The Truth About Selling on Etsy - All Lies

[@DrivenByJason]

Leave me a comment and share your experience with Etsy. Did you have similar experience?

[@AllenStoner]

Sadly this applies to nearly any platform you sell on, Etsy, Amazon, Walmart, etc. If you're ENTIRELY dependent on one platform for your income you are at serious risk.

[@DrivenByJason]

This is so true and it needs to be read here. Never put all your eggs in one basket!

[@Llkolii]

@@DrivenByJason do u have any videos on what u recommend as a strategy? Thank you, honest review ive heard a lot of bans on etsy. They should really value communication with humans to weed out bots and fakes, maybe one day they'll learn the lesson as you said. Im wanting to build something more independent/secure longterm

[@DrivenByJason]

@@Llkolii I do not have any video to address strategy yet, but can give you recommendations. Essentially you want to diversify. You want your own platform as well as using an established platform. You want to build your brand. So for your own platform, it is creating your own website store through shopify or other similar. At the same time you can sell on Amazon, ebay, etc. It depends on the product you are trying to sell. If you are selling on another platform such as Amazon etc dont worry about running ads to direct traffic there. Run Ads to direct them to your own website. Create a following on various social media platform like Pinterst, Instagram, KZbin, etc directing them to your own website. Hope this helps!

[@DrivenByJason]

I am going to do a video on this. Thanks for the idea!

[@ThinkThisThroughChannel]

And don't forget... KZbin!

[@bahoujoussama5263]

It's true, I lost my Etsy shop after three years of dedicated work. I was consistently generating six figures in revenue each month. Unfortunately, the reason for closing my shop was my use of public Wi-Fi while traveling. It would be beneficial if Etsy engaged in conversations with sellers and provided opportunities to address such issues before taking drastic actions.

[@DrivenByJason]

That is crazy. Well I’m glad you fought them and got it resolved. How did you ever get to talk to a real person at Etsy? Congratulations on having such a successful store.

[@ThinkThisThroughChannel]

I talk a lot about scams on my channel so I was hoping you'd go into more detail here... how exactly are the Etsy gurus scammers? What's the scam? What are they lying about, other than the fact that some shops get banned? Isn't that like saying "Don't ever start a KZbin channel because some channels get banned"?

[@DrivenByJason]

Your channel is pretty funny man. This video is not about fake gurus on Etsy, and my channel is not to expose scams. It is a channel to document my journey to starting a company from scratch and pass on some of my knowledge from starting businesses and being part of startups. It is to inspire people to chase their dream of always wanting to start a business. I mentioned that in my video about being banned. It is not about getting banned, it is the process of it. You are right you can get banned on KZbin. You always need to diversify in business.

[@ThinkThisThroughChannel]

@@DrivenByJason Thanks, found you on r/NewTubers best of luck with your growth!

[@bremcdonald]

I agree. This is nothing video. Just because people think Etsy is a get rich quick business and find out it actually takes work, doesn't mean its a trap or a scam. I actually agree with most of the blocks they put on people. It weeds out those people.

[@polysteamgaming]

Your channel is realy good.

[@penelopesparrow]

@@DrivenByJason "This video is not about fake gurus on Etsy" But the graphics literally say 'fake youtube gurus'.

[@user-vw3dt3wu6q]

I've been successful on Etsy for a year now with $10,000 in monthly sales. Watching KZbin can be inspiring, but not everyone has the perseverance to thrive on Etsy. Don't dismiss everything just because you haven't found success.

[@DrivenByJason]

I’m glad you are successful on Etsy. Really good and hard so congrats to you!

[@polysteamgaming]

It's starting to seem and feel like the only way to make a decent living online is to lie, cheat and steal.

[@DrivenByJason]

It is not easy. If I can do it anyone can. Not said I made millions but I made some side cash. You really need to be good at marketing. Which is hard to be good at. That’s the key to online sales. Marketing and then solve a problem for the customer. I’m am still learning about marketing.

