8 mins

What Sells Best on Etsy | Our Top 5

Chris Grundy
Aug 7, 2018

What sells best on Etsy – Since its launch in 2005, Etsy has become the marketplace for makers and creators. Over 1.6 million sellers service the 25 million shoppers, with beautifully handcrafted goods from all over the world. For anyone making and/or selling handcrafted products, Etsy is the perfect place to start selling.

Etsy is clearly on the rise, seemingly shrugging off competition from Amazon handmade, and recently voted the second best marketplace by sellers on eCommerceBytes. Low fees and amenable user interface are the primary reasons for the platform’s rising popularity, but the lower level of competition also plays a role. Etsy’s focus on customised arts and crafts, make it a much easier place to sell than Amazon or eBay, as no two products are alike.

Additionally, Etsy makes it nice and easy for you to start selling. Simply sign up with your Facebook account and get cracking. You can also use the platform to offer discounts to customers visiting your online shop, which makes selling on Etsy even easier – because it allows you to reward returning customers and offer additional incentives for people to make the purchase.

So now we know that lower fees, easier sales, and enjoyable user experience make Etsy a great place to sell your products. Unfortunately, that was the easy bit. The hard bit is figuring out what sells best on Etsy, and creating unique products to meet the demand. Luckily, we have created a comprehensive list of the best items for you to sell, even if you’re not living in an Etsy city.  

So without further ado, let’s get cracking!

1) Stickers

What sells best on Etsy? Stickers sell best! Probably not what most people expect, but Etsy is completely sticker-crazy. Two shops in particular, do a great job of selling unique, cute and affordable stickers to hungry Etsy buyers.

Once More with Love is one of these, having successfully carved out a niche with its adorable “Munchkin” stickers. These retail at around €2.80 and likely command a handsome profit-margin. Once More with Love currently sells around 355 packs of sticker per day, and over 85,500 since 2015.

Besides the Stickers’ cuteness, Once More with Love also offer fantastic customer service and customer satisfaction. Over 30,500 Etsy reviews culminate in a confidence-inspiring 5 stars all-round.

But why specifically do these Stickers sell well on Etsy?

  1. They are cute, and Etsy buyers love cute
  2. They are made and hand drawn by the seller.
  3. Priced between €2,39 and €3,87, they affordable for everybody
  4. Promotions and coupon codes help customers overcome their purchasing anxiety
  5. Free domestic and international shipping offers sweeten the deal

As we can see Once More with Love has absolutely nailed selling on Etsy. Her stickers are hand made, affordable, cute and available anywhere in the world. Additionally, sellers have the benefit of low levels of returns on stickers and products with lower price points. I really recommend checking out this Etsy shop as a blueprint on how to make the most of your selling activity.

The second Etsy store selling thousands of stickers is The Coffee Monsterz Co. This amazing store sells about 255 packs of stickers per day, and over 31,000 in 2016 alone. What makes this store even more incredible, is that it is run by a 16 high-school student living in Canada!

The Coffee Monsterz Co specialises in selling cute and seasonal sticker packs ranging from €1,45 and €15,67 in price. As you can see, this Etsy shop is not afraid to offer more expensive retail products, and does a great job of serving varyingly priced products to customers.

Looking through the 11,000 five star reviews, it becomes obvious that customers regularly return for repeat purchases further down the line. This is in part due to The Coffee Monsterz Co’s willingness to make custom and personalised stickers for customers. Personalisation is massively important to your selling success on Etsy, and you should aim to make it part of your store’s ethos.

2) Hand-made Kid’s clothing

If you have a good sense of style and can knit, you’re in luck! The second best thing to sell on Etsy is hand-made kids clothing. The Velvet Acorn for example sells a massive 214 articles of kid’s clothing per day, reaching 218,000 sold items since 2010.

These impressive sales figures can be explained by looking at the beautiful designs which decorate The Velvet Acorn’s products. Inspired by nature, these articles of clothing come with timeless knit & crochet patterns which make them hugely appealing to parents and children alike.

Why is kid’s clothing among what sells best on Etsy? How does The Velvet Acorn achieve such huge sales figures?

