Having started its journey in 2005, today Etsy has become a massive success and the go-to online marketplace for both buyers and sellers dealing with handmade, unique factory-manufactured, vintage items, etc.
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However, the catch here is you’ve to know what items you should sell to leverage the full potential of this platform, especially when Etsy isn’t a marketplace where almost anything can be sold. Whether you’re already present on Etsy or planning to start a shop here, this article will give you a clear idea of how to become one of the Etsy top sellers by focusing on the top-selling items on Etsy along with valuable tips to help you make the most of this crafting site in no time.
Why Should you Consider Selling On Etsy?
Before we delve deeper into the unique advantages of becoming an Etsy seller, we want you to take a look at these statistics.
- As of October 2019, there were 5 million sellers and 44.8 million buyers on Etsy
- It generated a whopping revenue of 79 million USD in 2019
- As of December 2019, Etsy was among the leading online marketplaces across the globe, by market cap
Now, let’s take a look at the advantages Etsy would bring your way.
Affordability
With Etsy, all you need to pay is 20 cents per listing, which is valid for four months. It charges a small commission fee once your item is sold.
Free, relevant traffic
Listing your products on Etsy means you won’t need to work on driving traffic because your target audience is already there. All you need to do is focus on improving your store, listings, etc to attract the specific segment.
Robust community
Etsy offers a close-knit community of worldwide sellers who support each other in terms of sharing of business knowledge, seeking advice, etc.
Top 3 Tips to Boost your Sales On Etsy
While a huge number of small artisans find Etsy a great platform that lets them attract a wide pool of target customers, many of them often fail to stand out from their competitors. Click To TweetPut simply, in order to be successful on this platform as a seller, you’ve to do more than just creating your shop or finding the top-selling items on Etsy and adding them to it. Here, we’ve outlined three key tips that would help you sell more and enjoy continuous profitability.
Optimize your shop
Did you know that 37.5% of all ecommerce traffic originates from search engines?
Therefore, it’s absolutely crucial to make your shop optimized to help it and the products rank as high as possible in web searches. From your store name to your product titles and descriptions, everything needs to be created using SEO best practices.
Remember to address all the aspects of a product when writing about it to minimize the number of questions and concerns from customers. It’s also important to write unique product descriptions to optimize the product pages for SEO.
Improve your store’s visuals
Start with your banner which has to be a professional-looking one. Either you can purchase one or hire a graphic designer to create a distinctive one for you that would help you in visual branding.
It’s also important to use high-resolution, quality product photos that display every detail of the items. Ideally, you should post multiple photos of a product with one showing the item in action.
If you don’t want to hire a professional photographer for this purpose, make sure that you use good gears and follow product photography lighting best practices to come up with outstanding product images.
While great product photography is a difficult and complicated thing to achieve, you can check out our article “Your Ultimate Guide to Product Photography Lighting” to capture images that would help you stand out from the competitors.
Leverage social media to promote your products
Once you’ve taken care of the above aspects, it’s time to market your brand. And why should you focus on social media? Take a look at the below infographic.
Put simply, there’s no better, as well as, more cost-effective option to spread the word about your products. Here, you can improve your customer relationship, interact with the followers to boost your brand engagement, and find out influencers to promote your products.
And when it comes to social media platforms, Pinterest, which is one of the biggest visual social networks, is a natural marketing platform for Etsy sellers. Therefore, creating your own board and joining an Etsy Pinterest group can greatly help you in expediting your growth.
15 Top-Selling Items On Etsy
Finding out the top selling items on Etsy could be an uphill task because of the unique nature of the platform. We used Handmade Hunt to find the top Etsy sellers based on their monthly sales. As you can see in the below screenshot, these are the top fifteen sellers along with their respective categories.
We found out that the following are the top five categories.
- Home & Living
- Clothing
- Bath & Beauty
- Craft Supplies & Tools
- Accessories
And then we went on finding out the top-selling items on Etsy. Let’s take a look at fifteen of them that you can add to your store to boost sales in 2020.
Category – Home & Living
Candle
Candles belong to the most accessible league of homemade products and hence, can be found in different forms and varieties – all at affordable prices on Etsy.
Tumbler
It might be hard to believe but a tumbler sells like hotcakes on Etsy. At below $30, the item is a great investment for people who’re looking for a cute gift item or something to hold their hot/cold beverage.
Most sellers offer personalization of this product at a minimal additional cost.
Customized spoon
A great personalized item for gifting someone special or treating self. It comes engraved with the custom text wanted by the buyer.
