TL;DR
Etsy is good for discovery, terrible for repeat sales. Your own site is the opposite. Most serious cottage bakers should use both — Etsy for top-of-funnel, your own site for repeat customers.
Fees compared
| Etsy | Own site (Siftii) | |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20/listing | $0 |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | 0% |
| Payment processing | 3% + $0.25 | 2.9% + $0.30 (Stripe) |
| Offsite ads | 12-15% | 0% |
| Monthly cost | $0 | Free plan available |
Customer ownership
On Etsy, the buyer is Etsy's customer. You can't email them, you can't retarget them, and Etsy can shut you down.
On your own site, the customer is yours. You can email them, send them subscription orders, and build a brand.
When to use each
- Etsy: shippable, giftable, search-driven items (cookies, granola, sourdough kits).
- Own site: local pickup, custom orders, subscriptions, repeat customers.
The hybrid play
Use Etsy as a top-of-funnel ad. Include a card in every order pointing customers to your own site with a 10% discount on their next order.