How To Sell on Etsy in 6 Easy Steps (2026)

Etsy is one of the biggest marketplaces in the world, with more than five million sellers serving over 86 million active buyers. Successful Etsy sellers can turn a side hustle into a full-time career.

Sellers use Etsy to list handmade, vintage, or curated products, while buyers search the marketplace for unique crafts, jewelry, art, clothing, and home goods.

Wondering how to start an Etsy shop? Here’s a step-by-step beginner’s guide to set up your Etsy storefront and begin selling.

How to sell on Etsy in 6 steps

1. Create an Etsy account
2. Open your Etsy shop
3. Upload products
4. Choose how you’ll get paid
5. Set up billing
6. Customize your Etsy storefront

1. Create an Etsy account

You can create a free Etsy account. Visit Etsy.com and click Get Started. Enter basic personal information, including your name and email address, to create an account. If you’re an existing Etsy member, you don’t have to create a separate account to open a new shop.

2. Open your Etsy shop

Once you create an account, you’ll be able to open your Etsy shop by establishing an Etsy seller account. Begin by entering your shop preferences and details, including language, country, and currency. 

Click Save and Continue, then enter your shop name—this can be a combination of letters and numbers, without spaces.

Unsure what to call your shop? Get inspired with Shopify’s business name generator. Choose a name that suits your products and isn’t already in use by another Etsy store owner. When selecting your Etsy shop name, consider incorporating relevant keywords that describe your products and are likely to be used in customer searches.

Your shop goes live immediately after completing billing setup in step 5. Before then, listings remain in draft mode and are visible only to you. 

3. Upload products

As soon as you open your Etsy shop, you’ll be able to start selling items. Create a new listing for each product you’re selling through the marketplace—be it vintage items, handmade goods, or arts and crafts supplies.

As you fill out your listings, more options will appear to provide more product details. These include:

• How and when the product was made
• The product category
• The listing type
• Whether it’s a physical or digital product

The most important factor of each Etsy listing is its images—after all, online shoppers buy with their eyes. They can’t touch, smell, or see the item in person, so their decision to buy your Etsy product rides on excellent product photography.

You can add up to 20 high-quality images and one video per listing. Consider using the video slot for a quick tutorial showing your product in action. Each item must be eye-catching enough to stand out among products offered by other sellers on the marketplace.

Use clear, high-resolution images that showcase your product from multiple angles. If you’re selling digital downloads, use high-quality mockups to help customers visualize the product on their devices.

Etsy recommends using photos that are at least 2,000 pixels wide and high. The first listing photo must be at least 635 pixels wide, or you risk appearing lower in search results.

Another important part of your product listings is the description. An effective product description speaks in your customers’ language—it includes pertinent product details, and the primary keywords that customers use to search for your items.

Think about what customers might search for when looking for your products, and use those terms in your tags and attributes.

Set the pricing for your product under the Inventory and Pricing section. Enter the price, number available, and how many items you have available, and the stock keeping unit (SKU) number, if you use them. You can also add variations, such as different sizes or colors.

Finally, add the shipping and return information customers will need. Specify where you’re shipping the product from and your average processing time, i.e., how long it takes you to pick, pack, and ship the item once they place an order.

Choose whether to offer flat rate shipping or delivery upgrades. If you’re shipping to international customers, add a tariff number for customs.

On your Etsy seller account, you can set up several shipping profiles that you can apply to future listings with different price points and shipping speeds.

Try uploading multiple product listings when you open your Etsy store. Make sure to preview all listings before publishing so customers don’t encounter mistakes when they visit your shop.

You’ll be able to edit your listings or add new products at any time via the Shop Manager dashboard.

4. Choose how you’ll get paid

Happy with your listings? On the next page, you’ll choose how you’d like to be paid.

Select whether you’re an individual seller or an incorporated business. Then, enter your personal information, including your name and address. Finally, enter your bank account details, i.e., where you want your Etsy revenue paid into. 

5. Set up billing

Etsy charges various fees for listing and selling products. After specifying your payment details, you’ll choose a billing method—this is how you’ll pay to publish listings and open your storefront. You can choose credit or debit cards, or any other payment method available in your region. 

6. Customize your Etsy storefront

The final step in opening an Etsy shop is to customize your new storefront—the web page customers see when they visit your store profile.

Create a welcoming online store by adding basic content and information, such as:

• Profile and shop banner. Put yourself, your products, or your business’s logo at the forefront of your Etsy store. Use consistent dimensions and high-resolution images that visually represent your brand. For example, ObjectLover’s Etsy storefront features a custom profile photo, a banner, and a featured items banner, which tie together the shop’s appearance.

