Biggest takeaway is that this is a GRIND. Definitely not a get rich quick scheme. I've learned a ton from you and two other Etsy gurus and found that your videos and products definitely helped me with my growth (that pricing calculator helped so much!). I've just hit two months and have 41 sales, just slightly above $1k. Still no profit due my investments (mocks, trainings, etc.) but it's been rewarding. It just takes work and continuous learning and most of all patience! I do feel like I missed the boat as you say but keeping at it :) Thank you for the great content, Cassiy!
Congrats on getting started and getting your first 41 sales!! I got my first 40 sales in about a month so seriously you are right on par with where I started. Before you have reviews and sales history, it is slower. I'd say you first 100 sales are the biggest grind in my opinion. And if you haven't seen Shawna's interview on my channel, I would definitely go watch that for motivation. She didn't sell much at all her first 8 months but then she switched up what she was doing and now 2 years later has quit her job and sells Etsy full time. She recently just sold $107,000 in November alone!! So you have definitely not missed the boat.
Thank you Cassiy for another informative video with great content. I'm about 4 months in with 87 sales and just under $3000 in revenue. I owe it all to you! I have several listings up for Valentine's Day and have many St. Patrick's Day ideas in mind. I'm having a great time and nothing beats hearing that "cha-ching" - even if it comes during the middle of the night and scares me to death! Keep up the great work...I'm so happy for your success. 😍
LOL I love that you leave the sound on through the night!! It drove my husband too crazy all the notifications for everything so I have my phone on do not disturb from 12:30am - 8:00am. But I do love that cha Ching sound! Congrats on getting started and taking action, I am so excited for you!!!
I just started my POD business (adding products to my Etsy sticker shop) and am having sales. Plus it is so much fun! Thanks for all of the helpful videos!
Hey Ann! Congrats on getting started, excited to see how your shop is going to grow over the next few months. Loving your videos that you are sharing so far! For anyone who sees this comment, check out Ann's channel to see weekly income reports of how her journey is going after starting a few weeks ago with her business!
You are such a smart and ambitious young person! Thank you for sharing this. Yesterday, 12/13/22 I turned 61 and I'm still learning what you already have learned, profited from, and now are so generous to share with others. I remember when Esty first started and so many like me thought it wouldn't last. I remember when Ebay first started and their fees were less than 1%. However, I learned Ebay and made a decent income on their platform for a number of years. Continuing down memory lane, yes, I remember time before the internet. Anyway, I look forward to all you have to share - thanks again! :)
HI! I hope my videos are super valuable to you! And wow, so glad you were able to make some income on Ebay! You may be able to teach me a thing or two ;)
I like shopping on Etsy very much. I appreciate the sellers very much and how hard they work and always let them know I do. I have rarely had a unsatisfying experience on Etsy.
I can’t stress how helpful your videos have been for me starting my Etsy shop. I really feel like I have an eye for graphic designing and having a platform like Etsy to sell on is a great way for me to monetize this passion of mine. Thank you so much Cassiy! Keep up the videos ❤😊
Hello Cassiy, first, thank you for your transparency. It is really refreshing. I got serious with my Etsy store in October. Aside from selling to three family members, I am still trying to attract my first real order. I am full-time and just hit 106 listings. I started with mugs on my own site using Printful and moved those over to Printify because it allowed me to be more competitive with pricing. A definite newbie, I am now adding tees and sweatshirts starting with the designs from some of the mugs. I am considering adding pillows. The hardest part so far has been the doubts that persist while waiting for that first real sale. However, I am determined to keep moving forward with listings because of the hope that I get from watching your videos. I will definitely watch the series in hopes of improving my store, the designs, and branding. Again, thank you for the information and God bless you.
Keep going! It's so hard sometimes, but every order that comes in will help you hone in on what works for you! I've been an Etsy seller for a long time; however, POD is new to me too! I feel the same about Cassiy's videos and transparency! There will always be those moments of doubt, but keep going! Wishing you loads of success!
Just remember to keep listing. There will be a time when you least expect it that you will get a notification of a sale and it will be the best feeling.
I know you said you started on your own site, I don't know if you've tried Etsy yet but I really do think it would be worth a try for you since you don't have to bring your own traffic. My best advice for where you are is to stop adding new products until you find success with one of them. Designing for t-shirts, mugs and pillows are all very different skillsets. It's going to be hard to get a good handle on how to do them each really well compared to what sells well in those markets if you are splitting your attention. I'd recommend focussing on one product for awhile so you can really research and understand what types of niches sell well on them and what design styles are currently trending. Because you can make a gorgeous design and add it to a shirt but if it's not what's trendy and popular right now, then it won't sell as well if that makes sense! Just keep working towards getting 1% better everyday and you'll eventually get there!
@Cassiy Johnson thank you for the advice. I was a little vague, but I moved from my own site to Etsy in October. I am full-time on Etsy now. I will concentrate on one product as you suggested...again, thank you.
This video came to me right as i was thinking, gosh, i think I've missed the boat!! I naively thought I'd make my designs, post them and sales would flow my way... But... It's not like that. I've had to go back to reframe my mindset and also consider if this is something I want to grind for and be patient for. I also made the mistake of having products i love, but maybe they're not what other people want (i sell clothing based on the astrological signs). I've put time and $ into starting and think that I'll have to rework some of my designs and try some others in the new year. Printify has been a huge blessing, as has this channel. Thank you so much for your time and transparency.
Cassiy, I genuinely thank you for everything! Thank you for the priceless info you provide, for your course and for your pod calendar. I've learned a lot from you and now I ran live my etsy store. Wish you all the best, you deserve it!!!
