Etsy and Shopify - you've definitely heard these names at least once. They are two big eCommerce platforms that can help you create a store and list your products for everyone to see.

When creators, painters, and artists start selling online, they generally use the same platform: Etsy. This is a great place for all the hobbyists to try out their products and see if people actually love their offerings.

However, as time goes by, most Etsy sellers realize that it's difficult to establish their business brand further. Their creation is getting lost in all the new product listings from other merchants, and the increased seller expenses are quickly starting to add up. At this point, many Etsy sellers begin to consider making the switch from Etsy to Shopify, and with good reason.

Maybe you're at this particular point too but, you aren't entirely sure if you're prepared to make that switch.

9 Reasons Why You Should Leave Etsy for Shopify

Well, in this specific article, we will be discussing 9 reasons why you should consider leaving Etsy and joining Shopify. Be sure to bear with us until the actual bottom section - this way, you won't miss out on any essential pieces of info.

Move Your Etsy Reviews To Shopify With Fera 

1. High expenses

Overall fees

The most obvious reason why most of the sellers are deciding to leave Etsy is the number of fees you need to pay in order to sell on the platform.

Fees charged to Etsy's artists and craftspeople have certainly doubled (or even tripled) over the last couple of years. Basically, you will need to pay up to three different types of expenses for each item - listing fee, transaction fee, and payment processing fee.

When you're just starting out, these fees won't seem too big, but everything will start adding up once your sales increase. Here's an example to make things easier.

In order to list your product on the platform, you will need to pay a $0.20 fee to Etsy. That isn’t so troublesome - is it?

The major problems occur when a purchaser buys from your shop. So, even though you made or constructed the entire item by yourself, Etsy still takes a crucial 5% fee of the entire transaction. So, if the buyer purchases your product for $100, the platform will take $5 from you - that's really too much.

Plus, on top of that, they even charge a 3% payment processing fee + $0.25 per transaction. The numbers just don't stop adding up.

Ad cost

Speaking of costs - Etsy has officially presented its brand-new Offsite AD program. With the help of this, you can place your products on several different sites, including Pinterest, Google, Yahoo, and more.
That sounds fantastic, right?

Well, it actually isn't. If a buyer clicks on that ad and decides to purchase it, you will be charged around 15% of the entire purchase, depending on the annual revenue your business has.

Just remember - these percentages are just part of the cause why sellers are striking.

Another huge reason is that...

2. Etsy feels like Ebay

Formally - the Etsy platform was meant to expressly emphasize handmade art, as well as specific types of resold products with an imaginative edge, like old house goods and craftwork supplies.

These days, the website is literally filled with hundreds (maybe even thousands) of retailers who market mass-production items that they haven't even made themselves.

From affordable bracelets to low-quality candles - the entire marketplace is rapidly losing its value.

2. Micromanagement of sellers

At first, Etsy was created for creative people that wanted to manage their own specific time and make their own schedules. In the last several years, this platform has started to create various perks programs to reward a specific group of sellers for responding to messages quickly and shipping promptly.

However, most of the merchants reported that this program, which represents "Star Sellers," feels more like a punishment instead. And it's a great way for the Etsy AI system to fully micromanage their work without an actual human on the front side.

Shopify doesn't have any kind of micromanagement system - providing a nice experience for anyone.

Limited apps

In the 21st century, Etsy only has a few apps that you can integrate into your store - can you actually believe this?! Not only will this limit your capabilities for growth, but it will also make the entire selling process a lot more troublesome.

Shopify, on the other hand, has thousands of apps that you can use for page builder, image editing, marketing, product reviews, customer support, and many more.

Lots of competition

This is certainly another huge factor why most of the sellers are switching to Shopify. While it's incredibly easy for most consumers to find your actual product listings, it's just as easy for them to jump from your Etsy shop to another one as well.

On a huge marketplace such as Etsy, your product offerings are continually being compared to your competition's, and sadly, lower prices often win out regardless of product quality.

And speaking about uniqueness…

Basic domain names

The name of your domain can play a huge role in your business. This is the website address that people use to find your specific online store. You pay for this specific address, and this means that nobody else will be able to use it.

However, things work differently at Etsy. At this specific platform, you don't get your own unique domain. Instead, the address will look like this: "etsy.com/shop/the-name-of-your-brand."

You won't be capable of acquiring a custom domain because you're under the umbrella of Etsy operations.

Shopify allows you to employ a customized domain name.

Why - you might ask?

Because a custom domain is crucial for creating a reliable, proficient, and recognizable name for your business.

Threat of cancellation

Etsy owns all of the privileges in the marketplace. So, all of the shops (including yours) are under its authority.

If their professional community team decides that one of your offerings doesn't meet the standards and requirements of their policy, they can even shut down your entire site without a word. Just imagine - all of your hard work is gone in just a few minutes.

Now that's not fair...

To comply with Etsy's conditions, you will need to be completely certain that all of the offerings you sell aren't included in Etsy's prohibited items or services.

However, here's an interesting fact. A seller on Etsy followed all of the guidelines, conditions, and policies - and guess what? He still got banned.

After the whole process, he sent an appeal to other consumer services, and after several words, they have only sent the generic reply, "Your account is suspended because it doesn't meet our policies."

While we're at customer service, let's mention the next thing why most of the merchandisers have chosen to migrate from Etsy to a much better platform like Shopify.

Slow & unresponsive customer service

Typically, getting in touch with a technician at Etsy to resolve a problem or explain any type of situation is now harder than ever before.

Well, a reputable seller called Kirby explains how the process goes:

"In order to get in contact with customer support, you will need to visit their "Etsy Help" center - well, that's quite simple.
But, once you click on the "Contact Etsy Support," the system will automatically try to find the most suitable answer from different FAQs and community forums instead of connecting you with a professional technician that can really help you.

So, you will be required to click that you haven't received the support you needed several times in order to get placed in the waiting queue - which takes more than 15 minutes, depending on the situation.

And, even if you do manage to get in contact with their official customer support - they aren't as friendly as Shopify's customer support and try to hang up on you as quickly as possible."

Lack of optimization

When Google shows Etsy on the primary page, it tends to direct viewers to an Etsy search page, not the website store of an individual.

What's more, individuals with Etsy's Pattern sites also have problems ranking on SEO pages, especially if they still use an Etsy subdomain.

We completely understand - it's never simple to figure out search engine optimization, but you may have a much better chance with your own independent store on Shopify than you do on Etsy.

Conclusion

Hopefully, with the help of our guide article, you will understand why most of the sellers are migrating from Etsy.

And, if you're interested in making the change as well, then we strongly advise you to check out this post - it will help you with the migration procedure by revealing the most suitable apps for your site.