Selling on Etsy: a complete guide for your ecommerce business

Selling on Etsy should be one of your top choices if you make unique, original and creative pieces. Why? Etsy is the largest marketplace specializing in handmade items and vintage products, which makes it one of the most in-demand ecommerce platforms.

In 2019, more than 45 million people visited this marketplace and around 40% came back to buy on Etsy again, according to Statista data. This shows it is a go-to destination for all online shoppers looking to buy something exclusive.

How can I sell on Etsy in Spain? Do I have to register as self-employed to sell on Etsy? What are the conditions for selling on Etsy? What do I need legally? How much does it cost to sell on Etsy in Spain? In this guide we tell you EVERYTHING. Here are the topics we'll cover:

• Selling on Etsy: practical information for your online store

• Selling on Etsy or Amazon Handmade: pros and cons

• What sells on Etsy?

• The advantages of opening an online store on Etsy

• Connecting your Etsy store to Sendcloud: the advantages

• What should you know before selling on Etsy?

• What you need to sell on Etsy: legal requirements (Can I sell on Etsy without being self-employed?)

• 3 tips for succeeding on Etsy

• Bonus: some tricks for setting up your Etsy store

Selling on Etsy: practical information for your online store

The annual ecommerce study by IAB Spain and Elogia showed that 66% of online shoppers use marketplaces to search for and buy a product in the same channel.

Today, more than 40 million users visit Etsy looking for exclusive items, which puts it on the list of the best marketplaces in Spain. This means your products will be seen by a large number of visitors.

Selling on this marketplace isn't complicated if you meet the platform's requirements. If you don't, your Etsy online store won't last long, as the marketplace will close it down.

In this guide you'll find detailed information on the conditions for selling on Etsy, the importance of a good shipping strategy, and tips and tricks to increase your online store's revenue.

Selling on Etsy or Amazon Handmade: pros and cons

Many people sell on Amazon, but Amazon Handmade is one of its lesser-known options. Before diving into what you need to know for your Etsy store, we'll explain the differences between Etsy and Amazon Handmade. That way you'll have all the information to choose what's best for your online business:

Etsy pros:

• The fees are affordable.

• You can add products to your listings in less than 10 minutes.

• Etsy gives you a hand with techniques and tips to increase your sales.

Etsy cons:

• The design options available for online stores are limited.

• You can't create a custom URL for your Etsy online store.

• The range of products you can sell on Etsy doesn't cover many categories.

Amazon Handmade pros:

• Your products will be visible to the millions of users who visit the marketplace.

• Your items can be eligible for Amazon Prime, which would increase your sales.

• You can contact the Amazon Handmade customer service team by phone if you have a problem.

Amazon Handmade cons:

• The fees are slightly higher than Etsy's.

• It's hard to stand out from the competition.

• Amazon has the power to change the price of your products if it thinks the price isn't right.

As you can see, both options can help you sell your handmade products. But Etsy may be a better option if you're just starting out.

What sells on Etsy?

Now that you know the pros and cons of selling on Etsy, let's move on to products.

The items you can sell on this marketplace must belong to one of these three categories:

1. Handmade products
2. Vintage items
3. Craft supplies

Handmade products

This category covers all products made exclusively by the seller, whether you create them yourself or design them and produce them with a partner.

Within the handmade category, Etsy doesn't allow reselling. In other words, if you're not involved in the creation or design process, you can't sell those products.

Vintage items

To sell vintage items on Etsy, you need to make sure they are at least 20 years old.

If you decide to sell products in this category, Etsy may ask you:

• How you find your suppliers.

• Where the item you want to sell comes from.

• Who designed the product, and the collection and year it belongs to.

• How you determined the item's age.

• What material the garment is made of (if you sell clothing).

Keep any photographic documentation on hand that shows the product you want to sell is vintage, as Etsy may ask you for it as proof.

Craft supplies

This category covers any ingredient, material or tool intended for making an item or used as decoration for a special occasion.