Hi Cassiy, I just wanted to say thank you SO much for all your work. My mom recommended your channel a few weeks ago and I'm so grateful she did! I'm just starting my Etsy store now following your free mini guide course. Omg the information there is SO valuable!! I've been watching all your videos and I think it's incredible that you bring so much value in every single video. That's so hard to see nowadays. I greatly appreciate your tips, advice and kindness in sharing with all of us. You are a beautiful soul and I wish you lots of blessings and success your way. Thank you again!! 🙏
Thank you for your help! I spent 5 years working hard on a suspense novel, THE LINCOLN CLONE, and though there's a handful of great reviews on Amazon, there are no sales equal to the time I spent. I'm excited to work hard at THIS now, using my art background and your guidance.
Congrats on getting started! I know it's definitely a grind but will be well worth it in the end if this is something you really want. I'd watch Shawna's interview on my channel if you haven't already. She sold very little her first 8 months and then she started to get it and now a little over 2 years later she has quit her teaching job and sold over $400k in revenue!! If you notice her video says she sold $295k on Etsy but she actually sold $107k more since then just in the month of November. I know the journey looks different for everyone but I hope her story gives you some motivation to keep going and trying different things until you make it work!
Cassiy - can you make some videos about starting a mockup business on Etsy? I know you recently started your own mockup store and you would have some great insights! I would love to know about equipment you use, how you do the photos and set ups, etc. Thanks for all your awesome videos!!
Ciao Cassiy! Thank you for the video!!! Yes. I am still has to crack sales ;-) I was thinking it is easier. But I will not give up. Could you tell us now in December for what to design for? Valentine's day and st Patrick? Any other?
OK I am 69 yrs young but I am not even connected to Etzy. I registered but I am not sure of what to do next. I will view your video again and make sense of it all. Thank you so much for being kind. I will be able to make sense of it all.
The problem I'm having is getting buried in the searches. Even completely irrelevant products from established sellers get higher rankings and bury my products. It's very frustrating. Even as a consumer this would be frustrating with so many irrelevant products coming up when I search for very specific things.
Hi Cassiy! Thank you so much for all of your helpful info. You are an AMAZING teacher and I have learned to much from you! I honestly would not have pursued this journey if I had not stumbled across your videos! I am just officially starting my Etsy shop (after months of research), however, I have a few questions regarding whether or not I should focus on Christmas designs as it is halfway through December. Should I focus on Christmas at all right now or just move onto Valentine's Day? What areas do you suggest I focus on?
It’s too late for Xmas. Buy Cassiy’s calendar and you will be on track for each holiday. It’s listed in the notes after some of the videos. And also buy her financial records resource. It will help you get your pricing right for your store.😊
Q please: When Printify says the fulfilment is from Germany, how can that have 2.4 business days for Avg. production time? Do they not count shipping time to US? TIA
Thank you so much for your consistent info & knowledge. I've been waiting for the course and I glad to see it's here! I want to ask, will you be offering a longer in-depth paid course at any time? If so, I'd love to join :)
Hey Cassiy, I remember you mentioned you might be launching a course?? I've reviewed the other options and I definitely want to sign up for yours when it opens up!
What I find weird is that no one knows what I'm talking about when I tell them to look on etsy for a product they are looking for. They always say "isn't that a make up subscription?" Or "isn't that a place to just buy poorly made tshirts". That's still a thing to day. I worked with teachers and wedding planners that don't know about it even today. I have seen its not worth it because there are more sellers than buyers. I don't even want to ship on etsy so why sale there? It's way too saturated..and it will cost way too much just to list the things I make. Most do better selling at markets and shops with a fenders license.
Totally understand your feelings but Etsy sellers sell over 2 Billion per year in sales! There is definitely not more sellers than buyers and can be a great opportunity for people looking to take the time to understand what demand there already is on Etsy for products and then being willing to create new items for that demand that people will love!
Everything changed last week since they started a tv campaign and their license for Latin America was suspended so all of those stores had closed their Etsy accounts. So give it try now!
Cassiy your videos are amazing! I started my Etsy shop 3 weeks ago and have made 2 sales! I've been using Printful and I LOVE that I can just quickly create a listing on Etsy, and only worry about syncing it with Printful if it actually sells. Does Printify work the same way? Or do you have to actually go in and create each product on Printify in order to list it on your shop? Thanks SO much!
With Printify it's easier if you just list the item starting on Printify and so it's all set and automated when you get your orders! Congrats on getting started and getting your first sales!!
I’m getting ready to start an online shop and am trying to decide if I want to go with Etsy or Shopify. I understand I’ll have to double down on marketing with Shopify or some other site where I own the web page.
I think it makes the most sense to start on Etsy. This will bring you organic traffic that you can learn from on what works and what doesn’t. Then you can take your successful items to a Shopify store. Then when you are testing ad strategies and social media strategies to drive traffic, you at least know that if you get these products in front of the right people, then they will buy. It’s very hard to learn design, ads, social media, customer service etc all at once! So I think Etsy is the perfect place to start! Etsy also handles all the sales taxes for you. On Shopify you have to I believe pay this monthly to each state that you sell enough in, which would just be complicated when you are first getting started. Best of luck!
Hi Cassiy! I love all your videos! Can you explain the 3% charge that is in addition to the 6.5%? I never hear that one mentioned when Etsy charges are explained. Thank you!
Binging your content! Thank you so much…your videos are so helpful. I am in analysis paralysis about opening a shop. Do you think all of the naysayers about Etsy are people who didn’t put in the market research and ongoing effort? I am willing to do all the things and be patient but I am still concerned about time risk and failure. Do you think people do all the right things and still fail?
The fact that smily faces are copyrighted really gets to me. How much more greedy can you get than to prevent any one else from using a smiley face?!? That’s like copywriting a daisy or the sun!
Your content is so fantastic! Do you notice if there is a big difference in using "t-shirt", "shirt", "tee" etc in keywords and titles? I'm wondering if I should be mixing it up or does the algorithm treat it all the same?
