Selling on Etsy is changing in 2024 and if you are new to Etsy or already have an Etsy store but want to open a new one here are some things you need to know.
Etsy now requires you to
- Pay a one-off payment of $15 to open a new Etsy store
- Provide identification such as a passport or a driver's license
- It may increase the reserves for new Etsy stores. Meaning that Etsy will keep back some of your funds until such a time it deems you as a trustworthy seller.
To read more about how you can set up an Etsy store in Ireland in 2024 continue reading the blog below.
Opening your Etsy store in Ireland
The first thing you will want to do is open an Etsy store. To do this you will need to provide Etsy with the following information.
- Your legal name
- Your contact details
- Your business address - this can be your home address.
- Your bank details so payments can be deposited to your bank account
- Tax details, where necessary.
- A payment method so Etsy can charge you for new listings and other fees
- A form of identification to prove you are who you say you are. This needs to be a legal document like a driver's license or a passport
- Details about the store you want to open including the name of your Etsy store, what you will be selling and information about your niche - eBook, templates, clothing etc
Once you provide Etsy with all of this information you will then be able to launch your Etsy store.
It is important to be truthful and accurate in all of these details. For instance, your name should be the same name that appears on your passport or driver's license. Your bank account should also be in the same country you are situated for tax purposes.
Etsy is clamping down on new Etsy stores due to a high rate of spam accounts being opened. So when filling in the details for your Etsy store be accurate in the details you are providing.
How long does it take to open a store on Etsy in Ireland
The whole process of setting up an Etsy in Ireland is very quick. It will take you around an hour to set up your store.
Once set up Etsy will deposit a small amount of money into your bank account. They will then ask you to verify the amount that was deposited.
Once the deposit arrives in your bank account, which may take 3-5 days, it is important to let Etsy know straight away. This will verify your bank account and you will then be set up to receive payments.
However during this time, you will still be able to make sales on your online store, the funds will just be held by Etsy until your bank account is verified.
What are the fees for Etsy when selling in Ireland?
To list a product on Etsy you will be charged a listing fee. This charge is 0.18cent.
When you make a sale on this product you will then be charged a commission fee of 6.5 % Transaction fee, 4% + €0.30 payment processing fee.
You will not be charged a monthly subscription fee. So essentially you will be charged for listing a product on the Etsy platform and then you will be charged a commission for any sale you make.
If you would like to avail of Etsy's off-site adverts then you will also pay a 15%offsite ads fee on any sale you make as a result of Etsy promoting your products on Google Ads.
In 2024 Etsy is rolling out a one-time fee of $15 to launch a new Etsy store. This has already been rolled out in some countries and is expected to be launched in Ireland soon.
So to recap
Product Listing Fee: 0.18c per listing
Transaction fee: 6.5 % Transaction fee, 4% + €0.30 payment processing fee on every sale you make.
Offsite Ads: 15% of the sales made from Etsy's offsite adverts
One-time set-up fee: $15
Etsy Vs Shopify in Ireland
Should I have a Shopify store instead of an Etsy store?
People will always say that is better to have a Shopify to sell products online. Which it can be if you have a way of getting visitors to your store.
Many people overlook the fact Etsy gets millions of shoppers everyday looking for products. This means that you do not have to do any external marketing to make sales or drive traffic to your store, as long as your SEO is good.
If you were to sell on Shopify then it is up to you to get visitors to your store. This means paying for Google Ads, promoting your products on social media, running email marketing campaigns and trying to get subscribers.
Just because you launch a website on Shopify does not mean you will instantly get visitors. You need to be able to promote it.
This takes a huge amount of time and is not as easy as social media gurus tell you it is.
If you are someone who is running an online business as a side hustle and doesn't have 8 hours a day to dedicate to building an audience or promoting your products then Etsy is going to be the perfect place for you.
Etsy & Shopify SEO
It is important to note that SEO in both cases is also extremely important. Whether you run an Etsy store or own a Shopify store you will still need to implement good SEO strategies to get people over to your stores.
Whether you have launched a shop on Etsy or a shop on Shopify if you do not have SEO then nobody will be able to find your products. SEO is what will drive people to your store organically, meaning that you do not have to pay for adverts to get people to find your products.
