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Do you want to know exactly what is selling on Etsy that people constantly buy? I was blown away when I discovered what actually sells on Etsy, because, it wasn’t quite what I expected. So, if you are looking for inspiration on how to make extra money working from home, or are curious to see what the best things to sell are then I am excited to share my findings with you. And I know you don’t have much time at hand between baby-ing and building your business. That’s why I have put together a list of the 10 best things to sell on Etsy right now for you whether you’re considering starting your own shop now or in the near future! But that’s not all, mommy! Also in this article, you’ll find the top tips for selling on Etsy to start your Etsy online business successfully. So make sure you keep reading as I really want you to get those important tips.
So, how can you see what is selling well on Etsy?
Check out my brand new AnyMommyCanPlanner Etsy shop here. Enjoy 25% off with this code: ANYMOMMYCANREADER25
There are multiple ways, as I am going to show you in this post.
How to see what sells on Etsy
One way to find out what is selling well on Etsy is to look at the platform itself.
My favorite way to locate best sellers is to look underneath the product for the “bestseller” banner. By looking at this banner, you can determine which products are popular with customers.
You can also check for best sellers by using the search bar on the website and selecting ‘popular right now’ from the list of results. Etsy will then show you items that have already generated sales.
Etsy keyword tool
Another way to see what sells on Etsy is to check out the keyword search volumes.
SEO keyword research tools can help you find out which store is selling the most products in a particular category.
There are free and paid Etsy keyword search tools.
So let’s take a look at two popular Etsy SEO tools you can use to find what sells best on Etsy today.
My favorite one is called EverBee.
The next one is called Etsy eRank.
eRank
What is eRank on Etsy?
eRank is a tool that lets you spy on Etsy’s tool sellers.
eRank is a free Etsy tool for SEO (search engine optimization), but you can upgrade to unlock extra features.
Should I use eRank for Etsy?
If you want to explore your category in depth, then eRank is a great tool to use.
The free plan is definitely good, but you’re limited to only 5 searches of the top selling shops as part of the free plan.
To access 100 of the top selling shops and categories, you might want to upgrade to a paid plan.
My second favorite tool is a tool I love for many reasons. It’s called Keysearch.
Keysearch
Keysearch is a free Etsy tag generator and Etsy keyword planner. With Keysearch, you can find the right keywords for your Etsy shop, product listing, title, and tags.
Using the keyword tool, you can see what people are actually searching for on Etsy.
And these keywords may provide insights into what Etsy users are searching for and buying.
Those can be long tail keywords like “sticker bundle sheets” or “k stickers” that could help you create more targeted Etsy listings that stand out from your competition.
But the best thing is that with Keysearch, you can also spy on the keyword search volumes, which reveals the most searched keywords, not only on Etsy but also in search engines like Google.
For me, knowing the actual number of people looking specifically for terms was a real eye-opener, as I was able to focus my efforts on the things people actually look for rather than things I assumed they’d be interested in (which was a huge mistake).
What makes the most money on Etsy?
That’s a very important question of course.
There are over 15 top category levels on Etsy and dozens and dozens of subcategories within each. To determine what sells best, I combed through each category and listed the top sellers on Etsy in this post here.
The list is quite eye-opening to see what exactly sells well, so make sure you check out 500 Best Selling Items on Etsy To Make Money in 2023 at some point.
Luckily for you, I have rounded up the top 10 categories in this post, along with their best products. Honestly, some of the best-selling items may come as a surprise to you (at least they did to me).
While I was researching, I discovered that some products are less popular on Etsy than they once were. To give you a sneak peek, vintage items seem to be less popular.
Instead, some once-popular products have been replaced with products due to global changes that have changed the way we shop and more importantly, what we shop for.
For instance, face masks sold on Etsy in Q2 of 2020 alone were worth over $346 million (according to Etsy’s earning reports).
I’ll show you some more of those surprising changes on Etsy. When you’re ready, let’s get started.
But first, let’s take a look at what Etsy is, what is worth selling, and what it isn’t.
What is Etsy and is it worth selling on Etsy?
Etsy is an online marketplace that allows users to sell unique products such as custom goods, handmade items, craft supplies, or even Printables (who would have thought?).
Etsy attracts hundreds of thousands of customers every day looking for unique products, handmade jewelry, personalized jewelry, pet supplies, and other handmade items.
But, surprisingly, digital items like printables also sell well (read here how Julie sells Printables on Etsy for $1000 a month).
