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Selling on Etsy!

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I am busy listing my vintage book prints on Etsy and learning as much as I can about maximizing the opportunities presented by this new (to me) sales platform.

Sales are not easy to come by these days so when you do make a sale you want to keep hold of as much of the proceeds as possible, if you haven’t yet tried listing on Etsy perhaps this fee comparison will encourage you.

alice_sale

click on the image to enlarge it in a new window

Consider this sale of my Matted Alice in Wonderland book plate print. These items are listed at $14 plus $4.66 shipping in my Etsy shop (the price quoted in my image is in Euros, 1 Euro = $1.37 at the time of writing) – the fees are broken down as follows;

Listing fee (covers 4 months listing) …………….20c

Sale fee (3.5% of the selling price – this does not include any shipping costs)………49c

Direct Checkout fee (etsy’s payment processing fee 3% plus 25c)…………………….81c

Total Etsy fees …………$1.50

Contrast this to the ebay fees for the same item;

Listing fee (ebay.com provide 50 insertion fee free listings per month )……………..0

Final value fee (10% based on the sale price plus shipping fee)……………1.86

PayPal fee (2.9% plus 30c)……………………………………..84c

Total ebay fees…………..$2.70

Yes, that’s right – the ebay/PayPal fees are 80% more expensive than the Etsy fees!

Etsy Tips

To help you get off on the right foot with your book plate print listings on Etsy I have analysed my own sales and here are the stand out stats;

91% of my buyers are women

78% of my buyers are in the US

61% of my buyers paid using Etsy’s Direct Checkout facility (the remaining 39% used PayPal)

39% of my sales involved multiple purchases (ie. the buyer bought more than one item)

Conclusions:

*The items you list must appeal to women – I am having success with Alice in Wonderland and Erte prints, my Cecil Aldin hunting prints are not selling so well.

*If you are not US based you MUST ship internationally.

*Do take the time to apply for Etsy’s Direct Checkout which enables your buyers to pay using their credit cards, debit cards and Etsy Gift Cards and transfers your sale proceeds directly to your bank account .

*Be sure to list multiple prints from each book and encourage buyers to buy more than one item by offering to ship additional items for no extra charge (if un-matted) and create multiple purchase coupon codes as discussed in my Etsy Update! post.

Choosing Keywords on Etsy

A useful tip to help you choose what keywords to include in your Etsy titles is to pop your main keyword into the Etsy search bar

etsy_search

click on the image to enlarge it in a new window

In this example I am using the artist’s name “erte”

The list of keywords that appear in the drop down box are the words that Etsy buyers are currently searching for so it is important to include relevant terms from this list in your titles, descriptions and tags – I have included “erte print book plate” in mine.

If you are wondering what “tags” are, these are simply keywords that you add to your Etsy listings to make them easier for your buyers to find, the following image is taken from Etsy’s ‘List an Item’ form

etsy_tags

click on the image to enlarge it in a new window

As an additional incentive to open your own shop on Etsy (there are no monthly fees to pay) you can list your first 40 items free of charge by clicking this link;

>List for FREE on Etsy!<

If you take up this offer I will also get 40 free listings so it is a very nice WIN WIN!

Your questions and comments are very welcome, I’d particularly like to hear from you if you have any Etsy tips or advice based on your own experience that you can share!

 

Talk soon!

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. I am kicking myself and feel mortified!

    In my ‘haste’ to set up an Etsy shop before the end of the weekend, I forgot to go through your link Stuart. I’m cussing and cursing myself right now.

    I guess there is no way around that one, is there? 🙁

    I put a number of shop names ‘out there’ to various people including your suggestion, but VintageDownUnder won the day.

  2. Stuart or anyone here,

    How does something like VintageDownUnder or VintageFromOz sound then I can sell not just prints but other Vintage items aswell if I find I’m wanting to? Deb suggested having Oz or Down Under in the title.

    I’m really hangin’ to get a shop happening but wont register till I’ve got it right 🙂

  3. Looking forward as well to the update.

    On another note, I live in Japan and have noticed on ebay there are tons of
    Japanese Wood block prints selling like hot cakes. Has anyone tried to sell any of
    these type of prints?

    • This is an interesting question, Kelsey

      I too have noticed the popularity of these woodblock prints on both ebay.co.uk and ebay.com although I’ve never tried to find a cost effective source of them.

