Shipping would cost you the same or more even if you did not sell on etsy. Etsy shipping labels are same price as buying direct from Royal mail online and less then buying at post office counter. I totally get what you are saying about fees but for example if you had had exactly the same sales this month on shopify you would have paid a minimum £25 a month for basic shopify account with no extras then payment processing fees on every order on top. You would have the £25 to pay even if you got no orders in a month. You would have had to pay royal mail directly for shipping and it would be at least the same as on etsy. The fees seam a lot but actually are the same or less than most other platforms. Your own website/shopify does work out cheaper if you're getting large numbers of sales but can be much more expensive if your only getting a few and it is more work.
I understand the fee's might not be much less but Most of the orders I get are from my social media ( I didn't explain it in the video so sorry for not being clear) I'm paying Etsy a LOT of fees and I feel as though they aren't driving traffic to my shop a lot of the time which is kind of Etsy's whole thing - they're a market place. But Etsy has become a very saturated and competitive place, So I still feel like I would benefit from having my own website or Shopify. I've talked to a few other small businesses and they are able to make their products cheaper on their websites because they aren't having to pay as many fee's as they do on Etsy. And the shipping was more about me just feeling bad for having to put it up again and not realising it costs so much ahah, I know shipping fee's can't be helped. Sorry for not being clearer in the video. ☺
Don't feel bad about having to charge what you need to you work hard and need to cover costs and make a profit. I just did not what you to think you will save loads with your own website I have 4 etsy shops and a shopify. Shopify with the monthly fee and payment processing until you hit a certain number of sales is more expensive then Etsy it can be cheaper once you hit the number of sales but it takes time to get there. I dont really send buyers often to etsy but some do prefer a known platform so do go there and etsy brings me quite a few buyers my etsy sales in main shop are much higher still then my shopify. Good luck with whatever you do your doing grate and I love watching you grow, @@AbiNova
I find the 20p listing charge for each item the most frustrating of Etsy's cost. I guess if you are selling something at £40 (for example) then 20p is nothing in terms of profit margins. But if the cost of what you are selling is significant lower (say £4 or less) then 20p makes up 5% of the cost and even greater percentage of profit. Add that to the 6% and then postage (which I offer for free) taking up a good 25% or more, profit margins are tiny. I have a Wordpress website which I can add Woo Commerce to, but I'm struggling to make head nor tail of it! I already pay fees for the website (I've had it for over a decade) so adding a shop and selling would basically be free for me...still can't make any sense of how to set it up though! I always love your positive attitude towards everything! 🧡
Just wanted to say if you’re spending so much fees per month on Etsy you’re better off paying a monthly subscription to shopify. As far as I understand you drive the most traffic to your shop and I don’t think Etsy is doing you any justice in terms of traffic. I’m only saying this based off this months stats that you showed and I understand you may not be paying that much fees per month but if it’s a similar amount per month what’s the difference in using that money to pay for your own website? At least that way you know how much fees is taken out per month as it will be a set monthly subscription. As a small business I’m sharing the same issues as you thus why I thought I’d share my opinion that’s all.❤
Hi Abi, I don’t think I’ve commented before but I’ve been watching all your videos since the beginning! I just wanted to say, make sure you also use an Etsy fee calculator before pricing so you can also factor in the fees, shipping cost AND the cost of materials that you’ve had to purchase (mugs etc) I’m in Aus and there’s SO many fees, at times it’s more accurately 10-15% rather than the 6% they claim.
I've been wanting to create a Shopify shop forever too I can't wait to see your process as I've really struggled! Also, I've seen the black handle and inside mugs in Hobby Craft for £4 I think you're right they'd look super cute with that design!
Postage is SO expensive these days! Fees on top and cost of living - just because inflation is lower, it doesn't mean prices aren't still going up EVERY MONTH, just a bit slower. It's all really hard... Keep going though, your cat mugs in particular are adorable!
The Anya design is so, so, so adorable! Ahhhh! But I can't get it online, ahhh... *sad* Why we always stumble upon so many failures everytime tho? Is someone try to make us quit, or what? Keep going girl! I can't wait to watch the convention vlog! Also, I am never satisfied whatever the lenght of the video is, I just always want more, I am so greedy. Btw, can you talk to us about taxes? like you started pay taxes from day 1? I really afraid to start because of a) didn't figure out shipping yet (my post office is giving me some trouble) and b) taxes, I am terrified. But I WILL start my business in 2024 no matter what.!
