Why I Closed My Etsy Shop

I finally did it, I closed down my Etsy shop and I couldn't be more thrilled!

I am feeling on top of the world, so free and beyond excited to move on from this platform.

I wanted to share this letter today because I know how daunting it can feel to make a big change, especially in business. 

Ps. If you are a customer wondering why I closed my Etsy shop, below I reveal just a few reasons why I decided to close it down.

We are now only selling on my official website and also on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest) 

I started my Etsy shop 3 years ago as a way to diversify. I wanted to put my eggs in more than one basket. 

I believed it would be a good way to help gain more exposure for a new online boutique and a great way to meet new people and customers.

I also believed that I could bring my loyal customers over from Etsy to my actual boutique. 

After selling on Etsy for 3 years and thousands of sales in, I have come to several realizations that led me to close my shop on their platform.  

I want to be clear, that if selling or shopping on Etsy brings you joy, then by all means, do what feels right to you. This is based on my experience.  

Its kind of Embarrassing 

I never, ever, ever talked about my Etsy shop.

Selling on Etsy has kind of an embarrassing reputation.

Granted, I am talking about it now- that its closed. 

Unfortunately, nobody seems to take Etsy sellers very seriously. Not bankers, nor relatives or even friends. 

I never planned on being on the platform long term, so I never felt the need to bring it up. It was basically a secret this entire time. 

Also, people who shop on the platform don't typically look up specific shop names.

Shoppers just browse or use the search bar to find items. So it never made a difference whether I talked about it or not. 

Fees, fees and more fees

There are so many Fees! Selling on Etsy has a cost and it has costed me thousands more to sell on the platform compared to running my own company website.

Etsy has a lot of fees! Take a look at their sites fee policy calculations pages.

The fees are everywhere and they add up very quickly. 

Loss of autonomy 

This is a big one for me. One of the reasons I opened up my boutique was for the autonomy. And the cute clothes, obvs!

But sadly, etsy takes away your autonomy and essentially you loose control over your business. 

Etsy regularly updates its policies, and sellers must comply, even if those changes negatively impact their business.

I once got penalized for using the word "Ivory" to describe the color of a blouse. Simply because this word was not allowed to be used on the platform.

Like most busy business owners, we don’t have the time to fuss over and memorize every single forbidden Etsy word. I understand that they have their reasons, but these situations don't always align with our values. 

 Additional Concerns 

Etsy sets the listing fees, transaction fees, and payment processing fees, leaving sellers with little control over their profit margins.

These costs can increase unexpectedly and eat into earnings.

Etsy’s algorithm determines which products are shown in search results.

Sellers can’t control their visibility and may see their sales drop overnight if the algorithm changes.

Etsy can suspend or close shops without warning, and this leaves sellers in constant fear of Etsy. It's basically a toxic work culture. 

Scaling on Etsy doesn't really work either due to the structure of the platform. 

I also want to point out that many of these concerns can happen on any platform you spend time on of which you don’t own.

This is particularly why having a way to contact your guests is so important. 

Loyal customers

Etsy completely controls the customer relationship, keeping sellers in the dark.

You don’t get access to your customers, making it nearly impossible to build a loyal customer base or grow your business. 

On top of that, Etsys customers say that they shop on Etsy, not your shops brand name.

Although, surprisingly over the last couple of years quite a few customers have come to our official boutique after learning about us through Etsy, it’s just not been enough to make it all make sense. 

Overall, It’s better for me to just pour 100% of my time, energy and resources into our official boutique and find customers & readers who want to actually shop with us here instead of Etsy. This just makes more sense. 

Unhealthy Competition 

The marketplace puts sellers into a race to the bottom on pricing, creating relentless pressure to slash prices.

Even if it means destroying your profitably and earning a loss. Etsy still wins in the end, regardless. 

This kind of price competition creates an unhealthy environment for sellers because it prioritizes the lowest price at all costs. We aren’t Walmart after all. We are selling wonderful unique & quality items designed, sourced and made with love. 

It also devalues the work and products by undermining the value of our time, effort, and materials.

The platform thrives on the volume of sales, not individual seller success. 

Etsy felt like a toxic work environment 

It’s Endless pressure. The algorithm only rewards those who run ads, make daily sales and add new listings every single day.

I never had a problem with this, but if I skipped adding new items, (even just 1 day) my items would fall off the algorithm so quickly. 

Selling on Etsy is like running on a hamster wheel while holding your breath. 

Everyone always seems to live in fear of Etsy. Etsy can freeze your funds at any time, without warning, leaving you unable to access the money you’ve rightfully earned. 

This actually happened to me: they held my funds with no clear explanation and no timeline for release. It was such a stressful experience! 

On top of that, Etsy has the power to pull funds from your account, often leaving sellers blindsided.

Worst of all, the platform can shut down your shop without warning, wiping out your income and years of work in an instant, often with little to no explanation or recourse.

Its unreliable 

They once shut down my shop without any explanation, warning or notice.

I reached out to Etsy several times and finally they told me it’s because I updated my tax information which then accidentally triggered something in their system to automatically shut down my shop. It took them 2 months to fix it and reinstate it all. 

This kind of unreliability is not worth it alone. I can’t even imagine if this would have been my sole source of income. 

If you sell on Etsy long enough, you may also experience all of the above. I never thought it would happen to me, but it all happened. And it was very real. 

Time Loss

The Etsy platform has been such huge time suck for me. It was basically like managing a very high maintenance second website.

I was getting spread thin by staying on the treadmill too long working in several directions.

Sometimes if you do too many things, you just can't do them as best as if you narrowed in on one. 

I’ll be honest—Etsy customers send a lot of messages! I think part of the reason is that Etsy hides item descriptions, leaving customers with more questions.

Every day, I would wake up to hundreds of new messages, plus ongoing conversations, and managing them would take up most of my day.

By the time I answered all of them, I often felt really drained, and my time and effort didn’t always feel like they were being fully appreciated.

Don’t get me wrong, I love chatting with customers! But when Etsy removes key product details that could easily answer a lot of common questions, it ends up creating a lot more unnecessary work for me in the long run. 

Any way, I am sharing this because these are some of the reasons I felt it was time to move on from the Etsy platform. 

Whether you know me through my blog or have been a customer on either our official website or Etsy, just know that I appreciate you more than you know. 

Sometimes in life, we have to make tough decisions, or close stale doors in order for fresh new windows to open. 

I am honestly beyond grateful and thankful for my experience, but I am even more thrilled to move on!

It’s been said that without change, there isn’t any growth.

I am making space for bigger & better things in our boutique and my personal life. 

As I write this, it’s the end of 2024. On top of the decision to close up my Etsy shop, I am also excited for a fresh new year. Now with more space to focus on the things that truly matter. 

I have spent some time and have written a new business plan for the new year (which I have been working on for months) 

Part of my business plan for the next year has been to shut down the Etsy shop and where we will be spending our new found time and resources. 

Before I made the decision, I went back and studied 3 years of data. I analyzed every detail and took into consideration all of the things.

Shutting down my Etsy shop wasn’t an impulsive or emotional decision. It was a decision based on data. Another aspect is that operating on Etsy was merely a part of the original start up plan. It’s time to move on. 

Data doesn’t lie, and my data has shown that our boutique is where I should be spending 100% of my time and recourses on as it is where our most loyal and best customers hang out.

You lovelies are here, with me, and us, for real! And I love this for all of us! 

Now, without my time being split in multiple directions, life has been so much better! I can’t say it any other way!

I hope you have found this helpful today.  And wherever your journey takes you, make it beautiful! 

Xx