How to CUT COSTS Your Etsy Shop | How to Sell On Etsy

About this video

Jahraus warns new and scaling Etsy sellers not to go broke on inventory, expensive software/equipment, or over-hiring before revenue supports it, and gives ways to stay lean and raise margin. Do not hire Fiverr/Upwork sellers to build listings — she says 99% of the time students waste money and time and must redo the work because reviews are left before results are known; learn listing-building/SEO yourself first so you can train help. Test wide, not deep: test 10 different listings with one unit each rather than 2 listings with five units each, do not over-invest in unreturnable inventory just because another shop has a bestseller, and pay a bit more for returnable stock until you have proof of concept. Get free packaging from apartment mail/recycling areas, local businesses, and neighbors, and reuse boxes with roughly $4 eco-friendly stickers from Amazon, using discretion for about 20% of her listings whose customers would not appreciate it; she says bubble wrap she paid $15 for four years ago is now $50. Get a free reseller certificate to save sales tax at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Staples, Home Depot, and Amazon — she says shops doing over $10,000 absolutely should. Cut the middleman by buying direct from the manufacturer or making a component yourself, as she and her husband did about a month in when a $10-$15 component could be made for $1-$2. Use flexible part-time labor (e.g. offer 10-20 hours that could scale to 40, and schedule three 3-hour days rather than one long day) and become a shipping expert: get packages to 16 ounces or less for USPS First Class, which she says can save $5 per order, or $500 a week / $2,000 a month at 100 packages a week, even by cutting interior box flaps to get under a pound.

Key takeaways

• Do not hire Fiverr/Upwork to build listings before you know how to build them yourself — she says 99% of students she has seen had to redo that work
• Test wide not deep: 10 listings with one unit each beats 2 listings with five units each, and use returnable inventory until proof of concept
• Source free/reused packaging and use a reseller certificate to save sales tax at retailers including Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Staples, Home Depot, and Amazon
• Cut the middleman by buying direct or making components yourself — her example cut a $10-$15 bought component to $1-$2 to make
• Keep packages at 16 ounces or less for USPS First Class; she calculates a $5-per-order saving is $500 a week at 100 packages a week

Episode details: published March 1, 2023 · 10:24 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dylan Jahraus’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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