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Starting an Etsy Business for Dummies
The easy way to build an online craft business from scratch
"Starting an Etsy Business For Dummies" offers expert advice for artists and entrepreneurs looking to build an online craft business from scratch. You'll get invaluable information on setting up your online shop, writing compelling item descriptions, photographing your work, engaging the Etsy community, understanding fees, and finding your muse when it takes a holiday.
In the last couple of years, the DIY movement has transcended the big-box hardware stores, and has taken on a new format in the savvy crafting arena. Etsy.com boasts an astonishing 1.9 million members, and there are tens of thousands of craft and hobby bazaars held each year across the United States. "Starting an Etsy Business For Dummies" shows you how to create, manage, and successfully sell handmade wares, vintage goods, and DIY supplies using the world's largest online handmade marketplace.Learn to sell your handmade wares, vintage goods, DIY supplies online at Etsy.comCreate and manage your own successful Etsy storefrontMerchandise your unique creations and drive buyers to your shop
If DIY is your domain, "Starting an Etsy Business For Dummies" gives you the skills, knowledge, and know-how to create a successful business that pays.
366 pages, Paperback
First published August 4, 2011
132 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 30, 2018
A very thorough review of many of the steps and considerations that go into starting an Etsy shop. There were many elements that I skimmed because they don't apply to me at this point, but might come in handy in the future. Other parts were extremely basic (i.e. "I already knew that"), but would come in handy if you have no experience on the Etsy platform at all, even as a customer. A great place to start if you are considering a business venture on the Etsy platform.
January 23, 2014
This is a helpful book but is not terribly insightful. Some of the information, for most users of the web, is a bit obvious (i.e. if you want to sign up for an Etsy account - there is one for shoppers and one for shop owners).
The book could be better by being updated to a current version (so much of Etsy's site has new or expanded features since the book was written).
Also, it would be helpful if the authors had gone into Paypal in some detail since Etsy relies on it and since Paypal requires its own storefront or shop owner customer service (i.e. dispute resolution customer service, etc.).
In the end, though, it is helpful in explaining the basics and where to hunt and peck on Etsy's site for further information.
The book could be better by being updated to a current version (so much of Etsy's site has new or expanded features since the book was written).
Also, it would be helpful if the authors had gone into Paypal in some detail since Etsy relies on it and since Paypal requires its own storefront or shop owner customer service (i.e. dispute resolution customer service, etc.).
In the end, though, it is helpful in explaining the basics and where to hunt and peck on Etsy's site for further information.
February 7, 2012
Even though the Etsy Website contains detailed instructions on how to use the site, Etsy is not a guide to e-commerce. The "Dummies" books are very straightforward and easy to read. Consider this a starting point for starting your own Online business using Etsy.
June 13, 2022
True to the for Dummies form, this provides a thorough overview of Etsy use and function from the very basics. However, also true to form for any print technical manual, being five years old (in this edition) it is also already out of date, particularly in terms of pricing considerations. Just within the last year, Etsy changed their advertising policy and increased their share of the revenue—events which even led some long-time Etsy store operators to strike. Nevertheless, if you're starting from zero, this remains a decent starting place, so long as one remembers that they will find differences and applied sufficient metaphorical salt to the few topics that touch on strategy and revenue.
February 24, 2018
This book had a ton of really good advice and suggestions that I plan to implement in my existing Etsy shop. It was very well-organized and informative. I appreciated the light, easy-to-read, humorous tone, like reading an email from a close, personal friend. I look forward to implementing the things I learned from this book and seeing my business grow.
February 26, 2024
A handy guide to have for those who don't want to read website FAQs or search for information. Just be mindful that like all books to do with computing and/or the internet, it's practically obsolete from the moment it leaves the presses.
July 13, 2020
Good if you want to know how to navigate their website, but eh if you're looking for some in-depth tips and strategies for success
December 31, 2020
A little cut and dry but a good step-by-step guide to setting up and maintaining an Etsy shop. Easy to understand and follow all of the steps.
February 10, 2021
This book was very informative about starting an Etsy business.
July 27, 2021
Some practical basic tips, particularly for the utterly uninitiated (which I was).
December 31, 2022
Most of the screenshots and technical information is out of date. Still had some useful business information, but I don't think anyone should waste their time on this one.