Therefore, to sum it up, products that sell well are either:
- Personalized
- Customizable or
- Unique
For that reason, I found that vintage goods are less popular as they once used to be on Etsy.
Is it worth selling on Etsy?
Firstly, let me say that in order to sell successfully on Etsy you do not need a large following on social media, or any following for that matter. When compared to other e-commerce platforms, this is great news since it gives you the chance to start your own Etsy shop from scratch. Because as an Etsy seller, Etsy gives you access to its entire customer base of potential customers and active buyers.
However, that doesn’t come for free.
Etsy fees
Listing fees
If you want to sell on Etsy, you have to pay a listing fee. Therefore, for each listing that you put up on Etsy, you have to pay US $0.20, regardless of whether it sells.
This listing fee pays for 4 months. If your listing hasn’t sold and you want to keep it in your store, you can renew your listing for another 4 months, and so on.
Due to the listing fee, you may decide Etsy is not the right marketplace for you to sell your goods, and another e-commerce platform may be more suitable for your needs.
Shipping fees
If you are shipping physical goods to your customers, you can charge a shipping fee to cover the shipping costs. The best way to handle shipping costs is to integrate them into your sales price and offer free shipping instead as that’s more appealing to your customers.
Regardless of how you choose to sell your products, Etsy will charge you 5% of your shipping costs and any additional services you offer, such as gift wrapping.
Transaction fees
Along with your listing fees, Etsy requires a transaction fee, which is usually 5%, depending on your market, that takes a cut of your shipping fees and additional costs.
Given all of Etsy’s fees, it’s important to ensure the product you’re selling is profitable so your Etsy shop will be profitable.
What are the best-selling products and which ones don’t?
You might be surprised to learn which items sell best on Etsy (at least it did for me). In my post 500 Top Selling Items on Etsy I list over 500 of the best-selling items on Etsy in 2023.
So do check it out!
It’s no surprise that certain categories do better than others, as Etsy shoppers come to the site to find products and gift ideas for special occasions in the first place.
But in this post, we’ll dive deeper into the top 10 best-selling things.
And without any further delay – here are the 10 best things to sell on Etsy right now in 2023!
What is selling on Etsy right now – 10 Best things to sell
- Planner sticker
- Party supplies
- Bead supplies
- Jewelry supplies
- Personalized Jewelry
- Baby shower supplies
- Personalized gifts
- Wedding supplies
- Bridesmaids supplies
- Printable downloads
1. Planner stickers
Did you know that planner stickers are among the top Etsy stores?
Planner Kate has sold over 1.8 million stickers from her online store, making it the #1 shop for planner stickers.
For a sneak peek at the exact sales some of the top Etsy sellers make, check out my post here.
You can also check out this FREE guide here that shows you How To Make Planner Stickers That Sell if you’re interested in learning how to make your own.
2. Party supplies
The party supply business on Etsy is HUGE. The party supplies we are talking about are not just any party supplies – they are personalized and customizable. Customers want personalized party supplies, whether for table decorations, birthday cards, balloons, garlands, paper cups, chips bag wrappers, or party signs. The more customers can customize, the better and more fun it is for them.
Check out Party Gloss which is your one-stop shop for handmade, customized party decorations and printable tags.
3. Beads supplies
Believe it or not, beads supplies are among the most popular items on Etsy. Beadboat1 is the number one craft and supply shop offering beads and craft supplies like tarnish-resistant wrapping wire, beads from Africa, 14K gold-filled chains, and many others.
One of the best things about wholesale beads is that you don’t need to be creative. That means, even if you don’t have an artistic bone in your body, you can open a successful Etsy shop like Beadboat1.
4. Jewelry supplies
In a similar way to selling beads on Etsy, some of the most popular stores sell jewelry supplies to jewelry crafters on Etsy. If you aren’t feeling creative and were worried about whether you can still make it on Etsy, then this is great news for you.
However, yakutum demonstrates that you can be successful just by selling high-quality supplies with 963,898 sales.
For boosting sales, you can offer free shipping when customers order over a certain amount, such as free shipping for orders over $40.
5. Personalized jewelry
A top seller of personalized jewelry, Caitlin Minimalist sells necklaces, bracelets, and earrings and people can’t get enough of them.
The demand for personalized name jewelry on Etsy is high, whether you want to purchase one for yourself, as a gift, or for Mother’s Day.
Customers love personalized jewelry as gifts or as gifts to themselves because seeing their names on them makes it all so special.
