Contrary to popular belief, silver is not just used in jewelry. It’s also ideal for solar technology, electronics, soldering and brazing, engine bearings, and medicine.

While a quick search for “silver” on Etsy shows a strong focus on jewelry, there are numerous other items that are made with silver. These range from cutlery to bookends, money clips, Indian idols, coins, and a whole lot more.

To grasp the value of the silver market on Etsy, we looked at the market size, explored some of the best-sellers’ strategies, and checked out the potential for profitability and turnover.

Here are our findings.

How big is the market for handmade items from silver?

A search on Etsy shows that there is a massive offering of “silver” items on the marketplace with over seven million listings. However, it must be noted that these results should be broken down into categories in order to niche down. This is simply because of the sheer variety of items made from silver.

With the help of Sale Samurai, we were able to discern the following keywords, their listing counts and search volumes:

• “Silver necklace”: 1,868,929 listings; Etsy search volume – 3,492
• “Silver rings”: 1,806,525 listings; Etsy search volume – 26,157
• “Silver earrings”: 1,404,219 listings; Etsy search volume – 3,565
• “Silver bracelet”: 828,945 listings; Etsy search volume – 3,562
• “Silver rings men”: 669,134 listings; Etsy search volume – 427
• “SIlver chain”: 629,834 listings; Etsy search volume – 3,429
• “Silver jewelry”: 5,927,353 listings; Etsy search volume – 391
• “SIlver hoops”: 207,932 listings; Etsy search volume – 959
• “Silver hoop earrings”: 190,114 listings; Etsy search volume – 1,150
• “Silver coins”: 110,345 listings; Etsy search volume – 370

While there are many other types of creations, it’s clear that the most popular category for silver-made items on Etsy is jewelry. This is important to consider both as an advantage and a disadvantage. Making handmade jewelry is popular with Etsy designers, but the massive amount of listings means that the competition will be steep.

Regarding related keywords, we used Sale Samurai to help us refine the search even further.

Our findings show that a search for the main keyword “silver”, gives us the following related keywords and their associated Etsy search volume: “silver rings” (26,157), “sterling silver” (3,499), “rings silver” (3,431), “830 silver” (3,199), “999 silver” (3,197), “925 silver” (3,195), “1oz silver” (3,191), “qvc silver” (3,083), “oxidized silver” (1,089), and “ounce of silver” (1,087).

We also explored the tags that sellers used to get their silver products on the Etsy marketplace to ensure they are found easier.

Here is their corresponding Etsy search volume: “handmade jewelry” (26,640), “silver necklaces” (26,174), “925 silver ring” (3,502), “sterling silver” (3,499), “s925 silver” (3,307), “925 silver” (3,195), “silver pendant” (392), “silver jewelry” (391), “925 silver jewelry” (115), and others, which have a much lower search volume.

Finally, we looked at the prices charged for silver items on Etsy. We used the main keyword “silver” to determine this. Starting from as little as $0.50, prices can go up to the highest of $458.85, with an average of $34.62.

What are some of the best-selling merchants doing right?

There are multiple star sellers of handmade silver products on Etsy. However, we identified two that are performing exceptionally well.

First on our list is LordenSilver. They offer the listing “Handmade Borobutur Chain Silver Necklace / Heavy Borobutur Real 925 Sterling Silver / Oxidized Engraving Necklace / Handmade Gift for Him”. Capitalizing on high search volume keywords like “925”, “sterling silver”, “oxidized”, and “silver necklace”, this seller has performed very well, receiving a rating of five out of five stars.

They’ve used up almost all of the image spaces allocated by Etsy, filling 9 out of 10 slots. In addition, their description is highly detailed and offers customers the ability to choose the necklace’s length. This level or personalization is highly important for Etsy sellers, as customers are increasingly looking for custom-made gifts or items.

The second shop we identified as a star seller of silver products on Etsy is Arketipo. They have created the “Personalized Bracelet Cuff – Sterling Silver bangle – Name – Date -Coordinates – Roman Numeral Proverbs Cuff- Bridesmaid Gift”. This seller has capitalized on the keywords “sterling silver” and “bangle”, “bracelet”, “cuff”, as well as included the word “personalized” in the title to ensure they grab their audience’s attention.

