Written by someone who packs the orders
Small-shop advice, tested on a real shop first.
I run an online silver jewelry store, and I have never sold on Etsy. Everything here — pricing formulas, ad results, packaging costs — I ran through my own business before writing it down. Including the parts that didn’t work.
What you get here
- Pricing formulas with the arithmetic shown, not hidden
- Ad spend from a real account, and what it actually returned
- Shipping, packaging and return costs, counted per parcel
400+
one-of-a-kind pieces listed, priced and photographed in my own store
$1,064
of my own money spent on Facebook and Instagram ads — published in full, including the waste
3 years
running a real online jewelry shop, start to now
Start here
Where is your shop stuck?
I’m just starting out.
You have products, or nearly. You need a shop, photos, and a price that doesn’t lose money.
I have sales but no profit.
Money comes in, nothing sticks. Usually it’s fees, shipping, or a price set two years ago.
I want off Etsy — or less of it.
Your own store, an email list, and traffic you own rather than rent.
Latest
Recent posts
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Free Shipping on Etsy: What It Actually Costs You in 2026
Etsy charges its 6.5% transaction fee on shipping whether you show it or hide it, so free shipping does not cost more in fees. A $38 order, worked through three ways, shows where the…
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I Bought 76,294 Real Followers for My Jewelry Shop. They Were the Right People — and It Still Wasn’t Enough.
Three years and $1,064 of my own money in Meta ads, published in full: 78% of it bought page follows at 1.1 cents each. They were real people in my real market, and it…
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Two Photos of the Same Anklet: One Sells, One Doesn’t
Both photographs are mine, both from real listings, both of silver anklets. One works. The difference costs nothing to fix and has nothing to do with the camera — three rules, and the whole…
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Every Etsy Fee in 2026, Worked Through on a $38 Order
Etsy takes more than the 6.5% everyone quotes — and two of its fees are charged on money you never keep. Every published fee for 2026, worked through on one $38 order, with and…
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Etsy vs Your Own Store in 2026: Where the Fees Actually Cross
Etsy takes 10.7% of a $38 order; Shopify takes 3.7% plus $39 a month. They cross at about 15 orders — and that crossover is the least important number in the decision. What traffic…
The newsletter
One real number a week.
Every Thursday I send one thing I actually measured in my own shop that week — a cost, a conversion rate, an ad result. Sometimes it is a number I am not proud of. No fluff, no course pitch.