Etsy CEO Suggests Raising Product Prices Is Warranted

by: LDWCallsOut

I sold vintage items on Etsy, and inflation is not a factor for determining prices for vintage or antiques.  The price for a currently popular collectible can be rising quickly even if new consumer goods are stable or falling a bit.  And a rare and pricey item can take a while to sell even when consumers have more money to spend.

I heard on the news this morning that the demand for consumer goods is currently HIGH, even with rising prices.  Slower sales in Etsy shops could be due to different tactors than inflation.

Etsy has its own issues with attracting buyers.  Their ''trends'' are getting stale and the endless cycle of (fill in the ethnic blank) Month celebrations that dominate the home page are getting tiresome.  

And the deceptive resellers that now dominate Etsy are getting more press coverage in 2022 than in previous years.  No one wants to buy from a rip off seller.

by: The End

True Story :
An Etsy Artist created an item and put it up for a stupid ridiculous amount.
It sold in less than a week.
The artist made a huge stupid amount,
Etsy didn't do a lick of work for the huge commission they got,
and the tax man got his.
Don't know what to make of it.......

by: Rexford

Josh Silverman..................told Wall Street.

Etsy is a platform.  Sellers run their stores on this platform and they decide how to price their items.

Wouldn't it be great if Mr. Silverman stopped "telling Wall Street" and started listening to Etsy sellers.   The CEOs of many of these public companies worship Wall Street.

by: The End

If one looks Very Closely, one will begin to believe CEO's are INSTALLED by Wall Street via Bain Capital and other purposely destructive entities.
This is why a Listable Stock must conform to the New Definition of Listable.
If it produces nothing tangible it is automatically disqualified.
That would effectively remove a few thousand ridiculous stocks, reducing / limiting loses.

by: an American in France

Etsy's sole motivation for encouraging sellers to increase prices is so that Etsy can make more money in commissions.  

by: GetAGrip

The problem with  99 percent of these CEO's is that they have been operating without a brain for so long that their mouths just keep flapping and nothing makes sense.  Kind of like the big guy in DC

by: cvsharkey

I agree with An American in France. It's kind of a "Well, duh" moment.

The only thing the CEO did not include in saying is: "We plan on increasing our profit by getting our sales force to decrease their commissions & increase their sales."

Get it? Shop owners are just sales people to Etsy.

by: epuise

Raising prices ?!?
Good luck w/ that.
I have a piece on Etsy for $49.99 that recently SOLD on eBay for $59.
There is some kind of 'clique' that keeps offering me $35 for mine.
The same group, one at a time, has to 'think it over' when I say I can do $39.
It's really a 'social experiment' now.
-I- should come DOWN $14.99, but YOU need to 'think' about $4 ?
This is glass, requires lots of bubble, packing time, drive to PO, crossed fingers for safe arrival.
Sorry... lowballers, sourcing, listing, packing is WORK... less fees/taxes.
This one is all I could source, SOLD OUT of all others last fall.
I can wait... It will sell.
It's not the $4. - it's the principal.
I offer you a good deal, TAKE IT, don't ask for MORE.

by: Stone Cutter

***Low end consumers are tapped out”.

I agree with @ “American in France”. Etsy makes more money from higher price points, so of course Etsy will promote increased prices.

This comment by CEO Silverman was made on May 16th and well before the latest U.S. economic data. Reported this last week, consumers are spending money on travel as more are vaccinated and are booking summer flights. E-commerce sales, across the board, have significantly slowed.

It’s all about the customer base sellers attract. Low income buyers are tapped out, while the affluent buyer continues to spend as reported, just yesterday.

If there were demand for Etsy products then why did Etsy give a muted guidance for Q2? Etsy is in a pickle and they know it.  

by: Disgusted

Higher price-higher commission for etsy.  Etsy wants the stock price to go back up. Simple.

by: Stone Cutter

***A Lack of Ambition***

What happens when sellers become disillusioned about how little they make in profit? As Etsy continues to raise fees on sellers, including those outrageous Off-Site Ad fees, sellers will emotionally “checkout”. And this problem will be a much larger issue for Etsy.

