Make Money on Etsy Dropshipping: Figuring Out How to Stay Competitive Without Breaking Rules

Kateryna Tytarenko, SEO Specialist in Multi-Programming Solutions  •  7 min read

Handmade products, craft supplies, and vintage stuff - that’s what Etsy is known for. Still, the marketplace provides much more possibilities to develop a profitable business, especially when you work with print on demand goods. So even if you already have a stable retail company and want to diversify your entrepreneurial activity with personalized items, it’s the right place to reach new customers and establish effective selling channels.

This article will highlight the main steps business owners should provide to succeed in their sales and stay competitive in the long view.

Table of Contents

What is Etsy dropshipping?

How a dropshipper sets up a store on Etsy?

Things to know before selling

Etsy software for printers vs. dropshippers

FAQ

Conclusion

What is Etsy dropshipping?

Although vending on this e-commerce marketplace differs from other platforms, it still has a lot of possibilities for merchants and POD companies to establish solid relationships and grow their businesses.

Thus, traders can organize dropshipping models, selling customized stuff from suppliers' warehouses. In this case, they create a source of passive income on Etsy, not dealing with inventory, technological equipment, or logistics. Instead, the print company provides all the issues, including goods production and shipping to the end customer.

Direct sales benefit both online store owners and manufacturers, not only in terms of making money on Etsy dropshipping products. Thus, merchants get more space to diversify their assortment and pass the marketplace trading policy, not allowing them to resell other vendors' handmade goods. Of course, they can distribute craft or vintage things. But these boundaries doubtfully will bring the desired income. On the contrary, with a POD entrepreneur partnership, sellers can replenish their online websites with suppliers’ products targeted at different users’ tastes and needs, from traditional printed t-shirts, cups, pillows, and candles to trendy comic arts, wedding gifts, etc.

Printing companies, on the other hand, will grow their traffic and release themselves from such responsibilities as client searching, product marketing, and customer interactions. Tasks fractioning in dropshipping integrated with Etsy allows sellers to concentrate on goods promotion, lead generation, and conversion increase. POD entrepreneurs direct their efforts to product quality and delivery improvement or innovative technology implementation (software for business automation, sustainable production, or employee training).

So let’s figure out how dropshipping on Etsy is obtained. First, clients search for customized stuff to buy in the marketplace and find what they need at the vendors’ storefronts. Then, they make an order and send money to the webpage owner. Finally, sellers redirect customers’ purchases to the supplier, who prints, packs, and sends the product to the client's location. Thus, POD entrepreneurs receive orders, and dropshippers earn a margin for their mediation in a sales chain.

And now, moving on to specifics, we’ll describe the initial steps for building a business with Etsy dropshipping suppliers.

How a dropshipper sets up a store on Etsy?

To begin selling POD stuff, merchants should create a marketplace account first. It simply requires an email and a password. A profile gives access to marketplace support, messaging system, and publishing posts in the community.

A few steps are required to set up an Etsy account:

1. Press the “Open Your Shop” button.
2. Add preferences, like country, currency, and language.
3. Create an engaging name that reflects brand values.
4. Upload unique product photos, sign prices, and listings details.
5. Emphasize payment options.
6. Set up billings at your Etsy seller account.
7. Customize the webpage.

That’s all. Now vendors have started Etsy shops. Still, they can’t be called dropshippers until they add a supplier to work with. The marketplace policy requires goods to be created or designed by sellers to start an e-commerce business. And if they partner with a POD company for order fulfillment, they should mention its name in each listing.

To do this, store owners should choose Shop Manager → Settings → Production partners and add all the dropshipping suppliers they work with to the Etsy profile. Then, if the data won’t be marked as “Private”, everyone will see the manufacturer, which produces items in the seller’s store.

The trading platform allows users to add detailed information about the POD entrepreneurs vendors work with. So it can become an additional advertisement for printing companies. Some merchants don’t want to make their partners' names visible to the public. Therefore, it can be one of the issues print on demand suppliers should discuss before making a deal.

Remarkably, manufacturers can establish relationships with vendors not only for Etsy integrated dropshipping in small amounts but also for providing bulk merch. Thus, many entrepreneurs are interested in white-label stuff to print their own logos or creative design and sell through the platform. So the POD organization can become a wholesaler, as well.

Returning to the article topic, let’s determine how to generate more leads and maximize the outcome for store owners on Etsy and their dropshipping suppliers.

Sell Print on Demand Products on Etsy

Things to know before selling

You probably already know the essential preparation before running online trading, like how to select the best niche and trendy products or analyze the customers. In this chapter, we’ll list some useful tips that will help dropship handmade products, topping up business competitiveness and profit.

