An “Etsy Throw down”

Let’s be honest…I’d rather be crafting than sitting in front of my computer at my workstation…but sadly, I have bills to pay.  So, until I figure out a way to make money through crafting…I’ve gotta keep my day job.    

As a challenge for me to start seriously thinking about doing some crafting as a side business, my big sis has given me an “Etsy Throw down”.  My challenge is to start my market research into how to turn my hobby into a business, and she has suggested that I should research the top 20 selling Etsy businesses.   

FYI – Etsy – is a fab website that was developed back in 2005 (sadly I only discovered it in 2007).  It is a crafters paradise – where members can buy and sell handmade items, vintage items and supplies.  Lots of fun!  I was first introduced to the site when I was doing humanitarian work in Indonesia as part of the tsunami emergency response.  A fellow humanitarian worker showed me some great sites with hand dyed yarn and pointed out that the sellers were willing to ship anywhere.   How excited was I to receive lovely hand dyed yarn on the remote island of Nias, Indonesia?!?  Anyway, Etsy is now my number 1 resource for great crafting supplies (fabric, notions, etc), and handmade gifts for nieces and friends.  I love it!

So, how can I turn my passion for crafting into a moneymaker? 

My initial research reveals that many of the ‘Etsy top sellers’ are those selling supplies…not a surprise.  Craftcount is a cool website that tracks top Etsy sellers – and you can filter the list by country or category.

And another interesting Etsy fact from Wikipedia:

“Etsy makes money by charging a listing fee of 20 cents for each item and getting 3.5 percent of every sale, with the average sale about $15 or $20 and mostly sold by women, who tend to be college-educated and in their twenties and thirties.” 

Hmmm…

-          Woman – CHECK

-          College Educated - CHECK

-          33 years old – CHECK

Now…what to sell?  I’ve gotta do some more research.