# EBay vs Etsy



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

I'm just starting up in the selling of my products business and although I don't want to do all my sales online, I want an online presence and may eventually count on it for the majority of sales. Right now I have an Etsy page because I was told by several people it was the way to go and it was so much better than EBay and it's cheaper, etc… At this point I don't have a lot of items on my Etsy page, but it's been up for two months now. To date, I have not sold one single thing on Etsy. I've been asking around and talking to a few other people who have used Etsy and they tell me they also sell next to nothing on it. Anybody else have any luck with Etsy?

I'm thinking about going to EBay and doing an Ebay store. Yes Ebay is more expensive but I think Ebay probably has hundreds of times more users than Etsy. What is your preference?


----------



## pwalter (Apr 29, 2011)

Hey Mark! I have tried both etsy and ebay. I have had some inquiries about some things, but nothing has yet to sell. I think there is just too much competition on those websites.


----------



## junebug (Oct 26, 2011)

Sometimes etsy gets a little crowded with content. For instance, a search for "wood cutting board" brings up 4,176 hits. I see etsy as a place to show off my work, not expecting to make a sale. I hand out my card to people at craft shows with a link to etsy, and those are the people that tend to buy from etsy. I do get the very occasional random sale from there, but its very rare


----------



## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

I have bought from both Ebay and Etsy many times. I just bought a poster from this person on Etsy. I am doing a frame for it now in the shop. Hopefully it will be a Christmas present for my wife.

This person has 3481 sales with a feedback rating of 100%.
I don't know anything about selling but I expect you have to give people what they want. That is the magic bullet I guess. I cruise the "wood" sections on Ebay and Etsy to get ideas and I see many winners and losers.

Good luck and don't give up…........................


----------



## hhhopks (Nov 22, 2011)

I like to see an Ebay alternative.
Unfortuanately, there really aren't any.
It's the chicken and the egg thing.
Buyers comes first or is it the sellers? Need both to get a new site going.


----------



## americanwoodworker (Nov 26, 2011)

I have heard of alot of people selling on etsy and making good money. Problem is, as I see it, etsy is more of a place to sell lower priced items. Things I want to sell would not do good there. I found this article awhile back and it does share some interesting facts about etsy.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Redryder, I looked at the site on that link and I see why her work is selling. It's because she's using the work of others. The poster in the link is from a Beetles song. You think she's paid Michael Jackson's estate for the rights to use the Beetles in her merchandise? She also has lyrics from all kinds of songs as well as movies and TV shows. I notice she has her own copyright notice on there, I wonder if she is respecting everybody elses copyright?


----------



## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

A big deal for me has been just networking in general. no matter the site you use the most important thing is getting people to know it exists at all. just as junebug has demonstrated. One of the things i have worked at for many months now has been trying to build a reputation. every time I made anything (no matter how simple) i would post it on facebook and would frequent different conventions with some of my work (swords at anime conventions, armor at Renaissance fairs, etc.) Realistically i dont make much from those items since they are complex to produce but when I hand out business cards i have links to pictures of all my work.

so far my results are hit and miss but I have gotten some projects this way

that being said i think ebay is slightly better to get sales since it is more direct but etsy looks more professional


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Interesting article. The average price of items selling on Etsy is $18. The things I have on there are several times more than that. I'm thinking it is probably not the best place to sell what I'm making. I think I will go ahead and give E-Bay stores a try. The only thing I don't like is they have a monthly fee, but it's only $15 for their smallest store. If I sold enough to have one of their bigger stores I would gladly pay the fee.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

I should add to this that I can't badmouth Etsy too much right now, because I only have a few items on it and they are more expensive items. I just kind of thought by now I would have at least had some inquires by message or some other contact.


----------



## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

There are a hundred and one excuses why someone can not sell there product.

How bout this guy 386 wood carvings with 100% positive feedback and most sales well over $100. ea., selling since the end of 2009.

or this guy selling 166 items with 100% pos feedback since only the middle of 2011.

you know this guy, 45 sales, 100% pos feedback, no cheap stuff here

How bout this guy selling turned bowls. Who would buy those? 379 sales, 100% pos feedback, most of them he is selling are hundreds of dollars each.

And on and on. Most of the people bad mouthing the Etsy site say the site is too crowded. Which usually means the stuff they are selling is over priced and or the same old dull stuff. As they say, excuses are like…........well you know. There seems to be two kinds of sellers out there, those who can't make it because of one excuse or the other or the ones who sell them left and right and make no excuses.

