How to Open a Second Etsy Shop?

How to open a second Etsy shop? Let’s start by asking why someone would need multiple Etsy shops? There can be many reasons for that, such as different niches, different products, different markets, and so forth. However, selling a broad mix of products in one store can confuse your customers, as well as complicated business operations.

So, what’s the solution? The best solution is to create a second Etsy shop, but how do you open a second Etsy shop?

Here, we explain how to open a second Etsy shop and explore in more detail the challenges you may face when creating your second Etsy store.

How Many Etsy Shops a Person Can Have?

Fortunately, there is no defined limit on the number of Etsy shops a seller can have. As long as you’re compliant with Etsy policy for sellers, you can have as many Etsy stores as you want. If you’re going to create a store for any of the reasons mentioned above, you can create one. So, one thing is clear there is nothing wrong with creating multiple Etsy shops if you follow Etsy policies.

People with multiple Etsy stores sell different products, but if you want to sell the same products in two stores, you can do that, but there are some conditions. You must have enough stock to complete the orders in both stores.

Moreover, when you sell the same products across multiple stores, you can’t duplicate listings because it’s against Etsy policies. For one item, only one listing exists. It’s not worth it to sell the same products across different stores because it’s difficult to manage most of the time.

If you’re thinking about getting rankings by creating a duplicate listing, you can’t achieve that goal. So, your second Etsy shop must have a clear difference in product type and target audience.

Moreover, if you want to gain transparency with Etsy users, you need to list all your shops in public seller products. Etsy will ask you for the reasons why do you need a second shop. You’ll have to satisfy them with valid reasons.

Otherwise, they won’t allow you to create a second Etsy shop. Whenever Etsy finds that your second Etsy shop is violating their policies, they will close it down.

As mentioned at the start, there is no issue in creating multiple Etsy shops as long as you’re following their rules and policies. It’s Etsy’s responsibility to provide its shoppers with an excellent shopping experience, and you must take care of these things.

Remember, Etsy will not allow you to open a second Etsy shop if you have violated their policies in the past.

Why Do You Need a Second Etsy Shop?

Many Etsy sellers sell a wide variety of products in their stores. When the products are different, they can make your customers disinterested, distracted, and confused. For example, you’re selling handmade baby clothes, and someone visits your profile. They find your design attractive and want to see other designs in your store.

Just imagine that you’re selling different types of products in your stores, such as vintage movie posters, handmade bags, and shoes. Due to multiple products, customers might not find what they need. There is a possibility that they might purchase the product they liked, but the issue is that they’ll not revisit your shop.

Another scenario is that you’re selling products for different audiences. For example, you’re selling some wholesome products and NSFW items. It’s not a wise decision to list them together in a single shop. Remember, for almost all similar items.

Creating a second shop makes little sense if you’re selling related items, say crochet patterns and knitting patterns, since your target audience is the same.

Furthermore, if you have different products, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a second shop. Ensure that you have enough products to list in the second store. If it’s not the case, there is no need to create a second store.

Suppose you’re wondering how you can sell vital homemade chains in a knitting store. You can go ahead and list them but list them in different sections. If the number of products you want to sell is many more and others, go for the second store.

If one of your products becomes popular and you want to expand the business, you can go for the second store but do that if you can manage the orders and stores. It’s against the Etsy policies to duplicate listings, so if you can avoid that, then go ahead.

The main idea behind creating the second shop is to keep the theme consistent, making it easier for customers to understand. Your products and target audiences can help you know whether you need a second store or not.

Is It Beneficial to Open a Second Etsy Shop?

You want to create a second Etsy shop. Still, you want to ensure that creating a second shop will be beneficial, so consider the below-given pros of opening a second Etsy shop.

• If the products you want to sell have different terms of use, keep them separate. For example, all personal products like printables can be in the main shop. In contrast, products used for commercial purposes can be listed in the second Etsy shop. It will not confuse buyers. They will not repent after purchasing the products, especially without reading the terms of use.
• For entirely different products, it’s always good to create multiple shops. For example, if someone is interested in wood furniture, they might not want to purchase hand-knitted clothes. So, it’s not wise to sell completely different products in one shop. If your shop offers lots of products, it will create a mess and distract your buyers.
• When you have more than one Etsy shop, you can use one to market the other. So, if someone is interested in your one shop’s product, they might find the products on your second shop valuable. They might not have discovered your second shop unless they have found the other one.
• Don’t sell physical and digital products on a single Etsy shop. For example, if you’re selling printed and cut stickers and selling them in different shops, you will avoid many customer queries. Some customers will still contact you to know when you will ship their products even though you sell digital products. Most people don’t even read the listing description, so adding a download or print option with every image is the best way.

