I Made Over £1,600 Selling on Etsy in My First 30 Days. Here’s Why I quit

In 2019, I was searching for hot chocolate bombs when I stumbled upon the infamous platform Etsy. A marketplace where you could find all sorts of crafts, from candles, soaps and handbags to, of course, sweets. At least, that’s what Etsy used to be like. Little did I know that a simple search would eventually introduce me to the world of selling on Etsy.

After placing my first order, I realised that opening an Etsy shop was also a popular way to make money online. So, out of sheer curiosity, I clicked the registration link and opened my very first shop. I had no business plan, no real strategy and certainly no intention of turning this little experiment into a full-time business.

But then something unexpected happened. Not even 30 days after deciding what I wanted to sell, I had already made over £1,000 in sales. And that’s when the rush of pure dopamine took over. I spent the next year chasing that same feeling I experienced when I received my first Etsy payout.

Only, somewhere along the way, something went wrong.

I eventually walked away from the platform, and I want to share exactly what happened, how much I made and why I decided that selling on Etsy wasn’t for me.

I Opened an Etsy Shop During the Pandemic — And Sales Took Off

Although I discovered Etsy back in 2019, I didn’t actually open my shop until 2021, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I Started With Just Two Chocolate Moulds

It was an interesting time to start an online business. People were spending more time at home, shopping online and looking for little things to brighten their days. Handmade gifts, personalised products and small businesses were getting plenty of attention, and I happened to enter the market at a time when online shopping was booming.

Testing My Products Before Selling Them

My first product? Hot chocolate bombs. Yes, those little chocolate spheres filled with hot chocolate powder and marshmallows that you drop into a mug of warm milk. I had originally discovered them as a customer, and I thought they were such a fun idea that I wanted to try making them myself.

I didn’t spend hundreds of pounds on equipment or invest in a huge amount of stock. In fact, I started with just two chocolate moulds, mini marshmallows, three types of chocolate (white, milk and dark), some sprinkles, different chocolates for fillings and hot chocolate powder.

That was pretty much my entire starting inventory. Before selling anything, I spent time experimenting in my kitchen. I made batches for myself and my friends, tested different combinations, adjusted the recipes and worked on getting the taste and consistency right.

My First Etsy Listing Was Only £1.99

Once I was happy with the results, I dedicated a little corner of my kitchen to production. I followed strict hygiene practices and made sure everything was properly organised before taking my first orders.

My first Etsy listing was incredibly affordable: £1.99 for three chocolate bombs. I wanted customers to have options, so I made the listing highly customisable. They could choose between three chocolate coatings, approximately ten different fillings and whether they wanted marshmallows included.

As the business grew, so did the product range. I eventually introduced around 30 different flavours, additional fillings and more customisation options. I also invested in larger moulds so I could offer bigger chocolate bombs.

Looking back, I didn’t have a sophisticated business strategy. I simply started with a product I enjoyed making, made it affordable and gave customers plenty of choices.

And then came my first proper order. I had arranged for two friends to place my first orders and leave honest reviews after trying the products. This gave my brand-new listing an initial boost and helped me get started.

But just three days after launching, I received an order from someone I didn’t know. I will never forget that customer.

I wanted everything to be perfect. I put extra chocolates in the parcel, paid attention to every little detail and made sure the packaging looked just as good as the product itself. The customer loved it and, to my surprise, immediately placed another order. That was the beginning of something much bigger than I had anticipated.

How I Reached the First Page of Etsy

As more people discovered my products, orders started coming in regularly. I was receiving positive reviews, building a customer base and gradually climbing the Etsy search results.

Within approximately two weeks, my listings were appearing on the first page for hot chocolate bomb searches, and I managed to maintain that visibility for around a year.

At least at that point, it felt like I had discovered a little goldmine.