Just a buyer…......Just my 2cents


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

I'm not making excuses Redryder, just trying to find out how to do it better.


----------



## RVroman (Nov 9, 2012)

I think the biggest issue is not so much the site, but the marketing. Be it Etsy, Ebay, or a store hosted on your own website, how are you driving people to your product? (Personally I have no idea and am still trying to figure this out)


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Make a viable product.'

When you do, promotional venue relevance decreases.

...a core law of selling, more or less.  CNC capacity is not 
big advantage these days.

Undercut CNC guitar hollow form suppliers for some quick
dough. Going rate is too much and buyer will flock
to a cheaper option. Just one clue… the product is functional
rather than aesthetic.


----------



## MNgary (Oct 13, 2011)

Sounds like you need to do some market research and both etsy and ebay are great opportunities for doing it. Experiment with different pictures, descriptions, and price points until you find a combinaion that works.

One of the first things TV shopping networks learned was to offer a limited quantity of any new product starting at a high price and then regularly lowering the price until they get the responses needed to justify adding the item to their ongoing lineup. Then, and only then, they could determine if the item would be profitable.

With etsy or ebay you can use the same process. Change the photo's, alter the description, and adjust the price until you get a decent respose rate. Then decide if it will generate a profit for you. And if you reach your lowest 'willing to sell at' price and have tried various ways to present the product without selling a few, move on to a different product.

The new product just may be a different size, finish, or style of the same item.


----------



## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Limited success on etsy, none on eBay. I will say I haven't tried very hard either because I can only marginally keep up with my local business. Someday maybe.

Good luck


----------



## jerrells (Jul 3, 2010)

I am with REDRYDER. I looked up some of the items that I want to sell and found LOTS of sales on ETSY. Plus, you can download or print the extensive Sellers Handbook and get lots of advice. I doi not have any experience with EBAY.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Thanks for the advice. Like I said I don't have a lot on there yet and that's probably most of the reason I haven't sold anything. But I put a few household items on E-Bay (iPod dock and other non-working items) and had all kinds of interest and they always sold. I think for what I'm doing, eBay is probably a better venue for me than Etsy even if it does cost a little more.


----------



## lumberjoe (Mar 30, 2012)

I don't make things with the intent to sell them, but everything is for sale at the right price. I have sold a few things, and every time it has been from facebook


----------



## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I buy a lot of original paintings off Etsy, never off Ebay. I don't know if that translates. They're both so populated that they're hard to browse. I buy vintage stuff off Ebay, novel stuff off Etsy. I'm not sure if that's helpful.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Seems I heard of someone on Ljs suggested "custommade.com"


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Joe, of the things I have sold so far it's been through Facebook mostly to people I know.

Bertha, that helps, but I'm not selling original works of art. I think Etsy appears to be a good place for people to sell the unique art work. Somebody else posted some links to some successful people on Etsy and it's easy to see why some of them are doing so well. I'm not at their level, and for the one person I'm not going to get myself into trouble with copyright violations.


----------



## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

I know this is off topic but i wanted to say this:

because of this thread I have joined custommade.com like a1jim mentioned. In my opinion that is the best option for me since i was able to bid on commissions. I joined them about 2 weeks ago and literally on christmas eve i managed to bid on a a bunch of new projects in my area and am working on giving the client the sketches and estimates (an ironwood and stainless steel patio set if you are wondering.) For me this was a perfect fit since people would post a commission and i can respond to it or not if i feel it is within my abilities

its kind of a royal pain having to apply for their approval to join them but the back and forth emails were worth it

Mark if you want to get into online i think this is the best option i have seen so far


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

I will take a look at it. Sounds like at least for right now it may be above my level. Although I've been woodworking for a long time, it's just been an off and on hobby and I still have a lot to learn. I'd be a little nervous bidding on jobs unless it was something fairly simple. One nice thing about building an item and then selling it, is people see what they are getting before they buy it. When you build custom you run the risk of building stuff and then having them tell you it's not what they wanted and then you end up with a mess on your hands. But thanks for the info, I will look into it.

And by the way, I opened an E-Store and have already sold four items through it in two weeks. I sold nothing on Etsy. So I'm going to close out my Etsy page and move the last few items there over to eBay.


