This Etsy guide will help you strengthen your brand's presence in the Internet space. We'll explore Etsy dropshipping policy, the inner processes, and what steps to take to develop your online store promotion.
For twelve years, Etsy has been an online marketplace with over 81.9 million unique buyers. The platform nurtures small and seemingly unremarkable ideas, making them great projects. Here, hobbies and creative passions take on a new face and authenticity. For example, one of the most famous million-subscribe stores is Planner Kate, which sells colorful supplies for printed schedule planners. More than 50,000 fans follow the company, but that doesn't stop other players selling the same goods from entering the market at all.
Sometimes beginning entrepreneurs may not have enough experience in creating their line of products, so seeking to expand their online store, it is worth paying attention to print on demand and dropshipping. Etsy may be a good fit for manufacturers considering getting the goods in clients' hands.
Dropshipping on Etsy comes with a built-in audience whose different segments require specific strategies. Read on about where to start, how to make a memorable brand, and why dropshipping can be a helping hand for business.
Table of contents
Pros and cons of Etsy dropshipping
Etsy dropshipping vs Shopify dropshipping
Dropshipping from Aliexpress to Etsy
How to boost your chances to win?
Pros and cons of Etsy dropshipping
Dropshipping on Etsy has recently become more attractive than ever before, with about 2.1 million active retailers who seem to have struck gold. They essentially can sell goods without being involved in their manufacturing, storage, and delivery. This business model benefits from getting products directly into customers' hands for suppliers.
At the beginning of the journey, a dropshipper needs to understand how to sell on Etsy. To do this, they should preliminarily evaluate the audience and its preferences; it is worth taking care to cooperate with a reliable supplier. The latter, in turn, will ensure production, assembly, and delivery. The dropshipper coordinates and monitors all manipulation of the item. Here are a few more advantages of working in this market:
- You have an opportunity to present your handmade items – something not available on other platforms. For instance, if you own a store for animals, perhaps soft bedding and pillows with themed pictures will be pretty appropriate. Nevertheless, the manufacture of such goods is time-consuming. In addition, you may not encash the entire volume of produced items.
- Dropshipping with Etsy will be successful if you promote certain niche products (e.g., print on demand items, wedding decor, etc.).
- This business model does not require any eCommerce experience or significant investments.
- You can avoid the tedious and often risky experience of handling everything yourself. For example, through the Podza platform, you can automate many processes, including invoicing, sending emails, tracking packages, etc.
Such an ideal scheme has its disadvantages. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Can I do dropshipping on Etsy? Absolutely. How compelling your case will be is another matter. The fact is that you have to work hard to earn a lot of capital. As a dropshipper, you are responsible for marketing and advertising.
- You only pay for what you sell, but not every product placed in an online store guarantees your profit.
- With comparatively higher base prices and competitiveness, there’s very little room for a good profit margin. Personalization, individuality, and authenticity help you stand out in the crowd.
- You will have to pay listing fees (among 20 cents per item,) which expire in four months.
Best Dropshipping Products to Sell in 2022
Rules of Etsy dropshipping
Etsy is entirely different from other marketplaces, but its main difference is its features. For instance, in 2018, Etsy closed its wholesale program. Is dropshipping still allowed on Etsy? Yes, but it can sometimes excite its users about rule updates. Let's take a closer look at them.
The platform describes a unique space for out-and-outer items in its “What Can Be Sold” section. Essentially, anything you sell should be handmade, vintage, or artisanal with the obligatory indication of authorship.
Remember that you will have to overcome many difficulties before getting your first profit. But if you're reading this guide, you've already done a good amount of work. So, to attract the client, apply the tactics of introducing explicit and exciting content. Suppose you are promoting eco-friendly items. In that case, you should specify how sustainable your Etsy dropshipping suppliers are, or what materials the items are made of. These details will help eco-activists decide on a choice, but for the ordinary users – to pay attention to such a promising direction. In the “About Us” tab, you can describe the process of making things by filling the text with interesting photos. Visual elements and deep semantic content will interest the users. But how to get them further down the sales funnel? To grow trust in the brand in their souls, you'll have to ask your customers to share feedback about the service, quality of products, and delivery. This is what a brief version of an engagement strategy looks like. Learn more about it here.
