Welcome to part 1 of the A Crafty Concept Etsy Mini-Series where you will learn how and why your crochet business should be on Etsy! If you have been on the fence about opening a crochet Etsy shop, this series is for you!

Is opening an Etsy shop worth it? How complicated is the techy techy? What do I need TODAY to get started? How much does it cost to open an Etsy shop? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Y’all. I am starting an Etsy series for my blog and over on YouTube! In this post I talk about my journey as an Etsy seller, how my shop went viral, pros and cons of being an Etsy seller, and what you need to open a crochet business on Etsy TODAY!

If you would rather listen to this post instead of reading check out the video here.

This post may contain affiliate links meaning I may receive a small commission from purchases made at no extra cost to you.

If you have been on the fence about opening an Etsy shop or if you are intimidated by the techy techy, this series is for you!

Each week I will release a new video and post explaining the steps (with step by step video) to opening an Etsy shop. 

You can watch the YouTube video that correlates to this post here.

So. Is Selling Crochet Pieces on Etsy Really Worth It? My answer would have to be YES, YES, YES!

If you’ve been following A Crafty Concept for any amount of time, you probably already know that I am TEAM ETSY.

My journey as an Etsy seller began when I opened my Etsy shop in the summer of 2016 to originally sell my crochet stuffy.

I had initially put off opening for 4 years because I didn’t have a specific product line or niche and I was scared that my stuff wasn’t good enough. All I was doing was having people order anything that was crocheted and I would agree to make it.

But, 0nce I nailed down my product line, I took a leap and opened my crochet business on Etsy and quickly sold out my first day to friends and family!

Within a month, I had my first Etsy sale from an Etsy stranger, someone I didn’t know!

I loved being an Etsy seller immediately. I loved how easy it was to create my shop and that it made me look more professional.

In the summer of 2017, I released my first crochet pattern, the Claire Bun Beanie. That following winter, both the crochet pattern and finished piece went viral after it was shared into a large crochet Facebook group. By December 2017, I had sold 1,000 Claire Bun Beanies.  

After the beautiful chaos and attention of the Claire Bun Beanie, I kept getting messages from other crocheters who wanted more of my designs. I fell into selling crochet patterns and now my shop is made up primarily crochet patterns.

I’ll soon be opening a new Etsy Shop called Wild Grace to sell finished pieces and I’m excited to use Wild Grace in this series as an example of how to set up your own Etsy shop!

As much as I praise Etsy, there are a couple of things I don’t like.

I don’t like how hard it is to have team members. I wish Etsy would create a way so that my team members have their own special logins. My helper Julie makes finished pieces for my shop and it has been tricky setting her up.

The second thing I wish Etsy had is a “pop up bubble” feature that shows up before a customer checks out asking if they are aware that a listing may have a high turnaround rate.

When my Claire Bun Beanie went viral, I had a 12-14 week turnaround time and some customers did not see that information and requested refunds.

This feature could be utilized in different ways and have customers agree or disagree to a set question before checkout.

Those are the only two complaints I have about Etsy. I always advocate for new businesses and handmade crochet businesses to open an Etsy shop to get their toes wet in the business world.

Now let’s talk about what I LOVE about Etsy.

1. It’s well known.

People know the name and they know that Etsy will have their back if there is a seller problem. Customers feel more comfortable and more secure when they are buying from a handmade business through Etsy.

2. There are already customers on Etsy.com shopping for handmade things!

That’s what they go to Etsy for, handmade, unique or vintage items. A lot of the heavy lifting has already been done.

You’re not solely responsible for marketing or driving all traffic to your site.

Etsy already has people there. All you have to do is optimize your listings so the people who are looking for the things you are selling can find you.

3. Did you know Etsy has an affiliate program?

That’s not something a lot of people think of when opening a crochet business on Etsy.

When the Claire Bun Beanie went viral, an affiliate link for my Etsy listing was shared in a big Facebook group. They were paid by Etsy every time someone bought an item through that affiliate link. I didn’t have to do anything, and nothing came out of my pocket as the Etsy seller! They found my shop and shared it to their group because Etsy was paying them also.

4. If you use a referral link, there are zero startup costs since Etsy doesn’t charge you anything until the sales start rolling in.

Some other sites have monthly fees whether you’ve sold or not. You do have to pay the 20-cent listing fee that Etsy charges per listing but you can use a referral link from an Etsy Seller to receive 40 free listings! That is a huge benefit that Etsy provides for new shops.

Click here to receive 40 free listings when you open your Etsy Shop.

5. Opening an Etsy shop requires very little techy techy knowledge.

You don’t have to know how to code, you don’t have to know how to build buttons, shopping carts, or an intricate eCommerce site.

All you have to do is fill in the blanks Etsy gives you. Plus, it gives you tips along the way when filing out listings and building your shop.

It’s much easier than building from scratch and less time-consuming.

To some, the drawback may be that it’s cookie cutter. But it’s great when you are just starting out and getting your handmade crochet business into the online world.

6. Etsy is all-inclusive!

You can ship, list, and talk to customers. Everything is in one spot and you don’t have to integrate anything. There’s also an app for sellers where you can track sales, edit listings and talk to customers from your app. That’s something you couldn’t do easily if you had your own site.

7. Etsy provides organization for your business.

You can direct all of your sales through Etsy instead of taking orders from email, text, and Instagram. This helps you stay organized!

Before Etsy, I was using spreadsheets, etc and was trying so hard to keep organized. But Etsy does all that for me through the website and the app! You’re less likely to make mistakes if you’re on Etsy and send your traffic through there. You will look professional and the easier it is for your customers, the more sales you’re going to get.

What you need to get started opening your crochet Etsy shop TODAY.

1. A referral link to get 40 free listings. You can get these from any Etsy seller.

Click here to receive 40 free listings when you open your Etsy Shop.

2. A bank account to link your Etsy account to. You can use a Paypal business account if you have the master card.

3. A digital food scale of some kind. You can weigh your product and Etsy will calculate shipping costs for you.

4. Regular printer or label printer.

5. Social SN or tax ID number.

6. Poly mailers or shipping boxes depending on your product. You can ship everything through Etsy or take to the post office. Etsy sellers get a discount through USPS and shipping labels are easy to print directly from Etsy. Since the customer enters their own info, you won’t have any typos or wrong addresses when shipping!

After printing, all you have to do is put it in the mailbox or schedule a pickup if you have several packages to ship out!

That completes part 1 of the Etsy Mini-Series.

In part 2 of the Etsy Mini-Series, I will be giving a step by step tutorial of the opening of my new Etsy shop Wild Grace including how to make your first product listing and how to set up shipping profiles inside of your Etsy shop.

Let’s start making some money selling our crochet things!

❤️Ashley