By having two Etsy shops, you’ll be able to make distinctions between your stores and products. Moreover, your analytics won’t be mixed, so you’ll get an idea of which items perform better. Since your store will be centered on one theme, it will be easier to advertise products. Moreover, your marketing message will be apparent to everyone.

The other plus point of Etsy shop is growing your followers. As your stores are focused on different themes, the people interested in your theme will follow your store. A store with a mess of items can’t help you get a devoted following. Finally, you can promote and market both of your stores differently.

Cons of Opening a Second Etsy Store

Yes, it’s beneficial to open a second Etsy shop, but you must be familiar with these disadvantages.

• Your workload will be doubled because you will have to administer two accounts and make more efforts. Moreover, you’ll promote two accounts and pay two Etsy bills.
• When you have to answer customer queries, you’ll have to log in and log out every time. To avoid wasting time, create multiple users and log in to your profiles in those different browsers to save time.
• When your businesses grow, you need to file taxes for both the stores. Moreover, you’ll be maintaining separate spreadsheets for both stores. However, you can use one PayPal account for both Etsy shops.
• You need to disclose multiple accounts in your “About Us” section when you have multiple accounts.
• You need to set up accounts for two shops and pay for them twice.
• It won’t be easy to manage inventory for two stores, especially when you have other products.
• According to Etsy policies, you can’t list a single product in two stores.
• You’ll have to pay for two business cards. You can link both shops with one card if you want to save money.
• If you have less than 50 products to offer, then don’t split them into two shops. If you have hundreds of products, it seems reasonable to split them into two shops. The issue is that shops with limited items won’t appear in the search results.
• Two Etsy shops mean that you’ll be doing double work. For example, you’ll have to jump from one shop to another to track inventory, sales, traffic, marketing, promotions, and a lot more. When both of your stores become popular, you might need to hire more people to manage your stores. Etsy rewards active shops, so if you want your stores to stay in search, you’ll need to update your listings. When you have more than one shop, your first one will suffer because it’s not easy to manage two shops simultaneously.

Other Challenges

• It won’t be easy to track inventory when you manage multiple stores and have hundreds of products on them. Moreover, you need to maintain enough inventories to avoid your products running out of stock. It becomes more difficult when you create your website for Etsy shops.
• Social media accounts are necessary for each business. So you need to create different accounts for each store. It means that you’ll have to spend more time managing these accounts. Moreover, you need to work more on branding. For example, you need a different logo, shop profile, and banner for each shop.
• Etsy has a mobile phone app, and it’s easy to switch stores, but it’s not available on laptops and desktop computers.
• Finally, if one of your Etsy shops closed down due to policy violations, you can’t open a new one. If there were a significant policy violation, it would also close down your other shop.

How to Open a Second Etsy Shop?

If you’re interested in opening a second Etsy shop, you’ll have to create it from scratch. Simply, it means you need to create a new account with a new email address. In Gmail, you can redirect all your emails to one Gmail. Still, you’ll have to log in to these accounts to manage your shops.

Fortunately, you can use the same bank account or PayPal for both shops. All the earnings will be in place, so it will be easy to manage finance. You’ll not have to jump between accounts to manage finances.

Final Words

If you’re already running an Etsy store and want to create another, it will not be challenging to create one. You have already established a store, and you know the process of creating a shop from scratch. If you’re planning to develop two shops at a time, then don’t do that and think again. When you create two shops and fail to manage them, you put both your accounts at risk.

Some people feel that creating an online business is easy, but it’s not the case. You have to face different challenges and learn new skills. More importantly, you need to learn management. Creating two shops will not help you, and all your efforts will be wasted.

The best practice is to create one store at a time. You can manage only a few items in one account if you have only a few items. Understand the Etsy policies before expanding your business. When you have experience selling on Etsy, it will be easier to create the next shop. Many Etsy sellers are managing multiple shops. Find out the valid reason before you create a new shop. If you’re already managing multiple shops, please share your experience with us.