Love your vlog, and your mugs and mousemats are lovely. You can get white mugs with black handles and insides from a sublimation company based in Birmingham, (they also do other colour combinations). Have a great week. 🙂
As a thought, can you cut down the square mousemat? It would still be a good size. I would try cutting a little smaller than the heatpress since sometimes the heat is not as hot on the edges. Good luck!
With sublimation you could purchase 100% polyester fabric and try out your designs on that first before inventory. Sublimation is so much trial and error.
I have the same brand tumbler press and experience the temp fluctuating a bit. it only seems to happen after pressing a couple of tumblers. i'd recommend maybe preheating the mugs or tumblers because they are pretty cold or unplugging the machine for a few minutes and then reconnect it. 😊 i hope that is helpful!!
Maybe to deal with shipping fees you can also make digital versions of your work at a slightly lower price so people can have both options. saw a lot of people selling their stickers in digital form to place in notes apps. idk maybe you can look into that. I would also suggest building your own site, but those don't work unless you have a huge following in social media, so maybe this option could be for later. hope things go better!
Thank you for the suggestion! I definitely want to try my hand at digital products in the future ahaha. It was less the shipping and more the Etsy fees. The shipping was more about me feeling bad I would have to put it up again 😫😂
Maybe it will be a better idea to have your own site since you bring the traffic from your social media?~ A lot of small businesses are doing this now I guess. It's harder, but it's way better in a long run~
Lovely video abi! it is so much fun to see your progress and get a real view of the learning curve that comes with starting a bussines~ Also wanna point out a thing on your gaming design that u might wanna look into
I'm learning so much by watching other small business's! I love how energetic and uplifting you make things even when something turns out bad!!
I love watching other small businesses! You can learn so much from them! I'm so glad you like my videos!
Shipping would cost you the same or more even if you did not sell on etsy. Etsy shipping labels are same price as buying direct from Royal mail online and less then buying at post office counter. I totally get what you are saying about fees but for example if you had had exactly the same sales this month on shopify you would have paid a minimum £25 a month for basic shopify account with no extras then payment processing fees on every order on top. You would have the £25 to pay even if you got no orders in a month. You would have had to pay royal mail directly for shipping and it would be at least the same as on etsy. The fees seam a lot but actually are the same or less than most other platforms. Your own website/shopify does work out cheaper if you're getting large numbers of sales but can be much more expensive if your only getting a few and it is more work.
I have a Shopify and man the shipping is $3-5 😭
I understand the fee's might not be much less but Most of the orders I get are from my social media ( I didn't explain it in the video so sorry for not being clear) I'm paying Etsy a LOT of fees and I feel as though they aren't driving traffic to my shop a lot of the time which is kind of Etsy's whole thing - they're a market place. But Etsy has become a very saturated and competitive place, So I still feel like I would benefit from having my own website or Shopify. I've talked to a few other small businesses and they are able to make their products cheaper on their websites because they aren't having to pay as many fee's as they do on Etsy. And the shipping was more about me just feeling bad for having to put it up again and not realising it costs so much ahah, I know shipping fee's can't be helped. Sorry for not being clearer in the video. ☺
Don't feel bad about having to charge what you need to you work hard and need to cover costs and make a profit. I just did not what you to think you will save loads with your own website I have 4 etsy shops and a shopify. Shopify with the monthly fee and payment processing until you hit a certain number of sales is more expensive then Etsy it can be cheaper once you hit the number of sales but it takes time to get there. I dont really send buyers often to etsy but some do prefer a known platform so do go there and etsy brings me quite a few buyers my etsy sales in main shop are much higher still then my shopify. Good luck with whatever you do your doing grate and I love watching you grow, @@AbiNova
I find the 20p listing charge for each item the most frustrating of Etsy's cost. I guess if you are selling something at £40 (for example) then 20p is nothing in terms of profit margins. But if the cost of what you are selling is significant lower (say £4 or less) then 20p makes up 5% of the cost and even greater percentage of profit. Add that to the 6% and then postage (which I offer for free) taking up a good 25% or more, profit margins are tiny. I have a Wordpress website which I can add Woo Commerce to, but I'm struggling to make head nor tail of it! I already pay fees for the website (I've had it for over a decade) so adding a shop and selling would basically be free for me...still can't make any sense of how to set it up though! I always love your positive attitude towards everything! 🧡
Heat press! U need one for sublimation for sure. That will save you money in the long run. So sad to see. Your designs r so cute.
