Etsy Seller Interview with Christian of TurtlebiteDesign

How TurtlebiteDesign got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

Hi, I'm Christian, founder and owner of Turtlebite Design. We mainly sell poster prints, dark wall art with a touch of humor. It all started in January 2024. I have a background in graphic design and programming, and was self-employed for over 10 years until 2012, producing websites and prints for clients. I've always been fascinated by dark images and creatures. With AI, I was finally able to live out my imagination. 

I started with T-shirts, but I felt too restricted and moved on to posters. There I can really live out my crazy ideas.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

My favorites are the pictures that tell a story. For example, the man is taking his beetle for a walk at dawn. 

The beetle obviously doesn't feel like it and waddles along unmotivated. Or the heavy metal guitarist who has died and doesn't know what to do with his violin in heaven as an angel.

A little crazy: Bad Hair Day, a great picture for the bathroom.

But the painting of a bent creature sold the most. I was very surprised, I was still wondering whether I should even list it. It was also the first painting I sold, so it's very special to me.

I can actually boil it down to this: I like the pictures that make your laughter stick in your throat. For example, this is one of 4 madmen grinning at you from a cellar hole. It's like an invitation: come in and join us (but you'll probably never get out...).

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

I started in January and only sold my first picture in September. However, I also learned a lot along the way. As I said, I started with T-shirts and then switched to posters. During this time, I also optimized a lot of things, e.g., automated the mockups with Photoshop, etc.

Managing TurtlebiteDesign

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

I am currently still managing the shop on my own. My tools are mainly Midjourney and Photoshop. I have Gelato as my printing partner. I am very happy with Gelato, as I am in Switzerland and want to sell all over the world. Printify was too limited for me. Gelato's customer service is also excellent.

The future of TurtlebiteDesign 

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

It's not as easy as all the YouTubers would have you believe. It takes a lot of work, time and, above all, patience and perseverance. I also opened a Shopify store right from the start because I have a lot of respect for the many reports that Etsy stores are simply closing down. I myself opened a second Etsy store last year and wanted to focus more on a niche. I deleted a listing in the first store and re-entered it in the new store. Etsy recognized that the listing already existed and closed my new store immediately; it was not reactivated even after my explanation. So, I always expect to be banned immediately, so I don't want to rely on Etsy alone.

Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Still zero. It's still being eaten up by advertising. ☹️

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: 30%

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 1%