I see this within artisan jewelers who have great sales. For most shops I follow, I’m seeing a lack of ambition in posting new pieces. I see many sellers who just want to get rid of inventory, so raising prices won’t help with that.

Even with higher priced items...they cost a fortune to mail, with insurance...then taxes have to be paid on top of that, too. Etsy raised fees to buy two none profitable companies which has killed the spirit of the Etsy seller.

THERE IS NO CAMARADERIE between Etsy and their sellers. A lack of ambition from good selling shops is a sign that sellers just want to unload inventory. As cost in living increases, there becomes a point that all the effort isn’t worth it for many shop owners.

When you have no respect for your sellers, this is what happens.

by: Mazdaman

Some good points made above, higher prices meaning higher revenue for Etsy (and eBay, et al), and the lack of support by Etsy (and eBay, et al!) toward sellers, all combine to give sellers the feeling that the venue just isn't interested in actually SELLING items, but wants the SELLER to do more.

When a venue isn't gaining more buyers, especially new buyers to the venue, they're "gathering moss", as they've come to a halt.

Arrogance, complacency and a decided ignorance of e-commerce is something that seems to be common to the CEOs of these venues now. - they're so concerned about what Wall Street thinks of the company, because THAT'S WHERE THEY MAKE THEIR SALARY.

Stock prices have tumbled on eBay, for example, and the CEO is ruminating about "higher value sales", for example - which would mean higher fees.  But that isn't going to happen when people are only concerned with lowball prices and how cheap they can get the item for.  Add to that the lack of trust in these venues, and very few sellers are going to risk expensive items of $5,000 or more to a shifting set of policies and an uncertainty over whether their sale will be protected.

While Silverman and others ignore sellers and what sellers WANT TO SEE in the venue, no listing of higher-priced items will occur.  That means stagnant growth, and a loss of sellers and buyers (as eBay has shown).

There seems to be a crop of MBAs running these companies who have never actually RUN a business - sure, they've worked in a huge corporation such as Wal-Mart, where a screw-up will  easily be absorbed, but none of them have usable e-commerce experience.

Arrogance is not required for a successful business.

by: AnotherTime

Constantly raising prices is not a good business practice - it is only a grab at money  in a time when ''everybody says to do it''.  Wrong.  If you are in business for the long haul you do what is best for your own company and your customers.  If your costs raise to offer your product, yes you may need to adjust price some.  But raising prices just because is a bad policy for the long run.  
The best way to make money is to keep it flowing.  Determine your needs, your desired net income and establish a good price.  Customers will appreciate that and always return.
Wall St does not run our businesses - we do.

by: fAlken

I design the items I sell.  They are kept in a digital format and printed out on a 3d printer.  When I started this, I based my price on the time it takes my machines to make the physical item.  I'm selling cookie cutters at $8 a piece.  I can't believe anyone paid those prices outside this pandemic.  The cost in material is next to nothing, my items are marked up over 1000% but I charge for machine time as opposed to materials.  The real reason they actually sell is they're a tool that helps someone else complete a project they've had in mind.  The reason I don't increase prices in the face of inflation is my items are already expensive because they are of a custom and unique kind.  I wouldn't pay what I charge, I can't justify raising the cost even more.  My markup percentage leaves plenty of room to work with.  If anything, I think people see my $8 cookie cutters NOW and think "See, inflation is real!  $8 Bucks for 1 Cookie cutter!"

Sounds like the CEO of Etsy is implying that sellers should raise their prices during a time of inflation but if they choose not to, Etsy is going to take that opportunity to exploit that lack of increasing prices as a selling point of the brand which I think they SHOULD do if their data suggest the majority of their sellers are not raising prices.  I Field of Dreams my Ecommerce.  Etsy by far brings in the most conversion, then it's my website, then way way below that is Ebay.  For those to young to understand the reference, Field of Dreams it means:  I built the site and stores and just let people show up.  I didn't do anything that has to do with advertising, just serp spiders picking up the SEO and the venues running their programs to get sellers conversion.