Make money, start selling handmade vintage products on Etsy. How I got started on Etsy.

Ways to make money selling online.

Make money, start selling handmade vintage products Etsy.

While hunting for hot products at a citywide rummage sale a few weeks ago, I picked up a very well built button maker.

Model 225 2 1/4" American made button press

The seller wanted $60.00 for the button press, and a bunch of supplies.

After doing a quick search on Amazon, I came across the exact model of the one I found.  Holy smokes I was surprised at the retail price. See how much they cost new!

I offered her $35.00 for the button press with all of the supplies which she gladly accepted.   

As I was driving home from the garage sales, I was thinking about that button press & how much money I was going to sell it for.   




Then, some thoughts popped into my head.  I am all about buying low & selling high but if I could start making buttons to sell online, that would be a continuos revenue stream. 

Rather than getting $100.00 - $150.00 for the press, I could be selling buttons for years making thousands.   This is when I decided to make my store.

Some key benefits of selling your handmade / vintage products on Etsy.

• No membership fees.
• 15 million buyers
• Promotional tools to help get your store noticed.
• Its cocts $0.20 to list an item for 4 months.
• Once an item is sold, Etsy's cut is only 3.4% so you get to keep the most of your money. 
• Better customers to deal with over eBay.
• Etsy considers themselves a community, many shops work together to help promote each other & some shops put together teams.
• Listing on Etsy is much faster than Amazon, there is only 1 page to fill out.
• Listings can be tagged with keywords to help customers find your listings.

What you will need before selling on Etsy.

• Valid credit card for verification purposes.

What can you sell on Etsy?

• Etsy provides a marketplace for crafters, artits and collectors to sell their handmade creations, vintage goods ( at least 20 years old ) and both handmade and non-handmade commercial crafting supplies.

Start selling handmade or vintage products on Etsy.

Step 1 - Determine what you kind of product you are going to sell.

My sister sells custom bows in her Etsy store:  Kagome Charm Bow Boutique.

Since I stumbled across the button makers, It didn't take me very long to figure out what type of product I wanted to sell on Etsy. 

In my garage sale travels, I have found many great vintage video game magazines, strategy guides, comics, pokemon cards, D&D books, Sci-Fi books.   Many of these strategy guides & games are not worth much more than $2.00 - $4.00 so why not turn them into custom video game character buttons and sell them for $2.00 - $4.00 each?

I am sure if you think about it for a little while, you will be able to come up with your own products to make & sell online.   You could even buy the same button press & start making your own  button.

Step 2 - Create your Etsy store.

Since I am selling video game related buttons, I decided to go with the name BAselectstartbuttons, paying tribute to the last 4 button codes used in Contra for the NES.

Step 3 - Fill out the profile for your store.

Once your store is created, it is important to fill out all of the information, especially your store profile.  

If you are unfamiliar with SEO ( Search Engine Optimization ) I would recommend reading up on the subject if you really want to start making money selling online.

Remember to give your store some character by adding a banner and profile picture.   

I quickly made this banner within about 10 minutes, it doesn't have to be fancy, just something noticeable.

Step 4 - Create store categories and add products.

One of the nice things about Etsy, unlike Ebay & Amazon, you are encouraged to get creative with your products so make them standout.

Tips to help sell your products.

• Use proper keywords in your titles.  If you are not using the proper keywords in your title, no one is going to find your products.
• Use eye catching pictures to set yourself apart from the other sellers.  On Etsy, everyone is more artistic so make sure to bring your A game.
• Use social media to promote your products.   Become active social media sites.  Google plus has all sorts of communities for promoting your products.  

  

Step 5 - Fullfil Esty store orders.

Our Etsy store has not been open for very long and we have already started selling buttons.   The initial investment of $35.00 will be returned fairly quickly, after that it will all be profit.

If you decide to start selling handmade vintage product on Etsy.

Remember to stand out amongst the competition, respond to your customers messages promptly, and always treat your customer like they are the most important person in the world.