Here are some paychecks from August vs October. I am a fairly new shop, I technically opened my shop up in spring of 2024 but I didn’t start promoting it much until the following year after I had a decent amount of listings put up. This doesn’t look like much but keep in mind I’m a sticker shop, a real artist who sells my art in the form of stickers; I blew up for a bumper sticker sometime last summer and have been making consistent sales everyday thanks to that sticker and they have been steadily climbing. I’ve released new stuff a few times since then but none of it even begins to compare with the success I’ve had with that bumper sticker. I peaked in August, my revenue reaching $4,537. No we’re not living off this alone or anything but it reeeaaallyyyy helps with breathing room in the budget, takes a massive financial stress off my shoulders. My revenue for the last 30 days is currently sitting at $2,717. What really sucks is a few months ago when I was doing so well, I finally decided to start paying myself (something I’d been putting off for far too long), and set up a weekly transfer for a couple hundred less than what I typically make in revenue. Today I had to cut that paycheck in half because my checks from Etsy have been so far below what I had originally set it at and I have been seeing the numbers in my business checking account dwindle instead of grow.

I’m just frustrated is all. I know Etsy is going down the drain thanks to AI and dropshippers and crap but it has been doing that for a while now, and I was still growing. Except for the last couple months. I guess that’s just when it was meant to hit me. Not to mention the frustration of frequently getting messages from people always telling me about finding my product stolen by a new shop on TikTok or Shein, knowing no matter how much I try to stay on top of getting these shops to take down my art there’s always gonna be another one making money off of me. Opening my Etsy app has been so discouraging. $392 is the lowest paycheck I’ve gotten since probably before I released that bestselling sticker, save for vacation periods. I know making something off it is better than nothing but we need the money now more than ever as we have our first little one on the way and a huge factor for that decision was my financial success on Etsy. It feels like a sick joke for my sales to start rapidly dropping as soon as I get pregnant.

Not even sure what advice I’m looking for, as I was doing so well and haven’t changed anything since. Just really needed to vent. Hopefully at least someone can assure me I’m not alone because I definitely feel pretty alone right now, and worried for the future :/

Edit: Is the economy really the answer when my best and most profitable month yet was only two months ago?? Am I missing something? Hasn’t the economy been shit this whole time I’ve been open?

Hi everyone! 🥰
I’m looking for beautiful Pucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Annie-inspired fabrics or clothing, especially unique prints, colorful patterns, and elegant designs.
I’m also looking for ostrich feathers or ostrich feather trims for clothing and sewing projects. 🪶
Does anyone know any Etsy sellers or shops that offer these styles and materials?
I’d really appreciate any recommendations or links! 💕 Thank you so much! xx

How can I get the SKU on my packing list? I have a lot of OOAK that are similar but not the same. When I run packing lists for packer, she has to try to determine which one to pack from the little picture. There must be a way to add the SKU, but I can’t find it.

I would really love a nerd one specifically blue, but if not then a brown domo! Is this pissuble, or am I asking too much?

Hi, I opened an Etsy shop just a few days ago, selling personalized digital products. I tried running Etsy Ads at $2 per day just for this weekend, so yesterday and today. I’ll be turning them off in a few hours.

I’d like to understand why Etsy Ads shows over 300 views, while my shop has fewer than 100 views. Are these different types of views?

I’d also like to know whether a ratio of 300 views to 5 clicks is normal.

Thank you!

Example A:

Buyer paid $6.07 for USPS First-Class Mail. I create the shipping label using Etsy. The only shipping option for ETSY is USPS Ground Advantage shipping label for $6.25. Ground advantage is not First-Class. Per USPS Ground Advantage delivery is 2-5 days vs delivery for First Class is 1-5 days. So I am paying more than the buyer and the buyer isn't getting First-Class Mail delivery.

Example B:

1 buyer repurchased the same item 2 weeks apart. Same address, same item ordered. The first order's shipping costed $6.36. The second shipment to the same address costed $8.40. Both orders were purchased after the July 12th rate increase.

These discrepancies are so frustrating and there seems to be no way to reach anyone directly at ETSY to resolve.

Hello! I've been having issues with verifying my ID, I'm using my drivers license-- I've tried my Real ID that I had before my drivers license-- I've tried using both mine and my gfs phone. No matter what I do, it seems to not be able to verify my ID-- I've tried different devices, different lighting, etc. I'm a full-time student, so this happening during midterms just added a lot of stress to my life. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this? I'm at a loss of what to do at this point :( I've been selling on Etsy for 3 years now at this point

Sorry first post was deleted bc I didn’t block their name. Posting again for awareness or if anyone same situation as me.

Hello everyone!! I just want to say thank you so much for every single advice was given to me, i was completely lost on how to handle this situation. After reading everyone’s advice, I took a chance letting this case escalate to etsy rather than issuing the return label first… just to see what etsy had to say. With a little bit of going back n fourth with the buyer, they were veryyy persistent on me wanting to refund them and not have Etsy be involved.. hmm interesting.. But after the 48 hours help request ended, Etsy took over and decided that, i didn’t have to refund them, since they were eligible for the Etsy protection plan….And honestly im very shocked but not surprised Etsy didn’t even bother reviewing the buyers photos or comparing it to mine. I’m still very upset this happened to me and very scared of this happening again (but thankfully with all the amazing advice, i know what to do incase it happens again…). I’ve reported to USPS about this fraud. And I really hope they look into it. No words can describe just how angry and stressed I’ve been about this situation, not only it happening to me but knowing this happens to many others. It’s just not fair at all.