6. Baby shower supplies
Personalized items for baby showers are among the most popular items all year round. To give you an idea of how popular the term is, see how many times people search for the term “baby shower”. EverBee tells me that it is searched a whopping 3,400,000 times per month.
That’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?
There are lots of ways to customize a baby shower gift or party decoration, such as garlands, paper cups, paper plates, games based on gender reveal, or printable baby shower games.
For the expecting mom, the cuter the day, the more special it is.
7. Personalized gifts
Personalized gifts include handmade goods such as nursery decorations, personalized journals and notebooks, personalized Father’s Day gifts, leather goods, mugs and bottles, and wooden cutting boards. Almost anything can be customized and personalized on Etsy, and buyers are spoiled for choice.
But I personally love the wooden name puzzles, as they are not only beautiful but also will last your kid a lifetime.
8. Wedding supplies
Wedding supply items are another huge category on Etsy since brides and grooms are always looking for the perfect personal wedding decoration that can’t be found anywhere else. This includes personalized wedding stationery, table decoration, menu cards, placemats, seating cards, and personalized welcome signs.
As I mentioned in the introduction, Etsy is the place to get personalized Wedding party supplies tailored to your specific needs.
9. Bridesmaid supplies
One of the most popular categories on Etsy is bridesmaids’ party supplies like personalized coat hangers, makeup bags, dressing gowns, and face masks.
There are literally endless options that you can customize for customers to make sure they have everything they need to host the most memorable bridesmaids’ party.
Obviously, there is competition if you want to take up this niche. However, if you can find the right products for your customers, then you’re also in for some healthy profit margins.
My favorite Etsy analytics tool is called EverBee.
It’s insane!
Within seconds, you can discover exactly how many sales products make, how much revenue, and how old the listing is.
It’s amazing and you can also see the tags products use. This data is usually hidden, but with EverBee you can access it.
Check out ModParty to see what products customers adore.
10. Printable downloads
Remember that I said at the beginning that some products are being replaced by new ones that are more suitable to our needs?
Printables are one of them. In fact, Etsy’s most popular items in 2023 are printable items.
And that trend is only going to grow.
What are Printables?
Printables are digital files that customers can print at home or in a print shop.
For that reason, they are extremely popular with customers. For Etsy shop owners, printables are popular because they do not require you to ship physical items, are easy to make, and once you create your design, you can sell them again and again.
What are Printables used for?
You might be wondering what Printables are good for.
That’s why in the next paragraph, I want to show you how you can use them. Printing out Printables can be useful for yourself or your family like journaling pages, budget planners that go on the fridge, or a weekly meal planner for the whole family. Printables can also be used for gifts, like a birthday card (perfect for last-minute gifts!) or a flyer for your kids’ birthday party.
In addition, Printables are extremely popular for baby shower games, personalized birthday party decorations, wedding menus, and even wedding invitations!
Because Etsy hosts such a wide variety of printable items today, I’ve compiled some of the most popular printables today:
- Birthday cards
- Teacher thank you cards
- Wedding Stationery
- Bridesmaids cards
- Printable planner sheets like budget planners, meal planners, financial planners, net worth trackers, fitness planners
- Homeschooling worksheets
- Kids coloring pages
- Coloring pages for adults
- Coloring pages for moms (So relaxing! Have you tried them?)
- Coloring in placemats
- chore charts
- Labels
- gift tags
- And many, many more!
Julie makes over $1000/month selling Printables on Etsy, and in our interview, she reveals how she does it. In the interview, she shares a FREE ebook with you about which products are trending. Or, if you’re in a hurry, you can grab it here.
Let me tell you one more thing:
Printables are the way to go because people love them for two reasons: One reason is they can print them from the convenience of their own home when they are at home.
The second reason is that printables, such as birthday cards, make great last-minute gifts.
Now that we know the top-selling categories on Etsy, let’s take a look at what makes it so great versus what is not so great.
The benefit of selling on Etsy vs. your own website
Let’s start with the pros of selling on Etsy.
The PROS of selling on Etsy
1. Etsy’s marketplace inbuilt features
The good thing about selling on platforms like Etsy is that you have immediate access to all its features, rather than having to build your own website and figure out which features you want first.
2. Etsy account
All you need to do is create an Etsy account, come up with a shop name, and you are ready to sell.
3. Customer service
One of the other benefits of using the Etsy platform is its great customer service to help you resolve customer issues and issues you might have with other Etsy shop owners (like copyright infringement).
