Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, Etsy Sellers

Yesterday, I was thinking about my experience selling on Etsy and growing my few listings there into a serious full time job. I thought about the goals I had for myself when I started and I thought about what I was worrying over and doing in order to try to achieve those goals.

 As time has gone by, my goals have grown and changed, but they haven't changed drastically. What has really changed is how I approach trying to bring them into fruition and what I do and don't worry about now. I spent a lot of time in the earlier days thinking about and worrying over things that didn't matter at all. It's almost laughable how much they haven't mattered to my business as I've grown! Because I know that nearly every person who sells on Etsy will at some point think about these things, I thought I'd make a list so that maybe some of you can know what to avoid. So here goes:

Things Every Etsy Seller Thinks About At Some Point That Don't Really Matter in the Grand Scheme of Their Business

1. Every seller at some point frets over wanting to be featured seller. Don't! It is such a waste of time. While the feature can be fantastic for a seller, for the most part it is a fairly short lived glory. Yes, it is cool to get the recognition. Yes, it is fun to have the spot. But it is absolutely and completely unnecessary to achieving success as a seller. Let your profit be the validation of your success!

2. Every seller worries over the sales number at some point. Whether it's right at the beginning when the number is initially starting to grow, or later on as it approaches 2000, at some point every seller will measure their success on that sales number. While caring about it for a minute or two is perfectly fine and can be motivational, getting too caught up in it can be a BIG mistake. Being caught up in the number can lead to underpricing, cutting quality, and making it easier to become stressed when the number isn't growing fast enough. Remember that with sales it's all about Quality and not about Quantity. Your profit is what matters, NOT the number you've sold.

3. Every seller wonders why they aren't being picked for the Etsy Finds e-mails. Even the ones who say they don't have at least noticed if they do get featured or not and could tell you. I happen to know that I do not. I can't help it. I just know. Some people will get really worried about it and start to think the admin are purposefully ignoring them or that they need to tag items better. Really, there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to who gets chosen, so just don't worry about it. It's not a big boost to be featured anyway.

4. Every seller will be semi-alarmed during at least one of the typical summer slow-downs. You're not alone if you're starting to wonder if this July isn't cooking along, or why this June is so much slower for you than everyone else. The fact is summer is slow. Yes, some people will have all the luck and will have busy summers, but for most people it is the slower season. Use it to improve and get ready for Christmas rather than wondering what you're doing wrong.


5. Every Etsy seller at some point worries about another person selling a similar product. Some worrying about this is good. Having someone directly copying your work is a problem, but worrying over sellers who have similar products taking your business is not seeing the pie for the size it really is.

6. Every Etsy seller will at some point be offended by something Etsy does. For real. It will happen. Sometimes it's a change they make, sometimes it's a statement one of their admin makes, sometimes it's a blog post, and sometimes it's who they choose to feature. At some point in time, those hipsters out in Brooklyn will manage to have offended everyone who sells on Etsy in some way--big or small. Even people who adore Etsy through and through have had a, "Hey, wait a a minute!" moment since starting to sell.


Now, I realize these are some sweeping generalizations, so if you're an Etsy seller and you're reading this thinking, "That's not me-- I've never done or thought those things," well then great! Huzzah for you! This is a list made from my observations after selling full time on Etsy for the last two years. I'm not a scientist, I've conducted no polls.