Etsy allows the sale of handmade supplies, whether commercial or vintage. For example, some products you can sell in this category are:

• Fabric

• Paint

• Blank canvases

• Patterns

• Beads

However, selling mass-produced, ready-to-wear clothing, such as blank T-shirts or sweatshirts, isn't allowed.

Who can sell on Etsy?

To sell on Etsy you need to be a maker or a designer. This means photographers, dressmakers, designers or artisans, to name a few creatives, can sell their products on Etsy.

Remember that to list an item for sale, you have to be part of the production process, either in the design or the creation.

The advantages of opening an online store on Etsy

Besides being the go-to marketplace for handmade products and attracting millions of visits, selling on Etsy has several advantages. Here are some of them:

• By opening your online store on Etsy, you can manage your business from anywhere

• It lets you accept payments without hassle

• You can analyze and optimize your online store to increase your revenue

• Grow your number of followers easily

• Improve your visibility thanks to the tools available to sellers

• Attract new customers with Etsy Ads

• Get advice from the Etsy team to grow your online store

• Read new tips in the seller handbook and put them into practice

• The option to contact the customer service team whenever you have questions

Connecting your Etsy store to Sendcloud: the advantages

A good shipping offer is key to succeeding on Etsy. Short delivery times help keep customers satisfied and, as a result, they'll buy from that store again.

Sendcloud gives you a hand so you only have to worry about creating or finding exclusive pieces to sell. With our shipping integration you'll automate the whole process, so you can increase your sales and take your business to the next level.

Managing your orders from your Sendcloud account has many advantages. For example:

• Connect your account to different integrations, such as Etsy, Shopify, PrestaShop or WooCommerce, and manage them from the same dashboard.

• Combine different carriers to offer a unique shipping experience. Choose the best shipping methods for each order and increase customer satisfaction.

• Speed up your orders by creating shipping rules tailored to your products' needs.

• Generate customs documents in one click along with the shipping labels for each order.

• Reduce shipping processing time to three minutes by automating the process.

Plus, with Sendcloud you don't need different platforms to manage the integrations and carriers you add to your account. Manage the entire shipping process from the same dashboard.

What should you know before selling on Etsy?

If you want to start selling on Etsy, keep these three points in mind:

1. The originality of your products. Before launching your online store for handmade items, take a moment to think about whether they're original and creative enough to stand out from the competition.

Keep in mind that Etsy is an international marketplace. So your online store will get visits from potential customers all over the world and will compete with businesses from different countries.

2. The scalability of your company. Don't open an online store on Etsy without thinking about this point. Can your hobby become a steady source of income? Or maybe you already have customers but want to increase your revenue? We may be getting a little ahead of ourselves here, but it doesn't hurt to remember that it's important to have a shipping strategy for your online store.

Whatever your situation, Etsy recommends that you picture a goal before opening your store. That way you'll know the steps you need to take to reach it.

3. Answer honestly whether you enjoy creating or designing the products for your Etsy online store. If you do, your business has every chance of generating income and you'll have more success with buyers.

What you need to sell on Etsy: legal requirements

The next step to start selling on Etsy is making sure you meet the marketplace's legal requirements.

For example, one of the requirements you must meet is being transparent with the information you provide and representing your business honestly.

In addition, to register as a seller, you need to enter a credit card or your PayPal account. Keep in mind that Etsy won't charge you anything until you open your online store and start listing your products.

Another requirement for selling on Etsy is that you're responsible for processing your customers' information and data lawfully.

Conditions for selling on Etsy

In addition to the legal requirements, Etsy expects sellers to meet these conditions:

• The products you sell must belong to one of the three categories the marketplace allows (handmade, vintage or craft supplies).

• All the content you upload must comply with Etsy's policies. You can't upload offensive material, material that breaches Etsy's anti-discrimination policy, or material that violates someone else's privacy or intellectual property rights.

• You commit to providing excellent seller service to all users who make purchases on the platform.

• You'll stay up to date with the returns policy in Spain and in your buyers' countries.

Selling on Etsy without being self-employed

As you may have noticed, the legal requirements for selling on Etsy don't specify that sellers have to be self-employed. That's why many people decide to open an online store on Etsy without being self-employed.

