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It’s 2021 and you have had enough time wasted in quarantine and now it’s the perfect time to sell online.
With all the online e-commerce platforms, its indeed a hard time trying to figure out which one is the best for you.
Well, we are here for that, we have done all the research for you and below is a detailed article comparing even the smallest bit of detail between the two platforms.
So, let’s start with Etsy.
‘Easy to sell yourself’ brings to us a whole new idea of online selling. Where it is strict about what we can sell there or not, it is also a huge marketplace for new seller finding a place in the online selling market.
1.1 Vintage, handmade, contributed
Etsy is the best selling place for handmade goods, craft supplies, and vintage items. Although for selling ‘vintage items’ it’s required that the respective item should be older than 20 years.
So, if you want to sell cute little earrings made by you, so this might just be the place for you.
1.2 Reselling criteria (Handmade)
In the handmade category, you cannot resell any item to which you have not contributed to.
Simply put, in order for you to resell items, you need to be either the designer or the maker of the item.
Also, one thing to keep in mind is that the members of the site can flag any product they find violating the policies of the site and it would be removed.
Etsy is kind of strict and can suspend or even terminate your account for violating its rules.
1.3 Etsy Pattern
Etsy has started its own ecommerce platform ‘Pattern’ where one is able to build a website and sell their products beyond the Etsy marketplace.
It’s a great upgrade from the Etsy marketplace and also has fewer restrictions.
While its free for the first 30 days. After that, it costs $15 per month.
It’s a good add-on for the Etsy sellers as it provides them a dedicated domain, but then they are solely responsible for the traffic they are able to grab.
Also, one must already be an Etsy seller to set up Etsy Pattern.
2. What makes Shopify different from others?
Selling on Shopify is like getting a particular place to set up a business, put up lights, banners and advertisements to attract customers and build your brand image. But it isn’t as hectic as it sounds, as Shopify helps you with all of this making it simple and easy for you.
2.1 The best-integrated tools
With all the sales tools that Shopify offers, it is as if everything is being done for you in simple clicks. Believe us, it’s easier than it sounds.
To list some of the e-commerce tools that Shopify offers:
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Powerful inventory system
- Automatic tax calculation
- Logo maker
- Multichannel selling
- App integration
Shopify gives you the space to create your own page, and sell any product you may wish to.
This helps you be as creative as you want which bring us to the next feature.
2.2 Top-class Customer Service
With 24/7 customer support, you’d never feel like you’re doing a business alone. There’s a doubt in your head at 3 A.M, no worries, Shopify is there for you with support options like:
- 24/7 Phone
- Social media
- 24/7 live chat
- Forum
- Video tutorials
- Advanced specialist support (on Plus plans)
- The Shopify Help Centre
2.3 Customization Heaven
When creating your store, you get 60 Themes to choose from. Each highly customizable. These themes are the apex of your website.
With 10 free themes and over 50 paid ones ranging from $140-$180. They’re all mobile responsive, classy, and stylish looking themes which we can change at any time.
Even after choosing a theme, it’s highly personalisable, can be edited and arranged to the desires of your heart.
3. Quick comparison
3.1 Pricing
Shopify also offers the cheapest plan called Shopify Lite with $9/month where you can process sales on your own website or through Facebook. Shopify takes 2.9% of each online transaction plus another $0.30.
3.2 Product Selection
What makes Etsy unique also makes it restricted to a creative marketplace for only handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies.
Although they have opened a channel for wholesale selling. But as we know the strict guidelines makes it hard for everyone to sell there.
Whereas Shopify being an eCommerce platform. There are no restrictions on what type of products you can sell.
If you are planning to sell handmade, vintage, or craft supplies, then Etsy is the place for you.
But if you plan on going beyond such products, then Shopify is the answer.
You need to have a clear mind for the future planning of your business.
3.3 Traffic
As we know Etsy is a market place and thus its reach is comparatively way more than Shopify.
Every day Etsy receives more than 2000 visitors and your product will for sure get noticed if not sell quicker than your website.
In 2020 alone there were 60.27 million buyers on Etsy.
On the other hand, Shopify is not a marketplace so if you know a way around advertisements and marketing, then it would not be a problem for you.
If you’re starting a new brand that follows the rules of Etsy, then it would a better option for you but Etsy is a competitive store and people might just be surfing and looking for ideas.
Whereas on your website, people would visit because they would be interested in your products.
4. Conclusion
There are just a few things to keep in mind to decide which platform would suit you the best.
With Etsy, you get e great marketplace, lots of clicks and exposure, but at the same time, competition and restrictions on products.
With Shopify, you get creative and selling freedom, thousands of e-commerce tools and benefits to help you make your brand, but you have to do all your marketing and drive traffic to your site for sales.