ETSY vs SHOPIFY ✿ my experience, sales stats, pros/cons, which one is better for small businesses?

[@GinaLay]

I just started a Shopify store. The month $ is 5. Per month but I don’t really understand what I am doing yet. I really appreciate this video. I also like your branding colors. They are so beautiful. Thank you!!

[@hafsa-f2c]

hi i want to open my digital store on shopify . do you think it will be worth it ?

[@ShulaMG]

I closed my pottery shop on Etsy more than 11 years ago. There were many reasons, but some of the problems you have identified were becoming more and more of an issue when I left. One of those was that they were permitting mass produced items to be listed as handmade. I’m upset that they still permit it.

[@MM-cs3yz]

And that is exactly why I hear about more and more people choosing to have a website that is under their control., a website you can call your own. Knowing Etsy, Shopify and others can shut you down at a moments notice, (basically making you unemployed), or in your case, allowing unfair competition, is more than enough reason for me to make sure I have a website I can call my own.

[@jenniferwick2772]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with both platforms and for explaining the fee structure of both! I think I made the right choice to go with Shopify based on everything you said :) Keep up the great videos!

[@glendabrown6659]

There is a small foreign exchange fee if you list in a different currency from your payment account. I live in Canada I receive my sales in Canadian dollars and I list in Canadian dollars. If I listed in US dollars. there will be a small fee to convert US dollars to my payment account. The payment account is the currency where you live. The customer will see the your listing in the currenty they choose to view.

[@ChantelleArts]

I've been thinking of starting an etsy, but there are just so many cons. The biggest positive is that it drives its own traffic, but still, as a newbie I don't get how I would be able to get my content shown on the first few pages when there's so much print on demand that's flooding the site 🥺❤

[@printsbymilly]

I completely understand! It is difficult. My best advice would be to get as many listings up as you can, as then there’s more chance of your shop being found 🩷

[@NuriaSaladrigasLarroy]

There’s a magic number of 100. You start with 20 listings (you’ll have 20 days to work on 20 more), then 20 listings more until you reach the 100 listings. It’s suppose that way you’ll start to have sales, if not your products, pictures, videos or seo are wrong. It’s totally normal not to get sales the first month, but in the 3rd or 4th you should see some results.

[@amandamatthews7705]

@@NuriaSaladrigasLarroy not true its an olde Rumer from years ago that still gos around there is no magic number you can sell lodes with only a few listings you can have 100s of listings and not sell its about quality of listings and items not quantity. I usually have about 50 listings some times less and get daily sales on etsy.

[@dianaviera6228]

Thank you for your insightful feedback regarding Etsy and Shopify. I have my own small business but haven’t opened up a shop as of yet. I wanted to go straight into Shopify and taking a chance at that.

[@annaharness4750]

So spooky!! I’ve just been researching Etsy fees and trying to decide if it was worth it! Perfect timing 💕

[@printsbymilly]

Ahh amazing! Hope you find it helpful ☺️🩷

[@hayleyjanestudios]

Although I think it's important for people to be aware of fees they will have to pay to sell items on any platform I do think that too much emphasis is placed on it, personally I don't think of fees as a pro or con, they are just a part of business and you can build it into your pricing (like you said you may have to charge a bit more for your products on certain platforms). What I think is more important is whether the platform you are considering suits your brand and your products, not even platform works for every business. If you find a great platform that fits in with your branding and mission and its where your ideal target customer shops then you need to pay the fees no matter what, but it shouldn't matter if you have priced accordingly and the sale are coming in because you are selling int he right place, I'm rambling but hopefully makes sense. Obviously if you have two or more comparable platforms that all suit your business needs you may then want to compare fees to see which is cheaper to make a decision :)

[@nicolehaugen9265]

I have been selling on Etsy since 2016. I have a 5 star rating and have never had a disputed sale or listing. I even went so far as to comply with the "free shipping" nonsense. This past week I was slapped with a "payment reserve" of 30% because I don't have tracked shipping on all my items. I decided to let the customer decide if they wanted free shipping or paid tracked shipping . I n Canada tracking a piece of oversized lettermail can more than triple the cost of said shipping.....don't even get me started on small package mail. Why I am being punished before there was ever a problem is beyond me but the fact is unless I comply I will not receive the money people are paying to me....but if I do comply my prices will be so high , no one will purchase my items. I am sad and feeling very betrayed.

[@Kat_and_Luna]

This is why I’m leaning towards putting my efforts into building my website store! I hope they release your funds soon!

[@Zdlifestyle]

Oh hun I am so glad I found you - you come across as so authentic - I basically thought I would start Etsy last night and it took me to a page to get verified and It was a scam ! It really scared me too and I do t know what to do - I’m going to do a video I in case anyone else has a problem . I just wanted to ask would you rather now after your experience, have shopify or your own website , I have made one you see so was just wondering x

[@jalachandra]

Thanks! This was really insightful for a new shop owner.

[@Lookwhatkatiedidd]

Seriously thank you so much for this video❤ (I love all of your videos but this one was incredibly helpful!)

[@koolaur]

Thanks for making the video! It was pretty informative 💛

[@sayit-sayit]

Thank you for this well delivered video. Much appreciated.

[@Kat_and_Luna]

This video was super helpful in sorting out all the different fees over on Etsy. Well, really all of the video was helpful. Thanks so much for your time and care putting this together.

