Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting an Etsy Shop (My Story)
It’s funny how life works sometimes.
Two years ago, I was scrolling through digital planner templates on Etsy, admiring other people’s creativity.
And till now, I have generated more than $100k from my Etsy shop to support my family. The journey hasn’t always been smooth, but it’s been incredibly rewarding.
Many wonder how much money you can make on Etsy, and while my results aren’t typical, they show the potential.
If you’re considering starting your own Etsy shop in 2025, I want to share my personal experience with you – the good, the bad, and everything I wish someone had told me before I began.
Why Etsy Worked For Me
Before diving into the technical aspects, let me tell you why Etsy worked for me. I’ve always enjoyed creating personalized digital planners.
Learning how to sell digital planners on Etsy was key to turning my passion into a business.
What started as a hobby of making custom planners for friends eventually led me to wonder if strangers would pay for my designs.
I wasn’t sure how much I could make selling digital downloads on Etsy, but I was excited to find out.
Etsy seemed like the perfect platform to test this idea without a huge investment. Little did I know how much I’d learn about business, marketing, and myself along the way.
Pros Of Starting An Esty Shop
Here are some of the biggest reasons to start an Etsy store in in 2025
1. Huge Audience That Loves DIY and Handmade Stuff
Etsy functions as a specialized search engine where visitors arrive with buying intent (Understanding how Etsy search works is crucial for tapping into this). This remains one of its strongest advantages in 2025.
For newcomers without an established audience, this built-in traffic is invaluable. When I started, my personal following was close to nothing, nobody knew me and my store, but Etsy helped me connect with buyers immediately.
The platform’s search algorithm has become more sophisticated in recent years, making it easier for the right customers to find your products if you understand how to optimize your listings using effective SEO keyword tools.
Platforms like eRank can also help you in this.
2. Easy To Start
The most surprising thing about launching an Etsy shop is how quickly you can get up and running.
I remember putting off starting for months because I thought it would be complicated. Having a pre-launch checklist can help streamline the process even further.
When I finally took the plunge, I had my shop live within an afternoon.
Here’s my quick startup process:
- Create your Etsy account and verify your email
- Set up payment processing (Etsy Payments makes this simple)
- Choose a memorable shop name (Choose anything you want and If you change your mind later, here’s how to change Etsy shop name)
- Add a logo and shop banner (You can easily create them inside Canva)
- Create your shop policies (Etsy provides templates)
- List your first product (Here’s a guide on how to list a digital download on Etsy)
The simplicity of this process is both a blessing and a curse. It’s easy to get started, but that also means the marketplace is crowded with competition, leading some shops towards common pitfalls that cause failure.
3. People Trust Etsy
After nearly two decades in business, Etsy has solidified its reputation as the go-to marketplace for unique, handmade, and custom items.
This established presence means customers feel comfortable making purchases, which is crucial for converting visitors into buyers. New standalone shops often struggle with building this trust.
While marketing your Etsy shop still requires effort, you’re starting from a position of marketplace credibility rather than building trust from scratch.
4. Easy Integrations With Other Platforms
Etsy offers seamless integration with platforms like Printify and Printful, providing sellers with a hassle-free print-on-demand experience.
These integrations enable sellers to create custom products without managing inventory or handling logistics. perfect if you want to start a print-on-demand T-shirt business.
Printify connects Etsy sellers with a global network of print providers, automating order fulfillment, production, and shipping.
Sellers can design products using Printify’s tools and have them shipped directly to customers, saving time and reducing upfront costs.
Challenges of Selling on Etsy in 2025 (My Experience)
Despite these advantages, there are several important drawbacks I’ve experienced that you should consider before committing fully to Etsy.
1. Huge Competition
Let me be real with you – the competition on Etsy in 2025 is absolutely fierce!
With the advancement in all these AI models, the marketplace has become so saturated that standing out feels like trying to be heard at a rock concert.
What’s particularly challenging is that Etsy’s search algorithm tends to favor established shops with sales history.
As a newcomer, this creates a frustrating chicken-and-egg problem: you need sales to rank well, but you need visibility to get sales.