----------



## wiswood2 (Apr 12, 2008)

I have been on etsy for a year now and I have sold over 200 items , some only 3.00 dollars and some over 550.00 dollars. I was on ebay and never sold any thing,just dont figure. I have bought on ebay and got riped off and also got some good deals. 
Chuck


----------



## tyskkvinna (Mar 23, 2010)

I sell on both and they are very different items. Usually the things I sell on ebay are things that never sold on Etsy after six months, I discount them and off they go. You get what you put into it, though, which means it is an awful lot of work - but what isn't?


----------



## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

I have no experience selling things on eBay or Etsy, but as someone who has bought from both places I can say that:

eBay pretty clearly has a bigger pool of buyers browsing.
Etsy is a much better venue for finding hand-crafted items, eBay for used stuff.
Etsy is harder to browse and search than eBay.
Absent a recommendation for a particular seller, I'm more comfortable spending more money on an Etsy hand-crafted item than eBay, but I'll also have higher expectations.


----------



## CalebJames (May 19, 2010)

I have made almost every sale to date from 09' to now on Etsy. I think it depends totally on the product you are selling. I sell lots of danish modern pieces (chairs) and european modern stuff but never sold a traditional piece their. The market there is heavily from the urban modern scene. Lot of my stuff goes to NY, Brooklyn and Manhattan.

I haves sold from $215 up to $3500. If you post a link to your page I would give you some pointers if needed. I have been selling online since 2003. I personally like Etsy because it fits my work.


----------



## CalebJames (May 19, 2010)

Without knowing your products I would say that you need to do something unique. You have to make yourself seen and it is all done on Etsy, primarily, through "likes". I have products that people "like" but never buy. I then have stuff that is more practical and useable that is at the best price I can reasonably make it though not necessarily cheap. Yes, there are a lot of buyers that want cheap but you just need the few that will pay for quality at a price that they don't see as overboard.

Awesome photos are your number one friend in selling online. If you take a bad photo and aren't willing to learn how to do a good one then you better just give up online selling. That is the only way they can "touch" and "feel" your product. Just like if you do really good woodworking and have a bad finish. The person will judge your woodworking completely on a poor finish.


----------



## CalebJames (May 19, 2010)

Here is a link to my shop. It has a mix of stuff right now but the danish chairs you see there are what sell. By the way, I do very little sales with a listing. I sell more stuff by just someone contacting because they see something that they like and then I make something custom for them, that is why you see low sales numbers considering I make almost my entire living from work that comes through Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kapeldesigns?ref=si_shop


----------



## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Very interesting post. Some great info on both of these web sites. I use Ebay all the time, but it has been overrun with big companies and fake products. You have to spend too much time researching to ensure you're not getting ripped off. Sellers with more than 10,000 items sold, no one person can do that. Etsy does have some great stuff but also who can search through over 4000 cutting boards. I think I'll look into this custom made.
Look fwd to reading more.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Caleb, looks like you have some very nice stuff to sell and I'm not in your league yet. But even with your nice stuff the page says you only have 16 sales and you've been on there almost two years. Since I started this thread I opened an E-Bay store and I've already made 4 sales there. I'm even out of inventory right now so I have to get back in the shop and start making stuff. I think for the kind of work I'm doing right now (mostly cutting boards so far) e-Bay is the best bet for me.


----------



## CalebJames (May 19, 2010)

Ken,

I have been on custom made for three years now and have never made a sale from it. For me every inquiry wants something made custom for less than buying off the shelf at the store. Ridiculous.


----------



## CalebJames (May 19, 2010)

Yes Mark that is what I think you will need to figure on your end. Which one works for you based on your work.

I had another shop on Etsy under another name that I made sales through as well but just use this one now. I honestly do not end up not making a sale from someone seeing a listing and buying through that without contacting me. I end up using it more for Advertising that the buyer sees and decides they like my work. But at my price point everyone wants something adjusted to suite them. By the time we get that worked out they usually just send me a check and I get to work therefore no listing on Etsy and thus no sale shown.

The sales you see are for items that I use as marketing mostly. Small stuff, stuff that takes a good picture is priced right for the average browser but not always stuff I can make my living on. I need big orders. For instance I sold 4 chairs to an individual. Then he followed up wanting a table. Then a client of his saw the set at his office and I sold another 16 chairs and a table to that guy. I just takes something to get those people in front of you, but you will get there. I just hope I shared something that might get you in the right direction. You seem to be on that way anyway.

Best wishes!