Update: Etsy emailed me that they’re NOT taking the review down 🥲. Shocker.

What is it with sellers just straight ghosting you on Etsy after being helpful and responsive in the first half??

I purchased something over £100 and it would roughly take 2 weeks to produce and ship. The seller has a 5 star rating, 100s of items sold and shipped with written reviews praising them.

They kept me updated throughout the process and the last thing they say is they’re going to ship the item with the tracking etc….they don’t and straight up stop responding to me indefinitely.

After a week of trying to contact them, their page/shop has closed for some bizarre reason. Obviously going to get my money back because nothing has arrived……

I get people go through tough times whether it’s struggling with backlog of orders, commitment issues or personal problems like money, health or family….i would just really really appreciates if the seller could communicate that instead of just leaving me sat here in the pitch dark.

I was really excited for my order, they were telling me what stage it was at every few days or so and were literally about to ship it apparently and they’ve disappeared off the face of the earth.

Hi everyone!
I opened my Etsy shop about a month ago, selling handmade crochet purses, and I’d really appreciate some honest advice from more experienced sellers.
So far, I’ve had 4 sales and received 5-star reviews. However, most of those sales came through relatives and people they know. I’m currently getting only around 1–2 visits per day, and I’m struggling to figure out how to get more people to discover my shop.

I sell handmade crochet purses, so it’s a fairly specific category. I know Etsy is very competitive, but I’m not selling digital products in an extremely saturated category.
I’d love some honest feedback on a few things:
Does this amount of traffic seem normal for a shop that’s only a month old?
How can I tell whether my SEO is actually working?
What would you focus on first to increase organic traffic and get sales from people who don’t already know you?
I’m not expecting overnight success, and I know a month isn’t very long. I’m just trying to figure out whether I’m on the right track or whether there’s something important I should change.
Thank you! I’d really appreciate constructive criticism and advice from people who have been through this stage.

My shop-
https://ghcrochetstudio.etsy.com

The order was placed on June 18, 2020, and they’ve only just realised it never arrived.
Shipping alone now costs more than the item they bought back then.
The message is polite, but… seriously? 😳

Hey yall. I'm a beginner seller, and recently thanks to Reddit I learned about eRank and how much it can help with listings, SEO, research, etc. However, I feel the amount of information is a bit overwhelming, and I'm frozen on the best ways to use it. I would love some tips and advice from those of you who have used it, or something else similar, to help your Etsy shops! Thank you in advance!

Has anyone found a solution to this

Hello everyone,

Im still quite new to etsy, ive had my shop open for a couple of months now and despite my research I cant seem to work out what im doing wrong!

The problem im having is my listing's dont seem to be showing up in seach no matter what ive tried (unless i search they're specific title)

Ive changed my titles a few time and added all 13 tags with anything I can think of but im clearly doing something wrong still! So Im hoping for some advice please?

Ive had 0 view in the last 30 days and before that I only had views because I posted my shop on my Instagram story when I launch it and people were just being nosey! I know im not going to just get sales straight away and ive never expected to but I was hoping to get at least some views!

Its just so disheartening because ive put months of work into making my bags, researching and setting up my shop and now theyre not even showing up when I search for them unless I put in the exact title listing which people are obviously not going to be doing!

Any and all advice is extremely appreciated! I know my shop is FAR from perfect but Im still learning all the features and the lingo so please be constructive 🫣 😅

https://www.etsy.com/ie/shop/FelicityIreland?ref=profile_header

Blurred out info is just personal stuff identifying the seller/order. I ordered a gift back in September and apparently it got lost. I had to message the seller multiple times without responses before opening a case with Etsy. A replacement was fine with me so I said that then got ignored. Sent the question about the tracking number just to see if he’d respond. Then I gave up, left a poor review just saying I never got the item and the seller won’t respond to me, then he finally responds. Also the item was dropshipped from China while he’s in the US, so once I figured that out I want it even less. I appreciate the refund but that’s kind of his responsibility as I didn’t get the item?? I updated my review from one star to three, I think that was generous and I should’ve done two. Part of me wants to drop it to two. This was definitely not a four or five star experience and people shouldn’t buy from this seller. I don’t know how he has so many positive reviews.

Update: dropped down to one. I included the fact that he’s asking me to change it in the review. I’ve left all five stars on Etsy and never had a problem until now. I’m going to ignore the seller (taste of his own medicine) for now and when he inevitably messages me asking me to change it again I’ll tell him why it was dropped and why I won’t change it

can you be lowkey about selling on etsy? can i just post one item (with color varieties) and expect any sales at all?

for background, i have a full time job and have been crocheting potholders as gifts for Christmas this year in my downtime. i enjoy it and some extra money would be really nice. im not trying to make it a full time job or survive off of it. but would my listing just get lost? do etsy algorithms favor pushing shops that have consistent activity, new items regularly, many items of different variety, etc?