Are you looking to take advantage of Etsy’s established pool of customers to make money? If yes, this article will give you some practical ideas on what to sell on Etsy.

Etsy is the biggest online store where buyers and creators enjoy a close-knit relationship that adds a personal touch to every product sold. To maintain this dynamic, Etsy strictly regulates what can and cannot be sold on the site. When deciding on what to sell on Etsy, you must operate within these limits. Generally, you will only be allowed to sell products if they fall in any of the following three categories:

• Handmade goods: if you have a product that you have built from scratch using your own hands or another person’s product that you have personally modified, you are allowed to sell it on Etsy. As long as you have put in some creativity into producing the final product, Etsy will accept it.
• Vintage goods: Etsy’s definition of vintage goods is products that are at least 20 years old. You can sell any vintage good on the site as long as it meets the age requirement. The restriction on handmade goods does not apply to vintage products. Even mass-produced products are fair game.
• Craft supplies: craft supplies are products that are used in the creation of other arts and crafts. You will be basically selling raw materials that aid other Etsy users to create the products they offer on the site.

Your decision on what to sell on Etsy should be determined by your artistic inclinations and the nature of the demand for products on the site. If there isn’t enough demand for a product, sticking to it when the feedback from Etsy users is that no one is interested in the product is kind of counterproductive. This is true even if you really love creating the product. You can always make adjustments to the product, list it again on Etsy and gauge how people react to the new design.

You may be wondering what product sells well on Etsy. If I am being honest, there is no one particular item that consistently outsells everything else. Figuring out what sells well takes figuring out the categories and niches that tend to perform well over time and then testing out different designs and versions of a product in those categories. You might hit a home run and have your product fly off the shelves at breakneck speed. It is also possible that you end up not making even a single sale. The reality, however, is that your results will probably be in between.

Looking at the top selling items on Etsy right now should give you hope that practically any item on Etsy has a chance at being a runaway success even if the probabilities are dismally against you. Etsy is a creative site and the personalities of the buyers are as varied as the interests of the creatives on the site. Below is a random list of some of the items doing exceedingly well on Etsy right now:

• Slime! The kids love it!  But, make sure your recipe is safe for pets and kids. 
• Gourmet salt whose saving grace is definitely a cute wrapper
• Handbags
• Jewelry, Charms and Beads  
• Crochet Swimsuit Tops
• Stickers 
• Anything with inspirational quotes on it; books, shits, pictures, coffee cups.... Live in the positive. 
• Party Decorations 
• Personalized Clothing 
• Accessories; headpieces, magnets/buttons, watch bands, phone cases. 
• Bath & Beauty 
• Anything Dealing with Pets
• An ice cream spoon with a customizable saying written on it
• A coffee mug with a knit cloth around it
• Custom Printed T-Shirts, Funny T-Shirts
• A gold necklace in the shape of a crescent moon. 
• Clothing
• Personalized Cutting Boards 
• Wooden Flags
• A day planner designed specifically for real estate agents
• A tape called ‘bestseller’ because it has the words ‘bestseller’ on it
• A grey tank top with the image of a pineapple on it
• Sunglasses in the shape of hearts – to represent love.

If you spend enough time looking at the products doing well, you will quickly realize that even a small creative tweak to an otherwise normal product can make it a bestseller. Your decision on what to sell on Etsy should therefore be pegged on your ability to add a creative twist to an otherwise normal product. If you want to feed your creative muse, Etsy is indeed the place to be.

As I mentioned earlier, your job will primarily be to figure out the categories that perform well and then experiment with different products or different designs of a product in those categories. If you are still wondering what to sell on Etsy, below are some of the product categories that are guaranteed to have a consistently high number of buyers on the site.

What to Sell on Etsy: Category Recommendations

Jewelry

Both men’s and women’s jewelry do well on Etsy. Pricing and jewelry design determine the kinds of pieces that get bought the most. You can offer to customize your jewelry to fit the specifications of your buyers if you want an edge over the competition. Most buyers tend to buy more than one piece of jewelry from a store. You should, therefore, stock several designs at any given time.

Cute Baby Clothes

Cute baby clothes are a hit with the Etsy crowd. They are bought by parents or people looking to gift them to relatives with newborns. To get return buyers, your baby clothes need to be as functional as they are cute. Offer baby clothes in different sizes and you may get yourself dedicated customers who always come to your store for new supplies as their babies outgrow their wardrobe.

Decorations

You can offer decorations for weddings, birthday parties, and various anniversary celebrations. People shopping for these decorations on Etsy will browse through several designs before they settle on one that meets their wants. It is basically the same artsy crowd that pins beautiful pictures of such decorations on Pinterest. You will have to take your design work seriously and take time to produce really beautiful creations.

Kids’ Toys and Games

There are a variety of hand-made toys and games for kids on Etsy. Since there is an established market for these items, getting traction if you have a good product is not hard. The toys don’t have to be sophisticated to sell. Some of the items doing well on the site are normal everyday items such as pillows that have been creatively modified to look cute for kids.

T-Shirts with Funny or Cute Phrases/Pictures

T-shirts are always a safe choice for any undecided store owner contemplating what to sell on Etsy. If you can customize tees, you can make great money selling them on Etsy. Even for the most successful sellers of t-shirts, getting a hugely successful design is a hit or miss affair. You can test various designs out and gauge the response of buyers on the site.

Hand Sewn Clothing

If you have a gift for embroidery or sewing, you can succeed on Etsy. Since Etsy gives buyers and sellers an opportunity to interact freely, you will have a great opportunity to offer customized embroideries to your prospects. Customizations in the form of names, logos, and quotes make up most of the decorative requests made by buyers.

Craft Supplies

As mentioned earlier, you don’t have to sell complete products on Etsy. You can sell the raw materials others get to use to create crafts. This is one of the most profitable areas on Etsy if you are supplying a product used to make crafts that are highly in demand.

Home Décor Items

Home décor items are very popular on Etsy and some sellers have sold more than 200,000 copies of their items. The prices of these items can be as low as $5 but some people offer pricier items targeted at buyers looking for a more luxurious home décor.

Vintage Products

If you have some products that are 20 years or older lying around in the house, you may want to flip them on Etsy. Etsy allows users to sell pretty much any vintage product even when they have not made any improvements to the product. If you build an established store, you can make searching for vintage products offline your hobby and make a killing flipping them on Etsy.

Stickers

Kids’ stickers always fall in the top 10 of the most popular Etsy categories all year round. There are a lot of people offering stickers so you will have to differentiate yourself creatively to win. If you can create a lot of stickers, you can attract people such as teachers who buy stickers in bulk and turn a good profit in the process.

Candy Treats

If you can offer candy treats that people can’t find elsewhere, you will have a beeline of customers to your store. Your selling point can be cute wrappers, creative candy shapes, unique taste, or any other characteristic that appeals to people who appreciate the little things.

Closing Thoughts

Ultimately, your decision on what to sell on Etsy should be informed by your competency. Since most buyers on Etsy have an eye for art, mediocre creations are just not going to cut it on the platform. You can succeed on Etsy as long as you focus on the popular categories. The demand is already there. All you have to do is create a product beautiful enough to get attention.