Etsy's Handmade Blog
Etsy Statistics: December Celebrated the Holidays
Story by winenutnyc
Published on January 6, 2009 in Etsy News 		Photo by

loveallaround

All of us here at Etsy were very anxious to see the December results and I have to say, they were worth waiting for!

  • $12.9  million of goods were sold —  a 20% increase over November.
  • That represents  815,327  items sold, a 13.4% increase from November's stats.
  • 1,098,644  new items were listed, down from 1,143,942 items last month, a 4% decrease.
  • 164,789  new members joined the Etsy community — a 22% increase.  That number included 19,481 new sellers.
  •  410,365,372  page views were recorded on the site, essentially the same number as November.

Happy New Year and thanks for everyone's hard work. It was a terrific year here at Etsy.

Curious about how other months compare? Check out our past Weather Reports for more statistics.

Tags business, data, December 2008, ETSY NEWS, holiday 2008, information, metrics, number crunching, statistics, stats, traffic, weather, weather report
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86 comments     Login to add your own!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 4:36 p.m. SeaFindDesigns

Gawd I love December at Etsy!!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 4:38 p.m. KnitStorm

interesting... i definitely saw a spike in sales for a few of my shops.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 4:52 p.m. michelemaule

December was definitely my best month ever on Etsy!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 4:53 p.m. thehouseofhemp

november/december on etsy were my best months since joining, no doubt. jan. is turning out pretty well too - thanks so much ;)

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5 p.m. ptitebaloue

I had my first two sales in December... Let's hope it keeps going :)

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:01 p.m. craftgasm

Hooray handmade holidays! Thanks for letting us know the info. :)

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:01 p.m. gumbygirl

It's always nice to see numbers climbing....not dropping!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:15 p.m. LaireMarie

Still waiting for my december... :(

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:20 p.m. lillyella

wow! 160,000 new members and 20,000 new sellers!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:28 p.m. IcingOnTheCupcake

Interesting to see the numbers. November and December were great months for sales!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:31 p.m. elementclaystudio

i would love to see a comparison between this december and the last!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:48 p.m. timberlineltd

December was by far the best month since I joined etsy in Febuary. January is slower but I am still making sales so a BIG thank you to ETSY! I think 2009 will be a great year here! I love Etsy! It already feels like home.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:49 p.m. PeacockEnvy

awesome!!! I think its so cool you you let us know all of this suff. This is such an amazing community! Thanks for everything!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:50 p.m. DeNovoStyle

I had my first sale in December. It's nice to have some good news these days!!!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:57 p.m. BeanTownHandmade

December was my first full month on Etsy and it went pretty well. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of things so this year's going to be better. Happy New Year everyone!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 5:59 p.m. voleurdebijoux

Thank you ETSY for creating this fabulous venue for us!!
I truly appreciate it...xoxo :)

Jan. 6, 2009 at 6:06 p.m. KnitzAndFeltz

As a relative newbie that is very impressive! Here's hoping for continued success for everyone in 2009!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 6:17 p.m. Karmacrochet

December '08 was my best month ever! I cannot complain. Thank you!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 6:34 p.m. minorthread

i'd actually love to see some stats on how Dec 08 comped with Dec 07. is that possible?

Jan. 6, 2009 at 6:38 p.m. BabbidgePatch

Spectacular December results! I'm still in my first year at Etsy and every day is a delight!

Thanks to Etsy Founders for creating such a powerful and 'creative' forum for all artisans and their customers!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 6:53 p.m. Sinta

Great news! Hope it keeps up :) Am still a relatively new shop, but I'm getting decent exposure and sales!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 6:54 p.m. lauratrevey

I just joined December 29th, so I am part of these stats... I am already addicted... I love Etsy!!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 6:58 p.m. TheSeed

Just adding my voice to the list of those who'd love to see Dec. '07 and '08 comparisons. I only joined 2 days ago, no sales yet, but I'm just curious.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 7:06 p.m. Ozarknana

WOW, that's fabulous! Go Etsians!! Nice to see so many purchasing handcrafted!!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 7:07 p.m. nfall2rt

Good to know:) Lets cross our fingers that all those folks who received handmade gifts this holiday season will pass it on!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 7:14 p.m. MissFiKingdom

That is really good news. I'm glad that the interest in etsy is growing.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 7:41 p.m. AlloverArt

Hooray for sales increases!! :) Congrats everyone.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 7:57 p.m. RaeGun

ooh that's so exciting sheesh that's a whole bunch of new buyers

Jan. 6, 2009 at 8:08 p.m. kingfishercrafts

Woohoo!
Thankyou hard working Etsy Admin.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 8:08 p.m. MelissasMelange

Hmm, it would be interesting to know how many of the new members (non-sellers) actually purchased something and how many just signed up...

