59,000 Etsy Sales Later

My Honest Thoughts After 12+ Years on Etsy

I only popped on to sell a few bracelets…🤪

Yep, I’m still selling on Etsy!

12+ years later, and after $2.5 million in sales and 55,000 orders.

I know. Bonkers, right?

And nope, it wasn’t from one viral product, or a secret Etsy hack…sorry 😬
It was just thousands of tiny tweaks, mistakes, lessons learnt and a blinking lot of refinements.

So, are you thinking about opening an Etsy shop. Maybe you’ve already taken the leap, uploaded your first pieces and are now refreshing your stats wondering when the magic is supposed to happen.

(Spoiler: refreshing every 10 minutes doesn’t really help. I extensively tested this theory in 2013. 😂)

Well there seems to be this little gap nobody talks about much.
There is so much advice showing you how to start an Etsy store. And that’s brilliant.

But then what?

What happens after your shop is open, your products are listed, and you’re sitting there watching tumbleweed roll across your screen?

Well, I thought it was about time I shared my small but important refinements that have made the difference in growing my Etsy store and keeping it strong for over a decade.

Let’s do this! 🥰

(Not sponsored by Etsy by the way. Just sharing what genuinely worked for me after 12+ years.)

Why did I Join?
I actually started my ecommerce business in 2006, when having your own website was the normal place to start. I then spent the next eight years growing it.

But during those years, something big was happening. Etsy, Not On The High Street, Ebay had exploded in popularity, and they were increasingly dominating Google’s search results. Customer behaviour was shifting, and marketplaces were where more and more people were choosing to shop.

So I made a decision.

If I couldn’t beat them, I’d join them.

So, on the 17th November 2013. I joined Etsy.

Fast forward to 2026, with many highs, and my fair share of lows, these are the things that I wanted to pass on…

1. Etsy is no longer a ‘list it and they will come’ marketplace

When I joined Etsy in 2013, getting seen felt way easier. There were fewer sellers, less competition, and if you made something lovely, there was a pretty good chance people might actually find it.

Imagine that. 😂

Today, Etsy is still an incredible opportunity, but you need to treat it like a business from day one for it to really work. Working daily on your SEO, advertising, photos, branding, pricing, reviews and most of all getting to understand your customer.

2. Beautiful jewelry alone isn’t quite enough

This one hurts my creative soul a little.
You can make the most beautiful jewelry in the world, but Etsy shoppers scroll lightening fast.
Your photo has to stop the scroll before your jewelry even gets a chance to shine.
So stunning thumbnails, lifestyle photos and considered photo styling is one of the most important things I work on and always have.

3. Your biggest selling product is not always your favourite design

One of the biggest advantages of Etsy is how quickly you can learn.
You can have an idea, create a product, list it and see how customers respond.

Customers will surprise you!

Beginners often make products they love. Experienced sellers learn to pay attention to what their customers love. Read your reviews. Listen to questions. Notice the messages you receive again and again.

It’s surprising how many product ideas and improvements come directly from your customers simply telling you what they need.

You just have to listen 🤗

4. Your first sales are the hardest

Getting from 0–100 sales takes a different kind of energy than growing an established Etsy store.

In those early days, every single order matters. Work hard on building trust, getting those first reviews and giving customers a reason to remember you.

Go the extra mile. Upgrade delivery when you can, make your packaging feel special, answer questions quickly and exceed expectations. Those little touches might seem small, but they’re what turn first-time buyers into customers who come back again.

5. You need to also build something Etsy doesn’t own

The biggest thing I’ve learned after selling online for nearly two decades is that Etsy can bring you customers. Lots of them! But you need to build something that belongs to you as well.

I learnt this lesson the hard way. Marketplaces change. Algorithms change. Fees change.
What works one year might not work forever for you.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sell on Etsy (hello, I’m still here 55k orders later 👋).
It just means don’t put your entire business in someone else’s hands.

And no, this doesn’t mean you need to rush out and build a fancy website before you’ve even sold your first piece. Start super simple. Outside of Etsy create a simple web landing page and start hoarding those email subscribers from day one.

Those people are your future customers.

The people who loved your work once are most likely to come back and buy again, recommend you, and follow your journey. Don’t continually strive to be discovered, be remembered.

I use MailerLite for my own email list building because it’s beginner-friendly and you can create simple landing pages without needing a full website.

👉 If you’re thinking ‘awesome Sarah, but how on earth do I actually do that’ 😂
Well, I’ve created a Build A Simple Email List guide to show you how to start building an email list for your own jewelry business.

6. Ads became part of the game

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen over the years is that visibility has become way more competitive.
When I first started selling on Etsy, I never used ads. Honestly, I didn’t need to.

Fast forward to today and advertising has become a much bigger part of selling online for me.
And if I’m being completely truthful… do I sometimes resent it a little?

There’s a tiny part of me that thinks:
Hang on a minute. I pay listing fees, transaction fees and other selling fees… and now you want me to pay what… so people can actually see the thing I listed.

Ok. Mini rant over 😬

The reality is, ads can work. But (and this is a big sparkly jewelry-sized but)…
You can’t just switch Etsy Ads on, throw $50 a day at it and wander off expecting magic.
Ads amplify what is already there. They won’t fix: dark photos, weak titles, poor keywords or confusing listings.