• Bio. Introduce yourself as the shop manager and put a face to your store. Give potential customers confidence that a human is on the other side of the screen.
• Store description. What do you sell? Why? How did your store come to life? Give first-time visitors to your new store a bit of background about you and why they should buy your products.
• Shop policies: Delivery, payment options, privacy, and exchange and return policies are essential. Ensure the terms of buying from your store are clear. Specify processing times (how long before you ship), accepted payment methods, return windows, and exchange procedures. Well-defined policies prevent customer confusion and reduce disputes.

How does Etsy work for sellers? 

Etsy is a marketplace that connects shop owners with buyers looking for unique, handmade, and vintage items. Here’s how Etsy works for sellers:

Etsy provides the traffic and platform infrastructure, and sellers handle product creation, listing, and fulfillment. When a customer searches for products, Etsy’s algorithm matches search terms to listings and displays relevant results. 

Sellers pay fees to list items and complete sales. Listings usually renew every four months at 20¢, and Etsy handles transactions, payment processing, and system maintenance. Ultimately, Etsy owns the customer relationships.

Etsy’s Shop Manager dashboard is the hub sellers use to create and edit listings, view orders, track sales analytics, communicate with customers, manage shipping profiles, and monitor shop performance metrics.

How much does it cost to sell on Etsy?

Etsy charges seller fees for setting up a shop, listing products, and making sales on its marketplace. In general, you can expect to share up to 25% of your revenue with Etsy.

Here are the main Etsy seller fees to consider:

Etsy store setup fee

Depending on when you establish your shop and its location, you may pay a one-time setup fee. 

Listing fees

Listing fees are the most common Etsy fees. Sellers pay 20¢ for every new listing they upload to their store, whether it results in a sale or not.

By default, Etsy’s marketplace displays listings for four months (or until the item sells). If you select auto-renew, you’ll be billed another 20¢ once the four months are up.

Transaction fees

If you sell an item on Etsy, you’ll pay a 6.5% transaction fee to the marketplace for facilitating the sale. The fee is based on the total price of the sale, including your charges for postage, shipping, and gift wrapping.

Sellers in some European countries may also need to pay a regulatory operating fee per listing.

Payment processing fees

Etsy Payments is a feature that enables customer payments by credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Klarna. Enabling Etsy Payments means being subject to payment processing fees, which vary by country.

In the US, the payment processing fee for Etsy Payments is 3% of the order total, plus a 25¢ flat fee.

Currency conversion fees

Sellers choose a shop currency when setting up their account. If you receive payment in a currency other than USD, Etsy charges a 2.5% currency conversion fee on the sale amount. The fee is deducted from your sale amount before funds are deposited into your Etsy Payments account. 

Offsite Ads fees

While your optimized product listings can reach potential customers through Etsy’s search engine, the marketplace also offers advertising options.

You can opt in to Offsite Ads to show your products across Etsy’s marketing and advertising channels. You can also advertise your products with Etsy’s Facebook, Google, and display ads—without having an advertising account on those platforms.

Etsy bills sellers for products sold through Offsite Ads. If your storefront made less than $10,000 through the marketplace in the past year, you’ll pay 15% of order totals for the Offsite Ad program. Pass the $10,000 threshold, and your Offsite Ads fee goes down to 12%. Offsite Ad fees never exceed $100 per item.

Etsy shipping costs

Sellers in locations that accept Etsy Payments or PayPal can purchase shipping labels through the marketplace, with costs deducted from their account. Rates vary depending on carrier, origin, destination, and size of each package. Additional fees apply for signature confirmation and insurance.

Etsy Plus

Etsy sellers can choose to opt into Etsy Plus, a $10 per month subscription that offers additional features.

Etsy Plus sellers receive 15 listing credits and a $5 credit toward Etsy ads.

They also get:

• Customizable shop options
• Discounts on custom domain names
• The ability to email shoppers when an item is back in stock

What to sell on Etsy

Etsy offers opportunities across various niches, so it helps to find your own. Whether you want a stable, year-round product category or to catch the next big trend, here are some niches to consider:

Top evergreen categories

These are the consistent top-performers across Etsy:

• Jewelry and personal accessories. Personalized necklaces, birthstone rings, earrings, keychains, wallets, and bracelets are always selling. 
• Home and living décor. Furniture, wall art, storage, and furnishings are staples for gifting and home makeovers. 
• Craft supplies and tools. Shoppers love Etsy’s selection of fibers, gems, and paper goods for craft projects.
• Party supplies and wedding décor. There’s always a demand for invitations, signage, and favors for the next big event. 
• Digital downloads and printables. Digital downloads drive consistent sales with high profit margins, thanks to instant deliverability and zero inventory costs. Top performers include wedding invitations, planners, wall art, and custom printables that customers can download and print at home. 