Thanks for the statistics, as before, I would like to have more detailed reports, but I am certainly waiting breathless in anticipation of individual seller statistics...

Jan. 6, 2009 at 8:37 p.m. hasenpfeffer

woohoo! congrats etsy. and thanks for a great december. :)

Jan. 6, 2009 at 8:55 p.m. MisNopalesArt

I Love December! It's great to see those numbers, Thanks Etsy!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 9:22 p.m. bluebirdsandblossoms

Thanks for the stats... thats good news. Congrats!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 9:59 p.m. futurowoman

I would love to see comparative stats that show the ratios between sales and sellers, over time. I know that my business was down exactly 25% in 2008 from 2007, even though I have more "fans". I've chalked it up to the economy. With many thousands of people joining Etsy to sell every month, are sales overall increasing in ratio terms? That is crucial information from sellers. I will be very interested with google stats are made public, and would love it if Etsy Admin put out these comparative percentage stats of ratios since 2005.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 10:10 p.m. thebestvintage

That's good news!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 10:34 p.m. Kniftyhooksneedles

Congradulations etsy adminstration for making etsy better and better,Looking forward to 2009!!!!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 10:36 p.m. Vemuria

I was able to get awesome and unique items for my family, with new expressions this year heehee. Also, it is great getting all presents that are awesome, and that you wanted so much! This was my best Christmas ever! Thanx Etsy!!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 10:53 p.m. DeborahVoizin

Thanks for sharing such wonderful information!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 11 p.m. kristensteinfineart

Wow! Fantastic! That's great to hear!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 11:15 p.m. sherrytruitt

Less items listed, and more sales. What more could you ask for? Thanks, that's wonderful.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 11:17 p.m. sungazer

I'm sort of puzzled as to what those numbers mean in terms of individual sellers, as opposed to Etsy itself.

If the number of sellers increased 22% and the number of sales increased 20%, that suggests that sellers on average experienced a drop in sales, doesn't it? Since the increase in sales ought to equal or exceed with the increase in sellers?

Say you had 100 people, and they each sold one thing for a dollar, for a total of $100. They'd be making $1 each, right?

Then increase the number of people 22% (to 122) and the amount of sales 20% (to $120). If you divide $120/122, that means each person is now making only about 98 cents - less than before, in other words, despite the increases.

Obviously, this is an oversimplification, but, then, so are your own numbers. They LOOK good, but unless you know what they mean for the AVERAGE seller, they are pretty much useless for most of us.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 11:24 p.m. sungazer

In other words, it's not enough to just toss out the numbers as if they mean something on their own.

You need to explain what they mean, and what the implications are. Are all sellers seeing an increase? If not, which ones were successful enough to make up for the lack of success experienced by others? Did they do so by selling more items more cheaply? Or by selling fewer, more expensive items? Were people buying more supplies, or more finished products? How many of the sales were to new buyers? How many were to long-time Etsy-ites?

Obviously, this growth is good for ETSY's bottom line.

The benefits of such growth to the bottom lines of individual sellers ON Etsy are far less clear.

Put another way: I saw a seven-fold increase in my sales. Sounds great, right?

But we're talking an increase from 1 sale to 7 sales. I'm pleased, but that's not going to make it possible to Quit My Day Job (tm) any time soon!

Statistics are useful - IF you take the time to understand and explain them.

Jan. 6, 2009 at 11:30 p.m. sungazer

Also, on the items listed, versus sales... since listings run for 4 months, it's hard to figure out what that means, when you're comparing only two months. Are people selling things listed in December, or are they selling things listed back in August? How long does it take to complete a sale? Is the time shorter now, or longer?

I'm not trying to rain on a parade, if a parade is indeed happening. But I don't think it's very responsible of you to just toss these figures out as if they must "obviously" be good news for every seller here. That's not obvious at all, and for many sellers, those numbers may in fact have little to do with their own experiences selling in December.

