Crowning glory_ A dive into Etsy's handmade headpiece market

From delicate tiaras to bohemian crowns, the world of handmade headpieces is as vast as it is enchanting.

Where better to embark on this glittering journey than Etsy, the hub of unique handmade creations?

In the following sections, we’ll journey across Etsy’s headpiece bazaar.

We’ll unearth the most popular niches, the profitability potential, and more.

Exploring the headpiece diversity on Etsy

tiara

If you’ve ever been to a festival, a special occasion, or a good party, you’ve probably come across headpieces as a mesmerizing accessory.

In short, a headpiece is a decorative ornament or accessory worn on the head. It has been used throughout history and across cultures for functional, symbolic, and aesthetic purposes.

Before analyzing this vast market in detail, it’s worth mentioning that headpieces take different shapes and forms.

Here are some of the headpiece products we identified on Etsy:

  • Tiaras and crowns – Often adorned with jewels, these are traditionally associated with royalty and special ceremonial events.
  • Veils – Primarily seen in weddings, they can be short or flow down to the floor, sometimes attached to hats or crowns.
  • Fascinators – Decorative, lightweight headpieces often seen at formal events, typically attached to the hair by a clip, headband, or comb.
  • Headbands – Bands worn around the forehead or atop the head, which can be plain or decorative.
  • Turbans – Fabric wrapped around the head, often for religious, cultural, or fashion purposes.
  • Ceremonial or ritualistic headpieces – Used in various cultures and religions, these can signify a range of things from rank and status to specific spiritual or ceremonial roles.

Right off the bat, we can see that the potential for creativity and sales is close to infinity in the headpiece domain.

With so many different niches and themes to choose from, the sky is your limit.

However, we’ve narrowed down our research strictly to headpieces as a general term used for these handmade gems.

Now, let’s get to the meat and potatoes.

How big is the headpiece market on Etsy?

To determine whether the headpiece segment is one worth your time as a seller, it’s essential to identify the market size. This will help you establish how competitive you can be in the space and what growth opportunities you can expect.

We used Sale Samurai to discover three vital metrics that shape the size of the market:

  • Listing saturation
  • Competition level
  • Search volumes

Let’s dig right into it.

Listing saturation

The first step of our research journey was analyzing Etsy search results to determine how saturated the market is.

When typing “headpiece” into the search box, the platform displays a total of 183,672 results.

headpiece

This is a clear signal of a well-developed, large market.

As a comparison, nearly 18,626 listings rank for “head crown” and around 90,000 rank for “tiara”.

head crown

Interestingly, nearly 400,000 listings appear when browsing for “headband”. However, keep in mind that traditional headbands don’t fall under the same category as headpieces.

Why?

Because they’re rather basic, lacking the artistic nature of a headpiece.

In other words, it’s safe to say that the parent headpiece category dominates sub-categories like tiaras and head crowns.

Competition level

Naturally, a large market goes hand in hand with aggressive competition.

According to Sale Samurai, the competition level for the main keyword “headpiece” is 183,672.

But don’t let this discourage you. As we’ll observe in the following sections, there are plenty of sub-niches to target for a competitive edge.

As in most other markets, the main keyword is bound to be highly competitive.

Search volumes

The final factor that describes the size of a product category is keyword search volume.

This metric demonstrates how many Etsy shoppers search for specific phrases per month. The higher the search volume, the more popular the product is among consumers.

Surprisingly, the general keyword “headpiece” only receives around 1,344 searches per month. This is nothing too exciting, especially when compared to other segments.

But there’s more to it .

When exploring trending headpiece categories and themes, we discovered that the number of users searching for niche products, such as bridal headpieces, is twenty times higher.

Are headpieces a profitable market?

Your profitability as a seller depends on several factors. These often include production costs, shipping expenses, and packaging investments.

In most cases, it’s safe to assume that a higher listing price will result in more fruitful earnings per sale.

To forecast your profits, it’s key to examine the highest, lowest, and average prices in the market.

