Move your business from Etsy to Shopify email

[Former_Member]

So, I just now got an email from Shopify (where I did the 14 day trail about a year ago and migrated listings from Etsy to Shopify) which reads

"Take ownership of your brand, your customers, and your profit by moving your business from Etsy to Shopify".

Anyone else got this email? I'm pretty sure it's from them (my lucky guess is that it's related to the off site ads and the waves it created)

[aislinnscollared]

I'm sure Spopify has heard now many aren't happy with Etsy at the moment.  I looked into them today myself. 

[herflyinghorses]

I'm looking into Shopify as well.

[ijxop4af]

the same here, i've already switched there

[Former_Member]

I liked it but had too many issues (they were on my end, working with an old PC at the time I was doing the trail)

This is the entire email

Etsy sellers, we have your back
Take ownership of your brand, your customers, and your profit by moving your business from Etsy to Shopify.

With Shopify, you can sell your crafts, handmade goods, and digital products online, in store, on social media, in-person, and everywhere in between. Your Shopify store is your own. It lives on your domain, reflects the individuality of your brand, and gives you full control over your marketing with all the tools to grow your way.

Many Shopify merchants got their start on Etsy, but how do you know when you’re ready to make the move?

You can read Old World Kitchen’s story to learn about their decision to grow their brand beyond Etsy on Shopify.

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"A lot of crafters have this idea that you have to be the poor struggling artist, like there's something wrong with figuring out how to make your business profitable."
—Loran Polder, Old World Kitchen

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Migrating from Etsy to Shopify is easy, too. In just 3 steps, you can migrate your products, customers, and order data from Etsy to Shopify.

Read our Etsy migration guide and learn how to export your shop data from Etsy and import your store data into Shopify.

[TheLittleSoapStore]

Well...Shopify...here I come!!

[NancyQstudio]

T received this too!

[DoceVikaVintage]

Wow, that is definitely a "let's take that window of opportunity" invitation...

Glad they are doing that. It feels someone else gets we are in a dire situation over here. Since the costs on Etsy just keep growing, a new stand alone website looks cheaper than ever...

[GlancesBackVintage]

following this post, I would like to know how easy it really is to move over to shopify-  I feel overwhelmed thinking about moving my items, if there were an easy way, I would probably try it

[Serrelynda]

It is easy to move your listings, but not easy to be seen -- You really have to have your own traffic.  

[DancesWithStone]

Nothing worth doing is ever easy. 

For me it was a no-brainer as I had a terrrrrrrrible experience with the Etsy Lack-of-Integrity Team!

I am grateful for the Etsy experience, but I am not going down with this sinking ship. 

[DoceVikaVintage]

Definitely easier than you think @GlancesBackVintage 

Once you have passed the initial work of learning to set and list in a new platform... it is pretty smooth.

I am setting a new website too but I am using Square Space. I didn't like Shopify free templates. I don't want to buy a template. I want to start with all the basic tools and Shopify basic business tools are not good enough for my taste, on the end it is more expensive than Square Space.

[CreativeLilyAu]

Basic S h o p i f y shop price is 30 US dollars per month. We're working on our own website instead, just can't do everything at once with family.

[DamnGoodPopcorn]

Shopify is "your own website" its not a venue. Its a web host

[PillowDetails]

Everyone realizes this is NOT A VENUE, right?  It's a host site to build your own website.  NO built-in traffic like Etsy.  You can't go to Shopify and shop for earrings.  Not that I'm knocking it - I have a website thru Shopify, but it gets very little traffic.

Interesting that they sent those emails.

[CutAndColorCoins]

@PillowDetails has it absolutely right:  Shopify is just like any other host out there, except it's quite a bit more expensive and it has more bells and whistles.  You still have to do your own SEO and built it up in the search engines. 

You can import your listings from Etsy, but that won't help much; you have to go through and edit every one to make sure they don't read exactly like your Etsy listings do.  Google doesn't like duplicates. 