Thank you for all the information you share... It has really helped me understand things! Do you recommend also using a program like sale Samurai? Or do you only use Everbee for your SEO research? Thank you
Wow I'm super discouraged. Kathy D. is four months in with 87 sales! That's amazing@ I've had ONE organic sale and it's been eight months. Maybe I'm not working hard enough at it. I've been following all the videos. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong! :(
Thank you again for all your help! I have started with printify and selling tshirts and im not understanding the profit margin here.. i was hoping you can help me understand. me making $1.40 on 2 shirts doesnt sound like my time sitting at a computer putting lisitngs together..... your videos are amazing and very helpful i guess im just missing it. ive sold 4 tshirts all made different profits off them. but i sold 2 together and thats where i made only $1.40 off two .
Hi Cassiy, thank you so much for all these tutorials. Among the videos I've seen, it is only in your channel that I found true value. I just have clarifications, I hope you can help me. Does listing means having one design in different merchandise (shirt, hoodie)? Where do you place the price for your items? On Printify or your Etsy store? Thank you so much
Etsy is so complicated when starting my business. I had to use shopify because of their inability to help me get started. Their customer service needs to be improved.
My Etsy store was suspended almost as soon as I opened it and linked it to printify. I was in the process of linking my first product from printify when they suspended the store. Once they reviewed my ID they removed the suspension, no explanation. I uploaded three of my own designs (no trademarks, no copyright issues, only free elements used from canva), got suspended again. I replied to their previous email and got an automatic reply back to wait - I have not heard from Etsy for quite a few weeks now. If I shoot them another email filling out the suspension form again, they might look into it... but the experience of getting suspended twice right after just opening my store has made me never want to use their platform. I have been selling some designs on redbubble for a year, but want to open my own store. I thought I'd try Etsy before doing that, but it just feels unsafe to put any time and money into a store that gets banned randomly with no explanation or recourse other than "wait 2 weeks for review". Imagine if I had paid to run advertisements to a banned page.
Thank you Cassiy, much need motivation as a complete beginner. I just started few weeks ago n really excited !! I live in a country where etsy supports only paypal, my accepted payment method in my shop policies is paypal. I'm worried, will it be a problem when a buyer decides to purchase but card payment is not available on my shop. Plz need your view on this.
I am not as familiar with that but I think people can still use a credit card/debit card to purchase even when you only have PayPal available. Here are some instructions I found online that you could add to a photo card within your photos or to your description! You may be able to pay with a card via PayPal without a PayPal account. Here's how: Select Check out with PayPal and you’ll be redirected to PayPal. Instead of choosing to pay with your PayPal account, select Pay with Debit or Credit Card. You'll be prompted to fill in your billing and credit card information. Enter your email address so PayPal can send you a receipt. Select Continue to return to Etsy. Your payment isn't sent until you select the Submit order on Etsy.
Hey Cassiy! Another great video and gives me hope for my new Etsy shop! I know you said when you list an item to copy it at least 3 times and change the cover photo...are those copy listings still linked to Printfy automatically or if I get an order will I have to manually place the order. I'm SO confused!
I want to start a shop so bad. I’m not so worried about trademarks I’m more worried about getting a case against me. Don’t you only get 3 before Etsy completely shuts your shop down? That just doesn’t seem fair.
Hi Cassiy, it seems like I missed out on your coaching calls. It was supposed to be my end of year treat for me. Any chance to still purchase one? Thanks 😊
If you take the 6.5% transaction fee plus 3.0% +.25 processing fee, add to that .20 listing fee you get to close to 10% about the same ebay charges. The fact that Etsy is splitting these fees and give it different names so the average person shouldn't realize the fees they charge, shows how much of a scam Etsy is. For the record, it does not cost Etsy 3% for credit card transactions, I'm even sure Etsy is getting wholesale price for credit cards.
Right sometimes it's closer to 11% for total fees for sure. I still think it's a small price to pay for Etsy bringing all of the organic traffic to your store. I just was sharing the fee that changed, the other ones have stayed the same but yes I did not fully go into all the fees. For anyone who comes across this comment, here is a full video I did on the full breakdown of Etsy fees if you aren't familiar with them! ruclips.net/video/BOto1XoHslw/видео.html
Good point. It's one of my pet peeves when I hear people say that Etsy charges 6.5% fees when it's definitely over 10% with the payment processing fee and listing fee. They also include shipping charges in those calculations which basically forces us to overcharge for shipping to make up for that. But Etsy is way cheaper than Amazon for sure, especially if you use FBA, so I wouldn't call Etsy a scam. But they should make it more clear.
3% credit card fee is a good fee. No one gets a "deal" on cc processing except what a middleman offers out of profit. Visa/MC charges the same to everyone. The middle man just marks it up a little bit. ( If the middleman would have a name such as (abc merchant processing.) Even with that, I would say that etsy is not making profit off of credit card processing.
Thank you Cassiy! Very helpful! I'm just starting out and am following you step by step in your mini-course. You did mention that Etsy could suspend your account at first. I got an email saying I am permanently suspended. It does say I can appeal, but doesn't give me any specifics on why. Is that what you meant by being suspended? Any help would be great! Thank you :)
Hi Cassiy! I'm fairly familiar with designing on Canva, but not with selling what I create. Do you have any videos/resources on licensed fonts or graphics? Are these all acceptable for commercial and sales use? Would love any insight on that!
Quick question, when making a sell. I get that if you have Printify connected to your account they will process the order. Does the payment end up in Printify or Etsy?
Hi there! Good question - printify charges you for the item once you make a sale. Etsy pays you for your sales every week or two weeks, depending on how your account is set up. Thanks for watching!!
I tried using your free listing link, but it doesn’t work! I press the button and nothing happens. Is this something that has been expressed as an issue before, or is it something wrong on my end?
Hello, Cassiy! I just received my 2-nd order and I don't know how to proceed in the situation where, for an order on Etsy for a product made in Printify, the customer has marked the order as "gift" and wants a "Gift message included". Printify can do this, send it on information to the supplier / production?
