Imagine the perfect Etsy economy where everything you need can be purchased from a small business. Where your dollar goes directly to the individual behind the product. And these small businesses are owned by your neighbors, the everyday person.

And the money you spend at these small businesses helps stimulate the local economy — because the owners shop from the same small businesses for everything they need.

It’s time to pay it forward and make this world a reality.

Inflation vs. Small Businesses

We know inflation is through the roof right now, and it’s easy to feel helpless. However, during these times, it’s best not to forget how you can help your community.

Pumping money into your local economy will directly impact the world around you, through your roads and schools, and by supporting local jobs.

Listen to this: The cost of groceries is jumping so high that it’s not too different to eat dinner at a locally owned restaurant. Then, plan day trips to your local zoos, aquariums, and museums. Finally, ditch Dunkin’ and try that little cafe on the corner that you’ve been meaning to give a shot, but you haven’t been by because they don’t have a drive-through (maybe you can even save a few pennies on gas by riding your bike there).

Your Etsy community economy

But most importantly for you is not to forget to help your Etsy community. After all, those are your neighbors. You’re not in the mall — you can’t say hi to the shop next door and buy them lunch.

That’s because your neighbors are online. Sure, you see them on the forums and offer a word of advice every now and then, but how can you do more? 

You could start by shopping from Etsy yourself. Shopping from small Etsy businesses will, in turn, help your own business. That is, if we all pay it forward.

So we’re throwing out a little challenge here. 

Are you up for the challenge?

For the next few months and leading into the holiday season, see if you can do more of your shopping on Etsy instead of on Amazon or at your local big box store. Now obviously, you can’t do this for groceries. But you can buy more from Etsy than you probably know.

• With school coming up, look for school supplies and kids’ clothes from Etsy sellers.
• If you’re moving into a new place, instead of buying art and decor from IKEA, buy it on Etsy.
• Birthday or anniversary coming up? The first place you should think to shop is Etsy.

That’s because Etsy is home to those small businesses we mentioned earlier. And Etsy is home for your business.

So if we want to stimulate our economy, it helps to spend money where we work.

By Etsy sellers, for Etsy sellers.

On top of that, one of the biggest categories on Etsy, crafting supplies, is probably a great place to stock up your craft room where you make your own products.

So don’t forget to shop around after listing what you sell. Not everyone on Etsy is your direct competitor, so try working with them.

Working with Etsy sellers

You could try giving promo codes to fellow Etsy sellers or use their products to enhance your own.

If you knit scarves, try finding some hand-spun yarn and acknowledge the seller you bought it from in your own listing.

Shopping for Etsy in your daily life

And this doesn’t have to end with your own Etsy products. If you sell baked goods outside of Etsy to help raise money for charity, look for sellers that offer new extracts and flavorings to use in your baked goods.

You can even find vintage baking tins and molds to set your goods apart from Nancy, who was in charge of baking for your women’s group last week. Of course, her muffins aren’t that good anyway.

Support local businesses on Etsy

Yes, Etsy is a global marketplace — so your dollar may not directly impact your community. But it’s actually pretty easy to change that. If you want to shop locally on Etsy, all you need to do is narrow your search results down to your city or zip code.

Repeat this for every Etsy search, and you’ll only see local products in your area.

If you see someone selling something that looks mass-produced like they’re just trying to make a quick buck — skip ’em and buy from an Etsy seller that takes pride in their work.

Over to you

All this to say — by paying it forward on Etsy, we’re encouraging Etsy sellers to support Etsy sellers. By doing that, you’ll be supporting another small business. Your dollar will go directly to the individual behind the product. And you’ll take a step towards saving the economy for Etsy sellers everywhere.

Challenge someone else

If you like the sound of that and stand behind this message — then share this challenge with a friend or another Etsy seller. Let’s see if we can get more Etsy sellers supporting their local economy by paying it forward.

 

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