5 Tips for Finding the Best of Etsy

Learning how to find the gems on Etsy, though, is a skill. Otherwise you could wind up with a bunch of soaps shaped like vaginas.

I have been an Etsy supporter since the beginning.

Okay, unlikely because technically I don’t even know when Etsy began.  But, since I stumbled across it years ago, it has been my go-to source for outdoing the other moms on the teacher gift front finding unique, meaningful gifts for the people I care about.  And want to impress.

Learning how to find the gems on Etsy, though, is a skill. Otherwise you could wind up with a bunch of soaps shaped like vaginas.  No one wants that.  That’s no way to get clean.

{ MORE: Back to School Etsy Style }

Here Are My 5 Tips for Finding the Best of Etsy

1.  Use the site’s resources. 

Take some time to get to know the site.  Look at the sidebar for example.  It has some buttons that can literally make your shopping experience amazing.  The “Trending Items” page is usually good for some gems as it’s full of the items people are most intrigued with at the moment.  Sure, this can backfire since vagina soaps are actually pretty intriguing, but mostly it’s a great way to score some cool stuff.  Another good place to look is in the Treasury.  It’s the member curated shopping gallery on the site, meaning the most active people on Etsy get to share what they think you should buy.  Find a member who is into what you’re into and then stalk her Treasury.  For example, Rachel and I should probably be besties in real life.

2.  Read the Etsy blog. 

They feature cool people and the cool things they make there. They have regular features like Eatsy with the tagline “Food as Craft”, which shares a recipe and then products on site which support the creation of that recipe. Like this week's Banana and Coconut Ice Cream.  The other features include a featured shop, ‘How-to' Tuesday, Sew Savvy and more. All of which support the common thread on Etsy, handmade and homemade products. 

3.  Read an independent Etsy showcase blog. 

The only one I ever look at is Etsy Love.  Sure, there are others, but this one is my favorite. It curates a wide-variety of products in an easy, clean gallery style format making it perfect for browsing lovely finds. 

4.  Follow the #Etsy hashtag on Twitter as well as the site.

Sometimes it’s just funny what you see there.  But sometimes, you see things you can’t really live without owning. Add an additional hashtag for an item your looking for like #baby #toddler #peepeeteepee and you may find exactly what you've been searching for without having to search through pages and pages of items. 

5.  Use Google. 

I mean, if Google can tell you how to be beautiful, and assure you that the growth on your foot is a plantar wart and NOT cancer, it can easily tell you what the coolest things on Etsy are, right?!  Right! Here’s a tip from Stylish Home: 

You can have Google do a special, yet simple, query to get what you want by entering the following at Google: “site:www.etsy.com/shop/ decorative pillow” (without the quotes). For other items, simply replace “decorative pillow” with whatever you’re shopping for.  

Basically never put vagina soap at the end and you should be good to go!

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