Selling on Etsy: A Former eBay Store Seller's View

If you are one of the new Ebay “refugees”, looking for an additional place to sell your handcrafted items, artwork, vintage items, or supplies, you might want to take a look at Etsy.

Etsy is growing rapidly, and is becoming better known every day. It is not an auction site. Each seller receives an Etsy shop, which is free at this time. Each individual seller sets prices, and PayPal can be used.

I was a former store owner on Ebay, but with all the changes that were constantly being made on the site, I could see the handwriting on the wall, and heeded the advice that was being given on the Ebay stores board: Do not keep all your eggs in one basket where sales are concerned. Branch out, away from Ebay.

I kept seeing Etsy mentioned on the discussion boards of an indy biz forum that I visited frequently. I visited Etsy and signed up to sell just a little over six months ago.

Going from Ebay to Etsy takes a bit of an adjustment. Etsy does not yet have the heavy traffic that Ebay enjoys, but their traffic is growing steadily all the time. The same as anywhere these days, Etsy sales can be great some days, very slow on others.

The people at Etsy seem very friendly, perhaps because there are so many creative people gathered there. If you appreciate the artistic, and well-made handcrafted items, you might have to consciously keep your wallet closed while visiting Etsy. There is something unique and creative on every page at Etsy. It’s hard to limit oneself when there are SO many great things to buy!

I haven’t had a lot of time to devote to Etsy yet, but so far, my sales have been smooth and pleasant. It is extremely simple, quick, and easy to list items for sale on Etsy. One of the only drawbacks I’ve found so far is that multiple purchases cannot be made at once. Each item has to be purchased and invoiced individually. Etsy is nearly ready to release Version 2, so hopefully this will be one of the improvements that will be made.

There are many friendly, helpful people who post on the Etsy discussion boards, so if you do sign up to sell and run into a problem, posting in the forums will likely bring you fast help and advice.