It’s available in different sizes and fonts to help buyers choose exactly what they need.
Category – Clothing
Unisex t-shirt
A staple for every wardrobe, this product generally comes in a polyester/cotton blend and offers great comfort and softness. Most sellers offer a good selection of colors to meet the specific needs of the buyers.
Headwear
Available in a broad variety of styles and colors, this product is a huge hit among men and women of every age. The stretchy, breathable, and lightweight head covering also makes for a perfect gift idea.
Kidswear
Children’s clothing is one of the top-selling items on Etsy. There’re thousands of options available to help the buyers choose exactly what they’re looking for their little ones. A lot of stores also offer personalization to make the products even more attractive.
Category – Bath & Beauty
Spa gift box
A perfect gift item for women of any age, this product usually comes in three sizes–small, medium, and large. Even the small box contains a candle, a soap bar, lip balm, matches, shredded paper, etc. Some sellers let the buyers add gift messages as well.
Organic cosmetics
Buyers often find it difficult to access organic cosmetics but Etsy offers a wealth of them and thus, caters to the needs of a huge audience. By adding these products to your store, you not only can leverage the profitable niche but can increase your chances of becoming one of the top Etsy sellers as well.
Perfume sample set
One of the best gift items for perfume lovers, this product comes with a good number of samples of scents to try. This is something that can be hard to find anywhere else and hence, you can rest assured of having a large audience by adding it to your store.
Category – Craft Supplies & Tools
Stickers
It might be a surprise but stickers belong to the league of top-selling items on Etsy. Probably the key reason behind this is handmade or custom-made stickers offer a vibe of personal touch and uniqueness.
Antique charm
This product has been maintaining steady popularity in the fashion landscape. Every antique charm comes with its own unique character which can be representative of achievements, ambitions, or experiences in the wearer’s life.
Cup turner
There’re lots of people who look for cup turners in order to create personalized cups and mugs by applying epoxy or paint evenly and then designing them. Since there’s no shortage of these enthusiasts cum sellers, you won’t have any difficulty in finding your target audience on Etsy.
Category – Accessories
Door opener
This awesome tiny thing has become one of the top-selling items on Etsy, thanks to the new norm of social distancing. Anything can be touched with it instead of using the fingers.
Wedding veil
Widely accepted as an elegant bridal accessory that signifies purity and innocence. From birdcage and blusher to cathedral and double tier, etc – Etsy boasts of a huge collection of them.
Hat
Hats belong to the category that never goes out of fashion. It can be worn by everyone regardless of his/her gender or preferences or purposes. If you can add some unique and personalized caps and hats to your store, you can rest assured of getting plenty of customers.
Apart from these products, there’re lots of items in different categories selling which would help you cater to a steady customer base and thus, maintain continuous profitability.
Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid as an Etsy Seller
While Etsy is unquestionably a great platform for vintage, handmade, and unique items, succeeding here as a seller often becomes an uphill task, especially when you’re a new entrant in the field. Here, we’ve jotted down three major mistakes that you must avoid in order to become one of the top Etsy sellers.
Overlooking Etsy policies
While it’s absolutely enticing to start your new venture as an Etsy seller, you must not overlook the importance of doing some homework. And it starts with taking a thorough look at the Etsy policies to avoid unwanted stresses down the road.
When you know the rules, your journey to success would become a lot convenient.
Absence of a very specific niche
You might be an adept crafter or someone who enjoys creating lots of different things, but when you open a handmade shop, you’ve to be very specific in terms of the products you’re planning to sell and to whom.
As an Etsy seller, your shop has to look highly cohesive. Therefore, instead of trying to sell pretty much of everything, it’s absolutely important to identify your specific niche and your target audience.
To start with, take a look at the top-selling items on Etsy we mentioned above and see which of them are similar to your niche. Once you develop a clear idea, come up with your own, unique style.
Focusing on price instead of value
Remember that Etsy isn’t a platform that allows almost anything to sell. When it comes to competing with others, you should never focus on the competitive price aspect. Since the items listed on Etsy aren’t commodity products, they come with their own unique value and that needs to be the key deciding factor for prices.
Conclusion
Here, the best thing is when you start selling some of the top-selling items on Etsy, they won’t get drowned as they might do in other top marketplaces and you’ll have customers who appreciate art and craftsmanship.
However, you must always remember that ordering products from somewhere else, and adding a couple of elements to them doesn’t create a handmade product. The design isn’t yours and it’s already made by someone else. Making a product by your own hands might be a daunting task but that’s the only way to improve your chances of becoming one of the top Etsy sellers.
