If you’ve been selling on Etsy for a while, you’d know that Etsy is a profitable marketplace with a high sales margin. So it seems reasonable for anyone who is making a profit on the platform to open another shop to scale their businesses.
However, for many Etsy shop owners, the decision to open a second shop can be a difficult one. On one hand, it may provide the opportunity for increased income and a wider customer base. But the other hand, managing two shops can be time-consuming and may dilute the success of the first shop, not to mention the risk and difficulty to register a second shop account.
In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of opening a second Etsy shop, and exactly how you can start multiple accounts on Etsy securely to grow your business.
It goes without saying that one of the most significant benefits of opening a second Etsy shop is the potential for increased income. If your first shop has shown success, opening a second shop can allow you to apply the same strategies and tips that worked for the first shop. This way, you can maximize your revenue and diversify your income streams.
Another advantage of opening a second Etsy shop is the ability to cross-promote. If you have similar items or customers, you can promote both shops within each other. For instance, you can share listings of one shop in the other or promote them together on social media. This way, you can drive traffic to both shops and reach a wider audience.
Opening a second Etsy shop can enable you to target a new customer base. For example, if you love print-on-demand shirts and cross-stitching, opening a second shop for your cross-stitching items can attract a new set of customers without adding too many workloads on yourself. By diversifying your offerings, you can reach a broader audience while still maintaining the focus of each shop.
If you are into creating digital items or print-on-demand items, opening multiple shops can help you to niche down. You can sell one specific type of item in each shop and target a specific audience. For example, selling flower-patterned products for grandmas in one shop, and selling products with trending design elements to younger customers. This way, you can tailor your offerings to your customer's needs and preferences and build a loyal following.
Having a second Etsy shop can be a backup plan in case something happens to your first shop. Etsy may shut down shops for not following rules and regulations, leaving the owners without their main source of income. If you have a backup shop, you can still have some cushion to fall back on in case of such eventualities.
As you can see, it's quite beneficial to have a second Etsy shop. However, to make sure that your second Etsy account runs in a stable condition, it is important that you register the account with caution, and make sure that it has no connection to your previous account. Because after all, Owning multiple accounts is not supported by the Etsy platform, and you could be sanctioned by the platform if you don't proceed with caution.
When you register a new Etsy account, you wouldn't want the platform to flag you as an owner of multiple accounts. That's when the anty-detect browser comes into use. An anti-detect browser is a specialized type of web browser that is designed to help protect your online identity and increase your anonymity on the internet. When you are registering a new shop on Etsy with an anti-detect browser, the Etsy platform will recognize you as a brand new user because the browser provides a totally different digital fingerprint than your previous browser, making it impossible for the platform to track you down and collect data from you.
I’ll take MoreLogin, one of the most reliable anti-detect browsers available on the market, as an example to show you how to register a second Etsy shop securely.
Step 1: Start by registering for a MoreLogin account. You can do this on the official website. Once you have registered an account, you can then download the anti-detection browser to your computer.
Step 2: Log in to your MoreLogin account in the client.
Step 3: Once you are logged in, click on the "New Profile" button located at the top left corner of the screen. Then complete the profile settings. This step will involve setting up a unique digital fingerprint that will ensure your Etsy accounts remain private and undetected.
Step 4: After finishing the profile setup, go back to the "Browser Profile" page and locate the newly created profile, then click on the "Start" button to wake up a fully customized browser window, in which you can create your new Etsy account with a totally private virtual digital fingerprint, making it harder for Etsy to detect and restrict it.
Although it's beneficial and tempting to create a second Etsy shop for your business, it is also worth mentioning that there will still be some potential challenges waiting for you if you have decided to run multiple Etsy accounts.
1. Time-Consuming
When you have more than one Etsy shop, you will need to dedicate more time to create and maintaining listings, handling customer inquiries and managing orders for both shops. If you don't have enough time or resources to manage both shops, you may risk diluting the success of your first shop.
2. Branding Challenges
Managing two Etsy shops may present branding challenges. It may be difficult to differentiate between the two shops, and customers may get confused about which shop to buy from. If you plan to open a second Etsy shop, it is crucial to have a clear brand identity and communicate it effectively across both shops. And it’s strongly advised that you separate these shops by using MoreLogin so your customer will not be confused.
3. Inventory Management
The more Etsy shops you run, the more inventory management you’ll have to do.
If you have more than one Etsy shop, you will need to keep track of inventory levels for each shop and ensure that you have enough stock for all of them. This issue can be particularly challenging when you are selling handmade items, because each item you sell may require significant time and effort to produce.
By far, if you have made up your mind about opening second or more Etsy shops, then congratulations, because you might have just started to bring your business to a whole new level.
But before you actually start registering your second account, there are things that I want you to consider to make sure that you can achieve success with all your Etsy accounts.
Who is the Ideal Customer for Your New Products?
When opening multiple Etsy shops, most people focus on the question of whether the products are in a different category, rather than if they appeal to the same ideal customer. And would be a huge mistake.
For example, if you're selling handmade candles and want to add wooden puzzles for children, it’s okay to open a second shop. But if you sell candles and want to add cozy blankets to your shop, you can sell them in the same shop because they appeal to the same customer who wants to create a cozy ambiance at home. So there is no need to open a second shop in the first place to distract your attention.
What is Your Future Plan for Your New Products?
It's not about how many products you have right now but how many products you can see yourself making in the future. Avoid the "shiny object syndrome" by thinking through if this is something you can see yourself doing long-term, and if you would enjoy developing more products for this store versus it being a fleeting interest.
How Will You Manage Your Inventory and Order Management?
As we talked about earlier, inventory management could be a huge challenge when you have two Etsy shops. You need to manage your inventory and orders separately with extra workloads. It's essential to have an efficient order management system and clear inventory management processes to avoid stockouts or overselling.
Opening multiple Etsy shops can provide various benefits. If executed properly, it could be a game-changing decision and could bring you increased income, cross-promotion opportunities, and a wider range of customers. However, it is important to register a new Etsy account securely and with caution to avoid being flagged as the owner of multiple accounts.
In this case, MoreLogin is an example of a reliable anti-detect browser. As one of the best anti-detect browsers, MoreLogin provides you with a unique digital fingerprint and browser profile, allowing you to make your new Etsy shop that has completely nothing to do with any of your other Etsy shops, drastically reducing the risk of being restricted or banned by the platform.
Finally, it is also worth noting that having multiple Etsy shops can be time-consuming and may present branding challenges. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of opening an Etsy shop, and proceed with caution to achieve greater success on Etsy!