Does Etsy Plus Help Sales? (What to Expect)

Etsy comes with a standard plan that doesn’t require a monthly payment to start up your shop.

It does have fees attached to your sales and listings, but other than that is pretty free to maintain.

However, for those serious and long-time shop owners, Etsy also offers “Etsy Plus,” a monthly subscription package that allows you to unlock more features for your Etsy shop.

This monthly subscription is not mandatory in order to make a successful Etsy shop, but it can provide benefits for shops that are looking to grow ever bigger.

Does Etsy Plus help sales?

Etsy Plus is not guaranteed to be better for your sales than the standard Etsy option, but it does offer perks and helpful extras that can help someone grow their business. Using Etsy Plus gives sellers more opportunities to be active in the Etsy community and to increase their listings and ads.

Etsy is also attempting to come out with Etsy Premium, which would be an advancement upon Etsy Plus – though it is not currently available yet.

The biggest thing to remember is that it isn’t how much you spend and invest in your shop, so much as how good your business strategy, customer service, and quality products are that will help you to reach success.

What Exactly Does Etsy Plus do for Etsy Shop Owners?

Etsy Plus is a great way to take your already growing Etsy business and push it to the next level.

With its many features, you can really customize your shop and tailor it to how you want your customers to see you and your brand.

Sales-wise, while Etsy Plus is not guaranteed to make you more sales or boost your shop to the front page, it can be helpful for giving you professional salet tools to make your business better and better over time!

Etsy Plus offers:

• $15 Listing Credits / Month
• $5 Etsy Ads Credits / Month
• A Custom Web Address to your Etsy Shop
• Restock Alerts for Customers when You Restock an Item
• Major Customization tools for your Shop
• Custom Shipping Boxes & Business Cards

These perks are great for Etsy shops that want to build a brand from the ground up. Using these opportunities, you can try to increase your sales and visits to your shop through smarter advertising and better business strategies.

What are the Main Benefits of Using Etsy Plus?

Using Etsy Plus is like getting a whole new toolbox to try and grow your business!

You have access to credits for advertising and 15 free listings for your site, as well as more communication with fans and customers.

You also are able to completely personalize your brand, whether that is for the shop itself or through custom shipping containers and business cards. Personalization of a brand is every small business’ dream and is essential to helping yourself stand out among all other shops on Etsy.

Furthermore, the fee is only $10.00 a month, and while Etsy does have several fees associated with having an Etsy shop, successful Etsy Plus shop owners will usually be able to make a profit still!

Credits & Listing Slots

As we’ve mentioned before, the cost of a listing is $.20 cents per listing. While this doesn’t seem like much, Etsy shops with hundreds of listings will notice when their 4-month listing fees come back around to be collected.

Sellers will generally then combine their products together in “packs of five” or other promotional materials in order to prevent higher listing costs.

The credits that Etsy Plus gives you for 15 free listing slots every month will help you reduce your monthly fees! (However, you are still paying the extra $10.00 per month to pay for Etsy Plus).

Furthermore, when it comes to advertising your shop, paying per click of your ads on Etsy or Google can start to wear down your expenses.

Because of this, Etsy Plus offers a free credit of $5.00 every month for Etsy Ads to your shop!

This means you are saving a grand total of $8.00 ($2.00 after paying for Etsy Plus fee) every month with Etsy Plus for perks that will help you in your endeavors to be a successful shop!

Buyer Communication

One important thing to remember when you are a new shop or even a successful recurring shop is that communication with customers is crucial to a successful business.

Etsy Plus allows your buyers to see when an “out of stock” product has more merchandise in the store so they can go buy it. They also allow you to create a personalized domain name for customers to find you easier.

Furthermore, Etsy Plus makes Emailing lists much easier for letting your customers know when there are sales or discounts in your shop!

Can Etsy Plus Boost Sales on a Brand New Shop?

While boosting sales is never a guarantee, no matter what business practice you adopt, Etsy Plus does give sellers and shop owners the tools to help their business grow.

However, a new shop that invests in Etsy Plus may not see returns on their investment for several months to even a year or more.

This is because – even though you are getting credits toward listings and advertising – your shop will not have many star-ratings or customer reviews once it first starts.

Unless you have a following before beginning your Etsy shop, you will have to rely on word-of-mouth, posting to social media totally, and paying top-dollar for Etsy Ads to get noticed.

Ways to Get Noticed Instead of (or Alongside) Etsy Plus:

• Product Descriptions –
  Make sure your product descriptions are SEO (Search Engine Optimized) to show up on more search results
• Post to Social Media –
  Whether you have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or all three, you NEED to be posting and interacting with your specific community (handmade scarves, art, candle making, etc.) online at all times!
• Verify Your Product –
  Make sure that your product is absolutely user-tested or worn by friends or family before you even begin your shop. If your product isn’t ready, customers won’t thank you for it!
• Get a Little Help –
  If you are struggling to get orders out or to operate your shop effectively on your own, get a little help from people you trust! Don’t start hiring out until your shop is self-sufficient.

There are success stories of Etsy shops that have gotten famous “overnight” or after only a few months of opening with the very little online following to begin with.

However, you shouldn’t expect Etsy Plus to help you become a quick success.

When Should You Upgrade to Etsy Plus?

As we mentioned in our article, Do Etsy Ads (Really) Work, many Etsy sellers and shop owners do recommend that new Etsy shops wait about six months before they start investing money in their shop.

This can apply to Etsy Plus as well – as we mentioned above, it is hard to enhance a new shop without star-ratings or customer reviews. Even if you can get potential customers to click on your ads, they may not trust your shop until you start to get reviews.

Once you have spent six months using your own social media platforms, honing your Etsy skills, and working either with your team or friends and family to spread the word, you should have a few sales and some star-ratings.

Can You Opt-Out of Etsy Plus if it Doesn’t Help Sales?

If you are unhappy or no longer want to pay for Etsy Plus, you can end your subscription at any time!

When you cancel your subscription with Etsy Plus, you do not get a refund of your $10 for that month. However, you do get to keep the perks and benefits of Etsy Plus for the remainder of that month until the thirty day period runs out.

For example, if you pay for your subscription on the first of every month, but cancel it on the fifth of that month, you still get that whole month you paid for.

Once the month is over, you will lose those perks and benefits, but you also won’t owe another $10.

What About Upgrading?

Furthermore, you can upgrade your subscription at any time.

$10 for Etsy Plus will be due as soon as you upgrade, and the monthly cycle will start that day from your first payment. Once your month is up, you will again be charged that $10 fee each month until you cancel.

Upgrading once you’ve gotten a lot of star-ratings or customers is always a good idea – but also totally optional!

You can have a fully functioning Etsy shop without getting Etsy Plus.

What Other Ways Can you Boost Your Sales on Etsy?

Other ways to boost your sales on Etsy are as described above.

Word of mouth, posting to your social media, and paying for your own Etsy Ads or other third party Ad company can help boost your sales on Etsy.com. You don’t have to get an upgraded Etsy subscription to have a successful shop.

Furthermore, you should research the market and see what it selling – if your products aren’t selling, check out current trends and hot topics circulating the web!

You can also have a sale using Etsy Coupons!

Just remember that first and foremost, to make sure your shop, product, and team are ready to go when the orders start flooding in!