Successful Etsy advertising is about understanding the system.
Look at your stats. See which listings convert well. Remove keywords that’s wasting money.
Test different products. Understand your keywords. Know your ROAS (return on ad spend).

7. Customer service is your secret weapon

After 55,000 Etsy orders, one thing I know for sure:

Your product gets you the first sale.
Your customer experience gets you the next one.

And I’m not going to lie…
This is probably my least favourite part of running a handmade business. 🫣

I started because I loved making jewelry, not because I had a burning desire to spend my evenings hunting down missing parcels or answering messages about whether something will arrive before Auntie Margaret’s birthday on Sunday.

But, here we are!

Customer service matters. A LOT.
It’s the thing building:

trust
repeat customers
amazing reviews
confidence in your brand

Because online, customers can’t hold your jewelry, feel the quality, or meet the person who made it.
Your communication becomes part of your product.
Reply quickly. Be kind. Package beautifully. Fix problems when they happen.

Those little moments are often the difference between someone who buys once and someone who comes back again and again.

8. Etsy removes a lot of the scary stuff when you’re starting out

This is the part I think Etsy still does incredibly well. You can focus on the important thing…making jewelry!

When you first decide to sell your jewelry online, there is suddenly a mountain of things you could build.
A website. Payment systems. Checkout pages. Security. Hosting. Tech updates. A whole online store from scratch. Before you know it your relaxing little bead obsession turned into Googling things like SSL certificates at midnight.

This is where Etsy is brilliant.

You can literally open a store, upload your first products and start testing your jewelry incredibly quickly. You don’t need everything perfect. You can make something, put it in front of customers and learn what happens.

Then, as your shop grows, you can start refining the things that really matter: your photos, SEO, customer experience, branding, advertising and understanding your buyers.

9. Evergreen pieces can become the backbone of your collection

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned after years of selling jewelry on Etsy is this:

Trends come and go. But evergreen pieces keep selling.

Evergreen jewelry pieces are timeless designs that customers buy again and again because they’re connected to moments, milestones, traditions, religions or emotions that don’t disappear. These are the pieces that can become the foundation of your jewelry business.

For me, evergreen jewelry has been a huge part of my collection. I have certain pieces that continue selling year after year which is awesome.

That doesn’t mean copying what everyone else makes. It means thinking about how you can create timeless pieces in your own wonderful style.

👉 If you want to dive deeper into this, read my other blog post: Why Every Jewelry Collection Needs Evergreen Pieces, where I share how to add timeless designs into your own collection.

10. Tiny improvements create big results

If there’s one thing I believe has helped me grow my Etsy shop, it’s this:

Small improvements, repeated over time.
Not one magic trick.
Not one viral product (ok there may have been one or two of those).

But constantly looking at what could be a tiny bit better.

Could the first photo be clearer, could I show this other angle?
Could the title explain the product better?
Could the description answer a customer question before they ask it?
Could the packaging feel more special?
Could the keywords attract the right buyer?

I’m always refining. I’m a bit of a refinement nerd! 🤓
But those little 1% improvements add up…they really do!

A slightly better photo might improve clicks.
A clearer description might improve conversion.
Better packaging might create more reviews.
More reviews create more trust.
And slowly those tiny things start working together.

I honestly think this is one of the most underrated parts of building and growing your Etsy store.

11. Personalisation took my shop to the next level

One of the biggest turning points in my Etsy journey was adding an engraving service.
It changed everything. My jewelry wasn’t just a generic necklace or bracelet.

It became their necklace. Their date. Their message. Their story.

People buy jewelry for emotional reasons. Birthdays, weddings, new babies, travel adventures, remembering someone special, celebrating milestones.

So, adding that personal element allowed customers to create something special, and it became a huge part of what made my collection work. I constantly get messages from customer tell me how special their piece is…(I love that!)

Now, this doesn’t mean everyone needs to rush out and buy an engraving machine 😂
It simply means thinking: How can I make this piece feel more personal to my customer?

Maybe it’s initials, birthstones, star signs, flower charms, custom sizing or letting someone choose their own combinations. Sometimes the smallest personal touch is what turns that’s pretty into that’s perfect.

So, there you have it.

A few little things I’ve learned after 12 years selling on Etsy.

If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this, it’s that building a successful Etsy store usually isn’t about one huge breakthrough moment.

It’s about the tiny things you improve along the way, every day.

The better photo.
The clearer description.
The price tweak.
The keywords ruining your ads.
The next day delivery option.
The little care card.
The pretty initial charm.
The extra care you put into a customer’s order.

Those little refinements might not feel like much at the time, but they compound. A bit like saving money, you don’t notice the difference every single day… then one day you turn around and think: Hang on, when did that happen? 😂 That’s exactly how my Etsy journey has felt. So, keep learning, keep testing, keep refining.

And yes, even after all these years, I would absolutely say join Etsy!

But remember, don’t put all your beads in one basket (see what I did there 😂).

Over the years I sold across 5–6 different marketplaces at one time and having different ways for customers to find me has always been part of my business.

If you’re ready to explore beyond Etsy, I’ve put together my guide on the best places to sell your handmade jewelry online.

59,000 Etsy Sales Later

My Honest Thoughts After 12+ Years on Etsy

1. Etsy is no longer a ‘list it and they will come’ marketplace

2. Beautiful jewelry alone isn’t quite enough