I’ve sold on Etsy since 2019 but I recently opened a Shopify store to test out selling my products on my own website. Moving from Etsy to Shopify was a breeze and today I’m sharing my experience along with why you may want to move from selling on Etsy to selling via Shopify.
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is an online platform that allows you build your own online store where you can sell physical or digital products.
Shopify manages to make creating your online store easy but also robust which is why it’s trusted by over 1 million businesses.
Shopify offers customizable themes to make your storefront look just the way you want it as well as apps and tools that allow you to manage it professionally. From inventory management to email marketing, Shopify gives you the tools to make your store a success.
I recently covered why beginners might want to use Shopify in this video:
In the video on Shopify I cover:
- what Shopify is
- is Shopify legit
- who Shopify is for
- Shopify pricing plans
- Shopify fees
- my Shopify review and opinions
Basically everything you want to know about Shopify as a beginner to selling online!
Through my experience selling on Etsy and Shopify I’ve learned a lot about both platforms. Setting up multiple stores on each platform really taught me the pros and cons to using Etsy and Shopify (they both have pros and cons)!
I’ve also learned a lot by watching hundreds of videos from other sellers in order to find ways to maximize my growth selling digital products.
So which one is best in my opinion? It really matters what your end goal is with your store!
Shopify Vs Etsy
Why would you want to consider selling with Shopify instead of Etsy? There are many reasons but the number one is growth.
If you plan to grow your shop into a true business and scale it then you want to use a platform like Shopify. Etsy is a great place for many to get started but plenty of us later realize we have made a mistake investing our time into growing on Etsy because it has major flaws that limit growth.
Here are a few reasons you will want to switch to Shopify from Etsy:
- On Shopify you won’t be competing with other shops selling similar items. On Etsy every time someone sees your products they also see ads and listings for other similar products and they may click away.
- On Shopify you won’t be giving up 5% of every sale as a transaction fee to the platform. There is a set standard fee for using Shopify which makes a lot of sense if you are selling high priced items or do a lot of volume sales.
- On Shopify you will never be forced to pay extra advertising fees or fees you don’t want to pay. Etsy recently introduced mandatory off site advertising. You can’t opt out even if advertising is not part of your marketing plan. You have to pay the 12-15% of the sales price whether you wanted to run an ad or not. You don’t have to deal with this on Shopify.
- Shopify has more features than Etsy. For a “free” platform Etsy is well suited to introduce you to the basics of e-commerce but Shopify will take you to the next level. They have every feature Etsy does and even more comprehensive and robust options too.
- Shopify gives you more control. You are in control of your store’s destiny and success. You drive your traffic and set your prices and more importantly – keep more of your profit when you grow.
Those are just a few of the reasons why a sales platform like Shopify is better than Etsy.
How To Start A Shopify Store
The first thing you will want to do in order to move from Etsy to Shopify is to start your Shopify store. Luckily you can start a Shopify store risk free for 14 days. Get the free trial here.
The video below shows how you can open a Shopify store quickly and easily and gives you a bit of a tutorial on how to sell digital products as well!
Once you have your Shopify store started with a free trial you can play around with getting your shop how you want it to look and familiarizing yourself with both the front end and back end of Shopify. Then once you are ready, you can move your Etsy shop over to Shopify in no time at all!
How To Move From Etsy To Shopify
If you are convinced that selling on Shopify is superior to Etsy then you’ll want to work on moving your shop over to Shopify.
The following video shows you how to move your shop from Etsy to Shopify in a few easy steps:
In this video I show you how to set up a Shopify store in 2020 to move from Etsy to Shopify.
In the short tutorial on starting a Shopify store I cover:
- how to get started on Shopify
- Etsy to Shopify import data
- learn how to import products from Etsy to Shopify
- why you want to sell of Shopify instead of Etsy
As you can see from the video tutorial, moving from Etsy to Shopify is quick and easy with the built in migration tools!
Getting started on Shopify can feel intimidating because it powers so many customized huge website but it is actually very easy to start selling on Shopify for beginners.
To get started with the very basics of moving your shop from Etsy to Shopify you will want to import your products, orders, and customers from Etsy and then choose a theme.
You don’t have to get super in depth to start but can add and adjust to your shop as you go. This Shopify tutorial is easy and fast for moving from Etsy to Shopify and perfect for beginners to get more sales with less competition from other sellers.
Selling On Etsy And Shopify
If you can’t decide whether Etsy or Shopify is better for your business then I suggest doing a hybrid model where you sell on Etsy AND Shopify.
Personally this is what I do! I still have my Etsy shop available to customers but I also sell on my own website.
My Etsy shop is up and running so it can reach customers via the Etsy marketplace and then lead them to my products and brand. However, I don’t send my traffic from YouTube or social media to Etsy. I send those customers to my own website with my products for sale.
Having Etsy running still allows me to have passive income with digital downloads and another way for people to find me but it’s not my main priority. This hybrid method has worked well for me selling digital downloads. The amount I make via