Research shows that Etsy has sellers in over 200 countries around the world. However, most of the sales are made in the US. Despite this, it can be argued that there is a business opportunity to make your products available to other locations.

But which ones should you choose and what are the technicalities behind this?

We explore this in more detail below.

The markets you can expand into as an Etsy seller

Although a majority of Etsy sellers are based in the United States, around 30% are located in the United Kingdom followed by 11% in Canada. Other European countries that make it to the list in terms of Etsy sellers include Germany, France and Italy. Australia is another market worth exploring for its potential for profitability and extended reach.

Apart from the sellers, it’s also worth looking at the buyer-side of things. For example, traffic to the Etsy marketplace comes from the following countries (along with their percentage share):

• United Kingdom (9.45%)
• Canada (4.82%)
• Germany (3.83%)
• Australia (2.88%)

According to Etsy, one of the technicalities (discussed in more detail below) as to whether a shop is available in terms of countries is the issue of payments. Right now, apart from the countries mentioned above, Etsy payments are available in countries including: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, and Vietnam.

However, to keep our discussion more relevant and focused, we will concentrate on the UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia below.

The technical aspects of expanding your Etsy gig to a different locale

There are several technical aspects, which you need to consider when it comes to setting up your Etsy shop for a broader international market.

These include:

Currency

• Set up the currency to EUR or pound (or another currency) as opposed to the default US dollar for the European market or another market of your choice.

Etsy fees

• Carefully study what fees Etsy will take out of each sale you make. Examples of such fees include listing, transaction, processing, currency conversion and regulatory opening fees, as well as value added tax (VAT) on seller fees.

Advertising

• Determine whether you will advertise on and off Etsy and set up a clear budget for your ads. Your budget doesn’t have to be big. However, it should work in your favor as you try to get greater exposure for your products.

International shipping

• Ensure that you offer international shipping and do prior research before you do so to accurately determine your average shipping days.
• Have clear policies regarding international shipping and costs on your shop’s profile page.
• Make sure that you use courier services that offer tracking for your product shipments.
• Study custom duties for the countries you plan on selling to and their associated costs.

Listing optimization

• Optimize your listing with language appropriate tags to ensure greater search relevance. For example, “jewelry” is a term used in the US whereas “jewellery” is used in the UK and other English-speaking countries using UK writing conventions.
• Make sure your description includes accurate measurements used in different locations (e.g. ounces or grams / pounds or kilogrammes / feet or meters).
• Use the right local language in your title and description to target buyers in other locales.

Tips and peculiarities to consider for each market

We touched upon VAT a bit earlier but it’s worth considering that whatever market you will be selling from or to has a different VAT rate. Obviously, this must be taken into account when working out your product’s prices. Other market-specific tips and peculiarities to consider include:

UK

Make sure you set up an account with a courier who offers tracking for sales of products valued at over £10. Royal Mail is recommended for this purpose when you set up a business account with them.

Canada

A 2.5% currency conversion fee is charged by Etsy so consider keeping your store currency to the original Canadian dollar. Customers in the US, for example, will see the US dollar currency instead of Canadian dollars. Germany and Australia

A further tip is to ensure your products, listings, and delivery options are completely localized for each market you are entering, including Germany and Australia.

Is it worth expanding internationally?

Whether you are based in the US and you’d like to target Canadian or British customers or you’re located somewhere in Europe and you’d like to target American consumers, the benefits of localizing your shop to a given market are immense.

Some of these include:

Access to a larger audience

Etsy has a vast customer base with an estimated 40 million buyers. This means you can reach an extensive audience with your shop, enabling you to earn more from it.

Increased exposure and brand awareness

The vast customer base means more eyeballs on your product. As such, you’re much more likely to get wider exposure and improve your brand awareness across customers in different locations.

Opportunities for product localization and development

Selling in different countries on Etsy also means you can localize and further develop your products to suit and target a specific market more intensely, resulting in a broader number of sales.

Potential for higher profits

All of the above together results in greater profits you can enjoy from your product localization, brand awareness, and access to a huge audience.

Diversification of revenue streams

And finally, with Etsy, you can also diversify your revenue streams. This will depend on the number of products you sell, their quality, price, your listing optimization process, etc.

The bottom line

Selling your Etsy products in marketplaces beyond the US is a strategy that’s not to be missed. However, it requires prior research and preparation.

You need to ensure that your titles and tags are in the right language and gain a firm grasp on Etsy’s fees and the various VAT rules in different countries.

However, once ready, you can reach a broader audience and enjoy profitable returns.