Any Etsy Experts out there?

[GoldRapt]

I was wondering about the pros and cons of Etsy and hope that the gurus, etc might help.
I have had a scoot around the search bar but thought asking a new question would be easier in obtaining insight into people experiences, both good and bad.

Whilst I know that there are UK base Etsy shops, I have always thought that Etsy was USA centric, a thought reinforced by some members who say that they thier shops at USA sales and price in dollars, together with at least one opinion that Etsy discouraged UK sellers and made things harder for them.

Can we have some discussion about the pros and cons of Etsy and the best strategies for someone who has never had an Etsy shop and is trying to learn.

Thanks in advance.

[pisquee]

Yeah, we aim at USA for sales on Etsy - priced in dollars, USA English spellings, and have USA shipping included - this last one, they pushed as something that would get you up the algorythm - we saw a 30% boost in sales from doing that.
We also sell on our own website and NOTHS, which we use primarily for UK sales, but both recieve international orders.

[GoldRapt]

Thanks pisquee, so is etsy a waste of time for uk sales and are all your outlets using the same name or one specific to the platform used please?

[pcwizme]

I sell on etsy (laser cut stuff rather than dye sub) and its 70% uk 30 ROW for me, but I am UK focused. TBH theres not really any thing else other than etsy (ok theres folksy and numonday and Notonthehighstreet and amazon handmade) but Etsy is the best know at the moment.

[GoonerGary]

Etsy was great before covid. I used to sell a lot on there, with 70% going to the USA. Then they brought in 'local search results' for buyers, then the sales to the USA dropped down. But since covid, the cost of posting a mug to the USA has tripled, so I didn't relist for the USA after lockdown. Covid also brought in hundreds of new sellers onto Etsy, with all of the new shops given a boost in the rankings. My own website brings in most of my sales now with Amazon replacing the USA sales I used to have.