One question I hear a lot is “What can you sell on Etsy?” Etsy is a wee bit of a different sales platform, somewhere between the free-for-all that is Ebay and the more restrictive Amazon. Here are the four categories of things you can sell on Etsy.

What Can You Sell On Etsy

Handmade Items
Vintage Items
Digital Products
Craft Supplies

You can sell any of these types of items “legally” on Etsy without having to worry that your item will get taken down or your store shut down.

The rest of this is post is a breakdown of specific information about each of these categories.

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A Wee Bit Of History

When Etsy started in 2005 it was strictly a place for handmade sellers. Over the years they have added other categories of items like vintage, digital downloads and supplies.

With some of these changes have come some drawbacks by sincere Etsy sellers. Frequently overseas companies will take pictures from Etsy sellers, knock off their designs and sell fake handmade versions of them online or even right on Etsy.

Another change that has angered old school Etsy sellers is that you can now use “manufacturing partners” who produce what the maker designs. While this can be annoying for handmade sellers, it also allows them to increase the production of their items beyond what they could do trading time for money. This challenged the bedrock foundation of Etsy. Makers creating products for sale, with their own hands in their homes with no help what-so-ever.

I will not be taking on the merits of any kind of selling in this post, rather laying out the benefits and pitfalls of these kinds of products.

Selling Handmade On Etsy

There are many things you can sell handmade on Etsy, in fact the list practically limitless. From sewing to jewelry, paintings to multi media, there is nothing that is off limits (other than these banned items which are pretty practical… alcohol, human remains, hate items, pornography or products promoting violence).

The way I see many people start selling on Etsy is that they make something cool and their friends start by loving it eventually the maker's need to create overcomes the capacity friends and family have for wanting them!

Pricing Your Handmade Items

This category has the most pitfalls for makers and the biggest trouble I see is that handmade sellers struggle with selling their products for a high enough price to warrant their time.

Some things you can do to fix this

Make quality high priced items
Sell exclusive, one of a kind products
Batch parts of the process to reduce time
Source in larger quantities to reduce costs of goods

Please make sure you do take into consideration the cost of goods AND the cost for your time when pricing your Etsy products.

Missing The Custom Trap

Making custom items seems like it would the way to set yourself apart from your competition. That said, by the time you talk to a potential buyer, negotiate the item to be made, create the item and then hope they like the outcome, your time has blow up exponentially.

I hear talk from a lot of the gals in the groups that their delivery times for custom products are super long (2-3 months) and they worry that they will lose sales because of it. Think about this, what if they didn't do customs, instead putting their time into making ready to sell items. Could they make more in the long run? Something to think about!

When you are getting started, please don't do custom work!

Renea Christine's Class On Selling Handmade

Personalizing

Now don't get me wrong, personalizing is different from customizing. Say you sell stacking rings with words tapped into them. That is personalizing a standard item and is much less fraught with trouble.

Functionally you are selling a specific product that you are good at making and then adding touches that make it a bit more special (and which you can charge more for!)

Can You Have Help?

One of the changes that I do think has helped Etsy is now you can have help with your store (before you were excluded if you even had someone help box up your products for shipping). This means that you can sell your own handmade designs on printed materials like cups, tshirts and other items without having to screenprint and deliver them yourself.

5 Hacks For Selling Tshirts On Etsy Using Printify – https://marketingartfully.com/2017/11/08/5-hacks-for-selling-tshirts-on-etsy-using-printify/

Can You Use Disney, TV Shows, Super Heros, etc.?

One last thing that I see trip up new sellers all the time is when they make products that capitalize on the popularity of something else. For example, you cannot make Game of Throne pillows or Harry Potter wands. Making Frozen costumes will get you in trouble as will using the term “onesie” in your cute little baby outfit.

As you are writing out your business plan, please plan on using your own designs and ideas rather than trying to capitalize on other's success.

