Shops come to a stop - Follow up post

[EdiePiePrints]

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out because I’m really concerned about what’s happening with my shop. Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a huge drop in sales – the worst I’ve experienced in 3 years.

Today, I’m sitting at just 1 sale, with a 0.7% conversion rate against my typical 3-4%, and my overall shop stats are down by 95%, my best sellers have halted entirely. I’ve double-checked my data, and this isn’t just a seasonal dip – it’s a complete collapse compared to what’s normal for my shop at this time of year.

I’ve contacted Etsy support multiple times, but I keep getting generic, copy-pasted replies with signposted links that don’t actually address what’s happening. It doesn’t feel like an individual shop issue anymore – this seems bigger, possibly platform-wide.

Is anyone else experiencing the same drastic decline right now? I’d really appreciate hearing from other sellers, because it’s incredibly worrying when there’s no clear explanation and no real help from support. Hands down the worst time I've experienced and honestly Etsy themselves do not seem to care. 

Thanks for reading, and I hope we can get some answers.

[weekendjewelry1]

I wish I had a good answer for you! It's uber slow in my shop right now too - though for me that varies so much from week to week that I don't think it's helping to identify a trend. Sometimes great, sometimes just crickets. I definitely think the uncertain political climate right now (especially in the U.S.) is making many many people reluctant to spend money if it's not a necessity. People are scared! 

Hope we get some answers soon - and best of luck to your shop!

[GroundZeroCreations]

You’ve clearly built a strong shop — 16K+ sales in just three years is no small achievement. That kind of history shows people want what you’re offering.

That said, when conversion dips to 0.07%, it usually means there’s some disconnect between views and purchases. A couple of things come to mind:

• Titles: Some of them read more like keyword strings than natural phrases. Etsy does process the whole title, but buyers are people first. And since over half of buyers on Etsy use phones and other mobile devices to search, if a title feels long or cluttered, it can hurt clicks. Shorter, buyer-friendly titles with the main keyword up front tend to work better, while extra terms can live in tags and descriptions.

• Shipping vs. Price: If much of your audience is in the U.S., it’s tough to convince someone to pay $15–$20 shipping on a $7–$10 print. That mismatch alone can drag down conversions. So if they visit and then leave without purchasing, that could be one issue. Options like flat-rate shipping, building shipping into the item price, or offering bundle/multi-item deals might help balance things out.

• Shop presentation: Highlighting bestsellers in your first row and keeping everything looking streamlined can give browsers more confidence to click “buy.”

Some of this may also tie back to Etsy’s search and AI changes — but since we’re all dealing with those same shifts, the best defense is making your listings as buyer-friendly as possible. Given your track record, I’d lean toward this being an adjustment phase, not a shop problem.

[EdiePiePrints]

Thank you for this structured and constructive feedback. 

I like the suggestion about the US postage. I'll try a reduction and take the hit on cost to see if this steers any impact. That price is duty paid included so that's sadly just subject to recent changes. 

Titles have always been a pinch point but I will take a look at some and see if I can make them less clunky and more fluid. The recent titles changes have distorted my shop somewhat which hasn't helped. 

I believe the tariffs, titles changes amongst some self inflicted own goals have led me here.

Sadly today is by far my quietest Sunday to date. Just for context on the conversion, yesterday it was 5.5% so the issue seemingly is isolated to today with increased traffic and low sales. 

[EdiePiePrints]

@GroundZeroCreations just a shoutout to you. I dropped my US shipping slightly earlier and just had an order from the US. A great snippet of advice provoking a different way of thinking.

[KittyCardsCompany]

Have you checked out other art print shops to see if they are making lots of sales? When I looked a while back that market seemed to be drastically declining to be honest. Used to sell nursery prints but they didn't get up to much so I stopped.

[EdiePiePrints]

I'll take a look. Based off of my YTD performance though I'd say they are in demand. Every month with the exception of April has exceeded my year on year stats. 

[DarkWilds]

Same here. Massive decline in sales since the beginning of August and of course the US tariffs situation hasn't helped since and not being able to ship to the US at all. What I don't understand is where are all of my other worldwide sales!

[WishesontheWind]

Same heavy decline since May, is it possible you have a competitor dominating the sector perhaps in what seems unfair yet not against the rules practise?  for example a shop swamped with not just duplicate items, but 4 or 5 copies of identical listings just images shifted, slightly different descriptions etc?  pushing you out?

Only reason I ask is I see this happening!  combine it with all the other stuff going on right now!

[EdiePiePrints]

Sadly my sector is saturated but I've always stuck with the ethos that I need to do what I do best. So my offering is as good as it can be. I wouldn't be concerned about competitors if it wasn't for past shop behaviour  year to date tracking. Every month with the exception of April and September have been above year on year stats. 

Also historically my shop has always maintained a 10 minimum sales per day. Usually this is achievable by September has been sitting at around 7-10 per day with today being the worst at 3 sales. 

[WishesontheWind]

I've been selling online since 2001 and never seen anything this bad.  

Combination of things, over saturated category as you say could be causing problems now

economy, algo changes, etsy testing, frequency capping, DDP, blah blah

[PrimFun]

@EdiePiePrints    Are you using other means to generate sales?  Snail mail?  Social media?  Promoting your business (not shop) outside of Etsy?  Just one option to generate interest. 

[EdiePiePrints]

@PrimFun I utilise Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. I have a small mailing list.