Again, just because Etsy AS A WHOLE is thriving, doesn't mean that every seller here should be celebrating, or even every "average" seller. Without more information, we don't know what "average" is!

So, yay, Etsy-as-a-whole - but I'll save my celebrating for when the stats for MY shop show similar success.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 12:17 a.m. worksofwhimsy

No surprise that Dec was better than Nov. November was S...L...O...W. Can we continue this trend through January? (please, please, please)

Jan. 7, 2009 at 12:23 a.m. barebumstudio

I had my first sales in December too, let's keep it up, gang!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 12:46 a.m. Allenbrite

Congrats to Etsy and all the buyers and sellers who make it a great place to shop and sell!!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 1:43 a.m. recycledwares

I appreciate that you share this information with us. I don't know of very many sites that would do this. I really like how Etsy is run and managed. You make me feel a part of what is going on. I won't mention any names, but when I was selling on other sites, I felt like a drop in a bucket and just money to them, not a person. Not here - Thank you Etsy and the Etsy teams for such a great experience and community.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 2:02 a.m. littleredbear

oh pretty selections!!!!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 2:15 a.m. beautifulbridget

December was a great month! Thanks Etsy!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 2:53 a.m. Iammie

yay. thanks ETSY!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 4:14 a.m. ErikaPrice

My first December here and I had some great sales, made some great purchases, and had a load of fun too - Thanks Etsy!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 6:57 a.m. TheCottageCheese

Great to hear of Etsy's continued growth! As a relatively new seller I had a good year, and hope to have a good 2009 in both my vintage store and the new handmade store I will be opening. Thanks Etsy!!!!!!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 7:57 a.m. AutumnLeavesJewelry

Wahoo same number of views with 20% increase in sales? Yeah! (it was a good month for me thank you Etsy!)

Jan. 7, 2009 at 8:45 a.m. frenchtown

I have been reading these posts with interest. I'm glad Etsy is doing well, so that the site continues. I'm not sure what this all means for me. Like sungazer, I'm not anywhere near quitting my day job, but I do know that I sold things to people all over the US, people who would never have seen my work otherwise. I've done craft shows, spent a lot of money and spent a lot of time and sold nothing. I can maintain my Etsy shop in my pajamas and let's face it, the costs are minimal. Long Live Etsy!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 8:58 a.m. sleepingcatbeads

like sungazer, I wonder what the actual numbers mean for the average seller. I know for me - having now sold on etsy for two holiday seasons, this season I sold approximately half of what I did last season...and yet I did the same "marketing", had 4x as many hearts, name recognition, etc. Is it the economy, or is it that there is that much more competition on etsy? I don't know.

I'm glad etsy as a whole is doing well, but these numbers don't really mean anything for my shop.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 9:51 a.m. lazygiraffe

Nice to look back and see all the views!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 9:54 a.m. ConstantGalore

I think it would be helpful if Etsy shared the ability for its sellers (ie: it's true customers) to access stats for their individual shops. That way, we'd all be able to accurately assess the growth/decline of our businesses.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 10 a.m. JDWolfePottery

I don't think those numbers were meant to mean anything to individual shops. I would assume you know your own numbers, increase in sales from last year/month, etc.

What those numbers do show is that there was tremendous growth on Etsy in December with more items sold than were listed, which means a greater percentage of items were sold. Excellent news! It also shows a dramatic increase in buyers only as the 22% increase only includes about 19,500 sellers, which is about the same as November. It was mostly new buyers signing up. In fact that is the greatest ratio of buyers to sellers I have ever seen.

What you can learn from the numbers is that Etsy as a whole is thriving and if your shop is not growing along with it, you need to look at your business plan.

Are those all of the numbers needed to run your business. Of course not! But there is some valuable information there.