Photo Credits: Jewelry, ValkyriesSong and Tshirt, KosharekArt

Selling Digital Products On Etsy

Selling digital products on Etsy is super easy. You make a listing, select digital delivery instead of a physical product and then load up to 5 items that Etsy will send out with the fulfillment email.

If you are brand new to selling digital products, Etsy is a great place to get started. They handle all the logging in, delivery and also have buyers ready to get your products. Additionally, Etsy tends to rank highly in Google so it is a great way to get additional exposure for your products.

Get 40 Free Etsy Listings When You Sign Up!

What Digital Products Can You Sell On Etsy

There are many digital products that sell well on Etsy, here are a few to get your wheels turning!

[one-half-first]
Wall Art
Planners
Printable Stickers
Patterns
Fonts
Services
[/one-half-first]

[one-half]
Scrapbook Pages
Clip Art
Party Decorations
Cards
Collage Paper
Invitations[/one-half]

Great Photos / Graphics

Sometimes when you are selling digital products it can be easy to forget that you have to great pictures or representations of what they will get when they buy your product. Make sure to spend a wee bit of time and make sure you pictures are looking awesome. Show your products printed out or in a mockup photo.

Selling Vintage On Etsy

I LOVE selling vintage on Etsy! I have my own shop and chat it up with a bunch of ladies who have shops too!

What Does Etsy Consider Vintage

Vintage to Etsy means that the item is more than 20 years old. This leaves a pretty big swath of items that you can source and list.

Who Buys Vintage Items

People often ask, “who is going to buy all this old junk?” I have all kinds of buyers, but here are a few that come to mind…

Sentimental people (a gal who got a candy dish because it was exactly like the one her grammy had when she was young)
Photography and prop houses
Bloggers who need props for their pictures (I have shipped props around the world)
Museums (the Met bought one of my items… squee!)
Interior decorators
Collectors
People with old souls like me

Etsy Versus Ebay

Selling vintage on Etsy is different than selling vintage on Ebay in a few different ways:

The margins are better… I have found that the cost to sell on Ebay is pretty steep. Each listing costs $.20 for 4 months on Etsy so getting started is super cheap.

It is more like owning a store! Ebay is super impersonal, but Etsy is like having customer in real life. They ask questions and say thank you and are generally great human beings.

http://tidd.ly/a74c4b25

Photo Credits: Pepsi Carrier, SoGlamorouslyVintage and Lamp, VivaTerraVintage

Selling Craft Supplies On Etsy

Selling craft supplies is the only time you sell mass produced, new items on Etsy. It feels like this site was a much higher priority before Etsy changed out their CEO a while ago, but selling supplies is still a “thing”.

What Kinds Of Craft Supplies Can You Sell?

Here is a list of all the different kinds of Craft Supplies & Tools on Etsy.

I am not all that familiar with selling craft supplies although some of my products get put into that section when I choose my categories for your products.

Other Etsy Resources

I love selling on Etsy and have so many cool resources to help you too! Tips and ideas for you Etsy shop!

My 3 Best Tips For Selling Digital Products

If you are just getting started selling digital products on Etsy, Shopify or your own website, there are some great tips and ideas that I have come across over the years that make a big difference in the number of sales that you can make! What Kinds of Digital Products Can You Sell? Before we…

Which Social Media Platforms Work Best For Selling On Etsy

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How To Do Market Research On Etsy | Etsy Seller Marketing

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR ETSY SELLERS

Free Etsy SEO Course on Skillshare – http://marketingartfully.com/etsyseossfree

Free Etsy Shipping Course On Skillshare – http://marketingartfully.com/etsyshippingssfree

Selling Vintage On Etsy Ebook – http://marketingartfully.com/vintagesellerebook

Check out all my Etsy articles! – https://marketingartfully.com/category/etsy-marketing/

All the cool worksheets and planners for Etsy Sellers – https://marketingartfully.myshopify.com/collections/etsy-ecommerce

What Can You Sell On Etsy?

What Can You Sell On Etsy

A Wee Bit Of History