On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about Etsy Wholesale, with my guests Dana Mauriello and Rachel Greenwald.
Dana is currently the Director of Seller Category Growth at Etsy where she is responsible for managing Etsy’s Wholesale business.
Rachel is the Seller Growth Lead for Etsy Wholesale. She manages programs that drive platform growth and education to help creative entrepreneurs start and grow their wholesale business.
We begin our discussion by defining exactly what wholesale means and how it differs from selling on consignment. Next, we talk about how you can know if wholesale is right for your business. We talk about some of the areas of your business that will need attention if you choose to sell wholesale such as pricing, packaging, branding, and managing cash flow. And we discuss some of the positive aspects of selling wholesale including diversifying your sources of income, benefiting from different cycles of buying, and getting national exposure for your products.
Dana and Rachel explain exactly what Esty Wholesale offers. Find out how much it costs, how retailers and sellers are vetted and selected, and what exactly those retailers are looking for. Learn about how big the marketplace is currently and how retailers and sellers connect on the platform.
Wholesale has a whole vocabulary of its own – keystone pricing, margins, net terms, lead time, breakage, line sheets. Etsy offers a whole library of helpful articles that explain these terms so that you can learn more about how wholesale works and how to get ready to sell wholesale if you’d like to take your business in that direction. They’re also offering a free email course that anyone can take. Toward the end of the podcast, Dana and Rachel give you the best email address to use if you have particular questions you’d like to ask.
In our conversation we reference:
- AHeirloom cutting boards
- Naomi Singer’s Modern Mud
- Etsy’s store within Macy’s in New York’s Herald Square
- the Mini Open Call on Etsy’s Instagram feed
And, of course, I ask Dana and Rachel to recommend great stuff they’re loving right now.
Dana recommends:
- Crescent RendR No Show Thru Paper Notebooks and thin black Sharpies
- colorful LeSportsac backpack
- Nalgene 32oz water bottle
Rachel recommends:
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Today’s episode is sponsored by Spoonflower. On Spoonflower you can print your own custom fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap. Uploading your design is easy and Spoonflower has created a really nifty free ebook, Intro to Custom Fabric Design, to get you started. Once you’re ready, use the code abby15 at checkout to get 15% off your order. Check it out at try.spoonflower.com/abby.
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I’m delighted to learn about the Macy’s Etsy store. I work just north of Herald Square so I’ll have to run down and check it out on my lunch hour. I’m not an Etsy seller, but I do buy quite often from some favorite shops so I’m always interested to hear more about how business on the Etsy platform works.
One quick comment about the podcast in general… I can hear typing quite loudly throughout the podcast. I’m sure it is common to take notes while recording, but I found it a bit distracting in a few places.
Hi Grace, I’m sorry there was typing. It was not from me. I’m not sure where it was coming from!
Oh, that’s funny. Maybe I’m hearing things.
I looked for the Etsy store in Macy’s but I couldn’t find it and none of the sales staff knew were it was.
It’s only in the big Macy’s in New York City and it’s on the basement level. Is that where you looked?
I found this very information. Thank you Abby for taking the time to put it together! I looked at Etsy Wholesale because often I cannot keep up with my tulle skirt orders. However, upon consideration I declined.
Reason being that to have a manufacturer produce clothing for me is very expensive. They have minimum order quantities for each color etc. Such a huge investment. Plus I do like working with people one on one.
I think it would be perfect for small items and gifts though. Have considered producing my digital prints onto archival paper as an option.
FYI (I only heard typing once and did not bother me).
Best wishes!
Thank you for listening, Sarah. Deciding to go from selling directly to consumers to selling wholesale certainly does change your business. It’s not something to just jump into. I learned so much about what wholesale really means from talking to Dana and Rachel!
Yes, it is! You did a great job of interpreting all the big points for us too 🙂
Thanks Abby!
I have been mulling the pros and cons of wholesale for awhile. This answered a lot of questions so clearly for me. Thank you Abby. I’d love it if you eventually did a similar podcast on Etsy Manufacturing.
Oh great idea!
Thank you so much for doing this episode! I have been doing wholesale for a year or so now (including Etsy wholesale) and have had the privilege of working with some smaller and bigger retailers. Even still though I often feel confused and like I am constantly figuring things out as I go. Listening to your podcast helped me so much to understand the bigger picture. As an independent maker, I often wish for co-workers who I can talk this stuff through with and as you said most people are pretty quiet about it, so listening to your podcast made me feel much less alone!
That’s the greatest compliment I could hope for. I’m so glad!
Another great podcast Abby thanks so much for sharing . It is proof that I have a lot to learn about the ins and outs of Etsy and handmade businesses.