A great starting place for beginners.
Etsy is a great place to start a small business or side hustle. It comes with over a billion shoppers already shopping on the site. The only problem is the cost. Etsy is making about 6.5% of every sale and that adds up pretty quick.
It has been very good for my vintage but more of a challenge for my hand made shop.
My experience with Esty has been good so far with all the vendors that I had to interact with them has been good.
I have enjoyed Etsy, their help, and their system
Etsy is a fair platform. The advantage is that the name still carries some expectations for uniqueness and crafter-sourced materials. This is eroding. The costs and fees are moderate.
There are several functions that are missing, and policies are applied with the insensitivity of an algorithm.
Custom work is accommodated in two ways -- options on a listing, and creating custom listings for individual customers.
While I have made a number of sales on Etsy, unfortunately it has been a disappointment overall. I think their charges are too high for me to make a profit. So far, I do much better at craft fairs. Shipping especially is a challenge. If I charge what is my actual cost, Etsy tells me it is too high. Also, they push free shipping when that is just an impossibility for me.
I love it because I don't have the time or interest in doing marketing. In the past five years my little business has doubled. It's a great all in one platform for selling, and affordable for those just starting out.
Excellent
I am not impressed with Etsy, it has become harder and harder to be found. Also, there are so many people on there that are not artists and nothing is done about it. I have been on Etsy since 2014 and all of my pieces are one of a kind, and I still do not get much traffic. They are also constantly changing the algorithm.