7 Main Reasons Why You Have No Sales on Etsy (and how to fix them)

Can’t figure out why you have no sales on Etsy? It can be so frustrating when it seems like you’re putting in so much effort into your shop only for there to be crickets.

But don’t stress. Trust me, this happens to a whole lot of us when we’re starting our Etsy shop. You might be asking whether or not if it’s even worth it to continue your Etsy shop.

Before you decide to jump off the bandwagon and leave Etsy behind, I’d encourage you to pause. I’ve included 7 of the most common reasons why Etsy sellers have no sales on Etsy.

I’ve included reasons and solutions to help work through your lack of sales on your Etsy store. So keep on reading!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.

Why you have no sales on Etsy (+ suggestions)

1. Your niche is oversaturated

Sometimes, a lack of sales from Etsy can mean that your niche is oversaturated. This means that there’s high competition and can be hard to stand out in a competitive crowd.

Are you able to rank for any of your listings? You’ll know if your niche is oversaturated if you’ve been doing the right things:

• constantly creating products
• using primary/relevant keywords
• making sure your listings look professional

If you already have these three things, then that means your niche could be too competitive.

Don’t be discouraged! This just means you need to find a micro-niche within your niche.

For example, if you sell ebook templates for small businesses, you need to start with being more specific about the types of ebook templates you sell. You can focus on one micro-niche: ebook templates for airbnb owners.

Solution: Be more specific about the niche you're in by finding who your audience is. Choose a micro-niche and keep creating products in this micro-niche.

Want to discover more micro-niche and product ideas?

2. You just opened your Etsy shop

Did you just open your Etsy shop this month? Or last week? Chances are your Etsy shop is way too new for Etsy to even know what you’re selling.

It takes time for Etsy to figure out what you’re selling. Once it knows, it’ll become easier to rank in the keywords you’re targeting.

It took me almost 2 months to get my first few sales and after a weeks, I started getting consistent sales. Be patient if that’s the case! You’re just getting started 🙂

In the meantime, just focus on creating products and keep targeting your primary/relevant keywords. Don’t give up!

Solution: Be patient and let Etsy take time to discover your products on its platform. Keep creating and targeting keywords in your niche!

3. Your listing photos aren’t clickable

Your listing photos are so incredibly important – more than you think. The first that an Etsy buyer looks at is your product photo!

If they think it’s dull or doesn’t stand out enough, then they’re probably not going to bother clicking. This can be a hard truth to face, but your photo listings need to be clickable.

Here’s an example of a clickable listing photo (in my opinion):

First of all, the background is SO cute! This Etsy listing photo is festive and holiday-themed, which is perfect for buyers looking for a Christmas Apple watch wallpaper. They even show an example of an Apple watch with the wallpaper!

The colors stand out and clearly tell me what the seller is selling. 100% clickable in my opinion.

So what should you include in your listing photo?

• Colors that match your brand or theme
• Descriptions that are important (e.g. instantly downloadable, pdf & jpg files, 100% original)
• Mockups that showcase your product (e.g. if you sell wall art decor, display them in a wall mockup photo)

Solution: Pay attention to the colors, descriptions, and mockups you use in your listing photos. Look at your competitors for more inspiration!

4. Your products are seasonal

Your products are seasonal, meaning that they tend to do a lot better when it’s the holidays or a special occasion.

For example, if you sell gift baskets, they might tend to do better around Christmas, Halloween, or Valentine’s Day.

So it’s not necessarily that something is wrong with your product. It’s more like your audience is searching up your product during certain occasions.

Solution: Create more products that are non-seasonal, but still niche specific. For example, if you sell gift baskets, can you also sell gift baskets for teachers or a certain occupation? 

5. Your products are not SEO optimized

If your products are not SEO (search engine optimization) optimized, then you need to make sure you do this!

That means looking at the following:

• titles
• tags
• descriptions

What is your product? Is it a minimalistic green necklace?

Then, you need to make sure you include this primary keyword in your title, tags, and descriptions. When you let Etsy know what your product is about, it becomes easier for your products to rank or be identified.

But you need to be patient when you go through all your products and optimize them. It will take time for Etsy to understand your product.

Solution: Go through your titles, tags, and descriptions and make sure you are using primary and relevant keywords of your product. 

6. You don’t have enough reviews on your Etsy shop

Do you have enough reviews on your Etsy shop? Is it still very new?

Then, you need to get on it! I strongly recommend, when you’re starting off your Etsy shop, to focus less on sales and more on reviews.

Why? Because reviews equals credibility. This is the hard truth: people are less likely going to buy from a shop that has zero reviews compared to someone who has 10 reviews.

It just looks… sad, lol. But you can do something about it!

Solution: Check out my in-depth guide on how to get more 5 star reviews on Etsy! I share templates you can use to ask buyers to get reviews. 

7. You aren’t consistent with product creation

Just like any side hustle or business, you need to keep it consistent in order to see growth. That’s why it’s essential to continue creating your products and putting them out there.

Etsy favors those who regularly uses its platform. After all, why would it push out listings from a store that was active five months ago compared to a store that publishes listings every day?

Focus on product creation, ESPECIALLY when you’re just starting your shop.

Solution: Keep creating your products. Etsy favors those who continuously put products out and stays active on its platform. Don't give up! 

Related articles

How Do I Get More Reviews On Etsy? 5-Star Success Guide

How To Get 40 Free Etsy Listings (and save money)

Marmalead vs eRank: Which Etsy SEO Tool Is Better?

How To Make Passive Income on Etsy Selling Digital Products

I hope this post helped you understand the reasons why you have no sales on Etsy and how you can fix them!