The Ugly Side of Etsy - 5 Things Etsy Sellers Won't Tell You

Let's get real when it comes to Etsy. In this video I touch on the ugly side of Etsy. I tell you 5 things Etsy Sellers won't tell you. This will help you decide if selling on Etsy is for you. There are pros and cons of selling on Etsy and you need to know them both. If you've been wondering if selling on Etsy is worth it, you want to watch this video.

Etsy for Beginners Series: If you are new to Etsy and you are trying to figure out what to sell on Etsy and how to make money on Etsy this series is for you. My goal is to share Etsy tips that you can use to open and run a successful Etsy shop. I cover everything from how to open an Etsy shop, selling on Etsy for beginners, Etsy seller tips, how to make more sales on Etsy, how to list your items on Etsy, and how to ship orders on Etsy. I also like to share fun Etsy Vlogs that let you see behind

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[laurenwasinger]

I feel like the ugliest truth about Etsy is that they no longer police for handmade items that are truly handmade. I make jewelry and I cannot even tell you how many times I am competing with people reselling imported junk and artsy does nothing. It brings down price points and is super frustrating.

[egypt]

She could not have explained Etsy better. So on point. Once, I mentioned the word Tiffany because a customer asked me can they have this and that in Tiffany blue. When it was time to create a reserved listing for her, I put In what she said which was Tiffany Blue item etc. Etsy snatched it down sooo fast and warned me. I was in shock. So, anything can go left even when you think you are doing the right things. Etys is also a hit or miss, You just never know. I have stuck with things people can't find or something came straight from a thought. This allowed me to separate myself from the competition. This has been working quite well. If anyone is thinking about opening a shop, I say go for it. Don't be scared, take steps even if it just the name. Trust me, you will feel good and eager in taking steps everyday. No point in waiting until tomorrow, next month or next year. Good luck to you all.

[Roguefem]

Speaking as someone who had the misfortune of working their Support for a year, you could not PAY me to sell on their platform. The reason support is so bad? Is because the company farms out support to third companies and is HORRIBLE about not sharing information! I have been a support contractor for other companies, and in the previous one if I had a question I could just ping an employee or get up from my desk and walk over to an employee in the correct department. But not this one, no siree!! There was literally NO way to contact a company employee except sending up the ticket and praying they actually did something with it. (Spoiler: They usually didn't.)
Also? They didn't tell us about easily predictable problems. There was a period when I had multiple sellers call me near to tears because every time they sold a product, it showed as sold out no matter what the quantity set. The only reason I was able to help any of them was because my background in tech support gave me troubleshooting skills to figure out what was going on. The solution was a change to the shipping system so the sellers had re-approve their shipping info. That's it, a five minute fix once we knew what the problem was. AND THE COMPANY DIDN'T TELL US!!!
The support people are usually trying their best, but believe me, as someone who was there: if the person you talk to is able to give you any help at all, it's IN SPITE of the company, not because of them.

[jag]

I like to watch the videos that show the “ugly” side.
We can’t make all mistakes ourselves. Thank you for putting this up.

[sophiahuber]

Just listing is a full time in itself, but what I really hate the most is that what they really care is for themselves. Etsy is very arbitrary when it comes to their rules. You have no chance to ask, to defend yourself and their customer service is completely none existent. Like you, I had an item in my store for years and they suddenly deactivated it. It took some days to come back to my listings. No email was sent to us, so we do not know what - if - anything was wrong. No explanation and if I want to ask anything in the forum I get their " oops". Never get the forum to work. I really hope that one day someone comes with a platform JUST for HANDMADE.

[juliaperri]

Omg I ran into making something I hate on accident. 😂 Learn from me:

I had this great idea to make custom planners (I’m a stationary shop) and I made ONE before I listed it. Listed it and it was super popular! But I HATED making them, it was just WAY too time consuming and not enjoyable and I didn’t/wouldn’t have known that until I started getting orders. I decided to carry them out until the end of the year and discontinue the product. It’s your shop, do something you enjoy.

[wanderlust]

Etsy does a great job making it difficult to locate too many rules and regulations. They rarely respond to inquiries, too, but are quick to take action. Yes, Etsy Support is a nightmare on every level. You are absolutely right on that and everything else. I'm phasing out my shop. The marketplace has altered significantly in the last decade and doing in-person only. I make money at shows instead of paying Etsy (renewal fees, etc.). Nice job, people need to hear all sides.