Just wanted to say if you’re spending so much fees per month on Etsy you’re better off paying a monthly subscription to shopify. As far as I understand you drive the most traffic to your shop and I don’t think Etsy is doing you any justice in terms of traffic. I’m only saying this based off this months stats that you showed and I understand you may not be paying that much fees per month but if it’s a similar amount per month what’s the difference in using that money to pay for your own website? At least that way you know how much fees is taken out per month as it will be a set monthly subscription. As a small business I’m sharing the same issues as you thus why I thought I’d share my opinion that’s all.❤
Hi Abi, I don’t think I’ve commented before but I’ve been watching all your videos since the beginning!
I just wanted to say, make sure you also use an Etsy fee calculator before pricing so you can also factor in the fees, shipping cost AND the cost of materials that you’ve had to purchase (mugs etc)
I’m in Aus and there’s SO many fees, at times it’s more accurately 10-15% rather than the 6% they claim.
don't let yourself get down by days like these ones, you still ended up with a lot of cute products
I've been wanting to create a Shopify shop forever too I can't wait to see your process as I've really struggled! Also, I've seen the black handle and inside mugs in Hobby Craft for £4 I think you're right they'd look super cute with that design!
Postage is SO expensive these days! Fees on top and cost of living - just because inflation is lower, it doesn't mean prices aren't still going up EVERY MONTH, just a bit slower. It's all really hard...
Keep going though, your cat mugs in particular are adorable!
The Anya design is so, so, so adorable! Ahhhh! But I can't get it online, ahhh... *sad*
Why we always stumble upon so many failures everytime tho? Is someone try to make us quit, or what? Keep going girl! I can't wait to watch the convention vlog! Also, I am never satisfied whatever the lenght of the video is, I just always want more, I am so greedy.
Btw, can you talk to us about taxes? like you started pay taxes from day 1? I really afraid to start because of a) didn't figure out shipping yet (my post office is giving me some trouble) and b) taxes, I am terrified.
But I WILL start my business in 2024 no matter what.!
Friend where do you get your keychain made? The clear ones!
Love your vlog, and your mugs and mousemats are lovely. You can get white mugs with black handles and insides from a sublimation company based in Birmingham, (they also do other colour combinations). Have a great week. 🙂
Thank you for letting me know! I definitely wanna look into them!
I feel your Etsy rant in my soul. I love creating, but Etsy makes it feel not worth it. The fees are insane.
As a thought, can you cut down the square mousemat? It would still be a good size. I would try cutting a little smaller than the heatpress since sometimes the heat is not as hot on the edges. Good luck!
With sublimation you could purchase 100% polyester fabric and try out your designs on that first before inventory.
Sublimation is so much trial and error.
We are always here to support ☺☺☺
Thank you! ☺
I have the same brand tumbler press and experience the temp fluctuating a bit. it only seems to happen after pressing a couple of tumblers. i'd recommend maybe preheating the mugs or tumblers because they are pretty cold or unplugging the machine for a few minutes and then reconnect it. 😊 i hope that is helpful!!
Yeah I figured that was what was happening ahaha! It's not done it before but I'll make sure to warm the cups up next time!
I find using the click and drop Royal Mail good postage prices in the UK
Etsy fees have gotten so ridiculous :(. If a lot of your sales are from social media marketing then I’d definitely consider your own website!!!!
Maybe to deal with shipping fees you can also make digital versions of your work at a slightly lower price so people can have both options. saw a lot of people selling their stickers in digital form to place in notes apps. idk maybe you can look into that. I would also suggest building your own site, but those don't work unless you have a huge following in social media, so maybe this option could be for later.
hope things go better!
Thank you for the suggestion! I definitely want to try my hand at digital products in the future ahaha. It was less the shipping and more the Etsy fees. The shipping was more about me feeling bad I would have to put it up again 😫😂
Felt your pain over the mats ,but I actually love the round ones and these online shops do take a lot of your hard earned cash I'm afraid ❤
By the way , me , i love your new mousepads and coasters !!
I always find writing notes in my book what I have done,
So next time I do it again I can check my notes what worked and didn’t :-)
Maybe it will be a better idea to have your own site since you bring the traffic from your social media?~ A lot of small businesses are doing this now I guess. It's harder, but it's way better in a long run~
Oh yes, you already decided to do so ahahah Sorry I didn't see the whole video yet~
Lovely video abi! it is so much fun to see your progress and get a real view of the learning curve that comes with starting a bussines~ Also wanna point out a thing on your gaming design that u might wanna look into
You should try made me uk they take zero fees off you at all and it's only £5 a month to open your shop lots of videos on RUclips about them hun
*promosm* 😁
Etsy nimmt so viel Geld weg.