NEVER DO THESE 4 THINGS ON ETSY! | 4 Mistakes to Avoid When Selling on Etsy

About this video

Kate Hayes lists four mistakes she says Etsy sellers should never make, drawing on what she presents as six years selling on Etsy. First, never put a shop in vacation mode except as a last-resort emergency: she says it removes listings from search, greys out add-to-cart, and destroys momentum tied to Etsy’s quality score, with some sellers she has heard of never recovering ranking; instead she suggests extending processing time or raising prices to slow sales. Second, never focus on quantity over quality of listings. She rejects strategies of listing daily, reaching hundreds of listings, or renewing daily, and advises consolidating variations into one listing with a dropdown menu so all sales concentrate on one listing and boost its conversion and ranking, rather than splitting sales across separate listings. She suggests starting with 12 to 15 quality listings and growing toward 40 or 50. Third, never price too low, because she says it leads to burnout from low-profit order volume and because buyers associate low price with poor quality; pricing higher also leaves room for discounts. Fourth, never start halfway: treat the shop as a business, research what sells, learn a harder skill if needed to reduce competition, streamline production, and invest time to prepare before launching.

Key takeaways

• Avoid vacation mode because it halts search visibility and sales momentum; extend processing time or raise prices instead if overwhelmed
• Consolidate similar variations into a single listing with dropdown options so sales concentrate and strengthen that listing’s ranking
• Start with 12 to 15 quality listings with strong photos and researched SEO, then grow gradually rather than chasing hundreds of listings
• Price in a middle sweet spot that signals quality and leaves margin for discounts, rather than pricing low and risking burnout
• Prepare before launch by researching demand, learning the production process, and developing a skill that is harder for competitors to copy

Episode details: published January 11, 2021 · 10:32 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.

← Previous: STEP BY STEP FORMULA TO BOOST ETSY SALES | How to get sales on Etsy · Next: Why I almost QUIT Etsy and why I’m glad I didn’t | ETSY SELLER TIPS →

All Kate Hayes videos · Kate Hayes profile · Kate Hayes on YouTube