I've utilised social media ads but I find they just eat your budget.

I tried TikTok for a while but didn't really gel with it.  

I have managed to form a strong following on Etsy with around 1000 shop followers so generate relatively steady repeat custom. 

[mom2rtk]

I sell Halloween costumes and my traffic is down 20-30% on average with a corresponding drop in sales. I should already be closed to new Halloween orders and I barely have enough orders to fill the next week.

[cindylouwho2]

"The recent titles changes have distorted my shop somewhat which hasn't helped." There have not really been any recent title changes. Etsy just released a (bad) AI tool to make what they've been wanting more obvious. If you changed your titles using that tool, then you have buried the lede here. It's a well known fact that you should never change a listing that is working well. You may regain ranking, and you may not.  

There is also a lot going on right now. 

Tariffs are affecting most non-US shops. US buyers are confused about whether or not they can buy. I saw a post on Reddit today by someone in the US who wanted to purchase a $300 vintage ring from the UK, but was stalling because they didn't know how much they would be charged on delivery. They were ok with a bit of tariffs & brokerage but not $300 more. So:

1. they easily found the UK shop,
2. had over $300 to spend on a ring from themselves, and
3. could even afford to pay a bit extra

but hadn't pulled the trigger yet due to all of the media stories etc. 

In general, tariffs are hurting many major economies, so some people may be holding back on spending right now. However, lots of shops are doing well, so that is not the whole story. 

I've also seen several posts from digital sellers around the world that have had a big drop in sales this month, not just those outside of the US. Check to see if any of your keywords or traffic sources have changed. For example, Etsy is changing what they are sending to Offsite Ads. They started with Google Shopping in the US, and at last word were testing the UK. 

It is becoming easier and easier for people to personalize their own printables. I searched for a couple of your general titles and found lots of free templates. That means more competition both on and off of Etsy. You did very well in a period of time when digital files were really increasing online, and the advantage you had has been narrowing all of this time (I remember several previous threads about your sales drops)

As I have mentioned before, putting a digital and a printable option in the same listing may also be hurting you in various ways. E.g. mock ups aren't allowed for the first image of a physical item, but are allowed for digital, so as Etsy slowly tightens enforcement of the Creativity Standards, any loss of ranking will hurt both types of sales. 

Etsy will not give you any useful answers as, sadly, a shop losing most of its sales overnight is how the algorithms work. It's been this way for years, since 2011. (I just passed my 17th Etsyversary.)

I hope things pick up for you soon! 

[EdiePiePrints]

Thank you for the thought out and informative response. Never easy to digest this kind of information but I understand I need to work on what's within my control and accept what's not. The painful part is as Etsy has established itself in our lives, it has established itself within our living expenses. Thankfully not too deeply embedded as I have always feared these slumps. 

The area I struggle with here is that yesterday for example, I had 19 sales. A healthy day comparative to recent sales. Busy all day, plenty of favourites.. solid traction. Then today, boom! lights out. I just can work out any rythme or reason. 

I would be quick to call it a day if it wasn't for the fact that i've had a strong year. April dropped but outside of that it's been solid. Buyer demand is still there and my reviews are really healthy. A competitor I follow who sells similar styles of prints are doing very well. 

I hope things stablise soon as i'm sure we've all been here before. 

I agree about the titles, Etsy really missold it and naively I thought that would help my shop. I knew straight after that I had made a mistake.

[mom2rtk]

I've been here 15 years and never experienced anything like this.

[EdiePiePrints]

@mom2rtk mine is still ongoing. A decline beyond anything I've experienced and no rhyme or reason for it. Nothing like anything I've seen before. I've had quiet periods but not like this. Interestingly my visits are high still so my conversion has tanked but some of that is from this post. 

The weirdest part for me is that my best sellers have all suddenly stalled too.

[ChillwolfArt]

@EdiePiePrints  Hi, I was looking at your Titles, and they don't look like you utilized the new A.I. Title Tool (no colons after the first 3-4 words). Did you use it, then change them back?
Also, you have some phrases in those Titles, "Gift for...". I thought Etsy said they no longer wanted that in Titles (but it was OK to put it in Tags. *Someone correct me if wrong; I've been trying to find the article about it).

I hope this helps in some small way, and that things pick up for you.

[EdiePiePrints]

I think this is correct about 'gift for'.

I've been working on changing some titles back following the AI short title change and interestingly the longer titles seem to track better. 

I am going to tweak the 'gift for' titles over time but I didn't want to rock the boat anymore than I already have. 

[TomeerkatPrintStudio]

Same here. My overall stats start decreasing from the 1st of September and now down by 80-90%. Whatever i do did not help. It's like someone is decreasing my visibility. And this is not like a seasonal drop, it is something different.

[DigNit]

I am experiencing the exact same issue.

[MouseGarden]

I saw someone on a different site saying their sales had gone way up for the first time and their items were showing up closer to the front of searches.  I kind of think Etsy was messing with the search engine in some way.  Several people reported vastly increased sales.  Might be testing.  Maybe they added a different ranking element.  Only anecdotal but it seemed interesting.

Personally my conversion rate stalled for a bit after they changed the dashboard, as did another shop I look at.

[EdiePiePrints]

Interestingly I've read similar. But when I probed it turned out they sell pumpkin related items amongst other seasonal work.

[NorseKids]

@MouseGarden Were they US sellers? I haven't seen a single EU seller have an increase in views/sales