How Much I Actually Made Selling on Etsy

Let’s talk numbers, because I know that’s probably one of the main reasons you’re reading this post. My first Etsy shop wasn’t an overnight millionaire success story, but the initial sales were certainly impressive for someone who had started with two moulds and a few bags of chocolate.

I officially opened my shop in September 2021 (on the 30th). My September and October statements show the following:

October was the month when things really started taking off. Now, it’s important to understand that these are sales figures, not the amount I personally took home. Etsy charged various fees, and I also had to cover the cost of ingredients, packaging, equipment and other business expenses.

My September statement recorded £5.36 in fees and taxes, while October recorded £178.83. That left £1,498.25 after those listed charges, but before accounting for the rest of my production costs and any other applicable expenses.

And that brings me to something I wish more people discussed when sharing their online business success stories.

My Sales Didn’t Stay at £1,600 a Month

Generating £1,600 in sales is exciting, but it doesn’t mean you have £1,600 sitting in your bank account. You still need to purchase materials, package orders, pay for postage and account for the costs involved in producing every single item.

Nevertheless, for a shop that had only recently opened, I was incredibly happy with the results. And things didn’t stop with chocolate bombs.

As Christmas approached, I started receiving larger orders, including orders for events, charity occasions and even wedding favours. I was also experimenting with new products, expanding my catalogue and trying to make the most of the demand. I eventually introduced fudge, macarons, Easter eggs and other sweet treats.

Around October, I also purchased a starter kit for candle making. I had always enjoyed creating things, and candles seemed like another interesting product to add to my shop.

Those candles eventually became quite popular in their own right, particularly because of their unusual designs. In other words, what started as a little experiment with chocolate gradually turned into a proper gift business.

What I Learned From Selling More Than 750 Products

If there is one thing I can say about running an Etsy shop, it’s that having a good product is only one part of the equation.

You also need to understand your customers, presentation, pricing, marketing and, perhaps most importantly, the amount of work involved in fulfilling orders. I learned most of this through trial and error. Here are some of the biggest lessons from my experience.

1. You don’t need an enormous investment to test an idea

I started with two moulds. I didn’t have a professional kitchen, expensive machinery or thousands of pounds worth of inventory. I purchased a handful of supplies, experimented with different flavours and gradually reinvested money into the business.

As demand increased, I purchased more moulds and expanded my equipment. I think this is something worth remembering if you’re considering starting a small product-based business. You don’t necessarily need to invest heavily before you know whether people actually want what you’re selling.

Start small, test your idea and expand when there is a genuine reason to do so.

2. Customer experience can make a huge difference

I was never interested in simply putting a product into a box and sending it off. Every chocolate bomb had its own little tag with the flavour, coating and filling handwritten on it. I wrapped the individual products in protective packaging, placed everything into a box, added extra sweets and included a handwritten thank-you note.

It took considerably more time, but I wanted customers to feel that they were receiving something special. I also made sure to respond to messages, accommodate reasonable customisation requests and resolve problems wherever possible.

That personal touch became part of my brand. Some customers even became regular buyers, and over time, a few of those relationships developed into genuine friendships.

3. Affordable pricing can help you stand out, but you need to know your numbers

My original listing was £1.99 for three chocolate bombs. As demand increased, I gradually raised my prices, but I always tried to keep them reasonable.

At a time when some sellers were charging around £5 for a single chocolate bomb, I was offering three for approximately £5.99 before eventually increasing my prices further.

I wanted people to feel they were getting good value for money. However, there is a difference between offering competitive prices and underpricing your products. Materials, packaging, electricity, equipment, platform fees and your time all need to be considered.

If you don’t calculate these properly, you can end up with plenty of orders but very little money left over.

4. Marketing outside Etsy matters

I didn’t rely entirely on Etsy’s search results. I also used Instagram and TikTok to showcase my products, share videos and make people curious about what I was creating.

And honestly, chocolate bombs were quite easy to market visually. There is something incredibly satisfying about watching a chocolate sphere melt in hot milk, revealing marshmallows and hot chocolate powder inside.

