# Etsy versus eBay



## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

I'd like to post my thoughts about Etsy, and contrast it to eBay, and would like to know your experiences as well.

If you're not aware of Etsy.com, you should be. Basically, it's an online craft show, but with much better stuff. Even the photography is usually good to excellent. It's community driven, and you can interact with the artists. You just get that real connection with people; you're not typing in a credit card to Walmart.com. It's not cold and lifeless.

It's also cheap. Listing one item is only 20 cents. They don't take a final cut of your sales price. They have almost 7 million registered buyers.

But etsy isn't for every artisan, in my experience. You're primary customer is the same as you'd find at a craft show - women who want to spend about $20. That's not to say you can't sell higher end items - I've sold a few of my $495 clocks there - but the primary customer model is what you'd find at a craft show.

Now eBay.

I find myself growing increasingly hostile to eBay, and here's why - they are too damn expensive.

In my experience, for multi-hundred dollar items, like my clocks, they end up taking, when it's all said and done, about 20%. They have an insertion fee, and the killer final value fee. Along the way, you've picture fees, and premium placement fees. Using Paypal? eBay owns that too, and get a cut of that payment.

But eBay is huge, and has worldwide recognition; you can sell the most esoteric things, from a manual to an old toy from the 60's, to an image of the Virgin Mary on toast.

My feeling with eBay is it's not really suited to the artisans like us; it's more for people looking for a deal. I'm not here to give you a deal, I'm here to sell you a piece you're heirs will fight over. Go to Wal-mart for a deal.

So my verdict for people like us? Etsy. And Etsy is growing, and it will be a big player next year, in my opinion.


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## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

I agree with you on that one. I have a etsy account and it is a lot cheaper and a lot better to deal with. To my concern ebay is alright if your buying something but it's not good if your selling. And I agree with you that if they want a deal they need to go to wal-mart.


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

The financial picture is vitally important in this; thank you for rolling that out.

Available customers, likewise.

Now the thing that is so difficult to assess: searchability.

Finding a half inch forstner bit on ebay is cake.

But how does one make her/his woodworking pieces findable on etsy?

Background: I have sold lots of stuff on ebay, emphasis on stuff (ask me about the golf club shafts some time). I have two steampunk items on etsy and the number of views is rather underwhelming.

I am looking forward to this discussion.


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

so far my experience with etsy has been disappointing, i posted about 10 really nice candle holder items…made from heart pine and walnut…and not to pat myself on the back or not being realistic but they were nice items…i had them priced fairly i thought…25 to maybe 60 bucks for the bigger ones…and i just didnt get that many views and i never sold a thing…im going to try again with some different items and try to be patient…and i will also try to make sure i take good photos, as i have found that to be an important thing…but i would rather sell on etsy …ive thought about e bay…but i just dont feel the motivation to post there…and now learning more about these other fees, that pretty much seals the deal..as im planning on selling some items that are a bit higher priced…time will tell..a good topic here….


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## YoungestSon (Jan 12, 2010)

I have only been thinking about selling products on either Ebay or Etsy. I have heard of Etsy and have poked around the web site a few times but not bought anything there yet.

Thanks for beginning the discussion since I am interested in what everyone has to say.


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## TexCoats (May 15, 2009)

You could put up your own store online usig sites.google.com for free. Make it look like you want (they have a pretty easy interface, no programming skills needed). Then you could either use that sitename or go get a domain name and point it to your web site (it is pretty easy to do with godaddy.com).

If you want to set up something, PM me and I will try to help. If it takes very much time, I will charge, but a pretty low consulting rate, but remember this is a sideline to help you, not my main business. The outcome is to have you have a site you can maintain. I am no artist, just an old computer geek and I would rather you do it yourself or get the teenager next door to help!  But I am willing to talk about it a little for free anyway.

One of the problems with your own site rather than etsy or eBay, is you need to drive interested traffic to it. But on your own site you can have as much there as you want.


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## Max (Sep 13, 2006)

"It's also cheap. Listing one item is only 20 cents. They don't take a final cut of your sales price."

Etsy does charge a transaction fee on the final price. Below is there policy copied off of there web site.

*"When you list an item there is a $0.20 (USD) listing fee per quantity of one. This covers an item listing period of four months. For example: If I list a scarf and there's only 1 in stock, it'll cost $0.20 for four months. If you gave the listing a quantity of three, it would cost $0.60.

When an item sells, there's a 3.5% transaction fee on the final sale price (not including shipping). If your shop currency is not USD, the transaction fee will be 3.5% of the item price converted to USD at the time of the purchase."
*
If you use PayPal for accepting payments like on eBay there fees will also apply both on Etsy and eBay.

