23 Best Things to Sell on Etsy to Make Money

When you’re looking for the best things to sell on Etsy, it can sometimes be hard to know where to start.

After all, when it comes to what you can sell on Etsy to make money, the answer is (almost) anything! And this is why it can be helpful to look at what products sell best on Etsy – to see if you could shape your own product line in the same direction.

This is why we’ve gathered the most popular items on Etsy, including the best selling handmade items as well as what else is trending on Etsy these days, given the massive money making opportunity these offer for you.

(I’ve also mentioned some of my favorite examples of different items you can make in each category, to show you just how easy it is to make money on Etsy.)

Most of them also have the added benefit of being incredibly cheap and easy to make. This is especially the case if you own a Cricut, which will save you so much time (and let you earn even more money!) when making things to sell on Etsy.

(And over 19,000 five star reviews for it can’t be wrong, surely?)

So keep reading to see what your next side hustle will look like!

Best things to sell on Etsy

1. Digital printables

When it comes to what products sell best on Etsy, printables are often the answer given they’re easily one of the most popular items on Etsy. That may not be surprising though once you think about just how many products fall under this category.

For instance, it includes a lot of things to sell on Etsy like digital downloads that help people get their lives organized, like budgets, spending trackers, schedules, meal planners, new pages for your journal and many, many others. 

It can also often include posters that people can print and frame with unique designs, fun quotes or inspirational sayings on them, similar to the one in the image above.

The great benefit here for you as a seller is that these can be super easy to make once you know what you’re doing. It’s also very cheap, given that you won’t have to actually buy any stock.

2. Stickers

Stickers have really started trending on Etsy over the last few years. While these traditionally may be for kids, they’ve also become a super popular thing to sell on Etsy for adults, especially as journals and planners become bigger.

That is, people have discovered that they love to decorate their planners or emphasize certain entries on specific days, and having stickers on hand is a really easy way to do this.

If you have only bought (rather than made) stickers before, it’s natural if you’re not entirely sure how to get started with making stickers to sell. It’s also really important here to make sure you’re marketing to the right audience – especially if you’re targeting adults, as you want to make sure they find your products.

This is why you should really take a look at Mim Jenkinson’s course on Making Perfect Planner Stickers from Scratch. 

Mim’s been selling stickers for five years and has taught over 2,500 students how to make and sell their stickers. Her main goal here is to help you avoid wasting time trying to figure out what technology you need or producing subpar stickers – not to mention wasting money from listing stickers on Etsy that just don’t sell!

3. Clothing

Almost any type of clothing can be sold on Etsy and some people have had huge success in this area. 

The one problem with this is that you need to have a large range of products on hand, to include both different designs and the full range of sizes. Not only can this be a pain from a storage perspective, but it can also be really expensive to buy the stock upfront, especially if you’re not making money yet from your Etsy store.

One great way to get around this problem is to use a service like Printify. All you have to do here is upload your design and choose the products that you want it to be displayed on. This could include a range of clothing, like shirts and shoes, but also a bunch of other products, like bags, phone cases, mugs and more.

From there, when someone buys one of your products, Printify handles the full process. This includes that they’ll manufacture the item for you and ship it to your customer, meaning all you have to do is sit back and wait for the money to land in your account.

Find out more about Printify here.

4. Digital stickers

While we mentioned physical stickers above, digital stickers have also started trending on Etsy more and more.

You’ve probably heard just how big digital planners have gotten over the last few years which means, much like physical planners, people like to have the option of being able to jazz up their digital planners so as to keep track of things, add reminders or simply to brighten up their pages.

And this is where digital stickers come in. But not only are they great for users, they offer an amazing opportunity to Etsy sellers. This is because, once you get the hang of it, it’s relatively easy to produce a large range of stickers, which you can even do for free online with Canva.

This also means that once you’ve built your product range up enough, this can basically become a passive source of income.

Just ask Michelle of Wild and Solo, who made $7,000 in her first six months of selling digital stickers. She now uses this experience to teach others how to do the same through her Creating and Selling Digital Stickers course.

Find out more about this in our article on how to make and sell digital stickers.