  1. Products are targeted towards mothers, which make up a huge percentage of Etsy users. 86% of Etsy sellers are women.
  2. Competitive pricing starts at only €6,13 and goes up to €46,78.
  3. Over 15,000 five-star reviews inspire confidence to buy
  4. Customizable knit or crochet design allows for personlisation
  5. A kind returns policy offers peace of mind and customer loyalty

Here again we see that competitively priced hand-made product do particularly well on Etsy. By adding customisation options and targeting a female demographic, you can further ensure that your products sell and your business thrives.

3) Women’s Jewellry

With over 170 sales per day, and 164,000 sales since 2012, Etsy shop Layered and Long is one of the best there is. Shop owner Chrissy Lavdovsky has driven the success of her business by selling handmade golden necklaces, rings, and bracelets to eager Etsy buyers.

Her filigree jewelry certainly strikes a cord, and the attractive pricing seals the deal. With golden circle necklace tags starting at €2,81 each, and beautifully layered necklaces reaching €91,69 per unit, this Etsy store does a great job of offering something for everyone.

Lavdovsky’s products are handmade and her delightful profile page overflows with enthusiasm. Although this might seem like mere affectation, it is definitely worth emulating for your own Etsy store. Portraying yourself and your business in a personable and passionate manner can make the difference between landing a sale and losing out.

Not only to great stores tell us what sells best on Etsy, but they also teach us tips and tricks to edge ahead of the competition.

4) Party Decorations

Personalised party decorations are doubtlessly one of the best sellers on Etsy. As a result, Etsy stores selling customised gifts, favours, water bottle wrappers, favour tags and cupcake topper are making a fortune.

Probably the best store to look at in this niche, is ModParty. Active on Etsy since 2013, this California-based small business sells around 172 party decorations per day and over 95,000 in total. ModParty specialises in providing personalised decorations for all events. Prices start at €3,74 for Chevron Straws and climb all the way up to €98,80 for custom MIlk Bottles.

What is evident here, is that ModParty’s personalisation features are winning the day. They have absolutely cornered the Birthday/Wedding/Bridal Shower/Baby Shower decorations niche on Etsy and earning significantly because of it.

Compared to Stickers and Jewelry, Party decorations have the disadvantage of being quite labour intensive. We can see this by comparing the Etsy teams of respective shops. Whereas all the shops listed previously, are run by teams of 2 at most, ModParty’s team comprises 8 members. Thus, if you are just starting out with your Etsy business, be sure to include labour intensiveness into any calculation regarding your merchandise.

5) Vinyl & heat transfer supplies

Reading through this list, you might feel a little dejected. If (like me) you can’t knit, draw or make jewelry, can you still sell on Etsy – and what sells best on Etsy for you?

The short answer is: yes, you can still make a killing on Etsy by selling supplies. Forget about B2C and use your Etsy store to sell to small businesses. One great example of this is Open Source Store, which has had great success selling Vinyl & heat transfer supplies. These are bought by countless Etsy sellers intent on creating their own T-shirt designs, which are then likely sold on Etsy’s huge marketplace.

Open Source Store has made over 128,000 sales since 2013, and generated over 26,000 five-star reviews. Items are competitively priced beginning at €0,92 for Squeegee Vinyl Applications, and climbing up to €1,629 for your very own graphic design cutter.

By looking at Open Source Store we can identify the key factors for a successful B2B Etsy business:

  1. A generous refund and exchange policy
  2. Quick and dependable shipping (2-5 business days)
  3. Great variety of products
  4. Competitive pricing
  5. Selling towards large pool of smaller Etsy sellers (t-shirts/clothing)

It is worth noting at this point, that B2B is usually more capital intensive than B2C, as large quantities need to be bought prior to any sales being made. In this situation, an Etsy loan can help provide the funds necessary to make bulk purchases and get your Etsy store off the ground.

Conclusion | What sells best on Etsy

Etsy is one of the best online selling sites around. Its low fees and huge customer base make it an ideal place to sell. Above, we have covered the best items to sell on Etsy, and looked at how some excellent Etsy stores are selling huge quantities and crushing the competition.

By looking at these stores, you can learn valuable tips and gain exceptional insights into the workings of a successful Etsy store. Interestingly they all have a few key things in common:

  1. They are very competitively priced
  2. Their products are personalised
  3. Their products are handmade or sold as supplies
  4. Their products have exceptional quality, and plenty of great reviews to prove it

Thanks for reading!


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