Can You Have More Than One Etsy Shop


Can You Have More Than One Etsy Shop

Can you have more than one Etsy shop without getting in trouble with Etsy? Yes! You absolutely can have two, three or ten Etsy shops if you like.

The real question is not whether you can have multiple Etsy shops but rather whether you should and how you go about doing it?

Etsy has no problem with anyone having multiple Etsy stores – proving you stick to tier strict terms of service and that you comply with their standards.

There’s a lot of bad information floating around on forums and various discussion boards that Etsy will ban your stores as soon as you open more than one store.

This is complete BS.

The only reason why Etsy would ever ban a store is if it is deliberately trying to circumvent Etsy’s guidelines and standards. Unfortunately, many people who open multiple stores on Etsy are the ones who try to gain an unfair advantage.

If you want to have more than one Etsy store then you need to understand what will trigger manual reviews and a potential ban from Etsy.

The penalty can be severe. If you are breaking the rules and Etsy finds you then you will lose ALL you stores and it will get closed down immediately. This can be a very abrupt end to your business.

Important Compliance Tips When Opening a Second Etsy Shop

There are essentially two ways that some store owners try and circumvent Etsy’s rules. Even if you don’t deliberately do any of these, you want to make sure you don’t get caught in the algorithmic crossfire.

The first is people who sell borderline or even banned products and by opening multiple stores they spread the risk of being caught.

Etsy is a marketplace for handmade goods. They do not allow commercial and mass-produced products.

However, there are a lot of sellers who have a go at this and sell products from China/Aliexpress (many even dropship) that have no real hand made quality to them.

tummy time mat etsy
tummy time mat aliexpress

Another very popular strategy is for buyers who sell infringed products like fake Disney stuff. By having multiple Etsy shops they can keep their business alive for longer by surviving shop closures.

Because Etsy has such great buying power these products sell. In fact, it is much easier to sell infringed products BUT it is illegal and Etsy will catch up with you.

Etsy is getting much better at catching these sorts of stores. The first lesson then is to never open more than one Etsy store because you are concerned about the product you are selling.

Just because you see infringing products everywhere does not mean it is okay to do it. Ultimately will be liable and you are not protected just because you sell it on Etsy. Disney can (and have in the past) go after individual sellers.

Eventually, you will get caught and your business will get shut down.

Another popular but multi-store strategy that is against Etsy’s rules is to open multiple stores that sell the exact same products.

The theory is that as soon as you have a few products that are selling, having multiple stores selling the same products will greatly increase your sales.

While it does work, it is a really stupid strategy because it is fairly easy for an algorithm to find you – even if you make slight changes to the listings.

This also goes for copycats. Never copy any listing closely. It is perfectly fine to research your competition but always make sure that your listings are unique.

You might get away with copying in the short term but it will always catch up with you.

So, what are the main rules for opening a second Etsy shop?

1. Never open a second store if you deliberately want to hide yourself

If you are trying to hide yourself by selling commercial products or infringed products (copyright or trademarked).

This is especially true if you have “borderline” products that don’t infringe on copyright directly and that you think might be okay.

etsy infringed products

Any product that invokes another’s name, brand or trademark in any way is considered infringement. Just stay away from it. It may be easy money but the penalties can be far more severe than merely losing your Etsy shop.

2. Never open a second Etsy shop to duplicate another

If your intention is to duplicate or closely replicate another store then your Etsy store will have a very short life.

Duplication or closely replicating products and listings from another shop, is not allowed on Etsy.

They want to offer shoppers a good shopping experience and seeing loads of duplicate products does not fit into a good shopping experience..

Etsy has become far too smart for you to get away with that.

3. Never open a second Etsy shop if you are trying to hide bad business practices.

If you have a lot of bad reviews on your store then opening a second store to run away from the bad reviews is not a great idea.

etsy store bad reviews

If this is a path you want to follow, then close your current store. Improve whatever the problem was with your products or fulfillment and then start fresh.

4. Never start a second store to run away from problems with Etsy.

If your store has complaints and/or you’ve been warned by Etsy about any aspect of your business practice then it is tempting to just close shop and start again.

Never leave any unresolved matters open with Etsy – especially if there were disputes with orders.

Make sure you resolve everything first before moving on to a new store.

5. Never open a second Etsy store if you want to avoid paying fees due.

Etsy is cheap to sell on. If you compare Etsy to Shopify or even Amazon the fees are cheap as chips by comparison. Yet, many people try skip paying fees.

Etsy will not allow you to close a store if there are any outstanding fees. Pay your fees, close the store and then start a new store if you want to start fresh.