      I wonder if you could source them locally?

      • I have already begun looking around, but you are correct on the prices…they are pretty steep.

  4. So I decided to google some info about usernames on Etsy and see that it is very important to get it right the first time ’cause it can’t be changed unless it is different nowadays. Not sure how old the info was.

    Any chance of some input for names from people here already using Etsy to cover my photography which won’t happen straight away ( I don’t think) along with vintage prints?

    So the modern to the vintage? Or is this the wrong place to ask?

    Not really wanting to do two shops just yet.

    • I did a little research and you can change your shop name but only once as explained in this screenshot; http://screencast.com/t/06znqm8R7asl

      Personally, I think it is better to focus on one theme in a shop (you can always open a second shop for the photography – it is free!)

      It is easier to build a strong brand around one theme and this will encourage buyer loyalty.

      Your shop name should reflect what you sell and it should be memorable

  5. I’m taking the plunge! I was able to get two books to get started with. Both artists may be a bit more saturated than I would like, but I see this as a great chance to get some listings and build some confidence and experience.

    Thanks for everything, Stuart, and I’m looking forward to your PMP update.

  6. Thanks again, Stuart, for another great post. This is really helpful information.

    BTW, regarding the “materials” field, I believe it is more for handmade items – to let buyers know what was used in the making of them.

  7. Hi Stuart,

    I was planning to do this eventually but now that you put your link above, I just opened my Etsy shop and am listing my first book plate from “A Treasury of American Prints”. This is also, by the way, my first time listing a print ever! I’ve just been putting it off forever but you just gave me the incentive to get started. I don’t remember the amount you suggested to list these book plates for when you did your article on this collection. Can you briefly recommend the price once again?

    Thanks,
    Juli

    • Glad to hear you finally took the plunge and congrats on your first listing, Juli!

      My advice here is to check ebay for the current sale values of the prints you are listing and pitch your prices accordingly. This book contains 100 prints and they don’t all fetch similar prices plus, sale values do go up and down over time so it is always a good idea to do your own research before listing.

  8. Hi Stuart!

    Looking forward to the PMP update, and the Etsy book when you publish it. I have most of your products, and wondering what the difference was, or any advantage to, getting EAI.

    Thanks

    • Thanks for your loyal support, Helene!

      Barry and Steve’s EAI reviewed in this post https://stuart-turnbull.com/ebay/a-great-new-ebay-business-idea/ is all about printing your own copies of PD images for sale as opposed to PMP which is about selling original book plate prints.

      It is a model that I recommend and Barry And Steve have put together a wonderful membership center that teaches it and they provide an extraordinary level of support – well worth checking out in my opinion.

  9. Hi Stuart,
    I’ve got over 300 listings on Ebay, most of which are prints. I’ve been doing quite well with them, thanks to you. My question for you is, do you double list? What I mean is, do you put the same prints on both Ebay and Etsy? I would hate to stop any on Ebay and miss potential buyers there but then I get scared there would be one freak incident where someone would buy the same print the same day on both sites and I wouldn’t have 2 to sell.
    Suggestions?
    Thanks heaps,
    Monique

    • Yes, I have tried listing the same items on both platforms simultaneously (I took up one of ebay’s free listings offers so only had to pay the Etsy listing fees!) So long as you keep a close eye on your sales this should work fine – you can always buy two copies of the same book as a safeguard (I tend to do this anyway once I am making regular sales from a particular title)

      It is a great way to increase exposure, Monique!

  10. Stuart I was just about to open a shop through your link, but wasn’t sure whether to sign in with FaceBook or not. What happens when you do sign in with FB?

    Also, should I wait but I don’t want to lose the 40 free listings opportunity, because I haven’t sorted my prints yet. Is it ok to set up shop but let it sit empty for a wee while?

    Cheers, Christine.

    • Thanks for signing up through my link!

      Not being an active ‘facebooker’ I can’t answer your first question – if anyone else can, please do!

      I’m sure you can open your shop now and use the free listings when you are ready, there is no expiry date on them as far as I am aware.

        • Next question. Can you change your username or is that a forever thing and how important is it? Should it be related to what you sell?

          I am thinking of doing some of my photos down the track along with vintage prints so I need do I need a username that covers these.

