What to Sell on Etsy

How to pick what to sell on Etsy

A good Etsy product sits where four things meet: buyers are searching for it, you can stand out from the listings already there, it leaves you a real margin after fees, and it sells at the time of year you can make it. Trends help with the first question only. Use them to find ideas, then test each idea against the other three before you buy supplies.

The lists above are a starting point. A rising search tells you interest is growing; it doesn't tell you the market is open, that the price works, or that the rise will last. The sections below walk through each check.

1. Check demand

Demand is how many people look for a product on Etsy. Look at two numbers together:

• Monthly searches. A search with a few hundred a month can still sell well if few shops compete, but it caps how big the product can get.
• The change. A large percentage rise on a small base is a smaller real gain than a modest rise on a big one. Read the percentage next to the volume, never on its own.

Then look past the exact phrase. Buyers describe the same thing in many ways, and the free Etsy keyword tool shows the searches and competition for any keyword plus similar keywords, so you can see whether the whole idea has demand or just one wording does.

2. Check competition

Competition is how many listings already chase the same searches. A trend everyone can see fills up fast, so the question is not "is anyone selling this?" but "can I offer something the current listings don't?"

• Search the keyword on Etsy and read the first page as a buyer. Note what the top listings have in common and what is missing: a style, a size, a personalization option, better photos.
• Go narrower. "Personalized mug" is crowded; a mug for a specific hobby, profession or occasion often has fewer competitors and buyers who know exactly what they want.
• Treat high competition as a signal to niche down, not a reason to quit. Very low competition with real searches is rare and worth moving on quickly.

3. Check your margins

A product that sells but leaves you nothing is a hobby. Before you commit, add up materials, packaging, your time, shipping and Etsy fees at the price buyers actually pay for similar listings, not the price you hope for.

The Etsy profit calculator does the fee maths for your country: listing, transaction, payment processing, Offsite Ads and regulatory fees. If the margin only works at a price well above what competitors charge, you need a clear reason buyers will pay more, or a different product.

4. Check seasonality

Many Etsy searches rise and fall with the calendar: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, wedding season, back to school. A 3-month rise in autumn can simply be the holidays arriving, not a new trend.

• Ask whether the product is tied to a date. If it is, plan to list it well before the peak so it has time to get views and reviews, and expect sales to drop afterwards.
• Balance seasonal products with ones that sell all year, so your shop doesn't go quiet for months.
• When a search keeps rising outside its usual season, that is the more interesting signal.

How to read these trends

Every number on this page comes from Alura's research data:

• Trending searches are English Etsy keywords with at least 500 estimated searches a month, at least 10 competing listings and sales, ranked by the change in Etsy searches over the last 3 months against the 3 before.
• Searches/mo is Alura's estimate of monthly Etsy searches, averaged over 12 months.
• Rising products are active listings with at least 30 estimated sales a month, ranked by the change in estimated sales over the last 3 completed months against the 3 before. The months compared are named above the grid.
• Sales are estimates, not Etsy's own figures. How Alura estimates sales.

Only products Alura has refreshed recently can qualify, so a product that isn't listed here may still be growing. When a number shows "No data", Alura doesn't have it yet; it is never a zero.

Trends to skip

Some trending searches are for things you shouldn't sell, however popular they are:

• Brands, characters and franchises. Searches for a show, a team or a logo often trend, but selling them without a licence infringes someone's rights and can get listings removed or your shop suspended. Read Etsy's intellectual property policy.
• Copies of a rising listing. Use a product here to understand what buyers want, then make your own version. Copying someone's design or photos is both risky and easy for buyers to pass over.
• Things you can't make well or ship reliably. Reviews follow you longer than any trend.