Printify does not offer gift messages, you want to go turn this option off in your settings. Go to settings - options - then scroll to the bottom and turn them off. Message the person and say something like "Hello and thank you for your order! So sorry but we cannot offer gift messages at this time but I will send you the tracking number once your order is on the way so you can send them a nice message! Thank you for supporting our small business this holiday season! X Store Team!"
I am having a rough time with Etsy right now 😞 any suggestions?? A few days ago, my account was temporarily suspended for an overdue balance. I am so confused. in my December statement, it says I owe Etsy zero dollars. And even if I do owe money, shouldn’t it automatically charge my connected bank account? I’ve looked in the email from Etsy and it says it will open my account when I pay my balance but again I clicked the pay balance button and all it brings me back is to the December statement of zero dollars. I have emailed Etsy about my concern and to kindly open my account. Hopefully they will respond soon😰 Last week I also had a huge order of $900 in revenue. The order is expected to be delivered anytime now and I am worried that when the buyer goes to my account to review her products, she won’t be able to.
I am so sorry that is happening to you! I found a secret button to request a call from Etsy. I haven't tried it myself but here is the link and I hope it works for you and they can get your account back up and running asap for you!! I also have a friend who got hacked by a VA last week and got suspended for suspicious activity. They had trouble getting Etsy to give their account back quickly but they complained on Twitter and asked a bunch of people to retweet it at Etsy in FB groups and got his account back really quickly because they don't like bad press. So that's a second option if you don't hear back really soon. Hang in there, they are usually good about fixing things like this but sorry it's even happening! help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?segment=selling&fbclid=IwAR3XJULkao3ZPR8XcOEf2A7143n87XtjCzbC9f7tMInFw9RW3sHJhOEmif8#issue_sell_manage_listings-callback
@@CassiyJohnson I just got off the phone, thank you so much for your help! Unfortunately the guy told me to wait for a specialist to further help me as I actually wasn’t suspended for an overdue balance even though the email/Etsy app told me I was …? Hopefully I’ll get another email from them soon!🤞
Hi Cassiy, even if ı tried to contact printify, chat does not work, so I wanted to ask you. Does printify include any price tags on the orders? Do you do something extra when Etsy order is a gift? Because I'm confused, ,n one of your videos you were clicking "other orders" but I placed my orders at printify orders. (but it still shows my orders when clicked other orders) Really appreciated if you can respond 🙂
No they don’t include pricing inside the order. They will include your shop name, and it looks like it was sent from you, even though they handled production and mailing.
Printify does not do any printing. It just connects you to businesses that print products, the way ubereats doesn't make your dinner, it just connects you to restaurants that do. Most of the print providers on printify will not include their own shop's details, and will include yours. But I have heard of one that actually included their own details as "Fulfilled by xxx". So do your own research on the print providers. The most popular ones are fine.
Sorry you have had a slower start to your business but like I said, everyones journey is different! It could be like I said in this video that you need to do more research on what is trending and in demand right now and find ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors. If this is something you really want to work, then I wouldn't give up! I'd watch Shawna's interview on my channel, she didn't make very many sales at all her first 8 months and now has quit her job and has sold over $400,000 on Etsy in two years! She just had to make some changes in the way she thought about the business and did her listings. I know one big thing she really attributes her success to is getting into group listings. If you haven't tried couples shirts/family matching shirts/best friend matching shirts/bachelorette shirts, these are all great categories! Especially if you can take a trend that doesn't have matching shirts in it yet and add matching shirts to it for the first time! Best of luck.
Biggest takeaway is that this is a GRIND. Definitely not a get rich quick scheme. I've learned a ton from you and two other Etsy gurus and found that your videos and products definitely helped me with my growth (that pricing calculator helped so much!). I've just hit two months and have 41 sales, just slightly above $1k. Still no profit due my investments (mocks, trainings, etc.) but it's been rewarding. It just takes work and continuous learning and most of all patience! I do feel like I missed the boat as you say but keeping at it :) Thank you for the great content, Cassiy!
Congrats on getting started and getting your first 41 sales!! I got my first 40 sales in about a month so seriously you are right on par with where I started. Before you have reviews and sales history, it is slower. I'd say you first 100 sales are the biggest grind in my opinion. And if you haven't seen Shawna's interview on my channel, I would definitely go watch that for motivation. She didn't sell much at all her first 8 months but then she switched up what she was doing and now 2 years later has quit her job and sells Etsy full time. She recently just sold $107,000 in November alone!! So you have definitely not missed the boat.
Hey samantha, I just wanted to check in and see if you’ve had more success 5 months later?
Thank you Cassiy for another informative video with great content. I'm about 4 months in with 87 sales and just under $3000 in revenue. I owe it all to you! I have several listings up for Valentine's Day and have many St. Patrick's Day ideas in mind. I'm having a great time and nothing beats hearing that "cha-ching" - even if it comes during the middle of the night and scares me to death! Keep up the great work...I'm so happy for your success. 😍
LOL I love that you leave the sound on through the night!! It drove my husband too crazy all the notifications for everything so I have my phone on do not disturb from 12:30am - 8:00am. But I do love that cha Ching sound! Congrats on getting started and taking action, I am so excited for you!!!
I just started my POD business (adding products to my Etsy sticker shop) and am having sales. Plus it is so much fun! Thanks for all of the helpful videos!
Hey Ann! Congrats on getting started, excited to see how your shop is going to grow over the next few months. Loving your videos that you are sharing so far! For anyone who sees this comment, check out Ann's channel to see weekly income reports of how her journey is going after starting a few weeks ago with her business!
You are such a smart and ambitious young person! Thank you for sharing this. Yesterday, 12/13/22 I turned 61 and I'm still learning what you already have learned, profited from, and now are so generous to share with others. I remember when Esty first started and so many like me thought it wouldn't last. I remember when Ebay first started and their fees were less than 1%. However, I learned Ebay and made a decent income on their platform for a number of years. Continuing down memory lane, yes, I remember time before the internet. Anyway, I look forward to all you have to share - thanks again! :)
HI! I hope my videos are super valuable to you! And wow, so glad you were able to make some income on Ebay! You may be able to teach me a thing or two ;)
I like shopping on Etsy very much. I appreciate the sellers very much and how hard they work and always let them know I do. I have rarely had a unsatisfying experience on Etsy.