[@polysteamgaming]

@@DrivenByJason I always try to tell myself. "if someone else can so can I" Yes its basically all down to marketing which can sometimes feel like squeezing blood out of a rock. You squeeze so hard you realise the only blood found is from your own hand.

[@DrivenByJason]

@@polysteamgaminggood analogy. It is not easy.

[@kristen5396]

I am new to Etsy and I do plan on joining other platforms too sell my hair oils, BS it is very disheartening to hear about this and it could happen to any of us at any time

[@DrivenByJason]

Hey Kristen, I wouldn’t be discouraged by this. I posted this video as a warning and a lesson to diversify your business. I am glad to hear you are selling on other platforms too. Best of luck with your hair oils!

[@InspoAlley]

It's not IF Etsy will ban shops, it's WHEN.

[@DrivenByJason]

That’s how I feel. It’s like you are walking on eggshells.

[@bremcdonald]

I don't understand this comment. Why would you be banned if you have a legitimate shop that follows the policies..?

[@DrivenByJason]

@@bremcdonald because it is a not a person that is reviewing your store or listing it is an algorithm. That is the problem. Etsy outsource the job to a program. I do not blame them for it as they have over 7 million sellers according to their 2023 earning report. But there has to be an easier way for sellers to reach a person. Even on amazon you can chat with a person online within a minute or two and they have way more customers.

[@bremcdonald]

@@DrivenByJason They would need to hire thousands of people to manually review stores and individual listings, meaning drastically higher costs for legitimate sellers. You cannot compare them to a platform like Amazon. When you have a legitimate store, its actually quite easy to get reinstated. Either your store was flagged for legitimate reasons and you are not suppose to be on the platform or you're lazy and spent more time on this KZbin than it would've taken to resolve the issue. The original comment implies that an Etsy ban is inevitable, which is simply not true.

[@Girlwithapurse03]

@@bremcdonaldwhat’s your point with this comment? Do you work for Etsy? Because there is no other reason you are so vested in defending a company when you have real people here telling you what they actually experienced. Not only that.. many people in different forums are saying the same thing? So you think they are lazy too? Would they be lazy when they are the ones investing time on their business in the first place? When they are frustrated to the point that that are speaking out about this and going out their way to make sense of what is going on? You make no sense. You MUST be working for Etsy or something… and if you are.. go fix the issue instead of blame shifting

[@jillhughes3647]

Thanks Goodness! A bit of honesty. It took me a while to realise that I was being fed untruths by these ‘gurus’.

[@DrivenByJason]

They are not all fakes but a lot of them are just posting videos to get views. It’s a shame.

[@madewithlofi]

Thank you for your honesty. I wasn't suspended, but my first Etsy shop was a flop. I'm planning to try again with a strategy, website, email list, and other streams of income (plus my day job). Wow! The annual salary on Etsy is low... I've made just under half of that on Medium in four months. I made three sales on Etsy in eight months. 😂

[@DrivenByJason]

If you can make three sales you can make 10. If you can make 10 you can make 100. Keep pushing 😁. I am rooting for you!

[@madewithlofi]

@@DrivenByJason Thank you, Jason.

[@adem-ergun]

Hi Jason. I wanna make and sell digital products. Because I have no other choice right now. What do you suggest about that? If you don't think it's the right thing to do, what do you suggest instead? I would like to take your suggestion into consideration and start researching it immediately.

[@DrivenByJason]

I really like digital products. It is a low cost startup. You do not have to worry about inventory, shipping, etc. I think it is not only a great way to get your feet wet but also really profitable. My only suggestion is going Business to Business (B2B) rather than Business to Consumer. What I mean by that is create a business that solves another business problem. B2B have a much higher success rate. However, do as you please. When starting our getting a win is very important just like I had mentioned in my other video regarding what business to start. Good Luck and I am rooting for you. Give me a future update if you should get started.

[@adem-ergun]

Thanks a lot. Thanks for your kindness. I started to do this on Etsy. However, although I started on Etsy, alternatives are always on my mind. Because I can't open a shop on any of Etsy alternatives now.