Rising trends to watch

These trendy niches offer the chance to capture new markets on Etsy. Here are the top categories based on Etsy’s spring and summer 2025 trend report:

• Literary girl. “The literary revival is officially here,” reads the report, noting that blind book date box searches have more than doubled, and personalized book embossers searches are up over 30%.
• Messy coquette. Coquette bow searches are up more than 500%, according to Etsy, and sales for bow tees and sweatshirts have more than doubled.
• Island luxe. Searches for fruit necklaces have skyrocketed by nearly 500%, and searches for raffia bags have more than quadrupled, according to the trend report.
• Galactic metallic. Make your name in cosmically inspired goods, with zodiac jewelry searches up 400% and crystal mugs searches up over 700%, according to trend report data.
• Châteaucore. “France cottage decor” is a top-searched term, up over 26,000%, says Etsy.
• Maritime living. Coastal style is trending; searches for shell bags have more than doubled, and searches for sardine items are up by more than 75%.

Policy watch

In June 2025, Etsy tightened its Creativity Standards to crack down on unoriginal goods. It mandates that all listings reflect a “human touch” to support Etsy’s mission of keeping commerce human. 

Etsy strictly prohibits the reselling of generic commercial goods. To qualify for sale, items must fall into four categories:

• Physical goods made by the seller
• Original designs created by the seller
• Vintage or curated items handpicked by the seller
• Craft supplies sourced by the seller 

For example, to list 3D-printed or laser-cut goods in this category, items must be based on your original designs. Under the new standards, printing a commercial file or a model you did not design yourself no longer qualifies as “made by a seller.”

How to sell on Etsy with Shopify

Integrating Shopify with your Etsy shop simplifies inventory management. You can connect Shopify to all the channels and platforms you sell on. Use an integration app to automatically synchronize your inventory and product listings—no technical skills required!

Shopify integration apps serve as a bridge between Etsy and Shopify, maintaining a master inventory list and ensuring that both storefronts remain accurate after sales or changes to product listings.

To connect Shopify to your Etsy store, ensure you already have products listed on Etsy. On Shopify, you can then install the Marketplace Connect app or another third-party app designed 

for this purpose.

Here are some popular apps that can connect your Shopify store and Etsy shop:

• Shopify Marketplace Connect
• Etsy Integration by QuickSync
• Etsy Integration - DPL
• Etsy Integration - CedCommerce

Browse all Etsy integration apps available on the Shopify App Store.

Depending on the app you choose, additional features may include:

• Product, image, SKU, barcode, price, and other listing detail updates
• Etsy order fulfillment directly from Shopify
• Automatic Shopify listings from Etsy listings
• Synchroned offers and discounts
• Store data migration for platform moves

Note: Third-party apps may charge additional fees.

Etsy selling tips to boost your shop’s success

Here are some selling strategies you can use to help grow your Etsy business.

Build a strong brand

A strong visual brand will help you stand out in Etsy search results. First impressions are important, but you don’t need to go all out with an expensive, professional design. A simple logo and brand colors are enough. You can use Shopify’s free logo maker and a template tool like Canva to create branded visual assets.

Optimize your shop

Etsy’s algorithm matches popular search terms to the products it displays in search results.

Using relevant keywords in your product titles and descriptions will help Etsy understand what your products are and when to show them in search results. The higher you rank in search results, the more likely shoppers are to see your products and consider purchasing them.

“I went to a couple Etsy workshops and they did a lot of talking about keywords,” says Tamara Mayne, founder at Brooklyn Candle Studio, on an episode of Shopify Masters. “They taught you how to optimize your keywords to make your stuff easy to find and really make sure your store is trustworthy.”

Here are some ways to make sure your Etsy search engine optimization (SEO) is up to scratch:

• Use all available tags. You can have up to 13 tags per listing. Use every single one, and include multiword phrases that aren’t covered by categories, such as “gift for new mom” or “zodiac wall art.”
• List accurate attributes. Be as specific as possible to have your items appear in filtered searches. 
• Stick to the 140-character limit. Lead with the most important buyer phrases.
• Lead with a square 1:1 primary image. This looks professional in search grids and maintains consistent orientation across all 10 available photo slots.
• Reply quickly and ship on time. Fast replies and on-time shipping improve your visibility and conversion, and lead to better reviews, which signal to Etsy that your shop is trustworthy.
• Complete your About Me page. The more information you provide about your brand using relevant keywords, the easier it is for Etsy to match you with the right customers.

Promote your shop

The math is simple: More eyeballs on your products means more sales opportunities. There are plenty of ways you can spread the word about your store.