5. Mugs

Mugs have long been a massive seller on Etsy, with people looking for unique designs that match their style. They also play into the huge demand on Etsy for personalized products, as if you can offer mugs with a personal touch to the customer, you’re going to do well.

You can see this with the picture above, which shows you how easily you can make personalized mugs like these with a wide range of statements to suit each customer‘s interests.

This is one of the times where you will need a Cricut to make these. But if you don’t have one already, you should really consider buying one purely due to the time it will save you.

(Or you could even put this into overdrive by creating and selling your own mugs to make money with a 3D printer.)

Sure, there is some initial outlay. At the same time, if you plan to make things to sell on Etsy, you’ll want to make the manufacturing process as easy as possible for yourself so you can make things in bulk quickly. Based on that alone, the Cricut is worth its weight in gold.

6. Pet accessories

Pet-related items have become a massive market in the last few years, with Americans having spent $95.7 billion on their pets last year alone.

And there really is so much you can offer in this category. One option in particular you might want to consider is starting a dog bakery to make money on Etsy. After all, of that amount I just mentioned, $36.9 billion of this was spent just on pet treats.

Clearly, there’s a huge amount of money to be made here then. Just ask Kristen Larsen, who started her own dog treat bakery and was earning five-figures per month – on the side of her full time job.

(She was even invited to have her products in the gift bags given out at the Emmy Awards!)

And to help you do the same, she’s launched the Diva Dog Bakery course. 

You can check out our full review of the Diva Dog Bakery course here, with it covering everything from recipes that are proven to sell to pricing and payment issues to how to comply with labeling requirements – which, yes, also apply to dog treats!

After all, you wouldn’t want this to turn into an illegal side hustle, would you?

Not sure if selling dog treats is your next side hustle? To find out more about how you can do this successfully, check out Kristin’s completely free workshop here.

7. Jewelry

If you’ve ever used Etsy as a customer, you’d know just how many different types of jewelry you can find on there. After all, there’s a reason that jewelry is one of the best selling handmade items on Etsy. And with a basically unlimited range of pieces to suit any style, it’s clear that there is a huge potential here for sellers. 

The earrings in the image above are just one example of this. In this specific case, not only do these earrings look amazing, but they’re also very simple to make –  which is just what you need if you have a large range of products to send out to customers.

This is made using the Cricut we mentioned earlier. We weren’t kidding when we said that this will seriously make your life easier (and, importantly, help you make more money) when you’re finding things to sell on Etsy. 

And by the way: you can also use Etsy to sell vintage jewelry if you’re looking to make money from reselling. In fact, jewelry is easily one of the best things to buy and sell for profit on this platform!

Related: 27 Legit Ways to Make $200 a Day Online

8. Designer plates

Much like the mugs we mentioned earlier, crockery like plate sets have become big things to sell on Etsy. This is particularly the case as customers start to turn away from the more mass produced ranges and try to find more unique pieces.

Luckily for you, with a little bit of creativity, it can be very easy to create individual pieces in this category. Just look at that gorgeous marbled dinner plate in the picture, for example.

This was made with these crazy cheap plates and this acrylic paint – and that’s it! That means you’re barely going to spend anything to make these, but can easily market them as the unique piece your customers are looking for…and price them accordingly, of course.

9. Glassware

Like crockery, glasswork can actually be jazzed up much more easily and cheaply than you probably expect. 

And there’s a big overlap here between people who want unique pieces to use at home and also to use for parties, meaning you can easily appeal to both types of customers.

You can go as crazy or refined here as you want. For instance, the glitter-dipped glass you can see in the image were made using:

• Some dishwasher-safe Modge Podge
• Glitter
• These (cheap!) stemless wine glasses

And in just a few minutes of work, you can make these striking pieces – which you’ll likely have no trouble selling.

Related: 39 Legit Ways to Make $20 Instantly

10. Party supplies

There’s no question that a lot of people turn to Etsy now for party supplies. In fact, when it comes to what products sell best on Etsy, this is easily one of the contenders given that the platform has become a great one-stop shop for all your party needs.

And the fact that these are some of the most popular items on Etsy means you can also use this as an opportunity to make some money by finding your own party-related things to sell on Etsy. Whether you want your shop to focus on a certain type of item or a range of items that fall under certain themes, there is serious money to be made here.

