Poshmark vs Etsy: Which Is Better? [2024]

Poshmark vs Etsy: when you step into the online business and e-commerce side, just know that as a start-up business, or someone with close to no experience, you’ll have to start by choosing the perfect marketplace which will also help you in marketing.

Now, there are multiple options in the industry for marketplaces, but some top platforms like Poshmark and Etsy have certainly gained attention. Both are favored marketplaces but are famous for different types of products.

For the same reason, if you are here to know what are the differences between the two, and which is a better choice for you according to what you are interested in selling, then our comparison article between Poshmark vs Etsy below is here to guide you.

Poshmark vs Etsy: Introduction

Poshmark

Poshmark is a social e-commerce platform, a marketplace where you can buy and sell new or secondhand fashion, electronics, and home goods.

Although it mainly focuses on fashion and home decor along with beauty, it also has influence over other related departments like Plus size clothing, accessories, footwear, etc. 

Etsy

Etsy is an American-based e-commerce company focusing on helping you sell and buy handmade and vintage items along with craft supplies. It gives more value to handmade items, but you can also outsource your ideas and items to sell on this platform.

At Etsy, you can offer such items through a variety of departments like clothing, home decor, toys, art, jewellery, craft supplies, tools, etc.

Poshmark vs Etsy: Start and UI

Poshmark

For starters, you don’t require an account on Poshmark to explore and navigate the site. After you have understood a couple of things and how the platform works, then you can opt to create an account with the usual sign-up procedure.

The interface of the website and app, both are user-friendly and after you have created an account and logged in, just like it says, you’ll require just a bit more understanding before moving ahead, both as seller and buyer.

As a Seller, you can quickly take a good picture of your item, upload it to your closet, and the main thing is – this listing job can be done through your cell phone easily.

As a buyer, you can explore the departments on the platform as much as you want, easily add items to your cart and opt for payment and delivery whenever you wish.

Etsy

Etsy helps you explore its platform as a new user without creating an account first. However, if you want to explore it in detail, you’ll eventually have to create one soon.

Etsy comes with a user-friendly interface, on both its website and app. You can discover multiple items, explore through your favorite categories and safely purchase good quality items with uniqueness.

As a seller, the platform gives you the easiest way to list your items. It gives you the privilege to add up to 10 images to the product, certainly to convince the customer to buy it and the rest of the process is very easy – stating this through personal experience. 

Poshmark vs Etsy: Fees

Poshmark

Poshmark has a selling fee percentage of 20% of the sale price. However, this fixed fee is altered to a flat rate of $2.95 for all the items sold under $15. 

Etsy 

To start with, Etsy charges you $0.20 for every listing you put up in your shop. You can choose to pay the total listing amount right after your shop is up and active, or within approximately 1 month of the shop launch. 

After this, all the other fees sum up to 6.5% of the total order amount. This percentage will be cut off from the money before being transferred into your account.

Apart from this, as a new seller or an existing one, you are automatically added to the Etsy offsite ads campaign which will cost a 15% additional fee on the total order, only if the offsite ads are involved in the sale. 

However, if you want to cut off this amount and are good with Etsy not showing your products on other popular platforms like Google and Instagram for marketing, then you can always change the default settings from the ‘Marketing’ option under Shop Manager. 

Poshmark vs Etsy: Best For

Poshmark

Poshmark is best for selling and discovering trends in fashion, beauty, home decor, and related categories. Whether you are a small business startup with your own unique brand or a retailer for any such brand – Poshmark will do the work for you.  

Etsy

Etsy is best for selling and discovering categories like handmade items, vintage products, crafting, etc. 

Basically, whether you’re making something with your own hands or outsourcing it, as long as the idea and design belong to you, you can sell on Etsy with your uniqueness.

Poshmark vs Etsy: Popularity 

Poshmark

Poshmark has more than 80 million users, among which 70 million belong to North America, and over 200 million listings are active on its platform, as of 2021. 

Etsy

Etsy has reported over 90 million active users in the fourth quarter of 2021, with a 17% increase from the last year. It has also reported over 2 million sellers in the same period. 

Poshmark vs Etsy: Most Popular Items

Poshmark

Poshmark has a good variety of categories and brands to offer like Carter’s, Nike, Levi’s, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc, but when it comes to its most popular items, the radar always falls towards the most widespread brand currently in the industry – offering the best of fashion.