6. Always disclose all the stores that are connected to you.

Etsy requires you to accurately represent yourself, your shop and your listings. Being dishonest in any way will raise a red flag. Even if you are not deliberately dishonest, certain things can still raise a red flag.

Opening a new Etsy store in someone else’s name and trying to sell the same (or very similar) products is not allowed.

You should ALWAYS disclose all the Etsy stores and accounts that are connected to you.

Being transparent and 100% honest is the only way to avoid any issues when opening a second Etsy store.

Etsy has this rule still in place for opening a second Etsy account:

“If you have more than one Etsy account, you must list all of them in the Public Profile section of each account.”

The option to add additional accounts in your profile seems to have gone and its been gone for some time.

I have written to Etsy for clarification and their response was:

UPDATE: Its been a week and still no response from Etsy

Ultimately Etsy can use many data points like your IP Address to determine if you are the same person operating multiple stores.

Etsy is perfectly fine with you have multiple stores as long as you play by the rules.

If you don’t then one serious mistake can cause you to lose all your stores. Unless you do something seriously wrong or are a repeat offender this is not something you have to worry about.

The Advantages of Having More Than One Etsy Shop

The obvious advantage to having more than one Etsy store is the increased exposure. There’s only that much traffic that Etsy will send to any given store.

This is why so many people try their luck by creating multiple stores to sell their “winning product”. This is not a smart strategy at all.

You can use multiple stores to increase your reach (and sales) but there is a right way and a wrong way to do this.

1. Expand Your Products

Simply copying products to different stores is not smart. Using multiple stores to segment your products is smart. Using multiple stores to expand your product line could be a smart move.

Successful Etsy stores always have a common thread. You either have a store that sells just one type of product or you have a store that has one style of products or there is a common “vibe” across all your products.

For the most part, tightly targeted stores that are truly specializing in just one thing will have the highest conversion rates. It will also be the most limiting.

Shoppers like the idea of small specialist shops because the perception is that they buy something that is truly unique. It has a higher perceived value.

As a shop owner, this can be very limiting though. If you want to stay within this strategy of being a small (no in terms of sales but in terms of products) specialist shop on Etsy then expanding your operation and/or products to another Etsy store is a smart strategy.

2. Narrowing Down Your Etsy Shop

The opposite strategy to the “specialist store” strategy is what happens most of the time. You start a store and sell a whole load of different things until you start finding some success.

With this, the store usually loses its original focus and you end up with a hodgepodge of different products and ideas.

There’s nothing wrong with this and it could work. In fact, many of the big Etsy shops are like that.

What could work better is to start peeling off the most successful products and ideas into their own specialist shops.

That way you create more focussed shops each with a narrower and more targeted focus.

This is much more in line with what shoppers expect to find on Etsy. They are not looking for Walmart. They are looking for unique and handmade products that are special and one of a kind.

The bottom line is that you could make a lot more sales across different shops by simply peeling products off into their own shops.

With one big shop that sells everything imaginable, your products tend to get buried and hard to find.

3. Managing Your Etsy Shop(s)

Sometimes it just makes sense from an operational point of view to have multiple shops. If you can sensibly split up a large shop so that it makes production or management easier then why not?

This really depends on many factors and I will only recommend this if you intend on building separate teams to run each store.

4. Start Something New

If you are selling your own products on Etsy then you are most likely a creative person. While it is really exciting to start a new store and see it succeed, it can get very boring quite quickly.

The products that tend to sell well tend to be very same-old and scaling your success becomes an exercise of doing more of what already works.

There’s no real challenge in that in it is hard to maintain the same level of excitement and enthusiasm.

Starting some new, fresh, and exciting can do wonders for your own motivation and happiness.

Even if a new store is just an indulgent passion project that you run alongside your successful store, what it can do for you in terms of motivation is priceless.

Finding a new and exciting creative outlet will help keep you going with the “old store” that may not seem that exciting anymore.

5. Start Fresh

If you’ve been at it for a few years and your store is just not taking off like you hoped then maybe its time to start fresh.

If a store does not start to get good traction after a year then it probably won’t unless you really make a big effort to improve everything about the store.

120 Sales after 4 years…it might be time to try something new?

It is often better to start fresh. Start with a new look, a new approach and some new energy. Small changes can make a big difference.

Most of the time, if your products do not appeal to Etsy shoppers you simply won’t be able to turn things around. No edits to your listings will make much of a difference if your products are not right.

That’s okay. Most products won’t succeed. The biggest stores get 80% of their sales from 20% of their products.

