Kansas City makers look forward to Etsys renewed focus on handmade goods [Video]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Industry expert eMarketer predicts ecommerce sales will surpass $6 trillion in 2024, with Amazon making up 40% of U.S. sales.

After layoffs and stock price drops, online retailer Etsy is shifting its focus back to handmade goods.

“I think when buyers are paying handmade prices on Etsy, they deserve to get something that was handmade, not factory made and repackaged,” said Merry Maker, owner Mary Lynn Iskak.

Iskak’s business is a side hustle, with less than 20% of her sales coming from Etsy.

She said users likely struggle to find her items online because of the large amount of re-sellers on the site.

“It’s really hard,” she said. “When you try to search even your own items on Etsy sometimes you have to go pages and pages.”

Etsy’s new plan for sellers included adding tags to items like “built by,” “designed by,” and “crafted by” to discourage resellers on …