As an online business visionary, have you ever thought about making it big on Etsy?
Perhaps you have questions.
Maybe you’re wondering … What would you even sell on Etsy?
Is Etsy the Best Place to Sell?
There are various Internet business platforms.
Some of the most popular include Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, and so forth … and Etsy definitely doesn’t feature top in this classification.
But it has a huge market nonetheless.
What is ETSY?
Etsy is an eCommerce website that focuses on hand-made, vintage things and specialty supplies. Here you can sell many things, including jewelry and gems, accessories, purses and packs, apparel, home decor, furniture of all kinds, and plenty of other items.
Etsy has had 45.7 million purchasers, and 2.5 million dealers are currently active on the platform (Data from Statista).
So, it is definitely a popular eCommerce site.
Can You Earn Good Money on Etsy?
In short, yes!
I am a sculpture artist, and I earn a good income from Etsy. If you are wondering how much you will make on the platform, the exact amount will depend on a few factors, including:
- The demand for your items
- Their design, quality, and unique features
- Competition for similar products
- Shipping fees
Does Etsy Charge Fees?
Yes, sellers have to pay a commission for running their shop on Etsy. Here is the breakdown:
To open an Etsy shop: FREE
Posting an item: $0.20 to list everything for a very long time
Transaction fees: Etsy takes 5% of the selling price as commission
Shipping fees: These vary based on the shipping company you pick. You can add postage fees to the item’s cost so that the client pays for it.
How to Start Selling on Etsy
To make your own Etsy shop, you’ll need to sign in and make your Etsy account.
This will turn into your profile for running the shop and/or buying things.
Spruce up your profile by adding a good profile picture and a preview of yourself or your logo.
You want to tell people who you are and what you sell.
Next step?
Start making and selling creative stuff!
That’s what we’ll focus on in this post:
Surprising (AND Bizarre) Things that Sell Successfully Well on Etsy
1. Customized Items
Customized things are an Etsy staple. They have a vast market and set you apart from the competition, to begin with.
Personalized products are consistently in demand and considered the best items to sell on Etsy.
Note that customization may involve a few steps:
- Taking a known product and adding unique elements to it such as color, shape, design, function, etc.
- Creating a new product and offering several personalized versions of it
You can tweak and sell numerous items as customized, such as mugs, furniture, T-shirts, glasses, armbands, etc.
If you do screen-printing for these items, you can begin by sourcing these items in mass, or you can leverage a print-on-demand POD service for printing and transporting your item to the client.
2. Witch dolls and voodoo paraphernalia
You may be wondering who would want to buy a spooky porcelain doll for revenge spells or talking to dead people.
You’d be surprised.
Etsy has many searchers looking for voodoo dolls and other creepy things long before and after Halloween.
Many shops that sell voodoo dolls also offer mystic readings (and some buyers profess their information is precise).
Voodoo dolls may range from $39 to $147, and readings from $4 to $10.
Where does the demand for voodoo dolls come from?
Experts say that voodoo dolls are ideal for venting anger and disappointment if somebody has frustrated or hurt you. Essentially, you can put a photograph of their face on the doll and stick it with pins to de-stress.
So, ex-boyfriends, former girlfriends, divorcees, etc. buy voodoo dolls en masse, along with people who have been angered by friends, enemies, mothers, fathers, and bosses.
Does it work?
Interestingly, some health experts have said that, rather than allowing staff to brood over harsh managers, which might send the quality of their work downhill, employees should be allowed to vent their disappointments on a voodoo doll.
They did a study to show that allowing employees to take their outrage out on a lifeless thing is actually therapeutic.
It worked, as 33% of those who took part in the study reported relief from negative emotions and “felt much more pleasantly” about their managers.”
Who know, right?
3. Love jujus
Abracadabra! Love is a beautiful thing, but it can also be super stressful to find and keep. However it comes about, love is priceless.
Accordingly, many in the world are looking for love. So love spells sell massively on Etsy.
According to the sellers, many unique love spells can function well together and deliver the ideal outcome.
So, these love doctors help their customers fall in love and make someone obsessed with them.
But how do you sell a spell?
If you want to earn from selling love spells, do some research online. Many sites can guide you to “conjure powerful spells” that satisfy your buyers by fulfilling their desired wish—to fall/stay in love.
The process entails studying spell writing, rituals, and methods for casting spells. From common knowledge in the public domain, a love spell sold online comprises of:
- Chants, mantras, or poems (in the form of books or articles)
- Specific prayers to certain deities
- Instructions about objects needed to cast the spell
- Portions and recipes (yes, food)
4. Lottery winning number spells
Yes, we’re still on the dark side of things.
Etsy vendors specialize in lottery winning numbers, and they sell big. Just do a quick search with “lottery numbers” on the platform and see how many sellers come up—they are many.
There is a strong market for lottery winning number spells.
Why?
Many people dream of winning the lottery.
After all, materialism is prevalent—many people would like to get crazy sums of money real quick and start living like the millionaires they see on TV.
But the odds of winning the lottery are around 1 in 300 million. So, given that it is nearly impossible to win the lottery, many have turned to magic.
The spells sold on Etsy can reportedly help bettors arrive at lucky winning numbers.
Many of these sellers say their jujus were made three centuries ago.
They claim that, from the beginning, they have been assisting individuals in getting rich quickly.
Looking at it logically, though, these could be no more than mathematicians and speculators.