Etsy dropshipping vs Shopify dropshipping
When you're seeking options to take your company outside of Etsy, It's impossible not to notice Shopify. So, the goal of this section is to understand which platform is better. Let’s compare the two.
Etsy
- You can do dropshipping on Etsy as long as you adhere to clear website policies. Sometimes they can be pretty challenging, making salesmen nervous.
- Etsy pays attention to how people interact with your assortment. Trending items and their constant search improve the quality of the listing. If you run free shipping, your rating will go up.
- Platform customers can securely log in and pay directly. That avoids the hassle of determining secure payments.
- You are selling specific goods to a particular segment that craves them. It turns out that you will spend considerably fewer resources to find the right audience and attract it.
- You don't need to invest money in setting up a website. You only must pay some fees to enjoy all the benefits of the site. But the amount will be many times less than finding hosting, purchasing a domain, managing a site.
- A platform is an excellent option in omnichannel marketing.
Shopify
- The functionality of the platform is intuitive and does not require programming skills. Here, sellers and buyers are not in agony from the new rules.
- Shopify integrates systems that help your website easily automate all marketing campaigns: the Podza solution has additional functionality that makes the work easier. Email notification and newsletter creation, Facebook Dynamic Retargeting, Google Smart Shopping campaign, and TikTok Ads allow you to successfully integrate your brand into different markets.
- The platform provides several reliable payment methods, which will be used by one segment of the audience or another.
- Selling on Shopify is like a piece of pie, which is sure to be eaten by someone – the salesman can play a double game, realizing the potential of various marketplaces.
- So that the visitor can find the right product, you can implement categorization. That will make the interface intuitive and reduce the processing time of data and transactions.
- Shopify has an incredibly dedicated support team. They are available 24/7 via four different numbers, depending on your region.
You've already seen that Etsy and Shopify dropshipping are interrelated – each of the items will buy a specific segment of the audience, ultimately leading to a reputation for reliability and relevance, a base of loyal clients, and less spending resources on attracting new visitors. The main reason people choose Etsy is that they like the history of the brand and each unique item. Let your visitors become part of your story – redirect traffic to similar goods on Shopify. Of course, you have to spend a lot of energy attracting users, but this approach will succeed.
How To Build A Shopify Print-on-Demand Business from Scratch
Etsy dropshipping to Shopify
Utilizing Shopify apps, you can promote your website on Etsy. We have previously mentioned the Podza platform. It provides for the synchronization of profiles and the ability to develop a brand. Simplifying many of the processes will allow you to evaluate the dropshipping model better and add the correct elements to the strategy. You will not be able to become a wholesaler, and the huge amount of paid traffic (e.g., advertising) that you will direct to attract a potential buyer will be quite challenging to handle. In addition, such original goods exclude the possibility of replacement, which will lead to clients’ dissatisfaction. Proper risk management will ensure that your brand exists and remains profitable. Dropshipping from Etsy to Shopify is a prime example of multichannel marketing. The point is that analyzing the number of sales of certain products will help you understand which of them will capture more traffic shortly. You can balance store management in Shopify and dropshipping on Etsy. A blockbuster on one site will capture the attention of a new audience on another.
Dropshipping through Etsy involves selling personalized things that you can take to grow on Shopify. That is the principle followed by Lorena Holdeman, the owner of HaldeCraft: she decided to split the sales, attract new clients, and keep regular ones. The woman also introduced the sale of handmade goods on both websites.
Dropshipping from Aliexpress to Etsy
Dropshipping from AliExpress to Etsy is forbidden. According to the platform's philosophy, all items must be handmade, vintage, and artisanal. That means that the volume of such products is limited and will bring less profit than bulk purchases. Nevertheless, some entrepreneurs are trying to invade the platform: they take photos, describe the details, and pass things off as crafts. If such accounts are detected, they face a ban.
Aliexpress dropshipping model is designed to work not only with online retailers but also with resellers. The scheme is quite simple: no upfront fees or charges allow you to test items without a significant financial investment. How does this relate to the ban on Etsy sales? If you're running a print on demand dropshipping store with designs made on your own, you have unlimited access to the marketplace. Thus, use white label items with their unique design and packaging.
When selling such items on Etsy, your competitive advantages may be price or authenticity. To attract more customers, you need to develop your brand's marketing. Facilitate web page navigation, make a convenient and attractive online store interface, replenish the assortment with trendy goods, set up a smooth operation of the support service, etc.