[storcke]

The main thing to know is that unless you pay, you will NEVER be found on Etsy. Not only are you paying to post on Etsy, but you have to pay extra to be found. They go out of their way to use a randomization algorithm so that ONLY those who pay can be found.

[LoriNicolls]

Etsy sucks my will to live😅I’ve been a 5 star Seller for over 14 YEARS. They put a “Reserve Hold” on my Shop where they hold 75% of all my sales until items have tracked shipping.

Reason? “A sudden sharp increase in sales”

I do a ton of custom work, so this has genuinely harmed my business.

[brendano]

You are a very gracious sales woman. To help others in this manner is priceless advise. Not alot of people would di this. This makes you top notch. Wishing you the best of luck with your business.

[FerretTails]

I absolutely love this video! Thank you for being so honest. I love what I do, I love my shop, but everything isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. Excellent video 🥰

[eml]

Your comments are spot on! Excellent video. Well edited, too. One of my issues with my Etsy shop was with their "Reserve" system (Holding back 75% of my sales until they are satisfied with my process. I was totally unaware of the "reserve", but that's my fault. I should have dug deeper into their rules. Thanks for this video! Good stuff.

[d.p.]

Really appreciate that you don’t have this all glitter and smiles look about you. You feel real and beautiful with the battle scares in your smiles. So refreshing. Thank you

[Back_To_Basics]

Thank you for your honesty because there are so many successful Etsy sellers who made it look so easy to be successful. It’s a lot of hard work and sales are hard to come by. Etsy remains as a side hustle for me. No way can I make a living selling on Etsy at this rate..😅

[evolutionofj]

This makes a lot of sense, I feel like a lot of people starting out that have never had a business before really need to hear this. It's work, you have to plan, crunch numbers, spend a LOT of time getting it up and running, handling customer service, as well as building to the point where you can get it to that sweet spot place that you can spend a couple hours/day vs 10 hours a day. But it's not going to do it itself. . YOU are going to hvae to get the business going. Great video!!

[willtroy]

THANK YOU for being real. I see so many videos from people on YouTube trying to sell their workshop masterclass and not giving the full story to newbies.
Subscribed.

[marachristian]

I love patronizing Etsy sellers, and considered opening up my own shop (because selling at local craft shows has been hit or miss.) I appreciate the honest feedback and straight talk. Thank you for sharing!

[sth]

Great video. For someone who is just starting to research selling on ETSY there is a wealth of good information here. Sitting through other introductory videos, that make the business sound so good (dare i say easy?), one wonders what the real day-to-day challenges are. You covered many good points and your experience is valuable in educating a newbe.
thank you.

[ESharpEz]

This is my first time coming across your page.This is actually the first video I've seen, so far. What caught my attention is that, to me, you came across extremely genuine and direct when explaining the negative side(s), yet very important aspects, you personally experienced as an entrepreneur with/through Etsy. There are a lot of pros and cons to a lot of similar sites that I find some people "might" be willing to speak on, but not go into much detail about. So as an artist myself, I've been looking into & trying to do more of a detailed dive in gathering as much info as possible to make sure I make the right choices, as I am looking to start my own business venture. But in just trying to make sure I have all(if not most) of the correct knowledge so that I'll be making all of the right decisions from the beginning. It call all be so nerve wrecking though. We're all hoping & trusting that we do finally launch our businesses, that we hope that we did all of the right research, & enough of it too. But when I do launch, all I can do it is cross my fingers & trust that I do made all the right decisions for it to be successful. Anything from there forward will all just be a learning experience from then on, & that any mistakes made, I immediately learn from them and correct whatever changes necessary adjustments to better my business. My apologies for the long text though, but I guess I said all of that to say, "Thank You" & I "Appreciate" you sharing your personal experiences of the negative things to expect or watch out for....So I'll most definitely be subscribing & hoping to find a few more gems amongst your videos.💯

[FlightsofWhimzee]

Thank you so much for this useful reality check. Developing my business in an ecological way is so important to me and this is a great awareness booster about what to pay attention to.