[@teokuiching762]

I actually earn some money from Etsy but not a lot, listening to you I will try to open my website incase I got banned

[@DrivenByJason]

Good idea. Always good to have a backup. One of my future video will be about diversifying your business and one of the advice is exactly what you are doing.

[@Joe369x]

Its true you are also just number for Etsy too you cant get any support etc. its just waste of time

[@DrivenByJason]

Agreed. So tired of these guys lying to us.

[@FragmentOfInfinity]

Just utilize information from the Etsy Consultant channel. Guy has mastered his craft and shows you how to make a SERIOUS shop that genuinely gets you sales, and you HAVE to do the work.

[@DrivenByJason]

Making money always requires work 😁.

[@bremcdonald]

Its a bot. Its how they prevent illegitimate sellers on the platform. Something on your listing likely got flagged. All you have to do is resubmit until you get a human.

[@DrivenByJason]

Nice to know that. Thank you. I'll resubmit a few times to see what happens and let people know. Still crappy as it feels like I am constantly pressing 0 on an automatic phone call trying to get to an operator lol.

[@richardjones8236]

Sorry, but that's not true. If you get banned your information is saved. As soon as they notice you have opened a new store you'll be banned again. The only way is to assume a brand new identity. Good luck!

[@kaistockman6443]

There was a KZbinr who I think found a contact at Etsy and she collected names of legitimate sellers who got banned to send to the person but I think she already submitted the list. I always heard reply to the email they sent you, don’t start a new case. I hate that Etsy says they can take up to 72 hours to reply to you, but they only give you 24 hours to reply to someone. And last time they didn’t get back to me for like two weeks.

[@DrivenByJason]

Yeah not worth the frustration it seems.

[@escapeplandad]

Absolutely wonderful video brother ❤❤❤

[@DrivenByJason]

Thank you. It is an important messages to new entrepreneurs. Time is valuable.

[@ThinkThisThroughChannel]

Hi Admiral Ackbar!

[@ecouturehandmades5166]

You got caught selling something they have banned, copyright violation or you're reselling. Never "no reason". Be honest. It's Etsy's playground; their rules, their options. Build your own website. Sell the banned things, the copyrighted things and retain a good lawyer (who will just take your money because there is no excuse for most of your mistakes).

[@DrivenByJason]

I think comments from other Etsy seller on this video have mentioned it is probably something in my listing that flagged the system or they are thinking I am a bot. In the end of the video I found that my credit card rejected the linkup. Etsy probably thought I was a bot at that point. You should watch the video again. The item I was selling you can see from my video was a google spreadsheet template for a purchase order. I can probably get it fix if I can get in front of a person, but I do not think it is worth my time. I would be honest if I knew the reason lol. I do not think I got banned for making an excel spreadsheet on google sheets for people to use. However, this is the exact point of my video, the process is broken and they do not seem to care. That is worrisome as others established store have been banned too. Some have even commented on this video saying such. You are right it is their playground and they can do what they want. I choose to take my ball and go home and not play on their playground.

[@Triviain60]

Esty is all copy cats

[@DrivenByJason]

Yeah I feel you.

[@sandyjacksonadams7771]

If this is how you feel about Etsy, then don't do business on Etsy. I've been on Etsy going on to my 6th year. I've never been banned. Had 1 case reported against my business & Etsy allowed me to resolve the issue on my own. Like all businesses, there are rules & guidelines you must adhere to. This is their platform, not yours. If you don't like following their rules, then create your own website elsewhere. Perhaps on Shopify? Oh, but they have rules & regulations too! Etsy is not a platform where you can throw anything or everything against the wall, hoping it sticks. You have to know what market you want to target, age group, gender, etc. You have to have a niche. Then, you have to have a plan of action for that specific niche. Otherwise, you will be running around like a chicken screaming the sky is falling.

[@DrivenByJason]

Completely agreed with your comments.