I shared the products, showed different flavours, experimented with presentation and encouraged people to interact with the brand. It helped me reach potential customers who might never have discovered my Etsy listings otherwise.

5. Reviews and visibility can help you build momentum

My first two orders came from friends who had already tried my products. Their feedback and reviews helped give my new shop some initial credibility.

After that, genuine customer orders and reviews started building on their own. I noticed that as my sales and positive reviews accumulated, my products became more visible in Etsy search results. I managed to maintain first-page visibility for my hot chocolate bomb listings for approximately a year.

Of course, Etsy’s search algorithm is more complicated than simply rewarding sellers with the most orders or reviews. But building a track record of good customer experiences certainly helped my shop gain momentum.

6. More orders don’t necessarily mean a better business

This is probably the most important lesson I learned. When your shop starts growing, it’s tempting to accept every order, introduce more products and keep pushing yourself to increase sales.

But you also need to consider whether you can physically manage the workload. I was about to discover just how demanding running a successful handmade gift business could become.

Why I Eventually Quit Selling on Etsy

If you had asked me during my first Christmas season whether I would eventually close my Etsy shop, I probably would have laughed. Orders were coming in, customers were happy, and I had managed to build something from practically nothing.

But behind the scenes, things were becoming increasingly demanding.

The reality of running a handmade business

At the time, I was still working a regular nine-to-five job. My days looked something like this:

I’d finish work, head to the shops to purchase supplies, sometimes carrying three full bags of ingredients, return home, prepare dinner and then start making chocolate bombs. And I wouldn’t necessarily finish until midnight.

The following morning, I would be up again, packing orders before getting on with the rest of my day. Every product needed attention. I wasn’t just making chocolate bombs and putting them into generic packaging.

I was making individual tags, handwriting the flavours and fillings, wrapping the products, preparing boxes, adding extra sweets and writing personal notes. Then came the post office. I was there so often that it practically became part of my daily routine.

During the Christmas rush, I sometimes had to use Uber just to transport everything because there were too many parcels for me to comfortably carry. On particularly busy days, I made multiple trips.

My partner eventually had to help me with packing because the volume of orders became difficult to manage alone. It was exciting, but it was also exhausting.

And while I loved creating products, I was slowly reaching a point where the business was taking over my evenings, weekends and personal time.

Etsy fees were eating into my earnings

The second major problem was the platform itself. When I first started selling, I was so focused on making products, getting orders and keeping customers happy that I didn’t fully appreciate just how many different charges could affect my earnings.

Etsy has several types of seller fees, including listing fees, transaction fees, payment processing fees and other charges that can apply depending on the services you use and the circumstances of a sale. One thing that particularly frustrated me was the listing renewal system.

When an item sells, Etsy generally charges another listing fee to renew it so that it can be sold again. This means that a popular product can generate repeated listing charges as you fulfil multiple orders. And when you’re selling multiple products, those little charges start adding up.

There were also other fees and deductions associated with selling and processing payments.

I understand that marketplaces need to charge sellers for providing their services. However, as someone who was working incredibly hard to produce every single order, it became increasingly frustrating to see so much money deducted before I even accounted for my own production costs.

I was making money, yes. But how much was I actually keeping? That question became increasingly important as my business grew.

You don’t have complete control over your own shop

This was another major turning point for me. When you sell through a marketplace, you’re building your business on somebody else’s platform.

You don’t have complete control over the website, the customer experience, how your listings are displayed or how certain disputes are handled. I experienced situations where customers disputed orders, and I felt Etsy’s decisions were unfair.

There were occasions when I believed customers had taken advantage of the system, received refunds and were allowed to keep the goods without returning them. From my perspective, I had lost both the product and the money.

I also experienced situations where Etsy withheld my funds because its systems had flagged activity as potentially fraudulent.