Just look at the sparkly cake topper in the image above, which is crazy easy to make with your Cricut. From there, all you need is some of this glittery card stock paper and a few toothpicks to hold it in place!

This is particularly great given that it plays right into the desire of a lot of Etsy customers to have personalized pieces. To lean into this, you can easily change the message and the color to suit what they want with very little effort on your part.

11. Candles

Whether it’s to decorate your home, enjoy the scent they produce or to give as gifts, candles have long been a best selling item on Etsy. And this is particularly the case since 2020, when Etsy has reported increasing sales of homewares that they say fall into the “cottagecore” category – which definitely includes candles.

The best thing about making and selling candles is that you can go for whichever aesthetic you’d like. The lavender candle in the image above clearly leans into a more natural, peaceful vibe, but there are also others on Etsy that have a more modern look.

And you can go even further into the personalization from there. For example, this candle is given its scent from this lavender essential oil but you could always change this – I love this eucalyptus one, for example.

Based on these few tweaks to each one, you could easily build up a product range in no time! Get started by taking a look at our article on making and selling candles from home.

12. Wine-related items

While you can’t sell alcohol on Etsy (you can see a bit later in this article for a full list of what you can’t sell on Etsy, by the way), there are still plenty of things you can sell that relate to people’s love of a good bottle.

And one of these includes the wine caddy you see in this image, which looks incredible and is also super functional. Just imagine walking into your next party carrying something like this?

Clearly, you’ll have to know how to work with wood to make something like this. But once you get the hang of it, customers will love how this looks – and will pay good money for it too.

13. Wedding decorations

Etsy probably first became well known in the wedding industry, with wedding-related items easily being some of the products that sell best on Etsy. As people started to create their dream weddings on Pinterest, they quickly discovered that they could then find many of these pieces at great prices on Etsy. 

(You can also make money on Pinterest, by the way!)

This means that you could use some of the items already mentioned earlier to be targeted at the wedding audience. For instance, the cake toppers we mentioned above would be perfect for this, as would designing fancy glasses to sparkle throughout a wedding reception.

But you can also go for items that are much more wedding-specific, like the table centerpieces above which are incredibly elegant and yet so simple to make. 

They would also be very easy to ship in bulk, which is important to keep in mind when marketing your wedding pieces, given that most weddings will want a lot of the same item to decorate a room.

Related: 39 Genuine Options if You Need Money Today for Free

14. Home decor

Besides weddings, home decor is where Etsy really became huge, especially when you see how many pieces in this category are listed among the best selling handmade items on there. You can basically buy anything for your home that you can think of on Etsy, and it’s become a particularly great option for those who want to add their own personal spin to their home’s overall look. 

And there’s basically an unlimited range of things to make and sell on Etsy that fall into this category, although hoop wreaths, like the one in the picture above, have really become popular over the last couple of years. Originally marketed as a more holiday-related design, they quickly expanded to become a year-round feature in many homes.

They’re also great for selling online as they’re very light, so it will be easy (and cheap) to send these out to your customers.

FYI: A huge product range you can sell in the home decor category is printables. Find out how to sell your own from someone who’s made six-figures selling theirs in the Easy Printables course.

15. Bags

With basically everything else on your body being available on Etsy, it’s probably no surprise that you can get bags on there as well. In fact, uniquely designed bags have been hugely popular things to sell on Etsy since the platform was created, with customers paying good money for pieces that they probably won’t see on their friends as well.

The problem with this is that elaborate handbags can actually be a bit tricky to make, especially if you’re not looking to spend a lot of time on the items you’re selling there. This is why, if you’re interested in offering a range of bags, tote bags could be your answer.

One big reason is that you can easily buy tote bags in bulk (the ones at that link are a seriously great deal) and it doesn’t take much to design them. For example, the bag in the image above simply uses an iron on pattern which you can do by printing out your designs on this ironing paper. 

By the way… You can also use Printify to create your bags for you. Simply upload your design and Printify will take care of getting the product to your customer – while you just wait for the profit to arrive in your account!

16. Soap

I couldn’t resist including the example of the soap in the image above as it’s too cute for words – and your customers are guaranteed to think so too!

