Best things to sell on Etsy
Do you want to start your own small business and sell on Etsy, but you’re not sure whether it’s worth the time? This post is filled with advice about how to find what sells best on Etsy so you can start right away!
There are so many things you could sell on Esty, from physical crafts to digital products, Etsy can become your playground and future business base!
Here’s a list of the best and most profitable things to sell on Etsy – so you can get up and running in a few hours (with digital products) or a few days (with physical products).
What sells the most on Etsy?
There are a wide variety of crafts & supplies that sell well on Etsy, which is unsurprising considering the large demographic of people who use the website.
Some popular items include craft essentials, miniatures, tools for jewelry-making and crafting with beads. Alongside these there’s also other smaller products such as home décor and apparel that can very popular.
When it comes to digital products, planners and calendars do really well on Etsy. Other digital products that sell the most on Etsy are eBooks, printables and design templates.
What is profitable to sell on Etsy?
The most profitable items to sell on Esty are 100% digital products. Your profit margins when selling a digital product is over 90% compared to much smaller percentages when you sell a physical product that takes time to create and ship. And it’s not hard to come up with a digital product idea either!
When selling physical products on Esty, the other things to take into consideration when deciding whether or not an item is worth it to sell are the cost of materials, search terms and competition. If you plan to make money off of selling an item, it’s essential to think about how much competition there is in that niche.
More competition means more sale potentially, it also means your product needs to be stellar.
What is the easiest thing to sell on Etsy?
The easiest thing to sell on Etsy is a digital product. Creating and publishing an eBook, printable or design template takes less time than creating a physical product.
Your profit margins can also be higher when you sell a digital product. The other bonus of selling eBooks/templates/printables are that there’s zero shipping involved.
Here are ideas for printables you can create and sell today!
What can I sell on Etsy to make money 2021?
You can sell anything on Etsy, if you’re looking to make some extra cash and have a knack for creating things, then there is no reason why being creative with your hands won’t pay off.
Being creative with your mind also isn’t a bad idea! Remember that you don’t always need to create an actual physical product to benefit from the power of the Etsy platform. You could create a digital product in an afternoon and be making sales by sunset!
What crafts sell best 2021?
The crafts that currently sell best on Etsy include anything and everything handmade. There’s a huge array of products you can make from scratch, this includes things like furniture, clothing, home décor and so much more!
It really is difficult to choose what craft would be the most popular because each year, new trends seem to come about.
Maybe a better question to ask yourself is, if you’re going to do physical products, what do you like to create? What are you efficient at?
What if your sales increase? Will you be able to keep up? Will you build your team and expand your facility?
Or again, if you go the digital route, all of this is already taken care of. No inventory, unlimited quantities and no shipping delays. But, I’m a little biased since my business is based on digital products.
What crafts are trending on Esty?
Trends change so frequently, a trend one day could be completely out of style the next.
That being said, there are still timeless trends that make their way around every few years and will continue to sell for years to come.
Some of these include:
- Handmade home decor
- Pottery
- Clothing accessories
- Jewelry and wearable art
- Earrings and Necklaces + Cuffs
- Souvenir
- Candles
- Hand sewn pillows
- Anything plants
- Organizational items
- Wedding things
- Supplies: Bridesmaids Gifts, Wedding Day Attire, Party Favors, Purses, Jewelry
- Bachelorette party supplies
- Funny invitations
- Holiday cheer Knick knacks
- DIY kits
- Anything wooden
- Gift tags
- Tote bags, shopping bags etc.
- DIY Crafts: Fabric Scrapbook Albums, Crochet Accessories + Sweaters
- Art + Prints: Art Prints, DIY Embroidery Project Kits (for hanging in your home)
- Greeting Cards
- Fabric Wreaths and Pillows
- Clothing / Accessories: T-Shirts and Dresses + Waist Aprons
- Papergoods + Stationery: Blank Cards, Notebooks and Journals + Notepads
- Kids: Art Kits + DIY
- Succulent Frames
- Home + Furniture: Bathroom Storage Solutions, Dirt Planters + Fireplace Mantels
- Storage Solutions: Baskets, Rugs and more!
Keep in mind there are seasonality with what’s trending on Etsy as well. You’ll be selling more backyard toys and gadgets in the summer than in the winter.
To be the most profitable, choose an item that can sell year round. Or, get popular items for every season so you can continuously make great sales.
What DIY crafts sell best?
The best DIY crafts to sell on Etsy are those that are simple yet unique. While it’s great to come up with a new craft idea, sometimes the most well-known crafts tend to take off faster than the others.
You should also consider how difficult the craft is, if you’re a beginner, you may want to stick with something a little easier to create. Or, let your customers know that you’re a beginner and would prefer to help them, rather than doing it yourself. You can always have more advanced projects for those who are looking for a challenge!
Some of the top DIY crafts on Etsy include:
- Handmade bath & body products
- All types of jewelry
- Quilt Kits
- Embroidery Patterns and Kits
- Handmade books
- Painting kits
- Floating shelves
- Tote bags, shopping bags and other household items
- Greeting cards, notecards and stationery
- Minimalist anything
What handmade items sell best?
If you’re looking for the highest profit margins, then I’d say that its neck and neck between jewelry and clothing.
If I had to pick one over the other, though, I’d go with jewelry because it’s easier to make than clothing (and there are less restrictions). While clothes require a lot of sewing, jewelry requires much less touch time.
If you’re the type of person who likes to make clothes by hand, though, that’s fine! Just know that it might be harder for you to compete in profit margins than someone who specializes in jewelry.
But again, if your goal is to make money on Etsy, I’d go with the highest profit margin items you can sell, and those are digital items.
How to find the Best things to sell on Etsy
In all honesty, the best way to find what is selling best on Etsy is to go to Esty. Go through every one of the top categories, check the reviews and ratings.
You can see the sales of each item directly on Etsy, which perfectly shows you if it’s popular or not.
If you want to sell jewelry, see what’s trending on Etsy, check what other people are saying, decide how you’ll improve your design and make your jewelry stand out from the crowd.
You can literally do this with any niche or type of product on Etsy.
Should you sell on Etsy
While I think starting your little physical or digital shop on Etsy is a great idea – I definitely do not encourage you to stay there forever.
I highly suggest creating your own website and selling items directly from your own shop or blog. You’ll have higher profit margins, higher conversions and much lower competition.
If you’re convinced to start your little shop on Etsy first, then I’d recommend starting small with just a few items that are popular or easy to sell. You totally can make money on Etsy, it’s not overnight, but it’s lovely that all the tech is taken care of for you!
In conclusion
While Etsy is a great place to start your online shop, but it’s not the best option for long term success.
If you’re looking to build a business that will grow with you and last for years to come, then I’d recommend starting your own e-commerce site instead of staying on Etsy forever.
The biggest benefit of having your own website is higher profit margins because you have lower overhead costs and less competition. You can also sell things directly from your blog or shop without worrying about fees!
Hi Suzi,
It was such a great resource! I love shopping from Etsy, and so do several people in my family. Selling on Etsy sounds like an amazing option, and my sister has been thinking about the same as well. She has a website, but she is thinking about diversifying her platforms. I am sure she will learn a lot from this article. It was such a helpful read! I will definitely share this with her to help her as well.