I can’t stress how helpful your videos have been for me starting my Etsy shop. I really feel like I have an eye for graphic designing and having a platform like Etsy to sell on is a great way for me to monetize this passion of mine. Thank you so much Cassiy! Keep up the videos ❤😊
Hello Cassiy, first, thank you for your transparency. It is really refreshing. I got serious with my Etsy store in October. Aside from selling to three family members, I am still trying to attract my first real order. I am full-time and just hit 106 listings. I started with mugs on my own site using Printful and moved those over to Printify because it allowed me to be more competitive with pricing. A definite newbie, I am now adding tees and sweatshirts starting with the designs from some of the mugs. I am considering adding pillows. The hardest part so far has been the doubts that persist while waiting for that first real sale. However, I am determined to keep moving forward with listings because of the hope that I get from watching your videos. I will definitely watch the series in hopes of improving my store, the designs, and branding. Again, thank you for the information and God bless you.
Keep going! It's so hard sometimes, but every order that comes in will help you hone in on what works for you! I've been an Etsy seller for a long time; however, POD is new to me too! I feel the same about Cassiy's videos and transparency! There will always be those moments of doubt, but keep going! Wishing you loads of success!
Just remember to keep listing. There will be a time when you least expect it that you will get a notification of a sale and it will be the best feeling.
Thank you for the words of encouragement.
I know you said you started on your own site, I don't know if you've tried Etsy yet but I really do think it would be worth a try for you since you don't have to bring your own traffic. My best advice for where you are is to stop adding new products until you find success with one of them. Designing for t-shirts, mugs and pillows are all very different skillsets. It's going to be hard to get a good handle on how to do them each really well compared to what sells well in those markets if you are splitting your attention. I'd recommend focussing on one product for awhile so you can really research and understand what types of niches sell well on them and what design styles are currently trending. Because you can make a gorgeous design and add it to a shirt but if it's not what's trendy and popular right now, then it won't sell as well if that makes sense! Just keep working towards getting 1% better everyday and you'll eventually get there!
@Cassiy Johnson thank you for the advice. I was a little vague, but I moved from my own site to Etsy in October. I am full-time on Etsy now. I will concentrate on one product as you suggested...again, thank you.
This video came to me right as i was thinking, gosh, i think I've missed the boat!! I naively thought I'd make my designs, post them and sales would flow my way... But... It's not like that. I've had to go back to reframe my mindset and also consider if this is something I want to grind for and be patient for. I also made the mistake of having products i love, but maybe they're not what other people want (i sell clothing based on the astrological signs). I've put time and $ into starting and think that I'll have to rework some of my designs and try some others in the new year. Printify has been a huge blessing, as has this channel. Thank you so much for your time and transparency.
You're the best Cassiy! I started my shop a few weeks ago and just hit my tenth sale all thanks to you!
Wow congratulations on getting started and taking action!! I am so glad that my content has been helpful
Woow , congratulations.What do you sale ?
What do you sell?
Cassiy, I genuinely thank you for everything! Thank you for the priceless info you provide, for your course and for your pod calendar. I've learned a lot from you and now I ran live my etsy store. Wish you all the best, you deserve it!!!
I'm going through the start up guide and it's super helpful
I feel your videos have a very genuine and honest feel to them. Trusting . Thank you and keep it up they are very helpful to new etsy sellers.
Hi Cassiy, I just wanted to say thank you SO much for all your work. My mom recommended your channel a few weeks ago and I'm so grateful she did! I'm just starting my Etsy store now following your free mini guide course. Omg the information there is SO valuable!! I've been watching all your videos and I think it's incredible that you bring so much value in every single video. That's so hard to see nowadays. I greatly appreciate your tips, advice and kindness in sharing with all of us. You are a beautiful soul and I wish you lots of blessings and success your way. Thank you again!! 🙏
Awww! I am sooo glad you have found value in my videos!! Thank you so much for watching, I am wishing you all the best
Thank you for your help! I spent 5 years working hard on a suspense novel, THE LINCOLN CLONE, and though there's a handful of great reviews on Amazon, there are no sales equal to the time I spent. I'm excited to work hard at THIS now, using my art background and your guidance.
You are a wealth of information…when I finally reach success, I will have you to thank!
Oh that is is nice of you to say!! Wishing you all the best, Kim!!
Great video! I think the pros outweigh the cons especially for starting businesses.
I definitely agree as well
Started in September and it's been really slow going. Really needed this reminder to keep going. Thank you ☺
Congrats on getting started! I know it's definitely a grind but will be well worth it in the end if this is something you really want. I'd watch Shawna's interview on my channel if you haven't already. She sold very little her first 8 months and then she started to get it and now a little over 2 years later she has quit her teaching job and sold over $400k in revenue!! If you notice her video says she sold $295k on Etsy but she actually sold $107k more since then just in the month of November. I know the journey looks different for everyone but I hope her story gives you some motivation to keep going and trying different things until you make it work!
Appreciate all the information you provide. MERRY CHRISTMAS
Thanks for watching and merry Christmas!! ❤️
Cassiy - can you make some videos about starting a mockup business on Etsy? I know you recently started your own mockup store and you would have some great insights! I would love to know about equipment you use, how you do the photos and set ups, etc. Thanks for all your awesome videos!!
This video is amazing!! I can always count on your content to be inspiring and informative🥰 and from a fellow Michigander which makes it even better!!
Hi! I’m so glad you are enjoying my content!! Wishing you all the best! ❤️
Ciao Cassiy! Thank you for the video!!! Yes. I am still has to crack sales ;-) I was thinking it is easier. But I will not give up. Could you tell us now in December for what to design for? Valentine's day and st Patrick? Any other?
