Etsy is an amazing resource for any crafter of any skill level, located anywhere in the world who wants to sell any of her handmade goods. The site is so extensive and so amazing I have been intimidated to write a post about it, because I know I'll inevitably leave something out. So instead, I'll speak a little on my personal experience with the site and encourage you to go check it out for yourself if you haven't already.
Etsy let's you set up an "etsy store" which is your very own web presence which you can use to sell your crafts. Your etsy store has it's own web address which you can put on your business cards or your blog to allow people to see your items. The site pretty much allows anything handmade, from furniture to edibles to handmade supplies (yarn, beads, etc). If you made it by hand you can sell it on Etsy. It's extremely cheap so even if you don't make any sales for a while, the cost of maintaining your etsy site will not be prohibitive. Everytime you list a new item, it costs $0.10 and if that item sells, Etsy takes a 3.5% commission. Other than that, you pay nothing.
I have an etsy store at rifferaff.etsy.com. I hesitate to even put this up here because I haven't updated it in sooo long. (The irony of starting a blog about selling crafts is that it eats up the time I formerly spent on crafts so now I have nothing to sell! Ha!) I have made some new pieces recently but I'm planning to build a light box to take some good quality pics before I put them up. Etsy makes it very easy to set up your site and start selling, but it's still up to you to advertise your product and get the word out. Just because it's on etsy does not mean customers are going to automatically find you. You still need to promote your goods via your blog, your family and friends, and any other venues you have at your disposal. This was something of a rude awakening for me. I put some of my first pieces up and assumed anyone searching for "earring" would find me. Umm...no. A recent search for "earring" turned up 910 pages worth of results. The newest items appear on the first page but items are added so often and so quickly that you won't stay on the first page for long. The site is rapidly expanding with tons of new sellers joining daily. This is great news for the arts and crafts scene but bad news for individual sellers who want to make their product stand out. You just have to work that much harder to get noticed.
The forums are extremely helpful as are their "Interviews with Featured Sellers" which always appear on the home page. I recommend going through old interviews and skimming some of the Q&As, especially the answers to: "Any tips on selling handmade stuff?" I also regularly look at the list of top 100 sellers and visit their sites to get inspired and to see how they photograph their items, how they personalize their stores, and how they price their goods, among other things. Etsy has lots of other cool features like co-production contests and Alchemy and the Time Machine but I'll just have to save those for another post.
Etsy just turned one year old June 18th and already it's an essential element of the online arts and crafts culture.
Further Reading:
http://readymademag.com/feature_23_etsy.php
