Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies. Instead of building your own store and finding customers from scratch, you list products in front of a large audience of shoppers who are already looking for one-of-a-kind and personalized items.
Opening a shop is free, and Etsy handles checkout and payments through Etsy Payments. Sellers get tools for managing listings, running sales and coupons, buying discounted shipping labels, and promoting products with Etsy Ads.
Etsy is a strong fit for makers, artists, and vintage sellers who want to test products and start selling without technical setup. It’s a weaker fit for mass-produced goods, which Etsy’s handmade, vintage, and craft supply rules are meant to keep out, and for businesses that want full control over their branding and customer relationships.
The main thing to watch is how fees stack up. Listing, transaction, and payment processing fees together often take around 10% of a sale, and shops that pass $10,000 in sales over 12 months are automatically enrolled in Offsite Ads. Competition in popular categories is also heavy.
For Long Island makers who already sell at craft fairs, farmers markets, and pop-ups, Etsy is a practical way to keep sales going year-round and reach buyers well beyond the Island.