Thank you so much for the wonderful advice. I know as I delve further into Etsy I will understand it better. Your advice will help immensely.
Can you please do a video comparing all the different shirts like how does the $8 shirt compare to the $12 I'd like to see them all and how they fit.
Excellent video Cassiy. So honest with no hype 😀
OK I am 69 yrs young but I am not even connected to Etzy. I registered but I am not sure of what to do next. I will view your video again and make sense of it all. Thank you so much for being kind. I will be able to make sense of it all.
The problem I'm having is getting buried in the searches. Even completely irrelevant products from established sellers get higher rankings and bury my products. It's very frustrating. Even as a consumer this would be frustrating with so many irrelevant products coming up when I search for very specific things.
Hi Cassiy! Thank you so much for all of your helpful info. You are an AMAZING teacher and I have learned to much from you! I honestly would not have pursued this journey if I had not stumbled across your videos! I am just officially starting my Etsy shop (after months of research), however, I have a few questions regarding whether or not I should focus on Christmas designs as it is halfway through December. Should I focus on Christmas at all right now or just move onto Valentine's Day? What areas do you suggest I focus on?
It’s too late for Xmas. Buy Cassiy’s calendar and you will be on track for each holiday. It’s listed in the notes after some of the videos. And also buy her financial records resource. It will help you get your pricing right for your store.😊
Q please: When Printify says the fulfilment is from Germany, how can that have 2.4 business days for Avg. production time? Do they not count shipping time to US? TIA
Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Can't wait to watch this video!!!!!
Hope you loved it
You are the best! Thank you.
You are so sweet, thanks for watching!!
super excited!!!!
Thanks for watching!!
Thank you so much for your consistent info & knowledge. I've been waiting for the course and I glad to see it's here! I want to ask, will you be offering a longer in-depth paid course at any time? If so, I'd love to join :)
Hope the mini course is super helpful for you
Hey Cassiy, I remember you mentioned you might be launching a course?? I've reviewed the other options and I definitely want to sign up for yours when it opens up!
Yes I am working on it now and hoping to release it in Mid - Late January if you can wait until then
What I find weird is that no one knows what I'm talking about when I tell them to look on etsy for a product they are looking for. They always say "isn't that a make up subscription?" Or "isn't that a place to just buy poorly made tshirts". That's still a thing to day. I worked with teachers and wedding planners that don't know about it even today. I have seen its not worth it because there are more sellers than buyers. I don't even want to ship on etsy so why sale there? It's way too saturated..and it will cost way too much just to list the things I make. Most do better selling at markets and shops with a fenders license.
Totally understand your feelings but Etsy sellers sell over 2 Billion per year in sales! There is definitely not more sellers than buyers and can be a great opportunity for people looking to take the time to understand what demand there already is on Etsy for products and then being willing to create new items for that demand that people will love!
Everything changed last week since they started a tv campaign and their license for Latin America was suspended so all of those stores had closed their Etsy accounts. So give it try now!
@@anakersyblanchard7323 interesting! I'll take a look.
@@anakersyblanchard7323 not seeing any change
Cassiy your videos are amazing! I started my Etsy shop 3 weeks ago and have made 2 sales! I've been using Printful and I LOVE that I can just quickly create a listing on Etsy, and only worry about syncing it with Printful if it actually sells. Does Printify work the same way? Or do you have to actually go in and create each product on Printify in order to list it on your shop? Thanks SO much!
With Printify it's easier if you just list the item starting on Printify and so it's all set and automated when you get your orders! Congrats on getting started and getting your first sales!!
How is Etsy going?? I just read your comment and I hope you made many more sales and are happy you started.
I’m getting ready to start an online shop and am trying to decide if I want to go with Etsy or Shopify. I understand I’ll have to double down on marketing with Shopify or some other site where I own the web page.
I think it makes the most sense to start on Etsy. This will bring you organic traffic that you can learn from on what works and what doesn’t. Then you can take your successful items to a Shopify store. Then when you are testing ad strategies and social media strategies to drive traffic, you at least know that if you get these products in front of the right people, then they will buy.
It’s very hard to learn design, ads, social media, customer service etc all at once! So I think Etsy is the perfect place to start! Etsy also handles all the sales taxes for you. On Shopify you have to I believe pay this monthly to each state that you sell enough in, which would just be complicated when you are first getting started. Best of luck!
Great video!
You are so sweet, thanks for watching!
Hi Cassiy! I love all your videos! Can you explain the 3% charge that is in addition to the 6.5%? I never hear that one mentioned when Etsy charges are explained. Thank you!
I actually did a full video on Etsy fees walking you through all of them, here is a link! ruclips.net/video/BOto1XoHslw/видео.html
Thank you.
Thanks so much for watching!!
Binging your content! Thank you so much…your videos are so helpful. I am in analysis paralysis about opening a shop. Do you think all of the naysayers about Etsy are people who didn’t put in the market research and ongoing effort? I am willing to do all the things and be patient but I am still concerned about time risk and failure. Do you think people do all the right things and still fail?
The fact that smily faces are copyrighted really gets to me. How much more greedy can you get than to prevent any one else from using a smiley face?!? That’s like copywriting a daisy or the sun!
Your content is so fantastic! Do you notice if there is a big difference in using "t-shirt", "shirt", "tee" etc in keywords and titles? I'm wondering if I should be mixing it up or does the algorithm treat it all the same?
Thank you for all the information you share... It has really helped me understand things! Do you recommend also using a program like sale Samurai? Or do you only use Everbee for your SEO research? Thank you
Well done 👍
Thanks for always watching and commenting
Can i open a store, using a USA printstore and only sell to USA costumers, as a belgian seller living in belgium?
Yes you can sell only in the US even if you don’t live here, as long as you are able to have an Etsy seller account from your country!
