How to find the best Etsy keywords in 3 simple steps using Alura
If you want to be found in search results on Etsy, you need to optimize your product listing for SEO. And if you want to
join
join
“Should I make a bit of stock of my handmade items and carry an inventory?”
“How much inventory of my supplies should I have?”
These are very smart questions to ask.
Carrying an inventory involves time and money and you only want to do it if it makes sense from a business perspective.
There are different approaches to this, but I have a definite favorite approach that I want to share with you today.
So, ready? Let’s dive in!
Before we start, I want to be clear that in this article I will be talking about inventory for your online handmade shop – whether it’s an Etsy shop or a website. If you are looking for tips about how much stock you should bring to craft fairs and live events I have a different article that is about exactly that – I will put the link down below this article for you to read when you’re finished.
FREE WORKBOOKS, CHEAT SHEETS, AND RESOURCES TO HELP YOU START, GROW AND PROFIT FROM YOUR HANDMADE BUSINESS.
If you do a Google search asking if you should or shouldn’t keep an inventory of your new Etsy store’s products, you will find all sorts of advice.
Some say to stock 5 of each product when you start out, others say at least 20. You will even find articles that tell you to treat your Etsy store as a brick-and-mortar shop from the get-go and say you need to stock a crazy number of products to be successful.
My thoughts on that??
Look— you’re not Amazon, and customers shouldn’t expect you to have a half-hour processing time and ship or deliver your products the next day.
Sadly, some people will have that expectation . . . but those aren’t your ideal customers who are looking for true handmade products.
Your ideal customers understand that it might take you a few days, if not more, to actually make your unique handmade, beautiful products.
So I want to emphasize that it’s OKAY that you don’t have stock at all when you are first starting out (and possibly always!). I would actually recommend that you wait to pre-make and stock your products until you have enough sales data to back that decision.
Tracking your sales data before deciding if and how much inventory is a much more sensible approach.
If you start seeing that one product sells pretty consistently, let’s say 50 times a month, then you might need to consider creating stock of that product.
Knowing roughly how many you will sell a month allows you to create the product in batches, which frees up your time. That way, every time an order comes you just put a packet up in the mail rather than having to stop and create one every time and it’s a lot more time efficient.
And because you waited to make inventory until you had solid sales data, you are not wasting your time and money making products that don’t end up selling.
You also don’t want too many supplies for products that you aren’t sure will sell – remember, 20% of your products will probably bring in 80% of your revenue. That means that you aren’t going to sell a whole lot of the other 80% of your products, and some are not going to sell at all . . . that’s just the reality of selling online.
Of course you want to have enough supplies to be able to start making a product as soon as it is ordered. But don’t over-order your supplies: instead, make sure that your suppliers are pretty responsive in sending you those materials, so if suddenly the product sales increase you can order more supplies and receive them in a reasonable timeframe.
It’s also important that you clearly communicate your processing time in your listings.
So if it’s going to take you 5 to 10 days to make the product that’s fine, just be really specific and clear about that and say 5 to 10 days in your listing.
If it’s going to take you 1 to 3 weeks say that also — what’s important is setting realistic expectations so people know they have to wait a little bit before you can ship it, rather than expecting that products are in stock and will ship it as soon as they’re ordered.
If you are wondering what a “reasonable timeframe” is for your product or your niche, you can use software like Erank to help. This program allows you to look up the average processing time for a specific keyword or product type.
Once you have that information you will want to align to that timeframe in order to be competitive.
So for example, if everyone has a processing time of 3 weeks and yours is 3 weeks, then you’re within the timeframe that people will expect and all is good. But if the average processing time is 2 weeks and yours is 3 weeks, then you need to try and reduce your processing time to get it closer to that 2 week average.
It’s not perfect, but this can help you know if your processing time is competitive with others in your niche.
In addition to saving you time and money, making your handmade products to order has a few other noteworthy benefits.
First, you can offer a much larger selection in your shop, which absolutely can make a difference in sales. For example, if you make macrame plant hangers, you could offer 4 or 5 designs of a certain color without needing to pre-make stock of each one. Since they are the same color it doesn’t significantly impact your supplies inventory, and you are giving your customers more options which can turn into more sales.
Second, many makers feel more motivated and purposeful when making their products because the item is already sold. There is an excitement of making your product knowing someone chose that product out of all the products on the internet, which will create a little spark of energy and satisfaction when you make it!
These benefits offer even more reason to wait until you have sales data for your handmade shop before deciding if you want to create a stock for some of your products.
So as you can see, my favorite approach for new handmade and Etsy shop owners is to start with no stock and create products as orders come in, then possibly establish inventories of your high-selling products once you have the sales data to support that decision.
That way you’re not spending time making products that you’re not sure will sell, and money on inventory that may never get purchased.
I have even more advice about how to start selling handmade products on Etsy the right way that you will want to review before starting your Etsy shop, plus a very helpful free guide called “The Maker’s Roadmap” that walks you through the process of starting and growing a profitable handmade shop, so be sure to take a look at these next.
Thanks for reading, make sure to check the links below, and until next time, aurevoir!
you might also like…
related articles
If you want to be found in search results on Etsy, you need to optimize your product listing for SEO. And if you want to
There has been a lot of talk in the Etsy community — and I mean A LOT of talk — about Etsy’s payment account reserve
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE advocate for using email marketing to grow and scale your handmade business. But you may
disclaimer
subscribe to youtube
THE LAUNCHPAD
get in touch
We acknowledge and give thanks to the Budawang and Yuin people, the Traditional Owners of the land we work and live on. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and elders past, present and emerging.
Get Instant Access to
The Makers Roadmap
Get Instant Access to
The FULL Resource library