Here are some ideas to get started:

• Share on social media. Use social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to showcase your products and engage with potential customers.
• Collaborate with influencers. Partner with bloggers and creators in your niche to reach a wider audience and promote your products.
• Use Etsy’s marketing tools. Sign up for promoted listings or Etsy Ads to get more views on your products.

Use multiple sales channels

To boost your reach, try adding Etsy alternative sales channels. Craft-friendly marketplaces, crowdfunding sites, and ecommerce platforms may give you more opportunities to connect with customers. 

Here are some selling platforms to consider alongside Etsy:

Shopify

Shopify is a commerce platform that helps you sell online and in person. Using Shopify, you can set up an ecommerce website, sell on social media, and serve customers at markets, pop-ups, and retail stores, using a point-of-sale device.

It’s also straightforward to sell on Etsy, Amazon, and other marketplaces from your Shopify store, managing all your orders and inventory from one place. If you run a Shopify store, you can also source curated products from other Shopify brands to complement your handmade items.

Artisans Cooperative

Artisans Cooperative is a marketplace for handmade products. Like Etsy, it offers a community-driven experience that focuses on inclusivity and supports genuine artisans, with a “verified handmade” badge for qualifying listings.

Ko-fi

Ko-fi offers a unique blend of crowdfunding and direct sales, tailored for creatives and crafters. Through Ko-fi, you can sell your craft products directly, receive donations, and establish membership communities to offer exclusive content to supporters.

Amazon Handmade

Launched in 2015, Amazon Handmade caters to small businesses that produce handcrafted items. Being part of Amazon’s vast ecosystem offers extensive customer reach.

Become a Star Seller

The Star Seller badge on Etsy shows that you meet the highest customer service standards. It proves to shoppers that you care about their experience and your business. 

Sellers who earn the badge can get more traffic and sales compared to similar non-Star Sellers. 

To become a Star Seller:

1. Respond to the first message from a customer within 24 hours.
2. Earn a ratings average of 4.8 or higher. 
3. Ship orders on time with tracking or a label from Etsy. 
4. Make at least five sales worth $300 and be open for at least 90 days.

Offer competitive pricing

Pricing your products on Etsy can be difficult. Most items are handmade, with a ton of time and effort invested into each piece. To ensure a good conversion rate, your prices must reflect production costs and the prevailing market rate.

If a competitor is selling the same thing for half the price, shoppers will wonder why they should pay more for yours.

Competitive pricing isn’t about always having the lowest price. That can hurt your bottom line, especially if the cost of creating your products is high. You want to make a healthy profit, after all.

Follow these tips to price your products competitively:

• Research competitors. See what other ecommerce brands are charging for similar products. Look beyond their prices to determine what other value they’re offering. Is there free shipping? Are they running a discount?
• Round down a cent. If most brands are selling the same product for $30, you can stand out by pricing it at $29.99. This popular pricing model gives the illusion of a cheaper purchase, even if it’s only by one cent.
• Add value elsewhere. If you can’t justify going as low as your competitors, consider adding value in other ways. Value-adds can include free shipping, custom packaging, a freebie with every purchase, or a discount code for return shoppers.

In this example, the search results for “wooden clogs” include hundreds of results. You can stand out—like the store on the left—by running a sale, offering free shipping, and including limited stock quantity information.

Encourage reviews and feedback

Etsy reviews distinguish your listings by providing social proof and extra keywords. The more reviews you have, the more confident new customers will be when purchasing your products.

Encourage customers to share reviews, feedback, and even photos of their products (which Etsy shows on the product page). You can ask via email after a customer has made a purchase and incentivize them by offering a discount code for their next purchase.

Halde Craft, which sells both on Etsy and its website, has seen the value of strong reviews. The ceramics brand has hundreds of reviews from happy and satisfied customers. The majority of its feedback includes product photos, which increases social proof and shopper trust. 

Provide excellent customer service

Customers are more likely to return if they have a great experience with your online business. They might also recommend you to their friends, family, and followers. Etsy’s personal vibe allows for unique selling experiences.

Here are some ways to provide great customer service:

• Respond to questions and feedback quickly.
• Use custom packaging.
• Add a handwritten thank you note to all orders.
• Extend your return period to give shoppers peace of mind.
• Give existing customers a discount code for their next purchase.
• Reply to Etsy reviews and thank customers for sharing their experiences.
• Be proactive when communicating delivery delays.

Start selling on Etsy

Like Shopify, Etsy is a popular platform for selling handmade goods. Whether you make intricate necklaces, crocheted animals, or upcycled furniture, you’ll find an audience.

In the third quarter of 2025, Etsy reported 5.5 million active sellers. That was nearly an 11% drop from a year earlier, but the number of sellers still rose compared with the previous quarter.

Competition exists across every category. Running a successful shop means selling quality products, setting strategic prices, using effective photography, and providing consistent customer service.