Why my small art business isn't on Etsy ✿ polymer clay + sticker shop ✿ launching a shop in 2025?

[@iloveleannav]

Etsy was such a disappointing a experience for me. They close my account I appealed over 15 times no human response just shut down. I tried to set up a new account and they shut it down before I even finished creating it. It was so ridiculous. Etsy only caters to drop-shipping companies. A lot of items from TEMU are being sold there 3 times the price. Thank you for your video. I feel too many KZbinrs are just praising for what it used to be NOT what it currently is.

[@EggysPlanet]

Ugh, that sucks :( I've heard a lot of people get suspended nowadays and yet dropshipping companies still thrive on there it's sad to see 😖 I think it's really important to give a realistic perspective on here so anyone looking to start a business can manage their expectations and keep making progress even if it's slow! People tend to make it sound easy to be successful on etsy and get a million sales but there's so many issues and reasons some people are doing well and others aren't! Anyways thanks so much for watching, I hope Etsy doesn't deter you too much 🥺💜

[@SKULLkidDEATHOMATIC]

Actually, a LOT of drop shipping companies are being shut down. I also know 3 people who were accused of being drop shippers but are not and were shut down.

[@iloveleannav]

@SKULLkidDEATHOMATIC that's so messed up. The most frustrating part is that there is no customer service nothing. Just a ridiculous appeal form that doesn't even tell you what you did wrong. I don't like etsy. I don't even buy from there anymore. I rather support local artist or just buy directly from artist website. I'm planning to eventually launch mine own website.

[@Hislife-d3q]

@@iloveleannav Where do you all sell now if not in Etsy?

[@ZenHands]

I agree. I had my first Etsy shop back in 2007 and did really well given how little time I put into it, but ended the shop when I headed off to university. A year ago I decided to start a new account and the vibes were totally different-so much stuff on the site is not handmade and as someone trying to sell unique handmade items at a price that was viable for both me as well as a consumer...it really felt like I couldn't compete. Etsy lost their original vision of supporting artists and crafty folk in favour of making money by any means possible. Really disappointing.

[@CoriCoid]

Could you make a video about how you set up shipping on your website and all the materials you’d need? I’m planning on selling my art and the shipping is the one thing I’m most nervous about getting right. Your videos have been really inspiring 💕

[@theartofdestinee]

I have been looking for fellow black female artists. So happy to haver found your KZbin channel. New follower!!!

[@davontekh]

I love your art style

[@r3v3n63]

Thank you for the heads up. I've been meaning to get up the guts to start something of my own and Etsy was a possibility but I will definitely keep this in mind if I ever do go that rout.

[@theartofdestinee]

Also your OC's are so cute

[@spiry__]

so sorry to hear that your shop got shut down so quickly-i literally just opened mine up on there like a month or two ago but have been neglecting it, maybe a good thing i have been ?? lol but didn't know the set up fee wasn't always a thing, i noticed if i made a brand new acct and tried to set up, the fee would be $45, but if i used the acct i already had, it was $15 which i thought was kinda wild . i didn't want to have the etsy i used to buy stuff be connected to the one i would use to sell stuff, but uhhh 15 bucks LOL ..definitely agree it's more of a springboard nowadays than a place to celebrate small businesses/making customers feel like they're getting a present in the mail v.v love your art so much !!!!

[@arealworm]

Normalize slandering (within legal limits) Etsy.

[@cassielee1114]

Love your art btw. Very talented and unique in style.

[@cassielee1114]

Amen. We should all get off the big boy sites and get into networking between our websites.

[@Remy2121]

Ive just started researching starting an etsy shop and this is very disappointing 😞 im not planning on longevity for my buisness just something fun until i figure out what i want to do long term. I also dont eant to be a youtuber just to have my business so im undecided on what to do :/

[@EggysPlanet]

Then I definitely recommend giving Etsy a try and seeing for yourself! My experience will not be everyone’s experience you might love it who knows. If you just want to have fun and approach it lightheartedly then there’s no pressure~ it can be a good springboard until you figure out what you want to do :)

[@KayZee24]

Etsy has seriously lost the plot, I have sold on Etsy in the past with no problems, then late last year creating a different shop for another product I was making & like you got shut down with no reason why, I appealed & got their generic email reply back, I emailed them several times over the next few weeks, but never got a response, they no longer care about their sellers just about making money 😢

[@b1njjj95]

Thank you for being so transparent about your experience with Etsy. It's so unfortunate that your shop was suspended for no valid reason. I suspect that something very suspicious went on behind the scenes. I feel like this video was made specifically for me. I am considering opening an Etsy shop just because I have a particular niche that needs to be seen. I'm tired of not seeing what I want to see on Etsy in certain categories, so I want to be the one to change that. But I agree 1000%. I think the end goal should always be to have your own website and platform and be in total control of your sales and how you reach your audience. I think Etsy got greedy because of the pandemic and used it as an excuse to jack up their fees. I am hoping your Shopify shop takes off. I definitely want to open a Shopify shop as well in the future.