Yes, you may also sell other category products like accessories, smart home electronics, kitchen electronics, etc, but beware of the trends in the fashion world to make the most out of your efforts. 

Etsy

To start with, Etsy is mostly about handmade products so, it is extremely important to make sure your products are worth selling for the price and value you have charged. 

The sellers on Etsy, as expected, are picky when it comes to handmade products since there is no way they’re going to be 100% perfect and that’s why they’ll search for the best-valued item.

That’s why the most popular items on Etsy are not only the ones that are handmade but also the ones which are valued perfectly according to their finishing and quality. 

This will drive the shoppers to leave good reviews on your products — automatically inviting attention to your shop. 

Poshmark vs Etsy: How do Sellers get paid?

Poshmark

Like any other marketplace out there, you’ll, of course, not receive the amount for the product sold immediately after the purchase. Poshmark will release the money in your preferred way through the Poshmark account within 3 days of the delivery.

After the money has reached your Poshmark account, you can withdraw the amount through a variety of ways like PayPal, instant transfer, direct deposit to your bank account, Venmo, or you can also request a check. 

Etsy

All the sellers will get paid through Etsy payments on the platform. You’ll receive the money only after you have successfully shipped the item. 

Etsy will take about 2–3 business days to get the payment, transferred into your preferred bank account through direct deposit, or you can also choose to get it in your PayPal account. 

Moreover, for a new Etsy seller, the default settings say your funds will be automatically transferred into your attached bank account weekly on every Monday. 

However, if you wish to change this setting, then you can always do the alteration through the ‘Finances’ option under Shop Manager. 

Poshmark vs Etsy: Shipping and Deliver

Poshmark

As expected, the buyers are required to pay for the shipping prices on Poshmark. But, in the form of deals and promotions, the sellers can also choose to provide free shipping whenever they want.

Now talking about the shipping price, it is a flat fee of $7.67 for expedited shipping, which will take 1 – 3 days to reach the destination.

Etsy

Etsy sellers get discounted prices if they choose any Etsy affiliate like USPS, Canada Post, or FedEx for shipping. However, you are free to choose any other courier service. 

With its domestic deliveries, you will get the product in 3 to 7 business days and for international shipments, the delivery will take between 10 to 30 business days.

Poshmark vs Etsy: Pros and Cons

Poshmark

Pros:

• It’s easy to list items.
• There is no listing fee, you can list as many items as you want – all for free. 
• Poshmark offers support to negotiate for a full refund if you have anything lost or damaged in the mail. 
• Has discounted USPS priority shipping options.
• Has an option of expedited shipping for the fastest delivery. 

Cons:

• Many users are always looking for discounts and deals.
• The shipping charges by Poshmark are expensive.
• Although you can sell in a variety of categories, only the clothing and fashion product categories make more sales.
• Promoting and marketing your products is hard unless you are a professional in that field. 

Etsy

Pros:

• Has millions of customers worldwide, ready to pay you for your imperfect and handmade product. 
• Creating a listing on your shop is easy.
• It allows you to add information about your shop as well as its members and owner to create a good impression on buyers.
• There’s an announcement panel instead of a description space where you can add announcements about free shipping, promotions, and deals to attract customers. 
• Although the offsite and onsite ads are expensive, you’ll only pay for these ads if you make a sale through them.

Cons:

• It is not free to open a shop as you’ll have to pay for the listing fee soon. 
• Has fees almost for every move and you’ll have to eventually increase the prices of your products to cover these fees and additional charges. 
• You’ll have to pay again for all the listings in the shop after 4 months of listings, or whenever the product is sold out.

Poshmark vs Etsy: Which is better?

If you have clothes, home essentials on deck or items, kitchen appliances, home smart appliances, cosmetics, skin care products, etc like items, then Poshmark is better.

On top of this, it's also good when you have some second-hand items which can still be used or are actually untouched to sell. 

However, if you are an artist and love to create things with your own hands, or outsource them with your own design and idea, then you can sell stuff with value on Etsy. 

Also, Etsy also welcomes vintage items, whether we are talking about vintage antiques in crafting or journaling.

Through all the highlights and headlines mentioned in this article, we have come to a clear conclusion that both Poshmark and Etsy are good choices, but for different types of items. 

Poshmark is a good choice when you have things related to fashion, beauty, and home decor to sell. On the other hand, Etsy is a better choice if you have handmade, craft, and related items to offer.

With this, we have come to an end and hope you now know which among Poshmark and Etsy is a good option for you and your business. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

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