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Yeah I don't think people really understand custom made. I did have a person contact me on Etsy about making an item for her on my CNC. The item was fairly simple but it was still going to probably be a 6 hour project for me by the time I had to go shopping and by some unique items, program the project into the computer, and then get it all done and shipped. I quoted her a price of $50 which was a big money loser for me, but I wanted to get the sale done, and she thought that was too much. I tried to explain to her that if she wanted to buy 100 of the same item I could probably do it for $20 each, but only making 1 still took a lot of time. She didn't do the deal.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Thanks for the info Caleb. The biggest difference between what I'm doing and what your doing is I don't have any where near your talent. Maybe someday I'll be able to make that kind of stuff, but I'm a ways from there now.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

The Custom Made website wants a 10% commission. And people thought eBay was expensive.


----------



## CalebJames (May 19, 2010)

Mark,

I totally understand. If you see all those stools in the sales history… I made about 12 of those and sold them all but didn't really make a dime on one of them in the end but it got me some sales history and "likes" which gets me more traffic. I still get requests for them but I have to turn people down because it is not profitable.

I would say that if you have a CNC then work on some designs that play on that function. I know it may not be as appealing but maybe some simple well constructed functional furniture made from a very good baltic birch. Etsy buyer are not turned of by plywood but it will need to be quality. Maybe designs that flat packs for good shipping prices, easy assembly but very functional. Etsy buyers usually want less decoration, but high quality and that is well proportioned. Proportion is more important than the details. Bedroom furniture sells well. I used to make lots of beds. Just throwing something out there for thought. Also walnut is very popular with the Etsy crowd.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

The big profit killer seems to be shipping costs. Ideally it would be great to make products and sell everything locally so you don't have shipping issues. I just sold two cutting boards and shipped them to Tennessee. Cost me $38 to have the UPS store pack and ship them. There went all the profit. I could have saved $10 by packing them myself, but then I'd still have to buy the packing material. One thing I wanted to do is focus is making small things that are easier to ship. I do have the CNC and I have a laser engraver/cutter coming next month. Hopefully the combination of the two will help make things to sell. I'm also going to do my best to sell things locally. I have about 6 million people within a 100 mile radious of my shop so I should be able to figure out a way to sell things locally.


----------



## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

Mark I strongly believe what people are looking for is the really eye popped items and the uniqueness of the product what ever it may be. My boxes are doing pretty well I suppose, I've only been on ETSY for just a month and have already made 5 sales.


----------



## CalebJames (May 19, 2010)

I completely agree with Blackie.

You are dead on about getting the shipping figured out. Trust me, pack it yourself. Go to a box manufacturer and buy a load of misprint boxes. They will have them and the box makers are in every town. Use those to make boxes and use the cutoffs as packing/void fill. You will save a ton of money with just a couple of phone calls and one pick up.

One last thought… Don't get in the trap of trying to compete with a production shop doing custom work. Even if you have a CNC, you are still (I assume) a one man show. You much charge for your time. Therefore don't be afraid to sell something really expensive (from your point of view) because it will be easier for the client to swallow in comparison to the small custom item. Like the lady you quoted $50 to for that custom item.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Blackie, I looked at your stuff and you're up there in the same league with Caleb in what you're producing. But I do have to ask are you making money with your pricing? For example your firetruck jewelry box. The price you're asking is probably in the correct price range for the item, but in looking at the item it looks like you put 40 hours of work into it. I'm guessing it wasn't that much, but if it were me building it it would be 40 hours. Is there any profit in it?

One of the things I'm concerned about is building items that take 40 hours each to make, but you can only sell for $165 and in the end you aren't making any money. That is sort of one of the reasons I started making the cutting boards (and probably why so many others do to). If I'm making a bunch of boards at the same time I can probably get the timing down to 2 hours or less per board. This creates the ability to make more money per hour of work time.


----------



## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

Mark, on average it takes be about three 8 hour days so 24 hours to make the build per box, I also sometimes work on more then one box at a time, then about 20 mins to apply the first coat of finish again I'm finishing several already made boxes at once, then around a few more hours to complete the final coats of finish but this is also taking my time along with in between breaks, one of the advantages or perks of being retired, this is just supplemental income, I love doing it and it keeps me busy during the weekdays, some of the wood I use I have no overhead, just blades, sanding etc… I prob could get a few more $$$ though.

I have found though that by making the drinking coasters they made a big hit and it doesn't take me near as long to make them as it does boxes, I'm selling them for what I think the worth along with the appeal is which is under $50.00


----------



## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Mark,

For Christmas I made a bunch of cutting board out of scrap wood.

