If you are keen on selling your vintage or homemade products like art, jewellery, clothes, leather goods, Etsy is a great marketplace to do it. It is one of the most popular brands in e-comm like eBay and Amazon and has a loyal buyer and seller base. The main differentiator between big e-commerce sites like Amazon, eBay and Esty are, that Etsy’s focus is mainly on small businesses. Moreover, it is for people who are trying to get started in business and solves a lot of start-up challenges, and it is also an accessible platform to work on.

The foremost thing to know as a seller on Etsy is that it does not suit everyone, and you should find out if it fits your needs.

Check if Etsy is an excellent platform if you:

• Are looking to start selling your goods without major investments
• Looking for great convenience and ease
• Looking to test the market before full-scale investment
• Need a platform which has a user-base for your product
• You think the sales will be low

 It is not for you if:

• If you are really looking for brand control
• If you are looking to build a brick-and-mortar store
• If you are in the idea of cross-selling and up-selling products which do not comply with Etsy rules.
• Think that the product does not comply with the guidelines set by Etsy.
• If you do not have the basic technical skills to upload and edit product images
• Do not have the time to do the preparation, packaging and communicating that Etsy requires.

Once you have determined that you are ready to sell on Etsy, the below steps will help you get started.

Choose the product from the listings:

Before you sign up to Etsy, you should have a shop name and at least one product that can be listed when you sign up for the account. Once you have created the shop name it is difficult to change, so decide it beforehand. Also, note that the shop name and the account name are different, and an account can have many shops. Once you set up your account using the shop name and when adding the listing, you should check if the name you have provided is available, click on ‘Sell on Etsy’ to find out if the name is taken.

List the product:

To list the product you will need high-quality photos along with the product description. The recommended photo quality is 1000px, and it will be in thumbnails. The description of the product should be clear and concise. Also, mention the product category and create your listing.

Add billing and payment info:

Mention the payment options that you accept and add the billing information.

Add shop policies:

Mention the plan for shipping the product, organize the items so that it makes it easy for customers to shop.

Add about section:

Detail your motivation and tell your personal story. Ensure that you have personal interactions with the customers. Add some great attractive pictures apart from the product

Etsy is a great marketplace but opening the Etsy shop does not mean that your product sales will be high, there are more than 1.5 million sellers who are currently active. However, with effective marketing and the right use of the platform, you can sell your creative works.