If you've spent any time in Etsy Facebook groups or watched YouTube lately, you've probably seen countless videos claiming that Etsy is "dead."
Fees are too high.
Search is broken.
Shops get suspended without warning. They do.
Mass-produced products have taken over. They have.
Some days, it seems like everyone is leaving Etsy.
So why am I still there?
Simple.
Because it still works for my business.
My Etsy Story Started in 2007
I opened my Etsy shop way back in early 2007.
At the time, Etsy was tiny. Hardly anyone had heard of it, and buying handmade online wasn't nearly as common as it is today.
I sold jewelry there through 2009 before life took over.
Between raising kids, school activities, sports, and everything else that comes with family life, jewelry making had to take a back seat.
Instead of closing my shop, I put it on Vacation Mode.
Indefinitely.
Well...that's what I thought.
I had around 100 sales at the time, and something told me not to delete everything. I kept my business name, my shop, my tools, my metals, and all my jewelry-making supplies.
Looking back, I'm incredibly glad I did.
Starting Over...Without Starting From Scratch
Fast forward to 2021.
Both of our kids had moved out of the house and started their own lives.
Suddenly I had time again.
Like a lot of people during COVID, I tried the baking thing.
After enough sourdough and cookies, I decided I needed a hobby that involved a torch instead of an oven.
Thankfully, I still had all of my jewelry-making equipment.
After a few practice sessions, it really was like riding a bike.
I started making jewelry again. And really enjoyed it!
At first, I gave a lot of it away.
Then I discovered the Corvallis Makers Market.
In May of 2021, I showed up with very little inventory, a simple booth, and no idea where this little hobby would eventually lead.
One market became another.
Inventory slowly grew.
My Etsy shop slowly came back to life.
There was plenty of trial and error, but over the past five years we've grown to more than 2,000 Etsy sales. We're certainly not a high-volume Etsy shop, but we've built something steady—and that's exactly what I wanted. (If you're curious about the business philosophy behind that approach, I wrote about it here.)
Why I Still Like Etsy
For all the criticism Etsy receives, there are still a lot of things I appreciate.
It's Easy to Use
The learning curve is surprisingly small.
Take good photos.
Write an honest description.
Fill out every section Etsy gives you.
Click Publish.
Done.
Pro tip: Fill in your "About Section" and every field you can. Categories, attributes, materials, occasion, recipient, colors...everything. Every little bit helps Etsy understand what you're selling.
Compare that to building your own website.
I paid someone to set up my Shopify store because there was simply too much to learn all at once.
Today I can maintain it, update products, and write blog posts—but creating and growing a website is an entirely different skill set.
The Fees Don't Bother Me
This is probably my most unpopular Etsy opinion.
I actually think Etsy's fees are reasonable.
Yes, I pay:
- Listing fees
- Transaction fees
- Payment processing fees
- Occasionally Offsite Ad fees
But here's how I look at it...
Etsy brings the customers.
Etsy spends millions advertising.
My products regularly appear in Google searches because Etsy has incredible authority online.
Offsite Ads are often criticized because they add another 12–15% fee when a sale comes through one of Etsy's advertisements.
Personally?
I'm okay with it.
I only pay that fee when Etsy actually brings me a customer who purchases something.
If I ran Google Ads to my own website, I'd pay whether someone bought anything or not.
I simply price my work to allow for the occasional Offsite Ad sale.
I Rarely Use Etsy Ads
I don't spend much money on Etsy Ads, and the main reason is simple: about 85% of our revenue comes from in-person markets and art festivals.
With most of our sales happening face-to-face, it's hard to justify putting a lot of money into advertising online. If you're thinking about making money at handmade markets, I've written about what's actually worked for us.
That said...maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe Etsy Ads would help grow my online business faster. It's something I've considered, and I may experiment with them more in the future.
For now, I'd rather spend my time creating new inventory, improving my product listings, writing blog posts, and growing my website. Those efforts seem to have a bigger impact on our business at this stage.
As our business evolves, that may change. I'll share more about my experiences with Etsy Ads—and whether they're worth the investment for our shop—in a future post.
Etsy Already Has an Audience
This is one of Etsy's biggest advantages.
People already go there looking for handmade products.
My Shopify website doesn't have that built-in traffic.
Every visitor to my website is someone I have to attract through Google, Pinterest, social media, blog posts, email, at in-person events, or word of mouth.
That's a much harder job.
Why I Have Both Etsy and Shopify
People often ask which one I recommend.
My answer is...
Both.
Here's why.
If Etsy suddenly suspended my shop tomorrow, I still have my website.
If my website suddenly experienced technical problems, Etsy would still be there.
Neither one is perfect.
Having both gives me options.
If my Shopify store eventually grows enough that it consistently outperforms Etsy?
Maybe I'll scale back Etsy someday.
Maybe.
But we're not there yet.
Right now, Etsy still earns its place in our business.
What Frustrates Me About Etsy
Do I wish Etsy would improve?
Absolutely.
I don't like seeing:
- Mass-produced products pretending to be handmade.
- AI-generated products flooding search results.
- Sellers reselling imported products as "handmade."
- Production partners that aren't clearly disclosed.
- Etsy failing to consistently enforce its own Handmade Policy.
Those things hurt genuine makers.
They also make it harder for buyers to know what's truly handmade.
That's disappointing for everyone.
So...Am I Leaving Etsy?
Not anytime soon.
I don't see Etsy as my entire business.
I see it as one piece of a much larger puzzle.
Today that puzzle includes:
- Etsy
- Our Shopify website
- Local farmers markets
- Art festivals
- Wholesale
- Google Business Profile
- This blog
When one slows down, usually another picks up.
That's the business I'm trying to build.
Maybe one day our online sales will become a large portion of our revenue.
I hope it does.
Until then, Etsy continues to bring us customers, introduce people to our work, and quietly generate steady sales.
So yes...
I'm keeping my Etsy shop.
At least for now.
And who knows...
Maybe everyone else will eventually leave in frustration, and I'll be one of the last truly handmade sellers still standing. 🤣