There are many mathematical formulae for arriving at potentially lucky numbers in a lottery. These formulae involve tracking past lottery numbers and employing some probability calculations.
Once you get the numbers, you can say you’ve found magic!
Put it up for sale.
5. Anime cosplay outfits
Cosplay is so popular these days among fans of anime and science fiction.
And in the age of TikTok millionaires—yes, youngsters are earning millions from parodying themselves up on social media—you can make decent money from creating and selling anime costumes.
The inception stage for any cosplay-outfit-making process is to pick your character and gather as many pictures as you can of their outfit.
Work out what you’ll require for every component and element to make the costume work.
Before you search the market for cloth and materials, check what’s in your closet first. There may be ways to change your current attires into something that fits the anime character you are going for.
Most ensembles will require some sewing to make the completed outfit. You can download free sewing designs online that match your outfit.
Cosplay is about having fun, so don’t stress over design elements that don’t fit.
Starting from scratch can be a good thing as you get to creatively control how the costume finally comes out.
From belts to caps, bodices, wings, and weapons, there are so many cosplay niches to run with on Etsy.
6. Animal parts and art
Do you like animals, crawling and creeping things? Are you creative enough to turn them into art?
If yes, there is a market for you on Etsy …
People who buy items made of arachnids, snakes, bugs, and bones will absolutely adore them.
You may be able to create amulets, décor, or attire made of tarantula parts and cockroach shells, turtle shells, and even bones.
But you don’t have to actually use pieces of animals.
If you are a painter, simply pick up the brush to start making money. Etsy buyers like pictures of dogs and cats just as much as they love these animals in real life.
Zero in on a specific breed of dogs and take advantage of that canine’s fan club. (Best-selling dog pictures are often painted in a home setting, gazing toward their owner in respect and adoration.)
Or, you could opt for painting canvases of wildlife, and thus represent the untamed, undomesticated parts of nature.
Most genuine artisans would rather not focus on selling their creations.
After all, it is a personal task to create such items, and it can be hard to offer them up for sale.
I have experienced that, too. I tend to “collect” my own creations.
Nonetheless, if you want to make a little money, Etsy buyers will gladly pay a premium for a beautiful piece.
7. Piggy bags
I have also realized that animal fashion—not the same as animal print—is a large yet underexploited market on Etsy.
A few fashioners have embraced a literal interpretation of the idea of animal prints. They make handbags, and other clothing items in the shape of pigs, rats, dogs, and cats.
These creators embrace eccentricity and humor in their creations.
For instance, pig handbags are quickly becoming a trend. Some are new forms of adored works of art, similar to the Loewe Bunny.
Others are fresh-out-of-the-bag new and appear to have shown up out of nowhere.
It’s probably not too late to hop on the bandwagon!
Who is the market for animal fashion on Etsy?
Nonconformists, creative, hippy, and trendsetting young women that are tired of using vanilla handbags—these are your buyers.
Study them and find out their desires and challenges, then get to work.
8. Vintage photographs
Collecting vintage photos can be a valuable hobby.
Much the same as with books, you’re probably not gathering photos simply for monetary benefit.
You do it because you love history, or symbolism, or the individuals immortalized in the pictures.
Or perhaps you are fascinated with the specific kind of camera used for the photo.
So, use this passion for Etsy selling!
When you follow your passion in this manner, you are bound to come up with an awe-inspiring collection of old photos – the ones that would sell for insane amounts of money if you listed them on eBay.
For example:
- A stamped (original) photo of American industrialist Andrew Carnegie sold for $3,500.
- An original photo of political lobbyist Helen Keller sold for $2,750.
- A photograph of entertainer Basil Rathbone sold for $2,500.
These are just examples of how crazy rewarding this market is.
Some people even buy photos of old funerals—the famous funerals or post mortem photos that look vintage.
Very strange, but we all have our quirks, right?
9. Artistic soaps
Some people are addicted to computer games. Others to pets, music, and other passions … from normal to bizarre.
Did you know that you can create bathing soaps that look like all these? Also, there is a huge market on Etsy for them.
One seller turned soap into a video game. You can make yours into a guitar, an animal, a beautiful woman, and so forth.
This is perhaps the easiest form of art to create.
Take a big bar of soap and start chipping away, aiming for your specific shape. A little patience and your figurines will materialize.
You can add flare with color and lettering, then package them nicely and list them on eBay.
10. Custom gems
Probably the best thing to sell on Etsy to bring in cash is gems. The biggest Etsy stores (a.k.a. the ones making more money) are selling gems.
This includes high-quality pieces of jewelry, accessories, armbands, and earrings.
But don’t limit yourself.
Think more deeply. What about animal skulls, insects, or plant leaves preserved and solidified in clear resin?
You can perfect the art of making beautiful ornaments from human teeth, creepy crawlies, skeletons, and pretty much anything you come across.
You just need a bit of dedication and creativity.
I have seen an Etsy seller who takes things like frog hearts, scorpions, and fowl skulls and works them into pendants and rings.
And buyers are crazy in love with these creations that can sell for as much as $100.
The Bottom Line
Etsy is an excellent place to have fun and make money.
It is a marketplace where people are looking for unique items, so no one will vilify you for thinking unimaginably far out of the box.
Seriously, you can sell virtually anything on Etsy.
If you are a creator and are eager to start, first take some time to study the market, Etsy’s policies, and buyer trends before creating and listing your items.
Be creative, and have some fun!