In fact, soap is one of the best things to sell on Etsy, especially if you’re savvy enough to tap into a niche market. For example, people love all natural ingredients, so if you can make soap that looks good and ticks this box, you’re onto a winner.

(And if you’re interested in making the exact soap in the picture above, you can grab the same set of rubber ducky figures here.)

Related: 41 Ways to Make $100 a Day That Actually Work

17. Other self-care products

Soap isn’t the only bathroom-related item that’s considered one of the best selling handmade items on Etsy. Basically, any item in the self-care category is also huge on the list of things to sell on Etsy. 

For example, exfoliating scrubs are always popular, whether you sell them in a jar or as a scrub bar like in the image above. But there are other items you can offer, like moisturizer, bath bombs or hair and face masks. You could even sell these in packs with one another as artfully designed like gift packages.

Related: 13 Steps to Successfully Start a Lipstick Business

18. Socks

I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely reached the age where getting socks as a present is a high point of my day, rather than something that I think only dads should get.

And this apparently aligns with the fact that you’ve probably seen stores that just sell socks popping up all over the place. Based on this, it may not be surprising to hear that socks are also a big thing to sell on Etsy.

If you’d like to knit your own and sell those, that’s perfectly fine and people will definitely pay for these. But an easier option may be to do something similar to what you can see in the image above, where you add sayings to the bottom of socks that you create using your Cricut.

The socks in the image are clearly for kids, but there are definitely plenty of opportunities to sell these to adults as well.

Related: 42 Ways to Make $1,000 Fast (That Actually Work)

19. Outdoor decor

We mentioned home decor a bit earlier, but outside decor is actually its own, hugely popular category of things to sell on Etsy too.

As you can imagine, basically anything that people can enjoy in their outdoor areas works here. For example, this hanging lounge chair is very easy to make and looks amazing, so selling something like this would definitely do well for you.

One point to keep in mind with these kinds of pieces is that they’ll sell best in the lead up to and during summer. Based on this, you’ll want to make sure your product line (and their Etsy listings) are well-established by then so that you’re ready for the flood of customers you’ll inevitably get around that time.

20. Jewelry and bead making equipment

Jewelry itself isn’t the only big seller on Etsy, with jewelry and bead making kits also being some of the most popular items on Etsy these days.

This involves you selling packs of items the customers can then use to make their own pieces at home. As you can see from the screenshot above, this can range from anything from allowing them to make earrings, bracelets and even creating their own unique pendants for necklaces.

It’s best if you sell these in packs that follow similar themes, like the one at the top left of the image where you can make 12 earrings that are different but similar. You should also figure out whether you want to target these at kids or adults, with there being strong markets for both of them.

21. Sewing and knitting supplies

Like the jewelry kits, sewing and knitting kits are also big business when it comes to things to sell on Etsy. They work in a similar way to the jewelry kids we mentioned above, in that you’ll send all the supplies that people need to make a certain design, as well as the pattern itself.

These can be marketed as a great way to get beginners into something like knitting, by showing them how easily they can make a relatively simple design like a scarf, socks and more. 

Of course, you can also target more experienced customers. In fact, many people like this as an option as it’s much easier to simply buy a kit you’re selling compared to having to run around and figure out how to make a pattern they have their eye on.

Related: 26 Legit Stay-at-Home Dad Jobs

22. Toys

With many parents getting sick of the more mass produced toys we often see, Etsy has become their next port of call to find toys that are more in line with what they are looking for.

This could include more sustainable toys, like the wooden stacking toy you can see in the image above, or more unique ones that you don’t see in every store window. 

Either way, having this as a possible thing to sell on Etsy is perfect if you’re good with your hands, as parents will appreciate (and pay good money for!) creative, specialized toys that their kids will love.

23. Phone cases

For a while, most people bought phone cases on sites like eBay where they could get cheap plastic ones from China and so on. But in recent years, there’s been a shift towards unique, specifically designed cases, as a way for phone owners to stand out from the crowd.

This is why hand painted phone cases have really exploded in recent years on Etsy. The benefit here is that you can pick essentially any design that catches your own interest because if you like it, it’s almost guaranteed that some potential customers will too.