  11. Hi Stuart I have never thought about this etsy
    But am going to now can you keep me posted
    When you do a blog about the site thanks

    • No problem, Trevor!

      You are on my blog updates list so will get an email notification whenever I post to my blog

  12. Hey Stuart,

    I noticed you are running an ad on your site for “Easy Auction Income” and I saw a short video of it. They are running Cecil Aldin prints in their example. Is that a bad niche right now? Men’s niches?

    And is that course good to go long term and build up photos? Do you think it’s really expandable and sustainable?

    • The point I was making about your items appealing to women was referring to Etsy. It is vital to know your customer and what they want and in this case I analysed my Etsy buyers who are mostly women (91%)

      Steve and Barry who run the Easy Auction Income Program sell on ebay so this point doesn’t apply to the artists they are choosing (Cecil Aldin remains as popular as ever on ebay!)

      Yes, I do believe the EAI Program represents a long term, sustainable business opportunity – I recommend you check it out. You can still enjoy a substantial discount as one of my subscribers through this link – http://jvz7.com/c/39773/66190

  13. Hi Stuart,

    I have an etsy shop. Tried it before with no luck. Must be doing something wrong. Great post mate. Will be trying etsy again. I fact I think I have 1 item listed…lol. Talk soon.

    Looking forward to the next PMP.

    Regards

    Donald

    • We’ve spoken about this before, Donald and I remember you saying you only listed a handful of items. At the end of the day, Etsy is just like any other sales platform – the more you list, the more you’ll sell.

      I know I’m stating the obvious here but it is worth emphasizing the point – so many would be sellers throw up a dozen listings, make no sales then quit because it hasn’t worked.

  14. Hi Stuart,
    We have sold on Ebay for several years and getting more frustrated with their constantly changing rules and fees.Thankfully the viable alternative website Etsy has grown and deserves more sellers.Your tips are valuable as we want to sell on Etsy properly and perhaps be treated like a valued member not just an invoice!
    Look forward to more tips.
    J.

  16. Hi Stuart,

    Thanks for this super post. I have had an encouraging start on Etsy myself. Many of the points that you raised will help me to hone up my listings somewhat and have renewed my enthusiasm to actually get it done. I’m sure that with more listings and using your suggestions will increase my sales!

    Most of my buyers have been women based in the US. One of the nice things about listing on Etsy in general is that the buyers seem more communicative and appreciative which is a lovely bonus to selling vintage prints 🙂

    Kind regards
    Anne

    • Yes, I too have found the Etsy buyers to be more communicative and appreciative and this is something that I used to love about ebay but which is sadly lacking these days

  19. Hi Stuart, I’m glad I read this blog as I am trying to sell prints myself on Etsy, connected with the EAI program. I didn’t think about using the search bar and have been struggling to think of which tags to put in, so that will help a lot.

    I also am offering free shipping for additional prints, and have tried offering some prints for buy 3 get 2 free but have not had any sales. I will try and create a shipping profile to see if that helps and will make sure that I have stated in my listings what you mentioned about telling buyers that additional prints will be free. Will also add it to my shop description. Selling on Etsy may be cheaper but there is still quite a lot to learn!

    • You are right, Val – there is a lot to learn about selling on Etsy!

      As soon as I get the PMP update completed and out I will be turning my attention to putting a guide to selling on Etsy together.

      I have picked up a lot of really useful tips and advice from my own experience and also from my research of the successful, high volume Etsy book print sellers – so watch this space!!

  20. Is there a market for Beatrix Potter items on etsy, being as it’s mostly US buyers?

    • Thanks for your question, Frank!

      It is easy to check this out for yourself, simply do an Etsy search for “Beatrix Potter Print” as I show in this screenshot; http://screencast.com/t/3dt9HgJRGuwl

      There are 598 items currently listed although obviously these aren’t necessarily book plate prints (clicking through to look at the individual items will reveal if they are)

      I also did a search on Terapeak as shown here; http://screencast.com/t/XOZcrKboh

      Terapeak doesn’t give you any Etsy info but it does show that there is a market for these items on ebay in the US

      I love Beatrix Potter’s work (think I can feel a Mini Guide coming on!!)

  21. Hello Stuart,

    Thank you for explaining why “Tags” are important to
    add to our Etsy listings.
    You did explain why “Tags” are important to use them.
    Would you, please, also do it with “Materials”? Thank you.
    Cheers

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