Getting your first Etsy sale: what to fix before you blame the product

A new shop with five listings and no sales is normal. Before you decide the product is wrong, check whether buyers can find it and understand it.

Can buyers find it?

• Put the words a buyer would type at the start of the title.
• Use all 13 tags. Make them phrases of two or three words, and keep each one within Etsy's character limit.
• Fill in every attribute Etsy offers and choose the most specific category.
• Search for your main phrase on Etsy and look at the suggestions. Those are words real buyers use.

Can buyers understand it in three seconds?

• The first image must show the product clearly, not a logo or a wall of text.
• Add images that show what is included and how it is used.
• Start the description with what it is, who it is for and what the buyer receives.
• For digital products, say clearly that nothing is shipped.

Give it enough listings and time

• One listing is a lottery ticket. Aim for 10, then 20.
• Add two or three listings a week instead of twenty in one day.
• Look at your shop stats once a week. Change one thing at a time, so you know what helped.

What not to do

• Do not buy your own product or ask friends for fake reviews. It is against Etsy's rules.
• Do not copy another shop's photos or text.
• Do not lower the price to almost nothing. Fix the listing first.

Check the current rules

Etsy changes its rules and fees. Read Etsy's own page before you rely on any detail here:

• Etsy seller handbook