Etsy throughout the 00s established itself as the home of hand-made goods, and sellers recently voted it the third-best platform to sell goods behind the evergreen eBay and the mighty Amazon. In 2018, 2 million sellers will sell an array of weird, wacky, and wonderful bespoke products through Etsy.
But if you’re an artist looking to branch out into the world of e-commerce, choosing a product to sell can be overwhelming. Many top-rated buyers are already years ahead of you and command large swatches of the market.
So, what should you sell on Etsy?
Fortunately, Etsy regularly releases stats about their top-selling products and categories, and the results from 2017 may surprise you. Here are the six bestsellers to date:
6 – Jewellery suppliers
Unsurprisingly, the popularity of bespoke jewelry on the platform has led to a vast increase in suppliers offering starter kits, beads, and small items. These items are purchased by jewelry makers to use for products in their shop.
5 – Vinyl and heat transfer supplies
Again, this is another case of the maker turning supplier. Personalization is in massive demand on Etsy, so many buyers require the materials to print or heat transfer a custom design. This could be, for example, a name on an item or clothing, or a birthday message on balloons.
4 – Party decorations
What do people celebrate every year without fail? Birthdays, weddings and holiday seasons like Christmas. Personalized party decorations are evergreen, and will be in demand every year. Plus, they work well as sets, such as banners, balloons, and hats at a birthday.
3 – Homemade sweets and candies
It appears our taste for the bespoke is as prolific as ever, and distinctive wrapping gives these delicious treats extra appeal. Being small and gift wrapped not only makes them desirable for the buyer, but also as gifts for their friends and family.
2 – Personalized children’s clothing
Children’s items dominate the listings on Etsy. If you can offer personalized clothing, particularly for newborn babies, your chances of being found by potential buyers rapidly increase. You can probably now see a trend here regarding the personalization of items.
1 – Children’s stickers
Believe it or not, kid’s stickers top the product listings; although when you think about it, it does make sense. Not only do children love stickers, the use of them by parents and teachers on a reward basis means they consistently need a supply of them. And, you’ve guessed it, personalizing them for classroom lists and birthdays make the product even more in demand.
Okay, so there are common themes among these top-selling products; a huge reason why they’re so in demand and so easy to sell.
1 – Personalized
Personalization allows you the buyer to have something bespoke for them, making the product way more desirable than one with a generic look, feel, or message.
2 – Lightweight
Lighter items mean delivery costs are low for both the buyer and seller and the nature of the product means you would want to buy them in bulk.
3 – Short production time
These items are designed to be purchased as sets and as a larger pack. This allows the seller to create them quickly, easily, and deal with supply and demand much more efficiently than time-dependent hand-made items.
After all this, you have the autonomy to sell whatever you want on Etsy. The critical question is, ‘are you selling as a hobby, or are you looking to start a business?’
If it’s the former, have fun creating something you get genuine joy from. If it’s the latter, then you have to approach this with a business sense. Time, production costs, sales, and profit margins all need to be factored in.
But, whatever you go on to sell, I wish you the best of luck!
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