But can you sell on Etsy without being self-employed?

Although the marketplace doesn't ask you for any document proving you're registered as self-employed, Spanish law says otherwise.

Legally, before you start selling on Etsy, you do need to register as self-employed, regardless of how much you invoice or plan to invoice each month.

This way you'll avoid any problems with the Spanish tax authorities, as you'll be able to file the relevant tax returns if your business starts to take off.

Pricing for selling on Etsy in Spain

Just as you need to know the legal requirements and conditions for selling on Etsy, you should be informed about pricing so you don't get any unexpected surprises.

Etsy Spain's seller fees are fixed. For each listing you publish, you'll pay €0.18.

Your listings will stay active for four months or until you've sold all your stock.

When you make a sale, Etsy charges you a 5% transaction fee and 4% plus €0.30 for payment processing.

When you open your online store on Etsy, you'll have to choose between the Standard plan, which is free, or Plus, which costs a monthly fee of €9.00.

With the Plus plan you'll have a set of tools at your disposal to grow your business and stand out from the competition.

3 tips for succeeding on Etsy

As we mentioned earlier, the marketplace gets millions of visits from users looking for an original product. So you'll need to outdo your competition for online shoppers to choose your store.

With these three tips, your ecommerce store will sell more:

1. Focus on SEO. Optimize your Etsy online store so users can find it easily. Research the keywords your customers use to search for products and add them to your item descriptions.

2. Create ads with Etsy Ads and reach a wider audience. Etsy uses what it knows about user behavior on its marketplace to optimize campaigns so they reach more online shoppers.

3. Give your customers an attractive shipping offer. Make sure your shipping strategy includes international shipping, competitive prices and short delivery times.

Bonus: some tricks for setting up your Etsy store

Opening an Etsy store is one of the best decisions you can make for your business if you make handmade products. However, succeeding on such a competitive marketplace is another story.

There are some tricks you can use to sell more on Etsy and make your online store stand out from the competition.

Here are some of them:

• Note down key dates to create special offers. For example, for Valentine's Day, have products ready to ship and win over last-minute shoppers.

• Offer a memorable unboxing experience. Give your shipments that extra touch with a unique experience that shows your customers they're special. One example you can put into practice is using packaging that buyers can reuse and that matches your brand colors.

• If you sell clothing, prepare Etsy Ads campaigns to promote fashion trends, such as linen clothing and floral prints for spring.

• Add a thank-you coupon so your customers buy from your store again, or a small gift, such as a keychain.

• You can also include samples of your products in your orders if you sell cosmetics. But make sure they're related to what your customer bought, so they can try them along with the products they purchased.

• Include recipient phrases so customers can find your products easily. For example, you can add “best friend” or “gift for him” to the product tags and title.

• Highlight the new items you add to your online store to keep your regular customers up to date. You can also feature your best-selling products in your ads.

Start your Etsy store and grow your business

In 2019, shipping was a key factor for online shoppers when choosing an ecommerce store. And that trend will keep growing this year.

Offering shipping options with shorter delivery times will set you apart from the competition and you'll sell more.

So automating your shipping process is an important part of your Etsy store. That way you'll attract more visits to your store and your business will grow.

If you sell on Etsy but are also interested in opening an online store on other shop systems for greater visibility, these blogs may help you choose one.

The extensions and plugins they offer are an important deciding factor. Take a look at the following blogs: the 25 best Shopify apps; 20 PrestaShop modules to boost your online store; 40 free WooCommerce plugins; or Wix online store, everything you need to know about Wix Stores.

But we have something else you might be interested in. We've put together a list of the 101 best ecommerce tools that are vital for your online store. Take a look at the list now and start implementing new strategies!

Want to succeed selling on Etsy?

Automate your shipping with Sendcloud and focus on creating unique, original products to sell in your online store. You can create a free Sendcloud account or schedule a no-obligation demo with one of our ecommerce experts.

Do you have any questions about how to sell on Etsy with Sendcloud? Write your question in the comments section and we'll get back to you shortly.

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