why I think etsy is disempowering for artists
this week, I dipped a toe back into the world of selling art on Etsy, wondering if I had too quickly dismissed it, all those years ago. what if Etsy was one tiny piece of the answer in the puzzle of MAKING ART + MAKING MONEY — that is, the ongoing challenge of being an artist-entrepreneur?
the question: is Etsy the solution for artists who want to make money?
my conclusion: maybe for a short period of time. but ultimately NO, not really.
here’s an exploration of what I’ve gathered:
[first off, Etsy doesn’t treat its sellers well. let’s start there. what feels like an intimate, handmade company with strong values — seems hypocritical and corporate in its practices.]
Etsy is like a crowded, grand bazaar.
on Etsy, you get a tiny little digital stall in the world of million stalls, with a dozen people selling the same (or very similar things). if one shop is successful and make a lot of sales, it’s easy for other shops to copy it — word for word, image for image.
How would buyers know the difference? they aren’t on Etsy because they’re drawn to the artist, her ethos, or the digital universe she’s created — they’re there to buy a gift from somewhere other than Amazon, without needing to look too hard.
I was actually surprised by how crowded and noisy the platform had become, in the last decade. many of the listings looked like they could’ve been on Amazon — in some categories, the “handmade” aspect seemed almost like a lie.
The promise of customers also means that you’re replaceable
since people often visit Etsy ready to buy — to an artist selling work, this feels like an easy promise of steady traffic flow, delivered to their door.
all you have to do is up your SEO search terms game, and polish up some photos, write a listing, put a price. however, buyers who are driven to search for something particular — are not loyal to you; at least, not at first.
Etsy is a place that solves a problem for them, and the search results give dozens of pages of solutions. If your piece doesn’t do it, they’ll have a long list of other things favorited and saved in their carts. this means that you’re always measured and weighed against ten thousand other options.
the commodification of your art
in 2017, I had a small shop on my own website, and at the same time, posted my work on Etsy, where, in the span of a few weeks, I sold 3 pieces to strangers — from whom I never heard from again, and who likely don’t remember me, either.
I remember feeling strangely naked and uncomfortable on Etsy — similar to how I’ve felt on Instagram. it was as though my work was too personal, too intimate, too sacred — to put into a giant, industrial-like digital shopping complex.
I think that the act of selling your art doesn’t turn it into a commodity — because the money you recieve is energy that connects you to the giver. however, I believe that the digital context in which your art is sold, displayed, experienced, and whether or not that context helps you create a meaningful relationship with the buyer — does impact the nature (and I’d say, integrity) of the monetary exchange.
Etsy is an entirely different game. the real question is, is it a game you want to play? in this digital bazaar environment, when a gazillion other shops are showing 50%, 70% discount, you compete — on price, reviews, and sales.
Etsy seems like a ready-made, shortcut for artists — but is it, really?
I can understand — and I have personally experienced — the bright promise of Etsy to creative people wanting to make money. Etsy (much like Squarespace) promises a new future of entrepreneurial possibilities. It’s an all-in-one kit, complete with a storefront, SEO tools, analytics, payment processor, support, a community. if you use Etsy, you don’t have to worry about marketing your work, having a website or a brand, sending newsletters, writing content, or building relationships with people, over time.
in some senses, you can just wait to be found in the Etsy search engine machine, funneling a steady traffic of potential buyers. you put up a listing, and wait for one of them to bite. it feels easy.
while I think for many people, this has worked — and they’ve made livelihoods from this platform, what bothers me most about Etsy is how much power it has over you, as an artist, and how it takes away your agency.
When you use Etsy, you don’t have to worry about
building a website
creating a brand
developing a voice
creating content
sending newsletters
creating relationships with customers
In exchange, Etsy gets to control
how much your work is seen
which listings are recommended
whether or not to deactivate your listings (for reasons you may or may not understand)
whether or not to suspend your account — (which they can do, in an instant, meaning your source of income can vanish overnight)
(not only that — they’ll take 6.5% of your profit, and place a hold on your money).
personally, that kind of platform power makes me really uneasy. it means that if I leave the platform, all my customers and sales will vanish with it. Etsy feels fast, shiny, and easy — but that comes at a cost to freedom, and autonomy. perhaps it’s worth it to you, for a while. at what point does it not? how hard, then, would it be to leave? you’d have to start over again from scratch.
to summarize
the key difference in using Etsy — vs. building your own website universe, which is FAR harder and more laborsome, is that the promise of “certain, easy sales” comes at a cost.
my personal suggestion is this:
experiment with Etsy if you feel like playing around, and exploring ecommerce marketing fundamentals (search terms, descriptions, product photos) — as a test, personal process of learning, and discovery.
But. be careful not becoming too reliant on it, or letting it be your ONLY platform. if you don’t invest time in building your own world (the hard, slow way), you’re dependent on being in a stall in the crowded bazaar, subject to the rules, weather, and conditions of the bazaar.
perhaps the traffic is good some months — but then, anything can change — out of nowhere. that kind of “stability” and power you relinquish, for me, wouldn’t feel like true stability.
personally, I’d caution against Etsy as a shiny solution.
I’d rather build my own universe from the ground up — grow my own little castle, from nothing but dirt and water, and let it be entirely my own.