Steve Weber, author of "Etsy 101 - Sell Your Crafts on Etsy, the DIY Marketplace for Handmade, Vintage and Crafting Supplies", believes that Etsy is the hottest marketplace on the Internet for artisans and crafters. This book will explain exactly how to open an Etsy Shop and get your crafts business up and going.
About the Author
Steve Weber is a native of Charleston, W.Va. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a Journalism graduate of West Virginia University. He is the author of ten books that help online merchants and marketers.
The Ideal Marketplace for Artists and Crafters
Etsy has become the world's marketplace for handmade and vintage items. It was started by Rob Kalin, an artist and carpenter, in 2005. Mr. Kalin was looking for a place to sell his work online. He found that eBay was not a good fit for crafters and artisans because they seem to favor big sellers of mass-produced items.
Mr. Weber has written a very comprehensive book about how to navigate the Etsy marketplace. The book begins by explaining how to open an account and how to make purchases.
The real value of this book is the precise information that is given on how to open and operate an Etsy shop. Mr. Weber explains what kind of items can be sold in an Etsy shop, how to design the shop, how to list items and how to manage sales and shipping. He also goes into detailed information about how to market your shop with social media, SEO and paid advertising.
Mr. Weber explains the importance of interacting with the Etsy Community. He describes the Etsy forums, Circles and Teams. He features 14 successful Etsy sellers in this book and shares information about how they got started and how they operate and manage their businesses.
The author provides some basic information about copyright, licensing and taxes. The last chapter in the book is "Mind Your Manners and Dos & Don'ts". This section offers advice that will be a great help for buyers and sellers who are new to the site.
My Thoughts
I read this book because I am in the process of setting up an Etsy Shop. I have sold on eBay for many years but I agree that Etsy is the best place for "crafty" people.
I was very impressed with the amount of information that this book offers. It is a very useful primer for selling handmade art and crafts online. I can't think of a single relevant topic that is not covered in this book.
I found the information on PayPal online payments very helpful. I have used PayPal for almost as long as I have sold on eBay but I still learned some new information on receiving online payments in this book.
Kudos to Steve Weber for the research that he did for this book. This is a must-read resource for anyone who is interested in buying or selling items on Etsy.
My Rating: 5 Stars out of 5
FYI ~ I ordered a digital copy of this book from Amazon.Com when it was offered as a free download. Please check the price before ordering.
Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.
