Why Dropshipping on Etsy Remains a Working Method of Passive Income in 2024

Kateryna Tytarenko, SEO specialts in Multi-Programming Solutions • 7 mins 32 secs read

What do you think of a passive income? Some people treat this opportunity cautiously, interpreting the adjective “passive” as something slow-flowing or doubtful, like huge investments and unjustified risk. Instead, they should pay more attention to the word “income”.

Providing an additional profit source doesn't necessarily mean cash outlays needs. Etsy integrated dropshipping is a well-aimed example of this. But, of course, you invest time analyzing how to increase financial flows to your budget while not devoting yourself to 12 hours of work. Marketplace allows launching a sales flow without leaving your home or creating goods’ stock and shifting the delivery tasks to your business partners. 

You will gain more freedom, flexibility, and financial independence by setting up passive income origins. Moreover, you can keep the main gig while realizing creative impulses and reserving money for your dreams. 

Let’s find out: is Etsy dropshipping a good idea? And learn how to increase the revenue with minimum effort.

Table of Contents

Etsy marketplace: a detailed look into it

Passive income options in Etsy dropshipping business

Easy management of operational processes in your Etsy store

The best shipping software integrations on Etsy

Conclusions

Etsy marketplace: a detailed look into it

We’ll start from trading platform stats. The marketplace was launched in 2005, in New York and currently has more than 96.3 million active visitors. During the pandemic, Etsy traffic increased by 50%. In 2021, 7.5 million sellers were involved in online trading on the site. And their number continues to grow unstoppably. Over 62% of vendors’ profiles are registered in the US. The company can boast 17 billion dollars in assets, which allows Etsy to take 12th place in the world’s markets parade. 

You are probably interested if Etsy dropshipping is profitable? Statistics help to understand if the marketplace is popular among all participants in trade relations. Moreover, demand and supply continue to grow every year. So, with clever management, e-commerce biz may bring you additional income.

For those who start Etsy sales from the white paper, these numbers will help to determine worthy products and recognize the buyers’ needs: 

• 25% of sales are from the home decor category; 
• 21% of customers prefer to choose paintings and antiques on Etsy; 
• 15% of transactions are concluded for eccentric decorations;
• 11% of visitors leave the site after ordering craft clothes.

As you see, Etsy is a hub for art and creativity lovers. Therefore, by choosing stuff from one of the popular niches, you will organize a successful dropshipping, integrated with Etsy, at minimal costs. 

The adamant rule for selling on Etsy: your item must be in the vintage, handmade, or artisan categories. The market also specifies a vital requirement: sellers have to create or model their products on their own. So you can't just vend someone's crafted stuff. This will be regarded as a resale. As an exception, trading is possible within certain conditions, which we’ll discuss further. 

So, here we came to the most important question: how much do dropshippers make on average? Their profit lies between 20 to 30% from each sale. So is it not bad for doing minimum work and paying a 20 cents fee per Etsy’s listing?

What distinguishes Etsy from similar platforms like Amazon or eBay is a real opportunity for self-expression. Creative individuals, artists, photographers, and designers find adherents of their imagination in Etsy's open spaces. This is a favorable environment for combining your talents with the chance of passive income.

What can you sell by dropshipping on Etsy? The item list is quite huge. It includes home decor, candles, jewelry, clothing, notebooks, wall pictures, and more. You will find those ones you like, for sure.

Passive income options in Etsy dropshipping business

So, how do you do dropshipping passive income on Etsy when the site has so many restrictions? No, you don't have to knit, sculpt with clay, or paint. Thus, you can leave taking an active part in the goods’ production to your business partners and focus on design creation or marketing. You will also be exempted from buying consumables and manual labor. 

What can bring profit without risky investments and overwork? First, it’s the direct product delivery from the manufacturer to the client. You do not have to buy production equipment, rent premises, and arrange logistics. Instead, your task will be to mediate between the supplier and the end buyers, so you should develop marketing strategies, as well as maintain the vending profile.

There are several selling options to make sure Etsy dropshipping passive income works for you:

1. Vintage items or craft supplies. Only this stuff is allowed for reselling on the platform. You need to approach an Etsy seller for dropshipping of retro products or, say, knitting threads (or other craft) and arrange direct delivery to the client. How to recognize a vintage item? It must be at least 20 years old. As for materials for needlework, they have to meet specific requirements. As the seller, you should provide information about the materials, their environmental safety, sustainability, and other details. For example, you should make a special marking in the ad for recycled or reusable things.
2. Your branded or uniquely designed goods. In this case, you need to find a supplier to print the desired designs and deliver them. Namely, you may start Etsy t-shirt dropshipping with an outsourced company to fulfill orders.
3. Stuff from the marketplace. You might be interested in vending from Etsy to your branded online shop outside this platform. So, be careful with the demand: handmade items are long-produced, so stock shortages are a real danger.

