Is Etsy Still Worth It in 2026? (Etsy has CHANGED.)

About this video

Hayes, who says she has sold on Etsy for over 10 years, reached the top 1% of shops and generated multiple six figures — her own claims — weighs whether Etsy is still worth it. Pros she lists: a huge built-in audience of over 93 million active shoppers providing regular traffic so new sellers compete only within Etsy, not the whole internet; a trusted, established platform founded in 2005 known for unique/customizable products not found elsewhere; digital-product friendliness — instant-download PDFs, checklists and templates that she says cannot be sold the same way on Amazon; and low barrier to entry, with a one-time setup fee of $15 to $29 at time of filming and 20 cents per listing, with other fees only on sales. Cons: limited customization — shops share a similar layout beyond banner, icon, profile and listing images; marketplace shared control — Etsy can strike, suspend or close shops that violate policy, so she advises learning the seller handbook; and saturation in certain niches. Her remedy is to sub-niche, e.g. not just ‘wall art’ but modern, sleek, minimalist wall art for teachers, with optimized photos, titles, tags and descriptions. Verdict: Etsy suits beginners without their own audience as a launchpad; sellers with an audience and long-term brand goals may want a customizable storefront, for which she pitches sponsor EverBee Store, including AI listing import/generation and a $1 trial via her link.

Key takeaways

• Main pro cited: Etsy’s built-in audience of over 93 million active shoppers gives new sellers traffic without competing with the whole internet
• Low upfront cost claimed: $15-$29 one-time setup fee plus 20 cents per listing, with transaction/payment fees only when a sale occurs
• Etsy is presented as digital-product friendly for instant downloads, unlike Amazon for PDFs, checklists and templates
• Cons: limited shop customization, Etsy’s power to strike/suspend/close shops for policy violations, and saturation in some niches
• To beat saturation, sub-niche and optimize listings — example given: minimalist wall art specifically for teachers rather than generic wall art

Episode details: published September 23, 2025 · 9:54 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Kate Hayes’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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