If you really want a web site and are willing to put in the work to build it up, check around before you jump on Shopify.  You can find them for half the cost.

[MaciLooMakings]

This is the number one reason I stick with Etsy, seems like if I’m on my own I won’t get nearly the traffic. The nickel and diming fees are getting old though

[StrattonFamilyFarms]

"If you really want a web site and are willing to put in the work to build it up, check around before you jump on Shopify.  You can find them for half the cost."

More like a third of the cost. My hosting is only $9.99 a month for one of my websites and the domain was (I think) $20/yr. It gets cheaper if you pay the hosting annually as well. Our other website I'm pretty sure was about $100 for hosting for the entire year. Those both come with one-click installs of whatever you want to do with the website (such as Wordpress, that has some excellent shopping cart add-ons). 

Sorry but $30 a month for hosting is ridiculous. I promise you building a website with cPanel built into the host is not as hard as everyone claims. There is no coding (which honestly is my biggest complaint - I miss having raw codes to work with!). Everything is UI and WYSIWYG editing. 

[artbyjocelyn]

I looked into it a couple years ago, and the tier I'd need to be able to use variations, was Way to expensive, not to mention all the marketing I'd need to do to hope to get traffic to a standalone site, yeah, No lol!

[JDTotesnDolls]

I got the email about a week ago.  The way I read it was not that it was from Shopify directly but someone trying to drum up accounts for them.  Perhaps not the same email.

My take is anyone not liking the way Etsy is heading but does not already have outside sources such as a website or other venue should not move in haste but take time to make the best decision possible.

Reacting negatively to any changes is normal but that doesn't mean it is time to jump ship or move from the frying pan into the fire.  It means pause and adjust.  Move thoughtfully not just as a reaction. 

[StrattonFamilyFarms]

"Reacting negatively to any changes is normal but that doesn't mean it is time to jump ship or move from the frying pan into the fire.  It means pause and adjust.  Move thoughtfully not just as a reaction. "

@JDTotesnDolls I don't think you are fully seeing that this all has been a long time coming. This isn't just one isolated event, it's the final straw for a large portion of sellers who realize Etsy is a sinking ship and they'd better MOVE to adapt. Don't think for a second that all these people leaving haven't been watching for months as their shops tanked, and seeing that change after change is for the profit of Etsy only, not the buyers or the sellers. We as responsible business owners know better than to stick around and stay associated with a brand that's sucking every last penny from the market without giving it any regards for the future. 

[FenderGemsNCrystals]

I really don't like the divisiveness but it is clear many of those who don't rely on this income for supporting their household have a very different view.  There should be a place for them in the world and maybe that is what Etsy will become. 

[digitaldoodlebug]

@StrattonFamilyFarms 

There are cheaper options out there. Even less than $10 a month cpanel if you pay yearly. However it depends on each shops needs and goals.

I did cheap hosting for several years and do know how to code. My first website I made in html and css. At one time I wouldn't have dreamed at paying more than $10 a month. The features I needed changed over the years and I eventually landed on bigcommerce for $30 a month. There are many reasons such as integrating to shipstation, responsive websites for mobile viewing, and a more professional look. 

You can start off with the free ones on a cpanel host. But they are very outdated, and not easily customizable unless you know how to code. Even then it's difficult. There are certainly reasons to pay more for a host. And even to pay more than $30, but I'm not there yet.

[zsjewelry]

@FenderGemsNCrystalsDon't throw us all under the bus just yet ;-). I don't depend on Etsy for my household income, and I'm still out of here.

I have my limits.

And Shopify is too expensive for my liking ($30/mo plus transaction fees? Yikes). I'm looking at the moment, very hard at GoDaddy's WordPress driven stores instead.

[FenderGemsNCrystals]

@zsjewelry  I didn't .  I said many.  I was trying to not call out and failed miserably