I needed 8 12X18 boards and 2 6X9" boards. (The 6X9" were for my Grandaughters to use with the Easybake set up).
Each board was 1 1/2" thick and edge grain so it was easy to set up a production line.

I built all of the boards in 6 hours, 33 minutes. (This was on December 19th and they had to be in the mail the next day). This included making strips, planing, gluing, routing, sanding, using a card scraper on all sides and finishing with beeswax/mineral oil for 6 coats. (I heated the boards in the oven to about 120°F which helped the finish soak in).

The hardest ones to do were the little ones, They were only 3/4" thick and I had to stop and add steps to the process.

That makes each board done in about 38 minutes, ready to put in the box and ship.

It's probably the hardest and longest I've worked at one stretch in 10 years, but was worth it!

The next ones will be easier to make because they will be for sale and I have this experience to go by and streamline. I figure the large boards I made would have sold for $65-$75/ea. (The same kind did last summer).
The small boards were probably worth $25-$40.

I try to charge about $35/hr roughly, but this would have beaten that easily.

Good Luck!

Here is a picture of one that's not finished yet. I took it with my phone camera so it's not that good a shot.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Blackie, that is exactly what I was talking about. Although I'm also retired and this is a retirement job for me too, I went all out and rented a shop and spent about $40k on equipment and tools so I do need to at least cover my expenses. I'd like to actually make money too, but I'd be happy if I just covered expenses. I can make more money on cutting boards than can be made turning out works of art like you are doing.


----------



## msmith1199 (Oct 24, 2012)

Dallas, I don't know if I can work that fast. I already cut a groove in my thumb with a table saw so I don't want to get too fast at this stuff. I was thinking I could probably easily turn out 5 cutting boards a day if I just got into the shop and did the work instead of goofing off on the computer looking through Lumberjocks.


----------



## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Mark, If you had used a FTG blade instead of an ATB you could have a dado in your thumb instead of a v groove, LOL!

I wasn't planning on working fast. My shop is my refuge from intrusion. 
Unfortunately, the wife unit wanted these done, said something about Christmas presents needing to be there on the right day. Go Figure!

With my scrap wood I cut each kind of wood into constistent lengths (6'2" to account for losses).
Once cut, I ran it through the band saw to make strips 1/4" wider than needed. Cut those on the table saw then put them through the planer, (I use a 4' long planer sled to joint with, it's fast easy and pretty accurate).
From there I go to the table saw again and make a reference edge which gets placed cut side down on the planer sled to go through the planer. then it's turned over and planed flat on the opposite side.

The glue up is a combination of about 30 clamps and a bunch of wide throat C clamps and cauls to hold everything flat.

Doing it that way, everything is done in stages and table saw, planer and router work.

The finish goes on a lot easier if you warm the board first, and re-warm it as needed.
The last two small boards only went in the oven once, the rest of the time I used a propane torch to get the finish to soak in.

Final polish is done on the drill press on the top and bottom with a buffing pad at the slowest speed I could get, (about 600 rpm).

Don't get me wrong…. I didn't want to do all of them at once, but I've learned over the decades that if I make the wife happy my quality of life is superior to what it would be otherwise.

Edit: The timing was done with a digital chess timer. I wanted to see exactly how long it would take and it was handy!


----------



## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

My issue with etsy is that I can only store so much product here so I tend to lean more towards commissions so i can get jobs done and out of the shop as quickly as possible to make room for the next project. I also dont have much cash to buy the raw materials so i try to not have much invested in wood unless i know there is money at the end of it


----------



## CalebJames (May 19, 2010)

Emart,

almost all of my work is commission with Etsy. You can do listings that are "made to order". If you have pictures of previous work then just post those for 20 cents and you can state how long it takes to make. Plus, even if it is not what they want, exactly, then they will contact you to ask for a price for special order. That is truely how most of my work it gotten through Etsy.

I must say that I need to try eBay again but the price keeps me away and I don't seem to get as much interest, so there you have it.

I think it is so product driven. All my moulding planes have just sat on Etsy. eBay may work better but I find buyers tend to look for cheap their. Does anyone else get that?


----------



## pwalter (Apr 29, 2011)

Looking back, it is actually funny. I was the first person to comment about the trouble I was having selling on ebay and etsy. A few days later, a lady contacted me about making 50 pens for her business. So I guess my new answer is, with etsy you have to be patient. Although I am currently looking at possibly opening up and ebay store.


----------



## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

Caleb i will have to try that. I have some black locust and spalted oak that i want to turn into a keepsake box so maybe i'll sell it on there


----------