[@EggysPlanet]

of course! :) Yeah I found it strange that my old etsy is still up but my new one didn't stand a chance for some reason but never mind! I definitely get you, that's why I wish etsy was at least half as good as it used to be, for all its issues a few years back you could easily find some really cool and unique stuff. Yep, good ol' corporate greed, a lot of people started new etsy businesses during the pandemic and they wanted to capitalise on it I guess 😖 I have a lot of hope for my Shopify as long as I can stay present on youtube/social media I think it'll be okay one day! Thanks so much for watching and I'm wishing you the best 💜

[@pynk1887]

most new accounts get suspended you just get in touch with them on the live chat and make sure you've filled in all of the info and ID thats why they added the fee

[@EggysPlanet]

I’m not sure if I’m using a different Etsy but they don’t have a live chat as far as I’m aware? They make it very difficult to get in contact, at least in the UK… I wish it was but I promise it’s not that simple of a solution, I definitely filled out all the info and it said I didn’t need to do anything else 😅 I’m good off Etsy though so no worries!

[@Aly.68]

I have an Etsy and I’m genuinely disappointed by how people are allowed to add things to cart or favorite like 1 million+ items knowing well enough they’re not going to buy those saved items.. it’s really discouraging, I tried Shopify but i definitely can’t get my products to sell with them without marketing like the audience you’ve said, I hope theirs an app or something that will actually support small businesses not drop shippers..

[@EggysPlanet]

Ah i'm sorry to hear that 😖 you should definitely check out your etsy analytics to how much traffic actually comes from etsy marketplace~ Yeah if you have a shopify the marketing will come from being active on your social media or present on youtube. I honestly think that's as effective (or more actually) as etsy marketplace even if you don't have an audience yet but it's alot of hard work! Hoping that things work out for you, don't give up! 💜

[@PHcute]

💯

[@heavenjelic]

Wait, is it genuinely bad to add things to cart or save items on Etsy? I save them to keep track of what I'm saving up for.

[@Aly.68]

@ No, I wouldn’t say it’s bad I actually appreciate that people are interested but the thing is it makes the seller think they’re going to sell that item 😭 but I get wanting to save it for later theirs tons of products on the site and like you said the saving up money part! I’m mainly talking about how theirs people who have over 1 million saved items in their cart and I feel like they’re doing it on purpose no intention of actually buying..

[@pre-katty9053]

Yea, that’s absolutely disappointed. I think this could be helped if they show(speaking out of ignorance), page/product views instead of showing numbers in carts

[@KLHFM]

I feel Etsy is using AI to go over the sellers. Like .. as if there is no real person behing checking up on shops. I never had an etsy shop, but i really wanted to start selling on there back in the day when it actually was a good place with just small bsns shops. Its so sad that it has become what it is now. Sad to see them get so money hungry and just not what it used to be about

[@prettysmartpresius]

And I wanted more advice but ok video

[@EggysPlanet]

Hi, this video is about my Etsy experience and why I’m not using Etsy but I hope you can find a video on KZbin more suited to your needs! There are tons if you’re looking for Etsy advice, my channel is about building my art brand :)

[@prettysmartpresius]

We're not talking about the cons of Patreon?

[@prettysmartpresius]

Also, why aren't ppl petitioning to the US Attorney General about Etsy?

[@EggysPlanet]

I’m British I’m not sure what this comment is implying… same with the patreon one, feel free to elaborate and I’ll try my best to help and clarify! 🤧

[@st0rmyaps]

thank you so much for this video, i just followed you on insta. i was just having issues with etsy and i felt off about the whole thing! i had an etsy in 2020 as well and its sooo different now so im so glad im not the only one noticing this. i can't wait to see your business grow, your artstyle is gorg!

[@xaliciaoo]

Thank you so much for sharing your Etsy experience! I feel like it’s not talked about enough. I had an issue on Etsy recently and I had to contact support, tell me why it says “keep support human” and the person helping me was an absolute bot 💀 Absolutely love your content excited to see more! 🫶❤️

[@gurocandii]

I just got this video in my recommend and now I've binged all your vids! Wishing you huge success for your business, your art is incredibly cute! I didn't actually realise you were agaezii on insta until I recognised your art on the wall but I've followed you over there for years now and have always adored your fanart too! Best of luck,, I'll be supporting you! 🫶🏼

[@raspeire]

So I'm just designing stuff for my first shop and I have no idea about how everything works, so I thought about etsy for starters and then when I understand how things work, I will make my own shop? I dunno xD I don't really have a big following, so I don't know how i would get attention if I just have a shop somewhere in the open .. help 🥲

[@tiaraanderson]

I really like your art it’s so vibrant 🩵 Sad what Etsy has turned into. I haven’t thought of using it before bc peoples experiences here on KZbin, but them quickly shutting down someone’s site like that is just so wrong.