September 10, 2014
Why would I want this book when I have been selling on Etsy for over 3 years? Because Etsy has been making changes. At the time I requested this book, the latest change negatively affected my sales to the point where I was wondering why I was bothering to list my items at all. The problem was Etsy changed it's search format. Potential buyers were not finding my items. I followed all the Etsy newsletters & workshops changing tags, titles you name it. It made no difference. Along comes this book & I think, what have I got to loose?
For the most part being an active buyer & seller I can say that this book is dead on right. The advice is sound & you should follow it. I even discovered little things here & there that I didn't know! =D
Sadly the book is already outdated! Etsy is continuing to make changes & at the rate they are doing these changes, no book will ever be up to date. The already mentioned search format change is not in the book. Also, the book says you cannot change your shop name. Last week I got a notice from Etsy saying soon we would be able to change our shop names. The book says how you can buy a spot for $7 a day to be featured. This changed twice now. They did away with that when they changed the search format. That space featured the newly listed items. It has yet again changed to feature items that sellers pay to have featured but not for $7 a day. It's totally different & I'm not going into it or this review will never end.
There is now a option to click the Facebook like button on the shop page front. As well as a Twitter option. Now not only is your shop name shown, but your real name (or whatever name you chose to provide. If you don't provide a name it will show your shop name twice) and your shop name. The book mentions going into the Chat rooms & etiquette. Well don't worry you can skip right over this. Etsy got rid of the Chat rooms!
I am trying to remember all the changes that have happened that are not in this brand new book & really there are so many it's rather nutty & I'm sure I'm missing a few.
The section on paying taxes was not very detailed. This is another reason I wanted the book. I only discovered one thing I hadn't known about our tax system. Mostly this section covers the tax part in Etsy but advises you to speak to a lawyer and/or accountant. They also recommend finding out the specific tax laws for not only your State but your Town as well. This is good advice but probably not what you are looking for since you have to look elsewhere for the answers to all those confusing tax questions.
If you are new to Etsy I see no reason not to read this book because it still contains loads of useful information. If your a seasoned seller, you may enjoy brushing up on your Etsy knowledge & who knows maybe like me you will learn a few new things along the way! The biggest problem is if you use this book & really are a "Dummy" you are going to be very confused when what the book says & what Etsy does don't match up. Luckily at the moment it's a small enough amount of differences that you can still learn plenty. Aside from that Etsy is not a super complicated site. It functions very well. As the book advises (this is great advice) Be a buyer first! You have a stress free way to get familiar with the site while getting some nifty items for your efforts!
Good luck!
For the most part being an active buyer & seller I can say that this book is dead on right. The advice is sound & you should follow it. I even discovered little things here & there that I didn't know! =D
Sadly the book is already outdated! Etsy is continuing to make changes & at the rate they are doing these changes, no book will ever be up to date. The already mentioned search format change is not in the book. Also, the book says you cannot change your shop name. Last week I got a notice from Etsy saying soon we would be able to change our shop names. The book says how you can buy a spot for $7 a day to be featured. This changed twice now. They did away with that when they changed the search format. That space featured the newly listed items. It has yet again changed to feature items that sellers pay to have featured but not for $7 a day. It's totally different & I'm not going into it or this review will never end.
There is now a option to click the Facebook like button on the shop page front. As well as a Twitter option. Now not only is your shop name shown, but your real name (or whatever name you chose to provide. If you don't provide a name it will show your shop name twice) and your shop name. The book mentions going into the Chat rooms & etiquette. Well don't worry you can skip right over this. Etsy got rid of the Chat rooms!
I am trying to remember all the changes that have happened that are not in this brand new book & really there are so many it's rather nutty & I'm sure I'm missing a few.
The section on paying taxes was not very detailed. This is another reason I wanted the book. I only discovered one thing I hadn't known about our tax system. Mostly this section covers the tax part in Etsy but advises you to speak to a lawyer and/or accountant. They also recommend finding out the specific tax laws for not only your State but your Town as well. This is good advice but probably not what you are looking for since you have to look elsewhere for the answers to all those confusing tax questions.
If you are new to Etsy I see no reason not to read this book because it still contains loads of useful information. If your a seasoned seller, you may enjoy brushing up on your Etsy knowledge & who knows maybe like me you will learn a few new things along the way! The biggest problem is if you use this book & really are a "Dummy" you are going to be very confused when what the book says & what Etsy does don't match up. Luckily at the moment it's a small enough amount of differences that you can still learn plenty. Aside from that Etsy is not a super complicated site. It functions very well. As the book advises (this is great advice) Be a buyer first! You have a stress free way to get familiar with the site while getting some nifty items for your efforts!