SEO stands for search engine optimisation and is the process of implementing the keywords or phrases customers would use within search engines onto your product titles, descriptions and tags so that when a customer searches for the type of product you are selling your product appears at the top of the search results.
SEO makes sure that your products are boosted up the algorithm so that your products are one of the first products a customer sees when looking for products like yours.
What are the benefits of choosing Shopify over Etsy?
The main benefit of having a Shopify store vs an Etsy store is that you own the Shopify store. You are not reliant on Etsy to make sales.
Shopify is not going to shut down your store where if you do not follow Etsy's rules Etsy can and will shut down your Etsy store.
What can I sell on Etsy in Ireland?
You can sell lots of different products on Etsy.
Etsy was predominately a platform for people to sell homemade crafts however the marketplace is changing and people are finding success on Etsy everyday.
You can sell anything from Shopify templates, hand-made crafts, clothing, paintings, dog clothes, digital files and more.
The main thing to follow when selling on Etsy is to follow their seller's handbook rules. In this seller handbook, they give Etsy sellers a list of rules and best practices to follow to make sure their store stays active.
Etsy & trademarks
Etsy is especially strict on trademarks and it is advised that you check out a trademark database before uploading any products to Etsy to make sure the products you are selling have not been trademarked.
There are some products that you may not consider to be trademarked, such as a smiley face.
If any of your products were to have a smiley face on them then you are putting your store at risk of being shut down and getting a permanent ban from selling on Etsy.
There are a lot of different trademarked products so it is always a good idea to check a trademarked database before uploading any products to Etsy.
What should I sell on Etsy in Ireland?
This is entirely up to you! All of my stores sell digital products however if you make art or crafts or want to sell vintage clothing then all of this is possible on Etsy too.
My advice for opening an Etsy store is to pick a niche.
You can open multiple Etsy stores and it is a good idea to have a store for each niche you would like to create.
What is a niche on Etsy?
A niche is a particular industry or person you would like to cater to with your products.
So for instance your store could sell digital products to gardeners. Your ideal customers in this case would be people who are passionate about gardening and your whole Etsy store would cater to them
You could also have a store that sell vintage baby clothing. In this case, your target audience are new moms who love vintage.
Why you shouldn't sell everything on one Etsy store
What you should try and avoid is to be a store that sells vintage clothes for babies and digital products for gardeners under the same store.
Why? Because this will not do you any favours in the Etsy algorithm.
If you pick a niche store, let's say it is digital products for gardeners, then you will be using "gardening" related keywords over and over again to try and target your ideal customer - gardeners.
By using this keyword more often Etsy will understand that you are a store that is targeting one specific person. This will boost your products within the algorithm and Etsy will start to show your products to more people looking for gardening related products.
Become the expert in your field
By selling one particular group of products to one particular group of people it also means that you are seen as the expert in your field.
People will know that you are the go-to store to purchase X product which means you will get more repeat customers.
It means you can start building out mailing lists to let this group of people know when you launch a new product.
It means you have one product line, one message and one target audience.
This will make selling on Etsy a lot easier than if you were to sell 100s of different products to multiple different audiences, because in this case, you won't have one clear target audience or one clear message.
When will I start making sales on Etsy?
If you pick a niche then sales will happen quickly. Some people see sales within their first week of opening and some people see sales within a few months.
It is important to research the types of products you want to sell to make sure they are in demand before launching them.
Third-party applications like eRank will allow you to do keyword research to look at what products are trending.
It is a good idea to create products that are in demand rather than creating products you like.
When I first started selling on Etsy I made the mistake of selling products I like with no consideration to whether or not other people liked them. This meant a lot of products sat in my store unsold because I did no market research.
If you do not do any market research and create products that are not in demand then it is unlikely you will make many sales.
However, if you research product trends on eRank and create products you can see have high search volume but low competition then you will sell products a lot quicker.
If you would like to learn more about how you can create in demand products and use SEO to get them to rank on Etsy then check out my Etsy SEO guide where I give you tips and tricks on how to research products & make daily sales on Etsy.
Conclusion
Selling on Etsy is a great way to earn some extra money or even turn a side hustle into a full time job.
However Etsy requires consistency and you need to be willing to turn up daily, even if it is just for an hour, to work on your store.
Etsy is competitive but with the right SEO strategies in place, you can easily carve out a place for your products on Etsy and start making consistent sales.