Thank u for ur video
Wow I'm super discouraged. Kathy D. is four months in with 87 sales! That's amazing@ I've had ONE organic sale and it's been eight months. Maybe I'm not working hard enough at it. I've been following all the videos. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong! :(
Thank you again for all your help! I have started with printify and selling tshirts and im not understanding the profit margin here.. i was hoping you can help me understand. me making $1.40 on 2 shirts doesnt sound like my time sitting at a computer putting lisitngs together..... your videos are amazing and very helpful i guess im just missing it. ive sold 4 tshirts all made different profits off them. but i sold 2 together and thats where i made only $1.40 off two .
Hi Cassiy, thank you so much for all these tutorials. Among the videos I've seen, it is only in your channel that I found true value. I just have clarifications, I hope you can help me.
Does listing means having one design in different merchandise (shirt, hoodie)?
Where do you place the price for your items? On Printify or your Etsy store?
Thank you so much
Etsy is so complicated when starting my business. I had to use shopify because of their inability to help me get started. Their customer service needs to be improved.
Ty ty ty
My Etsy store was suspended almost as soon as I opened it and linked it to printify. I was in the process of linking my first product from printify when they suspended the store. Once they reviewed my ID they removed the suspension, no explanation. I uploaded three of my own designs (no trademarks, no copyright issues, only free elements used from canva), got suspended again. I replied to their previous email and got an automatic reply back to wait - I have not heard from Etsy for quite a few weeks now. If I shoot them another email filling out the suspension form again, they might look into it... but the experience of getting suspended twice right after just opening my store has made me never want to use their platform.
I have been selling some designs on redbubble for a year, but want to open my own store. I thought I'd try Etsy before doing that, but it just feels unsafe to put any time and money into a store that gets banned randomly with no explanation or recourse other than "wait 2 weeks for review". Imagine if I had paid to run advertisements to a banned page.
Thank you Cassiy, much need motivation as a complete beginner. I just started few weeks ago n really excited !! I live in a country where etsy supports only paypal, my accepted payment method in my shop policies is paypal. I'm worried, will it be a problem when a buyer decides to purchase but card payment is not available on my shop. Plz need your view on this.
I am not as familiar with that but I think people can still use a credit card/debit card to purchase even when you only have PayPal available. Here are some instructions I found online that you could add to a photo card within your photos or to your description!
You may be able to pay with a card via PayPal without a PayPal account. Here's how:
Select Check out with PayPal and you’ll be redirected to PayPal. Instead of choosing to pay with your PayPal account, select Pay with Debit or Credit Card.
You'll be prompted to fill in your billing and credit card information.
Enter your email address so PayPal can send you a receipt.
Select Continue to return to Etsy. Your payment isn't sent until you select the Submit order on Etsy.
Thank you so much for the valuable info.
How can I get the free mini course?
Here is a link to sign up on my website! www.cassiyjohnson.com/etsypodlaunchguide
Preach!
Hey Cassiy! Another great video and gives me hope for my new Etsy shop! I know you said when you list an item to copy it at least 3 times and change the cover photo...are those copy listings still linked to Printfy automatically or if I get an order will I have to manually place the order. I'm SO confused!
So glad you enjoyed the video
@@CassiyJohnson ahh you seriously are the best! thank you! ♥
I want to start a shop so bad. I’m not so worried about trademarks I’m more worried about getting a case against me. Don’t you only get 3 before Etsy completely shuts your shop down? That just doesn’t seem fair.
Hi Cassiy, it seems like I missed out on your coaching calls. It was supposed to be my end of year treat for me. Any chance to still purchase one? Thanks 😊
If you take the 6.5% transaction fee plus 3.0% +.25 processing fee, add to that .20 listing fee you get to close to 10% about the same ebay charges. The fact that Etsy is splitting these fees and give it different names so the average person shouldn't realize the fees they charge, shows how much of a scam Etsy is. For the record, it does not cost Etsy 3% for credit card transactions, I'm even sure Etsy is getting wholesale price for credit cards.
Right sometimes it's closer to 11% for total fees for sure. I still think it's a small price to pay for Etsy bringing all of the organic traffic to your store. I just was sharing the fee that changed, the other ones have stayed the same but yes I did not fully go into all the fees.
For anyone who comes across this comment, here is a full video I did on the full breakdown of Etsy fees if you aren't familiar with them! ruclips.net/video/BOto1XoHslw/видео.html
Good point. It's one of my pet peeves when I hear people say that Etsy charges 6.5% fees when it's definitely over 10% with the payment processing fee and listing fee. They also include shipping charges in those calculations which basically forces us to overcharge for shipping to make up for that. But Etsy is way cheaper than Amazon for sure, especially if you use FBA, so I wouldn't call Etsy a scam. But they should make it more clear.
3% credit card fee is a good fee. No one gets a "deal" on cc processing except what a middleman offers out of profit. Visa/MC charges the same to everyone. The middle man just marks it up a little bit. ( If the middleman would have a name such as (abc merchant processing.)
Even with that, I would say that etsy is not making profit off of credit card processing.
Hi,im selling shirts on etsy for 21$,and shipping price is 4$,it is a good price?
What about posters?
hi Cassiy, how to subscribe to your minicourse
Thank you Cassiy! Very helpful! I'm just starting out and am following you step by step in your mini-course. You did mention that Etsy could suspend your account at first. I got an email saying I am permanently suspended. It does say I can appeal, but doesn't give me any specifics on why. Is that what you meant by being suspended? Any help would be great! Thank you :)
If I sold 2 blankets the same size but different design on each one how do I add that as a product tk print? It’s so confusing 😕
Hi Cassiy! I'm fairly familiar with designing on Canva, but not with selling what I create. Do you have any videos/resources on licensed fonts or graphics? Are these all acceptable for commercial and sales use? Would love any insight on that!
Will you make also a more advanced course?!??
Yes I am currently working on a longer more in depth course, hoping to release it mid-late January
@@CassiyJohnson Thank you Cassiy!!!
