What preparations need to be made before you create an Etsy shop?

[Missy Tolly]

If a person wanted to create an Etsy shop, do you need a certain amount of products, or a certain amount of one product? How does it work? How do the Etsy store owners recieve their money and send out the product?

Curiousity got the best of me when browsing Etsy.

[steelhip design]

I have both an etsy and ebay store but I'm presently just using my ebay store. The more items you have in the store the more potential customers you will get. You have to be very patient opening an etsy store - have a look in the etsy business forums - that will give you an idea on how long you have to wait for your first sales and how to get people to your store in the first place. Connecting with other newbies will also be good for networking and learning the ropes.

To answer your questions - a range of different products would be better - don't forget they have to be hand made, vintage or supplies to be listed on etsy. When someone buys something the etsy site goes directly to Paypal where your customer pays. Paypal tells you they have paid and you then send out the item. Neither parties get to see sensitive card numbers or information.

Depending on what you are selling, I would aim on 20 items. But before that do some homework - search for similar items that you want to sell/make. Look at the prices, photos, layouts, descriptions and keyword tags. Your products are only at the top of the search results when you list them so list them at a time when you think you're customers are at their computer. Spread your listings over a few days to increase your exposure.

Practice taking some photos and experiment with backgrounds. Items that appear on the front page are chosen because the photos are good quality. Choose a name that is easy to remember and says something about you and your products. Also think about networking your etsy store with a twitter account and facebook page. Blogging can also drive customers to your store. Down the road you may want to create your own website and sell directly from that.

I've built up a customer base over 7 years so I went back to ebay because I like the fact things sell within 7 days and the bidders are setting the price. On etsy items can sit on the shelf for a long time and you set the price without knowing whether you are asking too much or too little.

Either way - it's a LOT of work. I would work over 70 hours a week making, photographing, listing, buying raw materials, posting and promoting my business. Sure I work for myself but it's hard work.
Hope this helps.