2. Stupid Copycats
Nothing makes my blood boil more than seeing my original designs blatantly copied by other sellers. This has become increasingly problematic in 2025, with AI tools making it easier than ever for unscrupulous sellers to “borrow” creative concepts.
I spent months developing a unique line of personalized planners, only to find suspiciously similar versions appearing at lower prices within weeks. Some copycats even used my product photos with minimal editing!
Reporting these violations to Etsy feels like shouting into the void. While they eventually removed some listings, the process was painfully slow, and by then, the damage to my sales had already been done.
Trying to contact Etsy support effectively for these issues can be frustrating.
The worst part? Many customers can’t tell the difference between original work and copies, especially when shopping on mobile devices. They often choose based on price alone, not realizing they’re supporting unethical business practices.
3. Less Control Over Your Business
This limitation hit me hard when Etsy suddenly changed its algorithm last summer. My shop went from generating consistent daily sales to practically nothing overnight – with zero warning.
When I contacted support, I received a generic response about “ongoing platform algorithm update.” Meanwhile, my income had dropped by 70%.
These arbitrary changes remind me that I’m building my business on rented land. Etsy can change the rules anytime, and sellers have no choice but to adapt or leave.
4. Etsy Controls Everything
The lack of control extends beyond just search visibility. Etsy dictates everything from how your shop looks to how you communicate with customers.
It even promotes your competition products just below your listings and you cannot control that.
What’s truly terrifying is that your shop can get banned at any moment for seemingly arbitrary reasons. I’ve witnessed several legitimate sellers in my niche lose their entire businesses overnight without warning.
One friend who had been selling successfully for five years had her shop suddenly suspended due to an automated flag in the system. Despite providing all requested documentation and following up daily, she never regained access to her shop or the thousands of dollars in pending payments.
These horror stories aren’t rare exceptions – they’re regular occurrences in seller communities.
For eg. i found this on Reddit where Etsy refused to reinitiate a seller’s account which was suspended by mistake:
New etsy store suspended for no reason
byu/6ewhy inEtsyCommunity
Once Etsy makes a decision to close your shop, there’s often no effective appeal process or human review.
Years of hard work, customer relationships, and income can vanish in an instant, with no coming back.
This dependence on a platform that doesn’t have your individual business interests at heart creates constant uncertainty and stress.
5. Cannot Build an Email List
In today’s digital marketplace, your email list is often your most valuable business asset – yet Etsy makes building one nearly impossible.
Unlike having your own website, you can’t add pop-ups, embedded forms, or even prominent links to newsletter sign-ups. The platform intentionally limits these options because they want customers to remain within the Etsy ecosystem.
When customers make purchases, Etsy owns that relationship. While they provide buyer email addresses, their terms of service strictly limit how you can use this information. Direct marketing to these addresses risks of account suspension.
I learned this lesson the hard way after building a modest business on Etsy. When a policy change affected my shop visibility, I had no direct way to reach my previous customers. Had I been collecting emails independently from day one, I could have weathered the storm.
This email list limitation alone is reason enough to consider Etsy as just one part of a more comprehensive business strategy rather than your entire business plan.
Is Etsy Worth In 2025?
After weighing all these factors, you’re probably wondering if Etsy is even worth your time in 2025.
Here’s my honest take: it’s complicated.
For complete beginners testing the waters of selling handmade or digital products, Etsy still offers the lowest barrier to entry.
The platform handles the technical aspects while providing immediate access to potential customers. I started this way myself and don’t regret it. Eventually learning if making a full-time income from Etsy is feasible long-term.
However, I absolutely would not recommend building your entire business empire on Etsy alone – that’s like constructing a house on someone else’s property without a lease agreement!
The smart approach is using Etsy strategically as one sales channel while simultaneously developing your own website and direct customer relationships from day one.
Think of Etsy as training wheels that you’ll eventually outgrow, not your forever home.
The successful sellers I know treat Etsy as a customer acquisition tool rather than their primary business platform.
They use creative product inserts, exceptional customer service, and strategic social media to guide Etsy customers toward their independent platforms.
Is this extra work? Absolutely.
But the security and control of having your own business foundation separate from Etsy’s whims is priceless.
My biggest regret isn’t starting on Etsy – it’s waiting too long to diversify beyond it.