I have listings on both sites and find that on eBay I have more sales than on Etsy. But you are right eBay's costs are a lot higher by a long shot.


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## North40 (Oct 17, 2007)

*Max* is right - there is a 3.5% transaction fee when the item sells (if it doesn't sell, you only pay the initial 20 cents). Compare that to eBay or a gallery and it's still the best rate around!


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## Lochlainn1066 (Oct 18, 2010)

I just made my first Etsy sale (custom item at that). I've been on there since January.

I haven't considered it all that productive, except for the fact that the single sale I've made has paid for all the listing fees so far. So after one year and one sale, I'm in the black. I don't think the fit is quite right for serious artisans although it's close. It's much more "crafty" oriented.

The "feel" of Etsy is great, though, very friendly, informal, and low-key. I don't like eBay's rates and I don't like the hard, cold feel it has. And it feels too busy, impersonal, and unsafe. Just too many people. I never feel that on Etsy.

Because of the friendly environment and low fees, I don't think there's any reason NOT to post on Etsy.


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## WoodSimplyMade (Apr 23, 2009)

I have been an Etsy seller for about a year and a half, and I too was at first discouraged because I would go months and no sales. Then like Lochlainn1066, I finally made a sale that paid for and then some on all my prior listing fees, it continued like that and didnt see it hurting since the posting prices were being covered.

Now that my Etsy store has been around for it first complete year leading into christmas I have sold 10 - 12 items in the last 4 weeks. Unheard of for me. Some of this stuff I have had on there for the entire year and just like that it all sold. I am super happy and excited. I do plenty of custom orders locally so to get this is a BIG christmas bonus for me. Well worth the 20 cent listing fee and 3.5% sales fee in my books.


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

Max, thanks for the correction - my mistake. I can easily live with 3.5%. Sell one of my clocks for $495, and I pay about $18. Yeah, I can work with that.


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

And also, lately, I've branched out into glassware…specifically, recycling beer bottles into drinking glasses - yes, you heard that right. I JUST got a sale writing this…that makes 30 glasses in less than 3 weeks, on Etsy. Again, a unique, $20 range item. Here's a couple of pics. You can see my store here.


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## Max (Sep 13, 2006)

pashley,

I hear ya about the being able to deal with the fees on Etsy, I could not agree with you more. I just wish I made more sales on Etsy than I do eBAy.

The re-purposed beer bottle is one heck of an idea you came up with, just looked at your store on Etsy and like it and the idea a lot….. I have seen glass cutters made for bottles before, is that what you use? You state that you polish the rims by hand on your site, what do you use? If I may ask…


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

Well, trying not to give away the secret sauce….yes, the basic gist is using a bottle cutter with a jig, parting the two halves cleanly (the really secret sauce) and simply sanding them down. Right now just using sandpaper, but glass destroys it, so am looking for an alternative….

I forgot to add that this is a good idea too, because people can feel good about "saving the environment" - however you feel about that topic.

It's novel, at any rate…


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## Max (Sep 13, 2006)

pashley,

I was just curious, wasn't looking to steal your secret sauce. It is a great idea and product….


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

No, no problem Max! The secret sauce is still in flux anyway….LOL


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## Max (Sep 13, 2006)

pashley,

What types of things are you doing to drive your sales on Etsy and eBay. I know you have your own site also but am interested to hear your thoughts on driving sales from these two sites.


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## KayBee (Jul 6, 2009)

Save the carriers and sell them as a six pack of glasses. Of course, you might have to drink all that beer yourself first : ) A few people that I've sent looking online have complained that it's really hard to find things on etsy. They like it, but just kind of overwhelming.


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

*Max,* I'm not sure what you are asking; I don't do any advertising, the listings are just there.

*Kaybee,* the carrier thing is not a bad idea, however, the glasses would just sink down in, and you wouldn't see them…or am I missing something?


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## closetguy (Sep 29, 2007)

I've had very good results with Etsy. However, it's like any other business. If you stick your stuff out there and don't promote the store, you will probably have dismal sales. Re-listing items regularly results in more sales. Making posts in the promotions forum results in more sales. You get out of it what you put into it.

My web site is a blog. My "Where to Buy" link sends the reader to my Etsy store. My blog automatically updates Twitter and Facebook. When I list an item on Etsy, it automatically posts the item on Twitter. I have been featured in a number of blogs by women who are avid Etsy sellers. I have also been listed a few times in Etsy Treasuries.

It's all about exposure and making yourself visible to as wide an audience as possible. It takes time and effort to do this, but the results are generally worth it.


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## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

*Mary Andrews (Etsy.com):* "At Etsy, we're finding that price selling points on end products are actually trending up from a comfort impulse range of $15 to $25 to more of a $30 to $60 range."