In the headpiece niche, these are as follows:

  • Minimum – $2.99
  • Maximum – $1,804.43
  • Average – $81.00

price

Although you’re not obliged to structure your prices based on these numbers, it’s highly advisable.

In fact, the best practice for new market entrants is to set a price close to the average in the space. This strategy allows sellers to gain a competitive advantage, position products tactically, and increase traffic and sales.

So, if you’re planning to enter the headpiece arena, we recommend starting with an item that costs just under $70.

Compared to other markets, this average price is lucrative, suggesting a high earnings potential.

What are the most popular headpiece niches on Etsy?

So far, we’ve confirmed that the headpiece market is exciting from a money-making perspective. We’ve also shared that there is an existing demand for this product category.

But what are the niches that appeal most to shoppers?

When browsing for headpieces on Etsy, we noticed that the platform recommends the following trending niches:

  • Wedding
  • Halloween
  • Burning man
  • Festival
  • With horns
  • Gold
  • For bride
  • Costume
  • Flowers
  • Coin

All of these themes are ideas for crafting top-selling headpiece jewels on Etsy.

However, to select one that will generate high returns, it’s advisable to consider search volumes and competition levels.

Here are the insights that we extracted from Sale Samurai:

  • Bride headpiece – 22,200 – high
  • Headpiece wedding – 14,800 – high
  • 1920s headpiece – 12,678 – high
  • Medusa headpiece – 12,455 – medium
  • Fawn headpiece – 7,276 – low
  • Cleopatra headpiece – 5,164 – low
  • Gatsby headpiece – 4,902 – low
  • Horns headpiece – 4,811 – low

Next to each phrase, you can see its monthly search volume and competition level.

As we mentioned above, bride headpieces seem to take center stage, with more than 22,000 searches per month.

Other interesting themes that came up during our research include the 1920s, Medusa, Fawn, Cleopatra, and Gatsby.

Although all of these seem tempting, don’t neglect the competition level. According to the list, bride, 1920s, and Medusa headpieces have either high or medium competition levels.

This means that getting your listing to rank high as a new entrant will be extremely challenging.

Instead, we recommend focusing your efforts on creating headpieces with less competition (Cleopatra, Fawn, Gatsby, and horns). Competing against fewer sellers will double your chances for visibility and sales.

A deep dive into the bestselling headpiece listings

Now, let’s observe what some of the top performers on Etsy are doing to ensure their headpieces sell like hotcakes.

One of the successful shops we identified is CarbickovaCrowns. With a total of 1,451 listings and 22,345 sales, this seller is a success story. The shop offers headpieces, jewelry, and accessories from $22 to $550.

crowns

The seller has won a 5-star rating and has received more than 4,000 customer reviews. The product portfolio is rich and diverse.

Most importantly, each listing is optimized with high-search keywords, around 10 images (the maximum slots available per listing), and rich descriptions.

The imagery is extremely creative, featuring models wearing the headpieces in front of a thematic background.

The second shop we came across is MagaelaAccessories. This seller provides 1,204 listings to shoppers, including a range of accessories and headpieces. With 32,594 sales, the shop has accumulated around 8,000 customer reviews and a 5-star rating.

maengela

Products range between $30 and $75. Note that the highest price in this shop is close to the average in the market ($70.10).

This artisan offers predominantly flower crowns and wedding headpieces, tackling two popular niches.

In terms of visual representation, the shop depicts the handmade gems in real-life settings. The seller is persistent in the use of light backgrounds and fully utilizes the 10 image slots per image.

The outlined tactics employed by both handpiece creators positively influence the performance of these shops.

Wrapping up

Our extensive research into the headpiece market on Etsy confirms the potential of this niche.

If you’re a seller looking to tap into this pot of honey, we highly recommend niching down and offering products with specific, highly searched-for themes.

Throughout your journey, make the most of Sale Samurai’s features and capabilities. Use the tool to gather valuable insights that will help you stay ahead of the crowd.

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