Transforming everyday pet accessories into handmade masterpieces is proving to be quite the lucrative undertaking.

Dog collars and leashes are no longer just functional items. They’re stylish, personalized creations that pet owners adore.

In this article, we dive into the booming market of handmade pet accessories on Etsy and uncover how you can fetch a 4-figure bonus by catering to pet lovers who want the best for their furry friends.

Dog collars: Market overview

We’ve split our research into two main pet accessory categories – dog collars and dog leashes.

Here’s everything you need to know about dog collars.

Listing saturation

Dog collars are a wave-creating category on Etsy that goes hand in hand with a healthy listing saturation.

A quick search on Etsy reveals that there are more than 1,000 products that rank for “dog collars” on the platform.

This indicates that the market is well-developed and able to attract a wide array of sellers.

Search volume

More importantly, the main keyword “dog collars” generates an impressive monthly search volume.

More than 513,000 shoppers browse for “dog collar” on Etsy on a monthly basis.

This demonstrates that there’s a tremendous interest towards this product type, meaning that landing sales is a realistic mission.

Competition level

Best of all, the competition levels of “dog collar” as a keyword are significantly lower than the search volume of the term.

There are a total of 380,376 listings striving to rank for this phrase. In contrast, 503,903 users search for such products on Etsy.

This positive difference indicates that sellers can achieve high rankings, even with less experience. In return, this will lead to a rise in traffic and possibly – higher sales volumes.

Prices

On Etsy, it’s difficult to predict the exact profitability of other sellers. This is due to the fact that expenses differ and are strictly individual, based on the business model.

However, by understanding how others are pricing their items, you can forecast the returns you can expect to make based on your shop structure.

According to Sale Samurai, the prices worth knowing including:

• Lowest price – $5.99
• Highest price – $175.00
• Average price – $27.48

This data suggests that you can price your dog collars anywhere from $6 to $175.

The right rate will depend on the features of your product, its quality, your expenses, and other essential factors.

Popular tags and trending keywords

Choosing dog collars as a main niche to target is a great starting point.

However, to stand out from the rest, it’s recommended to niche down and position your listings in more narrow spaces. This will enable you to target a specific audience and boost your chances of landing more sales.

Here are the tags and keywords worth considering as a seller:

Tags

• custom dog collar
• puppy collar
• personalized collar
• engraved dog collar
• boy dog collar
• custom

Keywords

• dog collar – 513,291
• leather dog collar – 136,398
• fi dog collar – 126,938
• 2in dog collar – 126,714
• dog collar boys – 83,811
• durable dog collar – 67,093

These two lists are especially important for any artisan, no matter how experienced.

Why?

Because they demonstrate the types of product features buyers are interested in. They also help target the right audience.

For example, it becomes clear that customizable dog collars are trending. We can also see that collars for puppies and male dogs prevail.

A closer look can even reveal that specific sizes (2 inches) dog collars generate substantial searches.

All of this information can be used to create a winning sales strategy that will pave the way to success.

Let’s see whether bestsellers implement these best practices to achieve optimal performance.

One of the top sellers in the space is “Laser Engraved Personalized Dog Collar | 27 Nylon Colors Choices | Monogram Buckle Dog ID Tag | Custom Name Dog Collar” by shopmimigreen. At a price of $45.18, this collar has more than 2,800 customer reviews and contributes to the shop’s total sales of 106,000.

Among other techniques, the keyword optimization of this listing influences its performance.

The artisan targets keywords like “engraved personalized dog collar”, “custom name dog collar”, and “laser engraved”. All of these phrases relate to personalization – a key feature we saw intrigues shoppers.

As a result, the seller attracts attention, wins traffic, and scores sales.

No matter what your level of experience is on Etsy, you can implement this simple strategy to improve your rankings and achieve similar results.

Let’s see whether the dog leash market is similar to that of dog collars.

Dog leashes: market overview

Dog leashes are another must-have product for pet owners.

Here’s how this niche performs.

Listing saturation

Just like in the previous example with dog collars, there are more than 1,000 listings that are optimized and rank for “dog leash”.

From this perspective, the two pet accessories are nearly identical.

Search volume

In terms of search volume, however, these two pet accessory sub-niches differ dramatically.

While “dog collar” has a monthly search volume of 513,000, “dog leash” only accumulates 26,248 searches per month.

This indicates that Etsy buyers are less interested in dog leashes than they are in dog collars.

Competition level

Another interesting discovery is that dog leashes and dog collars are nearly the same when it comes to competition.

The competition level of “dog collar” is 380,552, while that of “dog leash” is 286,511.

Given the dramatic difference in search volumes, however, it becomes clear that dog leashes may not result in the traffic and sales you’re after as a new market entrant.

Prices

Looking at the prices of dog leases on Etsy, the following three rates must be addressed:

• Lowest price – $10.00
• Highest price – $119.85
• Average price – $38.09

While the lowest and average prices are higher when compared to dog collars, the highest price is much lower.

However, for beginners in the pet accessories niche, it’s highly recommended to position your listings  close to the market average.

Considering that you abide by this unwritten rule, it’s safe to say that your earnings per sale will be nearly the same in both niches.

Popular tags and trending keywords

Before we can see how the bestsellers are faring in this sub-niches, let’s take a sneak peek into some of the tags and keywords that take leading positions for dog leashes:

Tags

• dog lead
• dog collar
• dog accessories

Keywords

• 6 feet dog leash – 68,553
• 6 ft dog leash – 65,221
• dog harness leash set – 48,386
• facehugger dog leash – 48,380
• dog harness leash – 48,290
• bungee dog leash – 47,798
• leash holder for dog – 47,470
• biothane dog leash – 46,307
• nervous dog leash – 45,999

Unsurprisingly, a popular tag for listings ranking for “dog leash” is “dog collar”. This is only natural as leashes and collars are often purchased together.

The keywords, however, offer much more diversity.

It becomes clear that size (6 ft dog leash), dog behavior (nervous dog leash), and leash styles (facehugger dog leash) are all themes that can be explored as terms with high search volumes.

When analyzing the bestsellers, we can see that artisans are taking advantage of some of these keywords to achieve high rankings.

For instance, “Custom Leash Wrap, double sided warning sign, durable dog leash sleeve,vegan leather Biothane®,heavy duty waterproof,medical condition talker” by AnitasStitches ranks high among the top performers.

At a price of $22.61, this leash has more than 4,000 shop reviews and contributes to 15,904 shop sales.

The listing title features keywords like “biothane” that we identified. However, it’s also optimized for “custom leash”, “double sided”, “durable”, “vegan leather”, “waterproof”, “medical”, and more.

All of these descriptive words not only help the item rank high. They also allow shoppers to quickly understand what they’re getting as a result of purchasing this product.

By implementing all of these techniques into your sales strategy, you can quickly scale up the pet accessories later.

In a nutshell

Our research into the pet accessory realm on Etsy put us against two major niches – dog collars and dog leashes.

However, after close considerations and in-depth analysis, we can conclude that dog collars are the most lucrative option to explore.

Don’t forget that there are plenty of other pet accessories you can target.

To choose the most profitable categories, use Sale Samurai to your advantage. Uncover real-time market insights and make data-driven decisions every step of the way.