For Crafters Who Hope to Open an Online Etsy Shop

In the past few months, I've had at least four friends ask questions about opening an Etsy shop. Etsy is an online site that acts as a mall where crafters sell their wares in little shops. It has grown to include non-hand-crafted vintage items as well. Still, it is one of the best ways to sell your handmade items.

Tonight I thought I'd try to encourage those of you who might still be on the fence about taking that first stip. I prefer Etsy because it has great step-by-step tools for setting up a shop. I had investigated eBay but got lost somewhere in the mess.

I blogged tonight about charity crafting and how, if you really want to do it, you should just do it. The same advice applies to selling handmade items online.

When I opened my Etsy shop, back on January 7, 2009. I only had a few items in my shop, mostly my plastic canvas cross bookmarks. I had a very low quality digital camera but I did my best with it. By January 22, I had finished and shipped a customer's special request for 24 of the crosses. I think, at that time, I only had half a dozen items in my shop. I now average 60.

No, I haven't become rich doing this. However, I have never had a month where my sales did not pay for my Etsy listings and commissions. It is extra cash and I have learned a lot along the way.

Here's the point. If you make things by hand, no matter which medium you use, why not share it with others and make something on the side?

Maybe you make hand beaded eyeglass holders, or collages made from bits of feathers, or hair bows for little girls, or fabulous pieces from recycled materials. What I'd encourage you to do first is to go to Etsy, and do a search for "hand made" or "handmade" and a phrase that describes your product. Now, do NOT panic if 3,000 hits appear. There is a lot of competition.

Here is where you narrow it down. For example, when I checked to see how much competition there was for my fingerless gloves, I almost didn't list them in my shop. Then I narrowed it to "crochet" to eliminate knit and hand sewn items. I checked the quality of about two dozen of these and then made my pricing decision and went for it. I sell quite a few pairs of these each year, so I am very happy.

Meanwhile, the main thing is to begin. Set up your shop and start with just a few things. Have fun with it. Do not expect millions of dollars in sales. But even with my limited marketing skills and efforts, I rarely have a month when I have no sales at all.

Oh, and the gloves in this photo? I haven't yet purchased a "hand" for display. However, I took a pair of plastic gloves and stuffed the fingers with cotton balls and made my own...do not be afraid to start without expensive equipment or props.

Get going, have fun, and good luck!