However, if they want to search only in the “Jewelry” category, they may find your items there instead.
Does Etsy Charge You for Editing a Listing?
A $0.20 listing fee will be charged on you for every item that you list on Etsy, either on their desktop site or mobile app.
This is renewed every four months if you haven’t sold anything and is charged again to “auto-renew” your listing once you make a sale.
However, you don’t need to pay additional listing fees if you’re simply going to edit an item. If you create a new one entirely, you will be charged that fee.
Etsy does offer a program called “Pattern,” which is like “Etsy Premium”. Those listings are not required to be renewed or charged a fee, but you will owe a monthly subscription to Etsy Pattern instead.
Depending on how your business model is, how many sales you have per month, and the frequency with which you create new listings, you may want to consider things like Etsy Plus or Etsy pattern.
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