10 reasons I decided to sell through Etsy

As the items on the "To Do Before Rolling Out The Etsy Shop" list are slowly-by-slowly checked off, I've been thinking of all the reasons I'm thrilled this online resource exists. Because, however, I realized you don't know why, it seemed helpful to share some of those reasons with you this morning!

I'm excited about Etsy because:

1. They're well-established and have a phenomenal reputation. With a Google PageRank of 7/10 and Alexa Rank of 1,228 today, I feel very good about using this company.
2. Their site is easy to navigate - I've always found great products when I performed a random search.
3. Shoppers can search by color.
4. So many of the items for sale are of exceptional quality.
5. The only items sold on Etsy are handmade.
6. They provide remarkable community resources for sellers. From forums and chat to virtual labs to articles, sellers aren't jumping in blind.
7. You've heard, "No need to reinvent the wheel" how many times? Well, I don't have the capability of creating an online store of the quality I prefer. No worries! It's already there - I'm just having to set up shop with what's already been established.
8. Etsy doesn't just leave sellers on their own to promote their shops and products. They also promote the overall site, through a range of emerging and established online resources. Including, for example, twitter! (twitter/storque & twitter/etsy)
9. Being aware of other sellers working hard to make their Etsy shops of the highest quality challenges me to do an even better job as I set up my own. Remember that "smart friend" in high school whose grades challenged you work a little harder? It's kind of the same thing.
10. They have "Alchemy" which is an area in which: "Buyers can post requests for custom handmade items, and then sellers bid on the opportunity to make the goods." How cool is that?!

Ten is a nice, tidy, complete number. Apparently I could have kept writing. Maybe another day!

Now how 'bout I get back to the work on selecting the perfect photos to showcase my work so I can actually impress you with my new shop's Grand Opening on June 1st!

Don't forget to sign up for my June 1 midnight drawing!!! And thanks to all those who have already got their names in the pot. It's been great fun to see your submissions coming in!
 

Comments

[cr8tvcrafter]

Great eval on Etsy! I've been checking it out and just asked another cr8tv peep on our site what she thought and what the pros/cons would be, so thanks! I'd love to see a follow up post on the top 10 things to remember or things not to do when you start selling on Etsy! :)

[Melody]

Thanks much. Great idea about the follow up post; I'll make a note to do that! Plus, it'll be handy to approach the experience with these questions in mind. Might make it easier if I ask 'em as I enter EtsyLand as a seller. So thanks for that too!

[Joy]

I am ashamed to say that I haven't checked out Etsy until just now, but it looks like the coolest shop ever!

[Melody]

Well I'm glad you've visited them now - "the coolest shop ever!" is something I'm sure the folks at Etsy would be thrilled to read. :)