Just wondering what type of experiences people have had using Etsy as a seller.

I have make a couple half hearted attempts and not sold anything. However, my aunt and her husband started on there some years ago and now they make their art full time. When they started she was working a full time job and he was making art full time. She would come home and work another four hours on the Etsy stuff. I think they kept that pace for a year or two. Eventually she quit the day job and they just did Esty stuff. If they had kept with just Etsy, I'm not sure how it would have worked out. However, they both show paintings in galleries and have representatives that sell their greeting cards/other wares, and they've even moved the business out of the house into a dedicated workspace that they lease. I'd love to be on the same level they are some day, but I think the key is to take small reasonable steps, be patient, keep at it, and don't overextend yourself.

I sell paintings on etsy. Mostly i use it to support my art habit (good paints are expensive!). I sell about 8,000 worth in a typical year. I go to a few art fairs each year, and hand out business cards for my store to anyone who stops by. This generates most of my sales. The rest are repeat buyers and friends, family and friends-of-friends.

I price my pieces between 95 (for pieces that took less than 10 hours) all the way to one item i sold for 4,000. But that was a 8 foot by 4 foot piece that i spent nearly 500 hours creating along with a very large amount of expensive paints, not to mention the cost of high quality canvas and stretchers. I actually wish I had priced that closer to 6,000 because i really undervalued my time on that one.

I think it's a great space but you have to put alot of effort into marketing your items since there are so many great artists on etsy doing similar work to whatever you are doing. i find working with the etsy system to be very simple and fair, and have a great relationship with my local fedex shop for my shipping needs.