Although dropshipping is not mentioned in the marketplace’s sales policy, these Etsy passive income ideas most closely describe ways to realize such a trading scheme within the market. You can advertise your product not only on Etsy but also connect with other sales channels as well as keep them in one system.

How much money can you make dropshipping on Etsy? Sellers from the market’s TOP-10 earn about $65,000 per year. However, income directly depends on several factors: 

• product popularity;
• the number of attracted buyers; 
• the merchant's agility in managing business operations. 

Receiving passive income on Etsy with a minimum of work is a result of deep brainstorming and properly organized stages in the dropshipping chain. Learn what you need to launch a rentable web store.

Sell Print on Demand Products on Etsy

Easy management of operational processes in your Etsy store

A little preparation before starting a sales process is obligatory. This Etsy passive income guide will come in handy for beginners. First, you need to define the product and niche you are going to sell. The choice should meet several criteria: 

• the audiences’ demand; 
• favorable price;
• reliable stuff supplier. 

Product research tools may give some ideas on determining your store’s assortment. There are options for free use or paid ones: Erank, Marmalead, and Google Trends. Applications analyze needs, top-selling items, and the latest tendencies. According to their reports, you may choose items with the highest demand or examples with less competitiveness.

The stuff choice also depends on the design ideas, target audience, and printing companies’ ability to fulfill your creativity. If you are not good at modeling or painting, use Canva. This free site for graphic designers is full of ready-made solutions for your brand. 

Having understood your goals, you need to create an Etsy portfolio and customize the online store. Thus, adding an exclusive photo for a banner will reflect the main essence of your products. It would also be a good tone to describe the history of your business creation and attractively present your proposals to customers. High-quality pictures make an excellent visitor's impression. You may invite professional photographers to decorate your virtual store. 

Now you've created the perfect look for your trading page. So, let’s define how to make passive income on Etsy, spending a minimum effort and time on it. Dedicated programs for sales automation will encourage you to set up a profitable dropshipping business by doing most of the routine work.

While running an e-commerce store, you will support customer service, software will handle the main logistics tasks. Etsy app integration will support delegating several functions to the shipping applications: 

• Receive customer orders and relay them to suppliers for fulfillment, packaging, and shipping to their location. 
• Operate with up-to-date data in the warehouse's stocks.
• Update prices in line with market level. 
• Combine several sales channels (for example, if you also run vends on Shopify). 
• Generate the latest analytical reports on sales and profits.

Dropshipping software is an innovative technology that will produce passive income and grow the business with minimal participation in routine operations. Automotive tools can work 24/7 collecting and redirecting clients’ purchases to the fulfillment service, so you can simply have a rest.

The best shipping software integrations on Etsy

Not all existing programs consolidate with Etsy. We have selected several suitable options supported by the market to save your time on research. 

Ordoro 

The tool can automate most of the tasks associated with Etsy dropshipping integration. You will interact with suppliers on order fulfillment issues and set up the logistics details directly from your store. The goods’ availability in the supplier's warehouse will no longer remain doubtful. Ordoro aggregates sales from various sources and displays real-time balances. 

DropZa 

A simple and intuitive program streamlines business operations using Etsy dropshipping strategies. DropZa automates almost the entire activity of your online store. After the client's payment, the order goes to the formation stage in the supplier's center. Then, monitoring the customer deliveries, displaying income and expenses, and centralizing sales across multiple channels is easy as one-two-three. 

PodZa 

It’s a multi-featured program for Etsy dropshipping printables as well as for your store: it can “hear” about purchases with configured webhooks, but also fully automate the business (that is the main trend at the moment). Accordingly, scaling up and diversifying leads your store to new perspectives - your print on demand income will increase with less effort. PodZa is a reliable companion in workflow optimization, allowing you to customize settings depending on your current needs and save time for personal purposes.

Why is It Worth Being a Wholesaler in 2024?

Conclusions

Selling on Etsy through dropshipping is a good idea for those who want to popularize their brand and add creative touches to exclusive items. You do not risk wasting money and time on equipment, designers, or materials. Sending the functions of printing your original images, packaging, and delivery to outsourcing will empower generating passive income and saving resources for personal needs.

Integrating dropshipping software into your Etsy profile will automate repetitive and routine tasks like taking orders, updating products, pricing, and inventory. As a result, your business will run like clockwork, bringing stable profit.