E-commerce Store vs Etsy: Which Is Better To Sell Handmade Crafts?
If you are passionate about creating arts and crafts, then you can make a business out of it and make a full-time living. There are a lot of people using Etsy to do just that. Millions of people shop there every day, looking for unique items. However, Etsy isn’t the only way to sell your one-of-a-kind creations.
You can also start an ecommerce store to sell on your own. There are pros and cons for each option, so it takes a comparative look at each to be able to understand which one is right for you. In this article, we will go over some of the factors you should consider before getting started.
Fees and pricing
One thing to consider when starting any business is how much of a profit margin you can expect to make. This highly depends on your expenses. Calculate your outgoings such as the cost of the materials, packing materials, and the cost of californiacourierservices.com for shipping.
An often overlooked expense when selling goods online is what it costs in fees for the platform in question. Whether you will be selling on Etsy or your own e-commerce site, you will be paying fees that have to be accounted for when determining the profit margin. Check out the fees on Etsy and what your choice of e-commerce platform charges.
This affects your pricing because you have to ensure you are charging enough to have some profit left over after all the expenses are tallied. You should have enough left over to make it worth the time you put into making the product. Think about what you would like to get paid per hour and then calculate how many hours it takes to create. If the profit from the sale is enough to justify the time it takes to make, then you should start selling.
Customer service and support
You’ll also be responsible for customer service for Etsy or your own e-commerce store. It’s important to realize this since you might feel like going with Etsy to use as your platform will be better if you didn’t already know that you do your own customer service.
Either way, you have to manage people’s problems with your product or shipping. Then you are responsible for finding a way to remedy the situation.
Marketing and advertising
The biggest difference between the two platforms is how you get traffic. Etsy has ready-made traffic that you can tap into if you follow certain best practices. Millions of people shop there, so you can get some of them by creating good product pages.
However, an e-commerce store that you’ve made yourself gets no traffic at all unless you find a way to drive it there. You have to get good at social media marketing, SEO, and PPC to get targeted traffic that will spend money on your site. This costs money and time, of course, so it may make sense to start on Etsy if you have a low budget.