[@DanceAlongGal]

I have a very small but dedicated YT following and have been considering either Etsy or Shopify for my niche products. Do you think Shopify is the way to go since I can link it in my videos? I really want to own my own site and not be at the mercy of Etsy doing what it wants with my business, not to mention the fees or fact that I can’t obtain my customers email info. Thank you so much for your great info!

[@VictoriaJones-xq4lj]

Milly thank you so much for your very detailed video! Wishing you continued success

[@HoneyPlumPaper]

This was such a well-made informative video, thank you!

[@printsbymilly]

Thank you so much for watching and for the feedback, I’m so pleased you found it helpful! 🩷 It’s honestly fine and actually really fun - just take your time with it and watch tutorials to help you and I’m sure you’ll really enjoy it! ☺️

[@jenna0616]

Hey Milly, thank you for the amount of time and effort you put into this! Would you mind sharing which email marketing platform you use? I am at the point of wanting to add that to my website and getting over whelmed on the many options!

[@JillianCrafts]

I just found your channel today! I love it! How do you keep track of inventory when you have your products on two different platforms?

[@vanessamacleoddesign]

Great video thanks! I've always wondered about the ins and outs of Etsy.

[@mzzbevcreates]

Wow! What a thorough informative vlog, bravo you did a great job in explaining everything Thank you for all the time you spent in making this. It has helped me a lot! :)

[@HoppityDesignsUK]

I’ve been put on a payment reserve and I’ve been on Etsy for 3 years. No idea why, no explanation, just a 90 day reserve 🙃 so frustrating but as you, I wouldn’t be where I am without my Etsy shop so 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@eskalou_]

Thank you for the great information!! I was very curious to learn about shopify

[@isarahftw]

Thanks for this informative video 😊 I've experienced an Etsy payment hold that lasted about 6 weeks. This happened when I was 3 months into opening my Etsy store and experiencing 'more orders than usual'😂 I'm also going through a PayPal payment hold via Shopify (I recently opened my Shopify store). I guess this is a common thing for corporations to do when it comes to newcomers🤷‍♀

[@colourific]

I think this happens when you haven’t marked the item as shipped but I could be wrong

[@isarahftw]

@@colourific yes that's a possibility, but not in my case specifically

[@Kat_and_Luna]

PayPal places holds like Etsy?!? Sheesh, how the heck are we supposed to be able to pay for shipping and new product inventory?!? 😢

[@slicedpage]

very informative and it is obvious you enjoy what you are doing which I think is the most important thing. Unless I missed it in your video, is there a similar scheme on Shopify that Etsy has for seller protection?

[@printsbymilly]

Not that I am aware of… which is why I think that is a huge pro of Etsy! But I could be wrong x

[@slicedpage]

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I sell on eBay and Etsy and was considering making the leap onto Shopify. I may be making too much of a big thing with seller protection. I try to keep things as stress-free as possible so I know that if I sell to an ars***le my 100%/5 star is covered. I hope that you are not too rushed off your feet this Christmas. And that from time to time you give yourself a huge pat on the back for what you do. LMYLR

[@annspires8380]

I saw an ad for a well-known celebrity who was selling her "line" on Etsy. You know that those items were not handmade by that celebrity!

[@lisaozols]

Thank you so much for this video, it really helped me out a lot. I've also been binge watching your videos, you are such an inspiration and you work so hard for your craft. I'm actually launching my own etsy store next month in September and I'm so excited and also nervous. Also i absolutely love your products and your little puppy Otis, hes so cute! I'm actually getting a daschund myself in the near future. But enough of me rambling, thank you for an amazing video as per usual ❤

[@Mark-wd8cj]

thatswere you do 2 listenings of same item with 2 seperate listenings and tags

[@scheminggoldfish]

Etsy offsite ads that you can't opt out of usually the fee that bites me in the butt!

[@printsbymilly]

Oh yes can’t believe I forgot those! Thank you 🩷

[@Zdlifestyle]

New subbie x I’m really worried - wonder if I should cancel account x

[@jetd9716]

Sounds like you like Shopify bcuz of your Etsy store doing well. But let's say your starting from scratch on both, which one would you start with?

[@printsbymilly]

Definitely Etsy! As I said in the video, I wouldn’t have been able to start my Shopify store as easily without the experience of running an Etsy store and the credibility that gave me. Hope that helps!

[@alanthiercelin5218]

I am an Etsy seller. Don't use Etsy ads, it sucks.

[@luigivincenz3843]

They BOTH suck. I find it ridiculous not one of these clickbait "Etsy you will get rich" channels don't even mention it costs 20 CENTS PER LISTING on Etsy. Not even Ebay nor Amazon would scam you to just list on their platforms, AND hold your funds for no reason.

[@karenl8837]

EBay used to charge you listing fees.

[@luigivincenz3843]

@@karenl8837 They dont now. They give you FREE 250 listings to list. That would have cost $50 by Etsy standards.

[@TabeaTomadini]

You now pay a £15 pounds fee to open an etsy shop. They are getting worse and worse.

[@karenl8837]

And shopify charges you a monthly fee whether you sell anything or not sooooo

[@Itsheysaharaa]

It’s now £21 now 😂

[@Rahimking81]

45 mnts too long dear. You could ve done that in 10 mnts

[@vegcentrickitchen]

It’s so strange when people share their opinions but frame them as facts