Regardless of whether these checks were automated or intended to protect the platform, having access to your own business earnings restricted can be incredibly stressful, particularly when you need that money to purchase supplies and fulfil new orders.

You can spend months building a successful shop, collecting reviews and developing a customer base, but ultimately, you are still operating under someone else’s rules. That made me question whether I wanted to continue building my business there.

I decided to move to my own website

Eventually, I started looking at alternatives. Rather than relying entirely on Etsy, I decided to move my products to my own Shopify website.

This gave me more control over my storefront, branding, customer experience and the way I presented my products. It also meant I could build something that belonged to my business rather than relying exclusively on a third-party marketplace.

I continued running the business successfully through my website for a while. However, there was another problem that I couldn’t solve simply by changing platforms. The workload.

The cost of production and the changing economy

The business had started during a very different economic period. During the pandemic, online shopping was booming, and people were more willing to spend money on gifts, treats and little luxuries.

But as the economy changed after COVID-19, consumer spending habits changed too. The cost of living increased, household bills became more expensive, and people naturally became more careful about where they spent their money.

It became harder to justify spending £20 on a candle or £8 on a chocolate gift when people were struggling with everyday expenses. At the same time, my own production costs were increasing. Ingredients, packaging, utilities and other business expenses were becoming more expensive.

To maintain the same margins, I would have needed to increase my prices further. But there is a limit to how much customers are willing to pay for certain products, particularly when they are considered non-essential purchases. I could have continued pushing for higher sales, but I had to look at the bigger picture.

Was it worth investing more money, working even longer hours and increasing prices just to maintain a business that was becoming increasingly difficult to manage? For me, the answer was becoming clear.

I was burning out and had other priorities

Eventually, I reached a point where I simply wasn’t enjoying the business in the same way. What had started as a fun experiment had turned into a demanding operation that required constant attention.

I was managing production, purchasing supplies, customer messages, marketing, packaging, postage and everything else that comes with running a small product-based business. Then I became pregnant, and my priorities naturally changed.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to maintain the same level of production while managing everything else in my life. I was also becoming interested in other business opportunities and wanted to explore different directions. So, rather than continuing to push myself, I decided to close the business for good.

I still remember posting my last order. And surprisingly, I felt completely at peace. I wasn’t disappointed or angry. I was grateful for the experience, proud of what I had built and ready to move on.

Would I Recommend Selling on Etsy in 2026?

Now, this is where things get interesting. Would I recommend selling on Etsy today?

My answer is: it depends on what you’re selling, how you’re running your business and what you expect to get out of it. I genuinely believe you can make good money selling on Etsy. I did it myself, and I started without a business plan, a large investment or any previous experience running a product-based business.

But I also think the platform has changed considerably since I first joined. When I discovered Etsy as a customer in 2019, I associated it with handmade products, independent creators, personalised gifts and unusual little finds.

It felt like a marketplace where you could discover something different from what you would find in a typical high-street shop. Today, I have concerns about the increasing presence of mass-produced products, resellers and low-cost marketplace goods.

The experience can feel very different from the original Etsy I remember. And with the growth of AI-generated content and mass-produced listings, I think maintaining trust and standing out as a genuine independent seller is becoming increasingly important.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities. There absolutely are. But I would approach opening an Etsy shop differently today.

What I would do differently if I started again

If I were opening a new Etsy shop in 2026, these would be my priorities:

1. Start with a small product range.

I wouldn’t launch 30 different products straight away. I’d start with a few well-tested products, understand what customers actually want and expand based on demand.

2. Calculate every expense before setting prices.

I’d account for materials, packaging, labour, postage, platform fees, marketing and any other business expenses. I would never again set prices based simply on what competitors were charging.

3. Build an audience outside Etsy.

I would use Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok and email marketing to attract potential customers independently. You don’t want your entire business relying on one marketplace’s algorithm.