The CONS of selling on Etsy
1. Etsy storefront banner
A downside of selling on Etsy is that you don’t have many ways to add a personal touch to your storefront and make your brand stand out. On the other hand, that’s not necessarily a bad thing when you’re just getting started with your store, am I right?
2. Etsy’s fees
But the biggest con for most small businesses is Etsy’s fees, which I talked about earlier, which can add up quite quickly depending on your sales volume.
3. Etsy ads
Also, some Etsy sellers also don’t like the fact that Etsy advertises other Etsy shops at the bottom of their listing since that means their listing is always in direct competition with other business owners selling similar items.
Nevertheless, if you sell a good product at a reasonable price that people want, then this shouldn’t negatively affect your shop.
How to sell on Etsy
The benefit of opening an online shop with Etsy is that you’ll have access to a very large audience of potential customers who are actively looking to buy.
In other words, you can potentially make sales right away without first building your brand.
The big question now is how to sell on Etsy?
So let’s take a closer look at what you need to start getting sales.
1. Find the right product
Choosing what to sell on Etsy can be challenging.
So, how do you decide what to sell on Etsy?
Look at the data!
The Etsy research tool I am using is called EverBee.
What I love about EverBee is that it shows you all the products that are already selling well!
Look at this!
EverBee shows you exactly how much revenue each product made last month.
Pretty amazing, right?
You can sign up for a FREE ‘Hobby’ account here. No credit card is required.
Yah!
Rather than guessing, research your products using EverBee to make sure you’re offering a product that enough people are searching for.
How many products should I start with on Etsy?
Etsy likes your shop to feel “full” when potential customers land on it.
For your shop to look full, you need anything from 10 listings upwards.
But…
that doesn’t mean that you need 10 completely different listings.
You could fill your shop up by testing the same listing but with different thumbnail images.
Or you can bundle your items into different packages.
Rather than focusing on filling your Etsy shop, you should use your listings to find the winning product.
Once you fin it, you should start thinking about expanding your winning product and offering more variety instead of trying to find another successful product.
If you look carefully, Etsy shops that are extremely successful primarily offer one product with a variety of design variations, colors, and sizes.
Example
Say you’re selling planner stickers on Etsy, one of Etsy’s top-selling categories. If you find a template that sells especially well, then you could offer the same template in different colors or seasons, on different planners, or for different holidays.
2. Good product photos
Your product photo is probably the first thing your customers will see, so you want it to stand out.
Present your product in context, and use a flat lay or mockup to help customers understand what it’s for.
Using natural lighting and avoiding special effects is also a good idea.
3. Product listings
To make your product listings more appealing to your target audience, you should include the right keywords to your:
- product title
- product description
- ALT text of your images
4. Keyword research
If you’re looking for keywords your target audience is searching for, check out my favorite Etsy analytics research tool, EverBee, which shows you not only the volume of searches for your keyword, but indicates how many people are actively searching for this particular phrase, but also how much revenue they are making.
You can start a FREE “Hobby” plan, absolutely for free for as long as you want.
5. Shipping costs
Physical products must be shipped at a cost.
So, make sure you’re calculating your shipping costs into your prices for each new listing so that they don’t eat into your profits.
6. Download the Etsy App
Have you ever heard of the “cha-ching” sound Etsy owners are addicted to?
Basically, every time you generate a sale, the Etsy App will notify you by playing its ultra-addicting cha-ching sound.
So once you set up your Etsy store, you should also consider getting the Etsy app to track your sales.
And hopefully, you’ll hear lots of cha-ching sounds!
Summary of what sells best on Etsy today
As you can see, vintage items are less popular on Etsy these days. On the flip side digital products such as Printables or planner stickers (or “decals” which is the right word for sticker) are super popular right now.
To learn more, check out Julie’s FREE Printables eBook or check out Mim’s FREE Masterclass – Create Stickers That Sell.
How quickly you’ll make sales depends of course on how much work and time you can devote to your own Etsy shop, how appealing your product listings are, and what you sell.
But if you work hard and do your research upfront to find the right products that customers want then that lays the foundation for your shop to succeed.
Have these tips about what sells best on Etsy helped you if you’re thinking about selling on Etsy? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
I’m Kristin Brause, a new mom and now a blogger. But please call me Kris! My blog AnyMommyCanMakeMoney was born out of my desire to stay at home with my baby and work from home instead of being away from her for work. My mission now is to help mommies who also want to stay at home with their kids make money online because I believe that any mommy can work from home and make money, even between nap times and nappy changes, with the right strategies. Check out my resources to help you make money.