While the phone cases in the video above are painted by hand, you could also use your Cricut to add various designs or statements to the back of phone cases. You could even give the option for the customers themselves to say what text they want on their case, to really appeal to the personalized crowd.

Related: 34 Best Online Jobs for College Students With No Experience

What is the easiest thing to sell on Etsy?

The easiest things to sell on Etsy are those that require very little work from you. This includes digital products, like printables and stickers. It’s also very easy to sell items on Etsy through dropshipping, which is when you work with a third-party vendor to sell your products.

This is exactly how Printify works. That is, you have a shop with certain items but when someone buys one of these pieces from your shop, it’s the vendor that fulfills the order.

In the case of Printify, this means they will have the purchased item made and ship it to your customer. Clearly, they take a fee for this, but you still make a profit with a tiny portion of the effort needed if you had to handle the whole process yourself.

So when it comes to wondering what you can sell on Etsy to make money, “the easiest thing possible” is often the right answer.

How much does the average person make on Etsy?

While some sellers make five or even six figures a year, reports indicate that the vast majority only make up to $1,000 from Etsy, with many earning much less than this. This shows that while there is a possibility to make serious money here, it’s not guaranteed.

This is why learning key Etsy strategies is going to be critical to ensure you’re actually able to crack into the big leagues when it comes to your earnings and make this a viable, alternative income stream. 

And making the right products that are trending on Etsy is only part of this. You also need to ensure that you price them correctly (and competitively) to both get enough profit without scaring away potential customers. In addition, making sure people actually find your items is important, which largely comes down to using the right keywords in the right places.

Can you make a living off Etsy?

It is possible to make a living off Etsy, although it will take some time to build your store to this point. That said, by focusing on products that tap into demand and pricing them well, many sellers make five or even six figures per year from their Etsy stores.

At the same time, there are a lot of sellers who barely make anything at all, although the reasons for this will vary. It may simply be due to not selling products that people want, but it can also be due to not taking advantage of Etsy’s algorithm to ensure potential customers see your products.

That is, much like when you start your own website, SEO (i.e. when you use keywords that people are actually searching for so they find your site) on Etsy is a key point to understand. People can’t buy from you if they can’t find your shop, so having a good understanding of this combined with a solid product range will help you make this part time online job successful.

And as some inspiration, here are some Etsy sellers that are making a living from the platform:

• ShopHandmadeJourney – as per her income report, she made $53,000 from Etsy in its very first year
• Goober Prints – the owner of this store discussed in this podcast how he was making $80,000 a year as a side hustle
• Urban Wood Goods – according to this article, they made $635,000 in their second year of operation

What can you not sell on Etsy?

There are a number of things that you cannot sell on Etsy, including:

• Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, drug paraphernalia, and medical drugs
• Animal products and human remains
• Dangerous items: hazardous materials, recalled items, and weapons
• Hate items: items that promote, support, or glorify hatred
• Illegal items, items promoting illegal activity, and highly regulated items
• Internationally regulated items
• Mature content
• Violent items: items that promote, support, or glorify violence

For more details, see Etsy’s Prohibited Items Policy. This Policy also includes information on items that could be interpreted as being one of these things but are allowed to be sold. For instance, you can sell beer brewing kits, but not beer itself.

Be aware that if you do list anything that falls into one of these categories, your Etsy account may be immediately suspended or terminated without notice.

Final thoughts on things to sell on Etsy

When it comes to the best things to sell on Etsy, it’s important to have a good understanding of the most popular items on Etsy.

After all, if something is trending on Etsy, then there’s a good chance that there’s a significant customer base there – which means plenty of money for you to make.

At the same time, if you’re still wondering what you can sell on Etsy to make money, knowing the best selling handmade items or the Etsy rank top sellers is only half the battle.

That is, in addition to knowing what products sell best on Etsy, it’s also good to consider what you actually want to create. For example, making small jewelry pieces may cause you to want to rip your hair out, but designing wedding items could appeal to your inner romantic.

Given you’re (ideally!) going to be doing this as your side hustle for some time – and make huge amounts of money, obviously – it helps if you’re doing something you enjoy. So make sure you take that into consideration too before launching your new, amazing Etsy store.