Giving their customers options such as choosing the finish and the size of the bracelet, this product is also able to suit a wide variety of audiences. Although they have not utilized the full range of space allocated for images, the images which depict the item are presented in a clear and accessible way, giving customers an idea of what to expect. This seller has received ratings of five out of five stars, meaning that not only is their product a popular buy amongst customers, but that it is a valuable one, too.

How profitable is this niche?

And now we get to what is perhaps the most important consideration. Is this niche worth exploring when it comes to profit?

Looking at the results from both of the bestsellers identified above, we come to the following conclusions about profitability and turnover.

LordenSilver, with their product “Handmade Borobutur Chain Silver Necklace / Heavy Borobutur Real 925 Sterling Silver / Oxidized Engraving Necklace / Handmade Gift for Him”, has not priced near the average at all. Instead, they’ve gone beyond the highest price asked for silver products on Etsy. Nevertheless, this silver item has sold 442 times at a price of $527.00, resulting in a turnover for the seller in the region of $232,934.00.

As for the second seller Arketipo, with their “Personalized Bracelet Cuff – Sterling Silver bangle – Name – Date -Coordinates – Roman Numeral Proverbs Cuff- Bridesmaid Gift”, we see a whopping 14,040 sales made at a price in the region of the average at $44.65. As a result, this seller’s turnover is around $626,886.00.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars can be made on Etsy with silver items. That much is clear. However, we did not expect turnover of more than half a million dollars from a single listing. Good job, Arketipo!

Our recommendations for sellers seeking to enter this niche

What sellers, who are interested in entering the silver niche should know, is that it is highly competitive. However, by positioning your products effectively and following some of the strategies discussed below, you can make your silver Etsy shop a booming success.

Keywords

keywords are undoubtedly some of the most important elements in terms of optimizing your listing. As a result, when entering the silver niche, you need to use high search volume, low competition keywords. Some of these include “silver”, “silver jewelry”, “silver necklace”, “silver bracelet”, “silver rings”, and others.

It’s highly advisable not to stuff your keywords in the title and description, but to spread them out in a naturally sounding sequence that is easy to read and digest. Also advisable is to offer personalized products that can be manufactured to fit an individual customer’s query. This is where your description comes in. It should be optimized for keywords, but it should also include the possibility to pick a custom size and finish.

Pricing

Our usual advice to sellers is to price around the average for the market. However, this advice is relative to the amount of time spent creating the product, the cost of your materials, the level of personalization you’re offering, the intricacies of the actual product, and more.

As a result, you must determine the price based on the quality of your product and the cost of your materials. Sometimes, a higher price can pay off, and this is especially the case when you’re offering something truly valuable.

In most cases, however, pricing around the average of around $34.62 is advisable.

Images

Based on what we noted from the two star sellers mentioned above, it’s clear that they’ve deployed different strategies. The higher priced item has 10 images in various settings, making it easy for a potential client to visualize what the product will look like in reality.

With regard to the second seller above, they’ve only utilized four spaces for images, but these are still highly effective as they accurately display where the personalization of the bracelet will occur.

Ratings and reviews

Finally, we reach the ratings and reviews. Think of these as a self perpetuating cycle that builds up momentum over time. The more and better reviews and ratings you have, the more likely you’re going to make sales. Meanwhile, the more sales you make, the more ratings and reviews you’ll get as well. Therefore, while it’s not always easy to ensure you get your customers to leave positive reviews for you, your customer service should be as amazing as possible so that you do in fact generate this positive social proof that solidifies your offering.

In conclusion

The silver market on Etsy is extremely competitive. You need to differentiate your offering effectively in order to earn a solid income. Remember that personalization of your products will be key, and that your listing needs to be ideally optimized in order to get exposure.

Let Sale Samurai help you with your handmade project. For only $9.99, you get access to thousands of actionable insights to rout your Etsy competition.