Note: I have several friends, also professionals, that are doing well on etsy.com with prices greater than $100.


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

Wow, if that's true, Hobomonk, I'm loving it!


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## YoungestSon (Jan 12, 2010)

Pashley,

Perhaps you could make a wooden carrier for the beer bottles. One with mostly open sides that would show off the labels on the cut down beer bottles but still hold them in the carrier. Plywood dividers between the bottles and solid wood for the side and end frame.


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## North40 (Oct 17, 2007)

@*pashley* - you might check with a glass shop to find out what they sand edges with. Maybe they just use tons of sandpaper, or maybe they have something else?


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

Peter, yes, you're right. I've seen videos online where the use a horizontal stone wheel, wet, to grind it down….don't worry, I'll figure it out! LOL.


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## Wood_smith (Feb 12, 2010)

Here's a pretty basic wooden bottle carrier, an antique, I think:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:6QRLJLFGljSEUM:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/dantiques/46000/46470.jpg&t=1


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

The nature of Etsy is such that you have to list new items often in
order to get traffic to your backlog of listings.

Etsy listings do rank okay in Google search results, so savvy in search
engine optimization can help you sell more unique or hard-to-find
items. This is particularly relevant with vintage and collectible stuff.

If you want to sell more on Etsy, you need to - SURPRISE! - promote
your business in other ways! Any business can benefit from effective
advertising and an Etsy shop is no different.

Ebay is a buyer's market but Etsy is not. That means you can actually
get fair prices on some stuff on Etsy that would be very hard
to sell profitably on Ebay. Ebay's "extortive" fee structure is also
a problem in many ways.


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## Seeharlez (Mar 16, 2010)

I think sometimes people tend to overvalue their own work too. I saw some cutting boards on etsy for up to $245 and it was just a solid slab, live edge with a nice surface and grain. It's a really nice piece but generally I think people who would spend that much on something like that are looking for an exclusive name brand (i.e. showing off), not just something that's overpriced.

I also think selling crafts is just a very tough business. You need to do more than just produce nice things. They have to be unique, original or have something special about them that really catches peoples eye. It's not enough just to have good products for reasonable prices.


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## Garry (Oct 5, 2006)

Is there anyone here doing anything on amazon.com?


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## Wood_smith (Feb 12, 2010)

Amazon, you ask?
A while back, after getting some interest from U.S. customers (I'm in Canada), I thought I should give selling on Amazon.com a try. Not a simple (or cheap) process! In order to sell on Amazon, you have to have UPC codes for your products, and that's not just a matter of making up a number. In my case, I had to register (i.e., pay to join) an organization that is registered with the government for the purpose of distributing unique UPC codes to retailers. 
This 'privilege' cost me $100 for one year, for a small number of UPC codes (bigger sellers have to pay a bigger fee for more numbers).
Then there is the $29.95 per month fee you pay Amazon for the ability to list on their site. I think you can skip a lot of this if you're selling an item that is already in their catalog, but in my case, there is nothing remotely similar to my pouches on their site, so I had to do all this (believe me, I tried to get Amazon to let me be a small seller for a small fee, but they said no).
So, after all this, how many thousands did I sell on Amazon? Not a single item… Another expensive lesson in the retail/online business (after last year's lousy magazine ad sales).. So, I pulled the plug and quit Amazon.
I think my product is good; all my customers love their pouches, and the slow, but steady, sales have continued, so I will keep trying, but with less expensive routes.
I hope my costly lesson gives any potential sellers here on LJ some pause for caution. I'm not saying Amazon isn't a great marketplace (their success tells otherwise), it just didn't work for me.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Wood_smith, Have you tried going to trade shows to show your pouches?

There must be some sort of construction / building trade show that you can attend. Who knows you might get a big company interested in the manufacture and selling of your idea.

Jim


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## Wood_smith (Feb 12, 2010)

Hi, Jim,
A great question- I had planned on exhibiting at a nearby (next province, a two-hour drive) building supply dealer trade show, but after a good amount of interest from the agricultural sector, I branched out to include things like covers for grain planters, round balers and fertilizer spreaders. There is a farm mechanization trade show in the same location, but it runs only every second year, which I have decided to show at this coming March.
For half the money of the other show, I hope to increase sales enough to finance the building show next year (or even one later in 2011) and also to gain some experience in exhibiting at a trade show. Several companies (including a customer for my new countertop pouch) have said the first show is a steep learning curve, and hopefully this one will push me to the next level.

Lloyd


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## Garry (Oct 5, 2006)

Thanks for the reply Lloyd. Sounds like Amazon is not an adventure I will be pursuing.


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