Etsy and zines

[Wes White]

I've considered setting up an Etsy account for my stuff before but always stop at the first hurdle when I'm asked to remember that Etsy is only for handmade, crafty items. While a certain amount of my stuff could be fairly called hand bound, a fair deal of it is just copied onto nice paper and stapled together. I like to think it has a good aesthetic, and the zines are always very short runs, but is that enough to qualify for Etsy? Are many zines sold on Etsy like mine and are they okay with that? Because if so, I'll set up an account tomorrow. But I don't want to sign up and attempt to trade things on there if they're really inappropriate. What do other zinesters with accounts there think?

[Rick Bradford]

Yeah, it must be okay because there are a ton of zines on there. Well, I know there are lots of mini-comics and I'm pretty sure there are a bunch of non-comics zines too.

I don't know how exactly they make the distinction but the typical xeroxed, stapled zine seems to be in the clear.

[Wes White]

Cool. Sounds like "signing up tomorrow" it is.

[Emma Jane Falconer]

etsy are fine with zines, they just don't like new mass-produced magazines with advertising (2nd hand ones are ok)

[CocoaPuss Zine]

i have an etsy account and have had it for about a week. i sold 5 out of the 8 zines i had posted so far, but they all went to friends. no strangers. the thing i don't like about etsy is that there are so many zines and they are listed by the day they were submitted on there so everyday my zine gets further and further down the list so the chances of people i don't know buying it are fairly slim. also my picture isn't so good but i don't have a digital camera so maybe it doesn't look as cute as the other zines. i hear you have to get active in the forums or whatever they call them to really get going and sell. i haven't done that yet, but i guess i will soon. we'll see.

[Alex Wrekk]

We also have team Zine on Etsy... we don't do much but zine solidarity is always good.

[Katie]

Hey Wes, yeah, do it! I've had good luck selling zines on there and have made trades with strangers too. Fun. Like Alex said there are lots of us zinesters on etsy and we have a Team Zine too. If you make a shop you should join.

[CocoaPuss Zine]

yeah i'm sure they probably suck ass. that's why i haven't really got to them yet. lol.

BestAvailable said:

I hate to break this to you, CocoaPuss, but I've found the Etsy forums to be pretty not helpful. And kind of filled with mean people who like really mainstream stuff.

Please bear in mind that this is a total generalization based off my own experience. You may find it delightful. Let me know if you do. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

CocoaPuss Zine said:

i have an etsy account and have had it for about a week. i sold 5 out of the 8 zines i had posted so far, but they all went to friends. no strangers. the thing i don't like about etsy is that there are so many zines and they are listed by the day they were submitted on there so everyday my zine gets further and further down the list so the chances of people i don't know buying it are fairly slim. also my picture isn't so good but i don't have a digital camera so maybe it doesn't look as cute as the other zines. i hear you have to get active in the forums or whatever they call them to really get going and sell. i haven't done that yet, but i guess i will soon. we'll see.

[Sabrina]

I love etsy. I sell a lot of zines on etsy, sometimes even without actual pictures! i think the key is to have a really good description and as many tags as you can.

re: the forums: they are really busy and conversations move so fast! i have promoted a bit in the forums and i find it does bring a lot of traffic and hearts to my shop and sometimes sales. you jsut have to keep at it.

and about your zine being buried in the mountain of zine listing: i kind of cheat that system by listing zines as "only one available," then re-listing after it sells to get back to the top :)

CocoaPuss Zine said:

i have an etsy account and have had it for about a week. i sold 5 out of the 8 zines i had posted so far, but they all went to friends. no strangers. the thing i don't like about etsy is that there are so many zines and they are listed by the day they were submitted on there so everyday my zine gets further and further down the list so the chances of people i don't know buying it are fairly slim. also my picture isn't so good but i don't have a digital camera so maybe it doesn't look as cute as the other zines. i hear you have to get active in the forums or whatever they call them to really get going and sell. i haven't done that yet, but i guess i will soon. we'll see.

[Wai Au]

Sabrina said:

and about your zine being buried in the mountain of zine listing: i kind of cheat that system by listing zines as "only one available," then re-listing after it sells to get back to the top :)

I don't think that's cheating! I do it too! I don't think anyone is going to list it as 10 available if you really don't know when someone is going to buy it.


And as for etsy policy, I was under the impression that any self-published book would be okay to list? (Correct me if I'm wrong...) Professionally bound or done in your basement. As long as it is your content, I wouldn't worry too much.

Good luck!

[Alex Wrekk]

Etsy encourages people to relist... I think they probably make a lot of money off people who relist before the item expires.

You can sell anything YOU publish even if it is done at a printer. If you are the author you can sell your book on Etsy as long as you ship it and do not have it drop shipped from a place like lulu or something. The problem is that the books and zines section is for artist books, original books by authors who are on etsy and the category gets over run with people posting their old craft books from the 70's and old craft magazines because they don't know what zines are.

belugachop said:

Sabrina said:

and about your zine being buried in the mountain of zine listing: i kind of cheat that system by listing zines as "only one available," then re-listing after it sells to get back to the top :)

I don't think that's cheating! I do it too! I don't think anyone is going to list it as 10 available if you really don't know when someone is going to buy it.


And as for etsy policy, I was under the impression that any self-published book would be okay to list? (Correct me if I'm wrong...) Professionally bound or done in your basement. As long as it is your content, I wouldn't worry too much.

Good luck!

[Alex Wrekk]

I was pretty active in the forums at one time and it did help. I just have to remember there are a lot of people who are either professional and think that their way is the only way or people who want to be professional and think that the only way to be professional is the way they see "successful" etsy sellers being professional.

I'm from a DIY background so my idea of professionalism is a bit skewed, but firm. People on the forums aren't going to "get" zines but there are some that are interested. type "zine" in the forum search and see what comes up. that;s something that we ask the people on team zine to do from time to time.

[The East Village Inky]

I'm a relister, too --- I have lots of back issues, so when I was getting started on etsy, rather than listing them all at once, I added them a bit at a time, sort of paying out the line the way a fisherman-woman would.

One thing I recently discovered on etsy, that I like a lot, is a feature that gives you a code to add to your website, or facebook page. plop that sucker on there, and suddenly, you've got multiple clickable links (up to 20, if I'm not mistaken) that look like the cover of your zine that takes the interested party right to the page where they can BUY that issue! I installed it myself on facebook, where it's part of my homepage, and had the friend who maintains my website slap it up there. That way, I don't have to constantly remind people about the zine, and beg em to check it out. They have this image to pursue all by their ownself.

You'll have to befriend me - Ayun Halliday- on facebook to see it there, but anyone can take a gander at my website to see what I'm talking about: http://ayunhalliday.com/inky/index.html
(scroll to the bottom)