If anyone else wants some help in deciphering some of the number relationships, I would be happy to discuss it in a convo.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 10:05 a.m. Crybabe

I just want to say how much I enjoy Etsy, and what a neat venue it is for all of us. Friendly to deal with, and such talented people able to offer their wares...I'm just very thankful for it.Please don't let it morph into what the other sites have.
We love Etsy!!!!!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 10:10 a.m. moonstr

woooooo!
thank you!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 10:34 a.m. dgordon

Nov and Dec were for sure my best months since joining two years ago! By far!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 10:39 a.m. khphillips

I think it's interesting to note that 20% more sold in december but the PAGE VIEWS REMAINED THE SAME, which means buyers are finding their purchases easier on Etsy - woo hoo! Good job etsy!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 10:47 a.m. elisasherejewelry

December was GREAT this year, thank you Etsy! My sales tripled that month, which was definitely a treat. Keep up the great work that you do.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 10:56 a.m. RubyStudios

I appreciate Etsy sharing the statistics. The transparency is nice, although I wonder if seeing more would help me understand and run my business more. I'm still trying to find my little niche here. I just listed my items this past November and I was happy with the sales. But then when I see 12.9 million, and I only sold 3 items in December that weren't to family/friends, I wonder how it's going for other newbie sellers. I will be working to promote both on Etsy and perhaps elsewhere, and I am not disheartened, but I did expect a bit more for the holidays. I love Etsy, and once I get established I think it will be just right for me. It just takes much time and effort to get settled, especially with such so much talented competition (I say that in the nicest way possible :)! )

Jan. 7, 2009 at 11:57 a.m. juicychristians

Sweet! We're RICH!!!!!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 12:21 p.m. BluCille

Very nice watercolour.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 12:43 p.m. brindakaydesign

Good job everyone.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 1 p.m. patspottery

I did pretty good this December and the new year, though slow, is better then last year. All in all, I am a happy camper:>) Life is GOOD!!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 1:22 p.m. laralewis

sadly, i've never been good with numbers. but i do know that i got much less sleep this past december than i had in the previous months! so thank you, etsy, for this incredible opportunity, it's been a real joy to be here.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 2:37 p.m. ConstantGalore

JD- but knowing where our hits/views are coming from would help us run our businesses, it's the simplest form of business knowledge available to all websites and that's not being shared with the sellers here.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 2:45 p.m. timesandchimes

So many new sellers! Wow!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 2:59 p.m. OnTheRound

it sure was a good December...for etsy and ontheround!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 3:09 p.m. truLuxe

That looks like my numbers, too (percentage increases, not dollars :).... Isn't this FANTASTIC?????

I just started really selling at the end of September and my sales have steadily climbed every month... November and December were WILD!!! I love to see these numbers... has anyone made a chart? I want to see a chart.

Thank you, Etsy!!!

love,
truLuxe

Jan. 7, 2009 at 3:19 p.m. BrokenMemories

Yippie for etsy and all the etsians! 2009 will be better yet!

Jan. 7, 2009 at 3:41 p.m. terminy

So...Everybody is happy.
That's good :-)

Jan. 7, 2009 at 6:51 p.m. threepeats

The economy is in the tank but that made more people look for thoughtful (translates to handmade) gifts to give.

Jan. 7, 2009 at 8:37 p.m. yourcreativeoutlet

Great Numbers!!!

Jan. 8, 2009 at 2:08 a.m. loosewirestudio

Awesome!

If anyone wants to see all the year's months in one place, I've created a spreadsheet with the figures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loosewir...

Enjoy! :)
Go Etsy! Go Us!

Jan. 8, 2009 at 4:23 a.m. paulxu214

WISH EVERYTHING GOES WELL IN 2009

Jan. 8, 2009 at 7:59 a.m. stinkybomb

We had the best month ever in December and have only been around for 4 months.
Thanks for helping to make us a success!

Jan. 8, 2009 at 8:10 a.m. heavenlypouches

Thanks for this information. I have done well over the last 30 days.

Jan. 8, 2009 at 9:14 a.m. maclancy

So nice to know the results of sales on Etsy..all the hard work making our products and marketing via Treasuries and blogs and letters and posting.. I hope 2009 will be a snowball that keeps rolling! congrats to all at Etsy admin and artists alike!

Jan. 11, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. alamodeplease

Yay for Etsy!

Jan. 26, 2009 at 2:10 p.m. FlowersandMore

I did much better in Nov than Dec since I had my store down for about a week for shows. I'm hoping it gets a bit more lively soon.

Jan. 28, 2009 at 3:32 p.m. TaraTaraTara

I LOVE you etsy,,, living and giving my art to the world is so much fun! I'd love to work full time with you guys!! Got any employment for a cool art teacher like me who is having trouble getting a public edu job due to fund cutting on our stinky economy? I live in Amish Land Ohio!

Feb. 5, 2009 at 5:57 p.m. KnitsYoursKnotMine

:D glad to see those numbers pick up for the holidays!

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