Choose a reliable partner

Both B2B sides should do their best to work toward a common goal in online sales. And here, transparency, fairness, and responsibility are key factors to long relationships. However, not all business owners follow this path. So providing dropshipping with Etsy suppliers, it's crucial to examine another entrepreneur before making the first deals.

Thus, POD companies should read sellers’ reviews, if they are already involved in online trades, and discuss the working hours, payment options, and accessibility for solving questions in real time.

In turn, dropshippers should ensure they will sell high-quality products and gain a reliable reputation from their clients. It would be a wise solution to get printed product examples and examine their conditions before starting to take customers’ orders online.

Follow the “green” way

Building a sustainable business model is an excellent decision in the era of worldwide eco-responsible tendencies. Regarding the best dropshipping suppliers for Etsy, they should respond to such criteria:

• Use safe, nontoxic paints for printed production and recyclable materials.
• Provide events for reducing environmental pollution (like zero-carbon equipment).
• Control the consumption of natural resources.
• Optimize the volume of packaging materials necessary for shipping.

The planet-saving course will become an important factor for future business development and customers’ commitment. Thus, selecting between several vendors, clients are more likely to choose the one who can suggest a sustainable eco-friendly product.

Implement innovative approaches

The world of technology has a lot of solutions to suggest for e-commerce businesses. Entrepreneurs can consider process automation with an appropriate dropship system software, building multiple sales channels, or developing a mobile app for online stores. Undoubtedly, initial investments are obligatory, but the future outcome can highly exceed the expenses.

We suggest reviewing a few helpful tools as an integral part of smooth and wise POD enterprise management for beginners and experienced companies.

Etsy software for printers vs. dropshippers

Automation programs will streamline everyday operations and save time on more vital tasks, like promotions or product range widening. When choosing a supplier to work with, it would be useful to ask whether they use dropshipping apps for Etsy, like DropZa. In this case, integration with Etsy is not a default feature - most sales channels can be connected additionally to the existing Shopify store. Administered by the POD company, the framework can give access to the Etsy merchant for importing goods listings, their photos, and description and update prices automatically. 

Moreover, the software will handle all the tasks with the orders' acceptance and their redirection to the supplier for fulfillment. It will also give real-time information about the warehouse's reserves.

Automated tools allow for the consolidation of workflows аrom several shops and external platforms like Shopify and give a reliable report on overall business performance, including sales numbers, income, and goods stock.

Can you dropship on Etsy more effectively in 2022? Absolutely yes! Additionally, implemented DropZa allows further business optimization by integration with Shipstation and Shiphero. With these powerful assistants, companies can choose a carrier to deliver packages, print labels, check shipping prices and maintain the returns. The software also allows monitoring of the order history and its geographical location in real time.

Business process automation allows entrepreneurs to get more Etsy dropshipping benefits:

• work faster and more productive,
• keep all the main tasks under control,
• and save time and money on the order, product, and warehouse management. 

FAQ

Is Etsy good for dropshipping?

Yes, it’s a profitable way to grow an e-commerce business if you are involved in item production or its customization. It is a suitable market for vendors to connect with POD suppliers and start direct sales from their working place. While sellers concentrate on traffic, design, and content, print companies perform order fulfillment.

How much money can you make out of dropshipping on Etsy?

The amount depends on multiple factors: your product range, sales volume, number of connected partners and vending channels, business management speed, and quality. If your POD company refers to wholesale Etsy dropshipping exporters, then you can generate margin faster, making large party shipments.

How to set up an Etsy account to sell?

Follow Etsy.com/sell and create your online shop in a few minutes by filling in appropriate fields, like store name, listings, and payment details. Within several clicks, you will become an online store owner and may begin successful trades. It would be useful to get familiar with the marketplace requirements and limitations before setting up an Etsy account.

Can you integrate Shopify on Etsy?

Yes, you may provide multichannel sales to increase profit even more. Shopify and Etsy dropshipping apps, like PodZa, will handle the issues with orders and product management on a single customer dashboard and will timely update the suppliers’ stock information. You will receive purchases from both marketplaces and conveniently operate sales.

Conclusion

Dropshipping on Etsy is possible if you sell stuff created or designed by you. This option allows engaging POD companies and creative dropshippers in marketplace sales. Entrepreneurs can reach maximum productivity if they follow the path of fair and trustworthy partnership, sustainable policy, and digitalization. 

High-quality and eco-friendly goods will fix your reliable reputation among regular clients. Cost-saving and fast delivery with the possibility to track the parcels will contribute to a better user experience and loyalty. And with the software automation, you’ll be able to manage multiple business processes 24/7 without efficiency loss.