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E-Commerce
Was Etsy too good to be true!
Zain Siddiqui .

My Thoughts On Etsy

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/9/4/20841475/etsy-free-shipping-amazon-handmade-josh-silverman (This is a beautiful article I read on Vox and probably you should too)

So a few weeks ago my friend Minal mam (She is into promoting Indian arts and owns this lovely Villa open for bookings in Lonavla) suggested all Indian visual artists should create an Etsy store and I completely agree. It's a place for sellers who make handmade items. It's a place for artists and craftsmen to reach out to the world.

I found this amazing article on Vox that I thought I'd share with you though. It details the journey of the platform from its inception in 2005 when it was a voice of the people to its present day form of a corporate entity.

How the platform has de-escalated from its origins of being the place where people would go to buy handmade products to its present CEO exclaiming that that's not what the people come to the site for. A bit of a reverse Robin Hood story.

It's a little discouraging to read it but I think it is a must for every seller who wants to register on it.

Pro:

1. You will have easy access to lot of stuff like e-commerce like product listing and shop along with payment options

2. You will have easy access to an audience that wants to buy stuff instead of having to build your own

Con:

1. You do your own shipping and bear the cost

2. There is very little motivation to only list on this platform.

Might as well make parallel listing on Amazon and other places (GST is not an issue, it happens for less than Rs 3k and can be done in less than 3 days by any CA)

The Etsy story is a typical story of every market place which follows the 80:20 rule. Early adopters make the most amount of sales and profits having established themselves on the platform first. The rest need to work harder than ever to build their brand and get traffic to their own Esty shop from various social media stores and are rarely able to replicate the easy success stories of the early adopters.

Just thought I'd share this point of view and learning about market places with you. Specially since, Etsy is so close to the heart for a lot of the artists out there. If you want an extensive list of platforms where you can list yourself as an artist, then DM me. I have been working on it for some time and will soon release that list in any case on various social platforms.

Cheers!

Originally Posted Here
12 Comments

Prathamesh Dixit

Interesting .. I have been knocking doors of etsy recently. My worry was I will never get to know my end customer and manage repeat sales. Though it is less of a concern for me at the moment, would really love to know more

Zain Siddiqui

They don't reveal the customer contact details, do they?

Prathamesh Dixit

don’t think so .. and that’s the worry .. I might build a business there but in case if etsy goes down in future or decides to move on , I will be broke in a minute !

Zain Siddiqui

that wont happen immediately dont worry. Theu are secure stock and revenue wise

Prathamesh Dixit

I would really like to know more how to build a business from zero on platforms like these. It’s hard battle of survival to get though these. Any suggestions are welcomed !

Zain Siddiqui

Its about using these platforms as bottom of the funnel call to action. Apni branding and marketing karte raho in social media and send all traffic at buying stage here.

Get your listed products sold fast and best on your own. If they happen to be picked up by algorithm, they will promote you themselves.

In that regard Amazon sellers can give you better tips..

Paras Shah

Amazon works fine. But my experience is if you really want to exploit Amazon do ads on it and be an Fulfilled by Amazon Merchant. These 2 things will give a great boost to your account.

Amazon ads are expensive but have a better conversion rate and visibility among serious buyers.

Prathamesh Dixit

hanks Paras for some light on this. However I am travel photographer and as product , I would have more focus on photography prints which is surprisingly not a part of amazon ! I would need to change my product to be on Amazon it seems. Any idea about this ?

Paras Shah

if you are selling it with the frame and can sell say multiple units of the same print then amazon works.

you can try partnering with merchandise platforms who can provide multiple applications to your prints like T-shirts etc. They give you a royalty for the print for every product sold using your print

Prathamesh Dixit

would definately like to know more . I should connect back over DM ..

Zain Siddiqui

Merchandising partner chahiye koi accha then I have a suggestion.

Check out Redesyn. Its exactly what artists need. Its a new platform so you can benefit from the 80:20 rule by being one of the early adopters.

Dheeraj Santosh Kollipara

I'm about to launch my art prints and merch, and I've been trying to look for platforms where I can put them too.

Some of the most popular ones that I've come across, are zazzle, redbubble, threadless, And displate.

Thanks for the knowledge here you guys!

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