@@CassiyJohnson could you tell us what holiday to design now in December?
Quick question, when making a sell. I get that if you have Printify connected to your account they will process the order. Does the payment end up in Printify or Etsy?
Hi there! Good question - printify charges you for the item once you make a sale. Etsy pays you for your sales every week or two weeks, depending on how your account is set up. Thanks for watching!!
I tried using your free listing link, but it doesn’t work! I press the button and nothing happens. Is this something that has been expressed as an issue before, or is it something wrong on my end?
I tried to register on Etsy and it just kept rejecting my email address, I tried three different addresses. Does anyone know why this happens?
Anyway to get in contact with you for a few questions?
Hello, Cassiy! I just received my 2-nd order and I don't know how to proceed in the situation where, for an order on Etsy for a product made in Printify, the customer has marked the order as "gift" and wants a "Gift message included". Printify can do this, send it on information to the supplier / production?
Printify does not offer gift messages, you want to go turn this option off in your settings. Go to settings - options - then scroll to the bottom and turn them off. Message the person and say something like "Hello and thank you for your order! So sorry but we cannot offer gift messages at this time but I will send you the tracking number once your order is on the way so you can send them a nice message! Thank you for supporting our small business this holiday season! X Store Team!"
@@CassiyJohnson Thank you! ❤
I am having a rough time with Etsy right now 😞 any suggestions??
A few days ago, my account was temporarily suspended for an overdue balance. I am so confused. in my December statement, it says I owe Etsy zero dollars. And even if I do owe money, shouldn’t it automatically charge my connected bank account? I’ve looked in the email from Etsy and it says it will open my account when I pay my balance but again I clicked the pay balance button and all it brings me back is to the December statement of zero dollars. I have emailed Etsy about my concern and to kindly open my account. Hopefully they will respond soon😰
Last week I also had a huge order of $900 in revenue. The order is expected to be delivered anytime now and I am worried that when the buyer goes to my account to review her products, she won’t be able to.
I am so sorry that is happening to you! I found a secret button to request a call from Etsy. I haven't tried it myself but here is the link and I hope it works for you and they can get your account back up and running asap for you!! I also have a friend who got hacked by a VA last week and got suspended for suspicious activity. They had trouble getting Etsy to give their account back quickly but they complained on Twitter and asked a bunch of people to retweet it at Etsy in FB groups and got his account back really quickly because they don't like bad press. So that's a second option if you don't hear back really soon. Hang in there, they are usually good about fixing things like this but sorry it's even happening!
help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?segment=selling&fbclid=IwAR3XJULkao3ZPR8XcOEf2A7143n87XtjCzbC9f7tMInFw9RW3sHJhOEmif8#issue_sell_manage_listings-callback
@@CassiyJohnson great, I will give ‘em a try! 🙏🏻thank you so much!
@@CassiyJohnson I just got off the phone, thank you so much for your help! Unfortunately the guy told me to wait for a specialist to further help me as I actually wasn’t suspended for an overdue balance even though the email/Etsy app told me I was …? Hopefully I’ll get another email from them soon!🤞
@@Markham04 So glad the link worked for you!! Hope it gets resolved asap!
Finally got my shop back, thank you so much for your help😁
Turned out it was “suspended in error”🤷♀️
I can’t find your shop on Etsy?? 😳
She keeps it private...
Hi Cassiy, even if ı tried to contact printify, chat does not work, so I wanted to ask you. Does printify include any price tags on the orders? Do you do something extra when Etsy order is a gift? Because I'm confused, ,n one of your videos you were clicking "other orders" but I placed my orders at printify orders. (but it still shows my orders when clicked other orders) Really appreciated if you can respond 🙂
No they don’t include pricing inside the order. They will include your shop name, and it looks like it was sent from you, even though they handled production and mailing.
Printify does not do any printing. It just connects you to businesses that print products, the way ubereats doesn't make your dinner, it just connects you to restaurants that do. Most of the print providers on printify will not include their own shop's details, and will include yours. But I have heard of one that actually included their own details as "Fulfilled by xxx". So do your own research on the print providers. The most popular ones are fine.
@@LL-ex1gp thanks!
@@nhairek8391 wow really! I’ve never heard this. I thought they were all supposed to be white labeled
👍🙏🌻
fofinha
Etsy ads are terrible and slow compare to other platforms.
over 150 t-shirt listed, 3 months, 1 sale.Etsy sucks!
Your shirt sucks not Etsy
Sorry you have had a slower start to your business but like I said, everyones journey is different! It could be like I said in this video that you need to do more research on what is trending and in demand right now and find ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors. If this is something you really want to work, then I wouldn't give up! I'd watch Shawna's interview on my channel, she didn't make very many sales at all her first 8 months and now has quit her job and has sold over $400,000 on Etsy in two years! She just had to make some changes in the way she thought about the business and did her listings. I know one big thing she really attributes her success to is getting into group listings. If you haven't tried couples shirts/family matching shirts/best friend matching shirts/bachelorette shirts, these are all great categories! Especially if you can take a trend that doesn't have matching shirts in it yet and add matching shirts to it for the first time! Best of luck.
Maybe work on better designs
Etsy has very poor customer support. If you have a tech support issue you are out of luck. It will not get fixed.
So sorry for your experience Tawny! I’ve been lucky enough not to have any issues but I definitely know their customer service is lacking
When making a new shop should I run adds off rip and see what sells first.
Can I actually go out and take photos with me wearing my products and use them as mock photos
Yes you can if you like! But that is not a very efficient way of doing it if you list multiple types of products in your store.
Can I actually pay you to come up with sos terms for my shop when it's done
No so sorry that is not a service I offer but I do have some good videos to teach you how to do it. It really can be super simple!
Hi Cassidy I ❤️ Redesign a thumbnail for YT channel how can I share it with you any social media or Email
Thank you for your time but I do not need any assistance at this time!