The Disadvantages of Having More Than One Etsy Shop

The theory that by simply opening more stores can get you more traffic and more sales are just not true. Most of the time, by focusing on just one thing, and doing it really well will greatly improve your chances for success on Etsy.

If you have a store that is seeing some success, do you put your head down and work really hard on that store to grow it OR do you start spreading your wings to open more stores?

This will depend largely on the products you are selling and your capacity to scale.

Having more than one Etsy store is not nearly as easy as it may seem at first. There are a number of reasons why I would strongly discourage you from opening a second Etsy store.

1. Sales History and Trust

Etsy shops with a good sales history and a lot of positive feedback will always be favored in Etsy search results.

A new shop will never have the same authority as an established one – even if you sell the exact same product with the exact same listing will.

This is why it is often better to now start a second Etsy store and to simply keep going with what you’ve got. It can take years to build up a sales history and positive feedback.

2. Risk of Store Closures and Suspension

If you are doing everything above board then you have nothing to worry about. The fear of Etsy closing you down without reason is completely unfounded and paranoid.

If you do happen to get flagged or wrongfully reported by a competitor then it will get resolved with Etsy.

Mistakes happen though and if you do get warned or wrongfully closed down then it can be very stressful.

There are many Etsy store owners who claim to have been wrongfully closed down and who lost their entire business overnight.

There will always be more scrutiny for a new store than an established store.

3. Managing Multiple Stores

While the idea of a lot of small successful stores sounds great, it can quickly become a logistical nightmare.

Managing multiple stores is hard work and requires really good management. If you are using the same manufacturing, fulfillment or even shipping partners then you need a very good system to ensure nothing gets mixed up.

For this very reason, I don’t not recommend opening a second Etsy store until you have one store operating very smoothly and successfully.

How To Open A Second Etsy Shop

To open a second Etsy shop is very simple but there are a few important things to note when you do.

Step #1: New Email and New Browser

Firstly, you need to make sure you are not logged into any current Etsy accounts on your browser. Preferably use a new browser that has no browsing history with Etsy.

I recommend you create a new Chrome Profile if you use Google Chrome (this allows you to have as many as you want) or just use a different browser for your second store.

You will also need a completely different email address that is not currently used by any Etsy accounts.

With a new browser and a new email address, you can get started.

Step #2: Register a new Etsy Account

In a new browser go to Etsy.com and Click Sign in and then click Register.

Enter your new email address (that is not associated with any other Etsy account), enter your name and create a password.

Then, Click Register.

Click Sell on Etsy.

Click Open your Etsy shop.

You need to add your first listing before you can proceed. Don’t worry, it can just be a dummy listing.

Step #3: Set Up Your New Etsy Store

Go through all the steps and be sure to give your store a unique name. You can use the same billing details as your other Etsy shop(s) but it is optional.

One important point is that you use your own legit details and that you use the same name and personal details if this is indeed an additional store.

verify ID

When you set up your details as the shop owner, make sure you use exactly the same details as in your other store(s). Your name, date of birth and address.

etsy second store tax payer ID

Your new store’s Taxpayer ID and Legal Name and Address needs to be the same as your other stores UNLESS you set up the new store as a new and separate business with its own tax ID and business details.

Having More Than One Etsy Shop – Conclusion

Can you have more than one Etsy shop? Yes! You absolutely can. Should you have a second Etsy shop? Maybe.

It all depends on your intention, your business model, and your ultimate goal. If your intention is to circumvent Etsy’s guidelines in any way, then a second store is a bad idea.

You risk losing both store.

If your fear is that some of your products are borderline trademark infringement and you want a second store just to hedge your bet then its just a matter of time.

Usually, if you are worried about copyright infringement then it probably is infringement.

Some people just want a “backup store” out of paranoia – fearing that Etsy will just shut them down for no reason.

If your shop has been a big flop, is scattered with no real focus or if you just need a fresh start, then you should probably start a second store. Sometimes a fresh start is all you need and being armed with some experience can make a big difference.

If you want to narrow down the focus of your store then peeling of products into their own specialty stores can be a great idea.

If you want to expand your products into new areas that don’t quite match the original store concept then you can start a new store.

If you are bored with your current store and need a fresh new challenge to keep your creative juices flowing then a second store could be just what the doctor ordered.

Be aware that starting a new store is like starting from square one. It can take a lot of work to build up to success. If you have a store with some sales history and positive feedback then it is probably better to rebuild the existing store.

The difference between success and failure on Etsy is often in the details. Don’t give up. Always try new things. You never know what will work until you try it!

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