4. Build my own website as early as possible.

I’d consider Etsy a sales and discovery channel rather than the permanent home of my business. Having your own website gives you more control over your branding, customer experience and long-term business development.

5. Don’t confuse sales with profitability.

This is probably the biggest lesson of all. A shop generating hundreds of orders might look incredibly successful from the outside. But if the production costs, fees and time involved leave you with very little money, you need to reconsider your business model.

And finally, I’d make sure I actually enjoyed running the business. Because there is no point building something that generates money but leaves you exhausted and miserable.

Final Thoughts

So, Was Selling on Etsy Worth It? Looking back, I don’t regret opening my Etsy shop. Not for a second. I started with two chocolate moulds, a few ingredients and an idea that I wanted to experiment with.

Without a proper business plan, I managed to build a successful little gift business, sell hundreds of products, fulfil large orders, work with lovely customers and learn more about running an online business than I could have learned from simply reading about it.

I also discovered how much I enjoy creating products, developing brands and finding ways to turn small ideas into something people are willing to pay for. But I also learned that success doesn’t necessarily mean you should keep going.

Success Doesn’t Mean You Have to Continue

Sometimes, you can have a profitable business and still decide that it isn’t the right business for you. The workload, rising expenses, platform fees, lack of control and changing personal priorities all played a part in my decision.

Until this day, I still receive lovely emails from people who remember my shop, miss my products and ask whether I will ever start selling again. Some of those customers became genuine friends, and I still maintain relationships with a few of them.

That, to me, is one of the nicest things to come out of the entire experience. Would I open another Etsy shop? Probably not. Would I recommend trying it if you have a good product, realistic expectations and a sensible business plan? Yes, provided you understand the risks and don’t rely on Etsy as your only source of customers.

The truth is that you can make a lot of money selling on Etsy. I did it without a particularly sophisticated strategy. I had an affordable product, good customer service, attractive presentation, some marketing and, admittedly, excellent timing. But don’t let impressive sales screenshots convince you that every successful-looking Etsy shop is making a fortune.

Understand the numbers, protect your business, build something you have control over and, most importantly, know when it’s time to move on. And sometimes, that’s the best business decision you can make.

Frequently Asked Questions About Selling on Etsy

Is selling on Etsy worth it?

Selling on Etsy can be profitable if you have products people want, competitive pricing and a good understanding of your expenses. However, platform fees, competition and the time required to manage orders can significantly affect your earnings. Based on my own experience, I believe it can be a good starting point, but I wouldn’t recommend relying on Etsy as your only sales channel.

How much money can you make selling on Etsy?

There is no fixed amount you can expect to earn selling on Etsy. Your revenue depends on your products, pricing, demand, competition and marketing efforts. My shop generated £1,646.48 in sales in October 2021, but that wasn’t my actual take-home profit. Always distinguish between sales revenue and the money you keep after expenses.

What can you sell on Etsy?

Etsy is known for handmade items, vintage products and craft supplies, alongside other permitted product categories. Popular product ideas include personalised gifts, jewellery, home decor, candles, digital downloads and handmade accessories. However, always check Etsy’s current Creativity Standards and seller policies before listing products.

How much does it cost to start an Etsy shop?

You can start an Etsy shop with a relatively small initial investment, depending on what you plan to sell. However, you should budget for listing fees, transaction fees, payment processing, materials, packaging, shipping and any additional services you use. My own experience started with just two chocolate moulds and a handful of ingredients.

Why did you quit selling on Etsy?

I eventually left Etsy because the platform fees, lack of control over my shop, customer disputes and the demands of running a handmade business became increasingly difficult to justify. I initially moved my products to Shopify before eventually closing the business altogether when my personal circumstances and priorities changed.

Can you make money selling handmade products on Etsy?

Yes, but profitability depends on more than the number of orders you receive. You need to account for production costs, packaging, labour, platform fees and marketing. Handmade products can also be particularly time-consuming to produce, so pricing your work properly is essential.