Read this - IMPOSSIBLE TO QUIT YOUR DAY JOB AND MAKE A LIVING ON ETSY

[berlinerin]

Found it in Etsy-Forum:

IMPOSSIBLE TO QUIT YOUR DAY JOB AND MAKE A LIVING ON ETSY


Okay, now that I have your attention, I realize that some of us DO make a living here, and when we are done here, I think all will be able to see what an achievement you have accomplished. However, in the past year we’ve had 1.4 million new sellers join Etsy, many of whom think all they have to do is open a shop and the money will roll in. The purpose of this thread is to show these new sellers what the odds really are, how few sellers do it, and how much work it takes.

I first put this thread up several years ago before the IPO, when Etsy was posting blogs that implied anyone could make a living here (in theory, yes. In practice, no). It quickly became one of the most popular threads on the forum. I think there is a need for it again.

90% OF ETSY SELLERS MAKE LESS THAN $400 PER MONTH. GOT YOUR ATTENTION? READ ON.

I’m going to start out sharing some math. Bear with me, non-math people. To you statisticians, I realize I’m over-simplifying it. I want to keep it simple enough for the non-math people to get the basics. So give me a break if I don’t share all the intricacies, exceptions, skewing factors, etc. I don’t want to overwhelm people with the math.

The average seller only makes $222 per month on Etsy…and that is Gross, not Net!! How do you find that figure? On Etsy’s quarterly reports, divide the figure for GMS (Gross Merchandise Sales) by the number of sellers, and divide that number by three to change it from quarterly sales to monthly.

This figure includes the uptick in covid sales this past year, and is now declining. Before covid struck, the monthly average was only $150!! Can you live on that? I can’t.

“But that is just the average,” you say. “What if I can beat the average?” Well, let’s take a look at a normal bell curve where the vertical scale is the number of sellers and the horizontal scale is how much they sell (you non-math people do a google search for “bell curve” and you can see what it looks like). The “average” is the highest point on the curve and the point mid-way between the lowest and highest sellers, or the 50% point. Half of sellers are below that point, and half above. So on the bottom scale half sell less than $222 per month, and half sell more.

Now let’s divide that 50% point into five 10% increments, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%. To put a dollar amount to those points, we also need to divide the $222 into 5 increments, or $44.40 each. So 10% =$44.40 , 20% = $ 88.80 , and so on, until 50% equals $222.

Now we can add the same amount for each 10% above 50%. 60% would equal $266.40 and so on until 90% equals $399.60.

Now look at the shape of the bell curve and the left-hand scale showing number of sellers. The majority of sellers fall in the 40%-60% level on the dollar scale, or $177 to $267 in sales per month. The number of sellers radically drops off as you go to either end. By the time you get to the top 90% level, there are very few sellers making that much. That means nearly all the sellers on Etsy are making less than $400. If you are making more than that, you are a top seller on Etsy!!

Does that sound like top income to you? No, it doesn’t. But nearly all sellers on Etsy can count on less than that. Only those few who really put the time and work in will achieve those higher figures.

For you new sellers, this shows why your sales may be lower than you expected. You still have a long way to go developing new products, working on SEO, gaining a following, figuring out advertising, finding suppliers, controlling costs, and so on before you reach those few that are above the 90% level and can begin to approach a full-time income.

--------------------------------------------
To the many new sellers who post on the Forum after a few days or weeks, wondering why they aren’t getting sales…it takes months or even years to build your shop up to a good income.

Make sure you are selling legal items. Just because someone else is selling it doesn’t make it legal. That just means they haven’t been caught yet and their shop closed down.
STUDY the Seller Handbook. It tells you a lot about SEO, advertising, good photos, fees, etc.
Critiques of your shop won’t be given in this thread. There is a section on the Forum for that. However, we’d be glad to discuss questions in general related to the topic of this thread.
I can’t believe the number of people who open shops trying to sell items infringing on trademarks, such as Disney, Gucci, Marvel, Hello Kitty, etc. etc. Or they try to sell fan art (legal to make for yourself, illegal to sell). Or they stock up on cheap items from Wal-Mart, Dollar General, or AliExpress and sell them at inflated prices, often as gift boxes. ALL THESE THINGS ARE ILLEGAL ON ETSY! Open your shop with these and not only are you likely to fail, but sooner or later you will get shut down, and probably kicked off the site permanently. For trademark infringement you can get fined, in some cases jailed, and sued for damages. READ the Seller Handbook and Help Articles before you open your shop and you can avoid a world of hurt.

[Expl0rer]

Thanks for sharing this. Good article.

A few hundred dollars a month may not be enough to make a living, but they can help a lot. Also, a few hundred dollars a month can be enough to make a living for someone living in a developing country.

The thing is though, I bet that the majority of Etsy sellers don't make even $100 a month and most of them probably never make a dime.

[berlinerin]

(07-31-2021 02:52 AM)Expl0rer Wrote:  Thanks for sharing this. Good article.

A few hundred dollars a month may not be enough to make a living, but they can help a lot. Also, a few hundred dollars a month can be enough to make a living for someone living in a developing country.

The thing is though, I bet that the majority of Etsy sellers don't make even $100 a month and most of them probably never make a dime.

No the thing is that many Etsy sellers make VERY good money!
Look at the stores yourselfe.

Mathematics: 56.000 x 6 Euro/USD = ??? How much?
There are so many shop which sell good.

[soultech]

Great advice - I really hope a good amount of people see this - Max reps for sharing advice from the heart berlinerin - Much love!!!

[dynasty5]

The truth is often saddening ...yet healing
Thanks for this.

[jerome2900]

Good write-up, thanks; i suspected that is the situation.

[bluefeb]

understood. I was considering Etsy for info products. Good to know it might help me to actually watch some videos first on how to sell on Etsy and realize it will take a long time to get any traction.

[TheCowboy]

Real talk right there BUT to anyone reading this and thinking about giving Etsy a try, DON'T let this put you off. Still give your ideas a try. Better to try and fail than not try at all. You never know what might happen.

[adamc88]

The 80/20 rule applies with anything you do not just Etsy. Guys don't let this post hinder you from trying to make money on Etsy

[berlinerin]

Yes better to try yourself!!

I myselfe had in end 2017 ca. 15 Articles in the Shop. (Selfemade Digital Greeting Cards for New Year and Christmas)
7 Articles I have sold within 1 Month. But maybe also because I have a good Facebook Site and Group with much followers. Most came from there.

But you can try it with Pinterest also or others.
After that I have stopped it till now. Because that was not much money. Think: 1 Article = 1.80 to 2.20 Euro - and I have sold 7 Articles.
And I have more than 35000 Followers on Facebook in one of my Page. (But its only seasonal on Christmastime).

The earnings were not good, but I think... I will try again at this end of the year with Etsy.