Good luck!
December 29, 2017
This is pretty useful book for people wanting to sell on Etsy. It has information such as:
What you can sell on Etsy:
Items you made.
Items you designed, provided they meet certain conditions of manufacture, such as not mass-produced.
Vintage goods (20 years or older).
Supplies for crafting.
Sellers can offer custom items.
Etsy charges 20 cents per item listed and 3.5% of sales not including shipping.
Etsy payments feature is 25 cents plus 3% of the total sale (including shipping and sales tax)
You can also accept payment by check of money order.
Etsy can collect state sales tax, but you set up the tax rate based on zip code ranges.
You can set up coupon codes.
You can promote listings on Etsy budgeting $1 to $10 per day.
You can also promote on Google Shopping.
Etsy has special shipping rates arranged with USPS and FedEx.
Etsy store can integrate with Quickbooks Self-Employed.
Etsy facilitates matches between designers and production services using Etsy Manufacturing.
The book offers advice on how to price your product.
What you can sell on Etsy:
Items you made.
Items you designed, provided they meet certain conditions of manufacture, such as not mass-produced.
Vintage goods (20 years or older).
Supplies for crafting.
Sellers can offer custom items.
Etsy charges 20 cents per item listed and 3.5% of sales not including shipping.
Etsy payments feature is 25 cents plus 3% of the total sale (including shipping and sales tax)
You can also accept payment by check of money order.
Etsy can collect state sales tax, but you set up the tax rate based on zip code ranges.
You can set up coupon codes.
You can promote listings on Etsy budgeting $1 to $10 per day.
You can also promote on Google Shopping.
Etsy has special shipping rates arranged with USPS and FedEx.
Etsy store can integrate with Quickbooks Self-Employed.
Etsy facilitates matches between designers and production services using Etsy Manufacturing.
The book offers advice on how to price your product.
November 6, 2014
I guess I'm not a dummy about ETSY, because I knew all of this. My copy was three years old, and in technology years, that's obsolete: meaning...none of the icons or locators were where they were three years ago, so you had to go looking. This book would be more helpful for someone selling handcrafted items, maybe. I read through the teams, conversations and forums and none of them seemed very helpful. The one thing I did learn is that you can apply Google Analytics to your site to track viewers, etc, but you get a lot of that data from the ETSY dashboard anyway without dragging Google and it's tracking cookies, into it.
July 10, 2013
A fairly helpful book - I am starting my own Etsy business, so I really needed to learn the basics. This book is easy to follow and generally helpful. They really went overboard with the section titles- I know they're meant to be funny, but sometimes they just made me shake my head and go "...really?".
I read it on my kindle and bookmarked sections that I will want to refer to again as I continue selling on Etsy, so I think it will not only be a good read to start my business up, but also useful as a reference.
I read it on my kindle and bookmarked sections that I will want to refer to again as I continue selling on Etsy, so I think it will not only be a good read to start my business up, but also useful as a reference.
July 11, 2019
A lot of good info but maybe a little too much. Etsy seems to be pretty straight forward and easy to use. I read this and was having a bit of a panic attack about my decision to start a business and use this site. I went on Etsy and saw how simple it was. I think this book made it seem more difficult than it actually was or maybe it just explained everything in minute detail. I prefer broad strokes. Still a good resource.
October 17, 2012
Nice overview of how Etsy works--including detailed step-by-steps for various things--and good tips on organizing your business. The info about promotion and price setting was particularily interesting.
January 7, 2014
I wasn't overly impressed with this book. It was a small book filled with information that anyone could have found out by using the Etsy site for about 10 minutes. I'm hoping the larger edition has more helpful tips. The Mini Edition was definitely a waste of money, though.
July 2, 2012
A lot of practical information. Will prove very useful as I open an Etsy shop.
February 21, 2013
Lots of great information about how to start your etsy business.
April 27, 2014
A good starting place. I skimmed a lot of the more basic stuff like how to set up a shop, but I still ended up with 9 pages of notes. A quick read and it does have some useful tips.
January 22, 2015
I've never read a "for dummies" book before, but it turned out to be pretty helpful
May 28, 2016
Too old to be of much use. The site has changed a lot. It's way more friendly.
April 13, 2017
well, this is definitely a great resource if you need a walk through on Etsy. Unfortunately, I knew most of this and was only able to glean a couple of new insights to how I can better manage my Etsy store.
Happy Reading!
Happy Reading!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews