# Website or Etsy?



## LavishPaws (Dec 21, 2016)

I'm in a dilemma, I'm very brand new to this and need help.

I'm trying to decide should I just create an Etsy shop or should I design a website. I was looking at wix.com and also thinking about Shopify. A friend of mine said he didn't have much luck on Shopify but that one person. I really need help. So far I've only created Instagram and Twitter until my designs are printed. What do you suggest?


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Its hard to say without seeing what your designs look like. I'm not too familiar with Etsy but if you think your designs might sell there (the people you will market to shop there) and its very easy and inexpensive to get started then you could try it. If you have your own site then you'll have more control over it and have a greater chance of being more profitable over time but it takes a lot of time to build and maintain a site. You might do both. Start with Etsy while you plan and build your own site. That way you can start making money on Etsy (and learning what sells) while you create a good site instead of starting with a inferior, quickly made site because you're anxious to get started.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

The advantage of Etsy, eBay, Amazon, etc is that people go there with the intent to buy, or at least shop, for stuff. So if someone goes to Etsy and searches for "Anteater Shirt" and you have one, they just might click on your shirt.

Now imagine you have your very own URL and web site. And there is an anteater shirt on it. Who knows or cares? Sure, you might come up in a Google search ... on page 20, or so. Your independent shop is not going to have the SEO chops of an Etsy.

Yes, you can spend money on Google AdWords, and the like, and maybe you should. But Etsy is a pretty good deal for what it is, and is worth a try if your product meets their criteria.

I think SunEmbroidery made a good suggestion. Setup an Etsy store and see what sells. Then take your time and put together a cool site under your own URL.


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## olga1 (May 11, 2014)

Etsy is one of the best place to sell on the internet


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

I agree that you won't be able to compare with Etsy SEO wise at least initially. But if on your own site your SEO promotes your anteater shirt (text about anteaters, alt tag using the word "anteater", "anteater" in the H tags) then that page should rank well enough to be found. But, all that takes time, an understanding of SEO, a site platform that will allow you to implement proper SEO,creativity and an understanding of what will sell and who will buy it.


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## 2Dye4 (Jan 9, 2006)

I create tie dyed shirts so it is a wee bit different but I'm actually doing what was mentioned above, opened an Etsy shop and have built a website with a Weebly template, through my host Siteground. My website is mostly just a contact point and shows examples of my work. But, eventually I'd like sell there as well. 

I just opened the Etsy shop in February and have had consistent sales with limited shirts offered. My one criticism of Etsy is when someone clicks on an image of one of your shirts in a general search online, the link doesn't take you to directly to your shirt it takes you to all the Etsy shirts offered in that category. But, it's simple to use and gets your work out there.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

2Dye4 said:


> I create tie dyed shirts so it is a wee bit different but I'm actually doing what was mentioned above, opened an Etsy shop and have built a website with a Weebly template, through my host Siteground. My website is mostly just a contact point and shows examples of my work. But, eventually I'd like sell there as well.
> 
> I just opened the Etsy shop in February and have had consistent sales with limited shirts offered. My one criticism of Etsy is when someone clicks on an image of one of your shirts in a general search online, the link doesn't take you to directly to your shirt it takes you to all the Etsy shirts offered in that category. But, it's simple to use and gets your work out there.


Nice work! Decades ago when I worked on the staff of Portland Saturday Market, a guy named Milo was a sensation with his creative and unique tie dye work.


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## ssmedia7 (Sep 26, 2013)

The answer is both! I sell on all of those platforms. When someone buys from me at one of the marketplaces I always insert a thank you card in the packaging. On the reverse side of it is a coupon for 10% off at our online store. We average about 80% of those customers come to the site and 50% of those buy from the site. You cant beat the traffic that the marketplaces get so why try? Just take the time to also co very them to your site. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 2Dye4 (Jan 9, 2006)

Thanks so much, I play and experiment a lot...Is Milo still creating tie dye, love to see his work?

Jo


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

I like the "Thank you" / coupon card idea. 

Although it may seen like a disadvantage to have other vendor's items items be shown when they click on your item, your items will be shown when potential customers click on another item which can work to your advantage.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

2Dye4 said:


> Thanks so much, I play and experiment a lot...Is Milo still creating tie dye, love to see his work?
> 
> Jo


I don't think so. I haven't seen him in years.


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## needtshirtsnow (Jun 2, 2016)

Create a website and use etsy.



LavishPaws said:


> I'm in a dilemma, I'm very brand new to this and need help.
> 
> I'm trying to decide should I just create an Etsy shop or should I design a website. I was looking at wix.com and also thinking about Shopify. A friend of mine said he didn't have much luck on Shopify but that one person. I really need help. So far I've only created Instagram and Twitter until my designs are printed. What do you suggest?


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## allan373 (Nov 12, 2016)

LavishPaws said:


> I'm in a dilemma, I'm very brand new to this and need help.
> 
> I'm trying to decide should I just create an Etsy shop or should I design a website. I was looking at wix.com and also thinking about Shopify. A friend of mine said he didn't have much luck on Shopify but that one person. I really need help. So far I've only created Instagram and Twitter until my designs are printed. What do you suggest?


Owning a website is the best,because you have full control over it,also I suggest create a facebook business page,facebook is the biggest traffic source of any business on the planet.


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## TheFactShop (Apr 15, 2016)

I had this same thought when I started last year, I went for a website as I thought it'd give me more choice on how to grow, I now have a blog - which is great for SEO, and I've actually sold a few t-shirts.. however now I'm thinking Etsy would've been a better place to start - I'm designing t-shirts which I think are good, but some of them haven't even sold yet...

I think my main issue with having both is duplicate content... any SEO'ers here will know that simply copying content from one site to another isn't good for SEO... so I'm not really sure on how to get around that...

I may reconsider and start using Etsy aswell though.. you guys raise some good points here... thanks!


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Yes, vary your content between different mediums. The name of a design can be the same but use different text to describe it. This can allow you to reach more customers by using different key words on different platforms.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

On the SEO aspect ... I use pretty much the same descriptive text on Etsy, eBay, and my own URL.

Due to differences in how the sites are laid out, that text ends up being presented in a totally different context. For example, my Etsy listings contain notes about size/color exceptions that are needed due to the limitations of their listing logic. My eBay listings don't need that, but have references and links to each style/gender that the design is available on--since on eBay each of those must be a listing of its own. So although one paragraph of the content may be essentially identical across all three shops, the rest of the listing content is unique to the venue.

Test searching for a design with Google, I've found it listed three times on the first page of results, one each for Etsy, eBay, and my own URL. So I'm not so sure that duplication of the descriptive content is a problem as long as it appears in an entirely different context amongst other supporting content. Of course, if you can change it up a little, that might be prudent, but I have not bothered to do that myself.

If you built two essentially identical sites that presented the same content in essentially the same context, then that may well be an issue.

@TheFactShop
Hey, you've got a cool spin on the "geek" niche, nice work. The main downside to having multiple outlets is the time it takes to set them up and maintain the content. That said, Etsy accounts for most of my sales, and about half of the people on my own URL were Etsy customers first. Be where the people be


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## mrsmetcalf (Nov 6, 2015)

I sell almost exclusively on Etsy. I'm a very small shop, but it definitely keeps me busy. Combined with Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, I get a decent amount of business. 

The only complaint I have about Etsy is that, when it comes to trademarks, all the power is with the lawyers. Once a report is filed against you, you have absolutely no power to fight it. I've heard of some of the stupidest things being trademarked, and your actual item doesn't have to say it, the trademarked word just has to be in your description somewhere. Etsy has very strict penalties for trademark infringement, too: 5 reports and your shop is closed. When 3 of your listings get dinged at the same time, you get a little worried 

But, other than that, I absolutely love Etsy. The audience is already there, their seller tools are all extremely user-friendly, and the community is very supportive.


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## digitizingninjas (Aug 19, 2016)

I have started first with etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/DigitizingNinjas

I have to say that i got positive results only when i started advertising it on etsy, i have website also which is in my signatures, but i will advice you to create etsy shop first because you start selling easily and start making some money.

When i compare etsy shop with my own website, i see i am free to create more pages, blogs etc on my website and have more control on contents and products, having own website also helps to you optimize and promote it in social media, search engines etc.

Etsy also provide option to promote your shop on Google Adwords, but i rare got results on those as compared to promotion on etsy local advertising

In start you have to spend some money on etsy, once you get few reviews and ratings, your shop will start getting rankings and you will get orders. My shop is not too old but i got reasonable orders and reviews from etsy.


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## stevem1 (Jan 25, 2009)

I would do both, but make sure to check out etsy's new site platform called pattern, it is nice. Good luck.


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## sillyshack (May 16, 2011)

NoXid said:


> On the SEO aspect ... I use pretty much the same descriptive text on Etsy, eBay, and my own URL.
> 
> Due to differences in how the sites are laid out, that text ends up being presented in a totally different context. For example, my Etsy listings contain notes about size/color exceptions that are needed due to the limitations of their listing logic. My eBay listings don't need that, but have references and links to each style/gender that the design is available on--since on eBay each of those must be a listing of its own. So although one paragraph of the content may be essentially identical across all three shops, the rest of the listing content is unique to the venue.
> 
> ...


Is there a way to do a search for copyrighted/trademarked designs and slogans to ensure you are not at risk prior to printing?


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## KatieH (Jun 21, 2013)

sillyshack said:


> Is there a way to do a search for copyrighted/trademarked designs and slogans to ensure you are not at risk prior to printing?


Yes - you can search on the USPTO website here: TESS -- Error

I deal with this same problem on Etsy, the problem is these people are constantly trademarking random phrases, so if you search it when you list it, you have to remember to keep searching trademarks because a lot can change within a few months to a year!


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## sillyshack (May 16, 2011)

Thank you! Do you have any idea what the cost would be to trademark a phrase?


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## kushgod (Jan 30, 2017)

LavishPaws said:


> I'm in a dilemma, I'm very brand new to this and need help.
> 
> I'm trying to decide should I just create an Etsy shop or should I design a website. I was looking at wix.com and also thinking about Shopify. A friend of mine said he didn't have much luck on Shopify but that one person. I really need help. So far I've only created Instagram and Twitter until my designs are printed. What do you suggest?


facebook is the way to go


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

It costs $275 to apply online for a trademark. Keep in mind, you can't just trademark a phrase you use on a t-shirt; it needs to be a part of your brand.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Meaning it needs to be your brand slogan, or the like, not just one of 100's of random slogans you slap on shirts. The good news (for you) is that others cannot trademark random BS and enforce ownership any more than you can.

Generally, if you are creating original graphics/art, that can be copyrighted. Generally there would be no protection at all for text/slogans on T-shirts, unless it was text from an already copyrighted work, such as a book or movie or song; or unless it is the trademarked slogan for your brand.


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## sinGN (Oct 12, 2016)

Etsy is the best option.


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## sillyshack (May 16, 2011)

kimura-mma said:


> It costs $275 to apply online for a trademark. Keep in mind, you can't just trademark a phrase you use on a t-shirt; it needs to be a part of your brand.





NoXid said:


> Meaning it needs to be your brand slogan, or the like, not just one of 100's of random slogans you slap on shirts. The good news (for you) is that others cannot trademark random BS and enforce ownership any more than you can.
> 
> Generally, if you are creating original graphics/art, that can be copyrighted. Generally there would be no protection at all for text/slogans on T-shirts, unless it was text from an already copyrighted work, such as a book or movie or song; or unless it is the trademarked slogan for your brand.



Gotcha! Thank you both for the clarification


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## KatieH (Jun 21, 2013)

You're absolutely right as to what trademarks should be, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case on Etsy. Tons of people are trademarking random phrases and I've been reported several times for using them, even if I searched them before listing, which is why I recommended in my last post to stay on top of it.

I do a lot of bridal/bachelorette party tanks so I had a handful of shirts with Mrs. and another shop claimed to hold the trademark on Mrs. and reported me to Etsy with their trademark registration number so Etsy deactivated my listings. I spoke to a lawyer who looked up the trademark and found it's actually on the design of MRS with a diamond ring instead of a period - but Etsy doesn't seem to care about whether you're actually violating the trademark or not and as far as I know that is still considered a strike against my shop!


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

KatieH said:


> Tons of people are trademarking random phrases


It's difficult to trademark random phrases because the USPTO requires proof of use during the registration process. I suppose it's possible that people falsify their submissions; but for all intents and purposes, if the USPTO grants a registration, the phrase ceases to be random and is legally considered part of a brand. 



KatieH said:


> even if I searched them before listing


Out of curiosity, where are you searching?

If you find that you are using a phrase before the trademark owner claims to use a phrase, you may actually be legally entitled to the trademark. Ownership is based on first use, not first to register. Of course, you could only legally claim the mark if you are using it as a brand and not just a shirt design. 



KatieH said:


> I do a lot of bridal/bachelorette party tanks so I had a handful of shirts with Mrs. and another shop claimed to hold the trademark on Mrs. and reported me to Etsy with their trademark registration number so Etsy deactivated my listings. I spoke to a lawyer who looked up the trademark and found it's actually on the design of MRS with a diamond ring instead of a period - but Etsy doesn't seem to care about whether you're actually violating the trademark or not and as far as I know that is still considered a strike against my shop!


Sites like Etsy are a double edged sword.

On the one hand, the allow art submissions in real time. They don't search and clear copyrights or trademarks and they don't require any proof of authorship. They are solely on the honor system and allow users to profit on their designs without a real filter system.

On the other hand, if they get a complaint about a design, they don't waste time to remove the listing. Etsy's inventory is crowd sourced. They have plenty to go around. If they remove a bunch of listings every day due to IP issues, it's hardly a dent to them. Etsy is not about to spend time and money to fight for a users right to any artwork, nor should they. They are not the IP police; they are not a free legal source to figure out who owns the IP. That's your job as the artist and IP owner. If you want to take legal action to prove your right to your artwork, you can. And if you win, you can show Etsy your proof and get your art re-listed and perhaps get a strike taken off your account.


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## pixelgraffiti (Mar 16, 2017)

100% website using shopify...


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## fidelmartin (Jun 15, 2017)

The good think about Etsy is that it is the one of the ideal place on the internet to sell. So whenever people go there to buy for equipment they may find your stuff.


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## aldorabancroft (Nov 18, 2014)

I think he should go with website which is build in magento because magento is best platform for ecommerce business. Also it is more secure than other ecommece platform.


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## digiembroidery2 (Jul 7, 2020)

.


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## Gizmogirl256 (Jan 19, 2021)

sillyshack said:


> Thank you! Do you have any idea what the cost would be to trademark a phrase?


I'm not in that profession but I just spent around $700 to start the trademark process on my business name. And it will be another $300 now that I've put it into use. It's costly and takes a long time. Then you have to actively work to keep it monitored. Not something to enter in lightly!


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## Yo Llamas Artz (Feb 23, 2018)

LavishPaws said:


> I'm in a dilemma, I'm very brand new to this and need help.
> 
> I'm trying to decide should I just create an Etsy shop or should I design a website. I was looking at wix.com and also thinking about Shopify. A friend of mine said he didn't have much luck on Shopify but that one person. I really need help. So far I've only created Instagram and Twitter until my designs are printed. What do you suggest?


Hi! I have a Etsy and I love it.









yollamasartz - Etsy


Shop Tie dye from head to toe all day every day! by yollamasartz located in Petaluma, California. Top shop for gifts. A buyer bought a gift from this shop and gave it a 5-star review!




www.etsy.com





The only thing is it’s cutthroat to get your listings seen. You need to have sales and reviews to get your listings bumped to the top of the feed. I think it would be good to start with a Etsy first to get a feel for things and to get your Shop and products out there... good luck!! If you end up getting a shop tell my your shop name and I’ll check it out and we can follow each other!


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## hannaomar (Jul 21, 2021)

In my opinion, if you can manage it, use different platforms at the same time to have multiple revenue streams in case something happens to one of them. That’ll give you time to build your standalone and get it to a point where it’s bringing in more income than other platforms combined.


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## Niannok (May 26, 2021)

Hi ! better use two options


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## kkkos (Jan 4, 2022)

In my opinion only private website with CMS wordpress.
Etsy is not good for any business...


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## Marione (6 mo ago)

I’m not saying that Etsy isn’t a great way to get customers and build a business - it is! But relying on it as a platform when you want to expand your business and grow a sustainable, recognizable brand will be a struggle. From my personal exprience)


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