Switching to SCRAPD From Etsy: A Migration Checklist for Makers

Moving your handmade business off Etsy is a project, not a single afternoon - but it is far less work than most makers expect. The core steps are: export your listing data and photos from Etsy, rebuild a customer connection that does not depend on any one platform, re-price your work for SCRAPD’s lower commission, and decide whether to run both shops in parallel or commit fully. Most makers can have a reviewed SCRAPD storefront live within a week of starting. This checklist walks through each step in order.

SCRAPD is a curated marketplace for handmade, upcycled, and one-of-one goods, reviewed by a real person in Nashville before any storefront goes live. That review is the reason a migration here is different from listing on yet another open marketplace - and it is worth doing deliberately rather than in a rush.

Signs it is time to diversify off Etsy

You do not need to be furious at Etsy to outgrow it. Most makers reach a quieter conclusion: relying on a single platform you do not control is a business risk. A few specific signals tend to push people to act.

• Your effective fees keep climbing. Between transaction fees, payment processing, listing fees, and Offsite Ads, Etsy’s real cut commonly lands around 10-11% of an order - and that is before optional promotions.
• Your search visibility swings without warning, and you cannot get a straight answer about why.
• Your shop sits next to listings that look mass-produced or drop-shipped, and buyers cannot tell you apart.
• You have no direct line to your own customers - Etsy sits between you and every person who has ever bought from you.

If two or more of those ring true, diversifying is a reasonable move. For the wider context on why the big platforms have drifted away from small makers, see why selling on Etsy and Depop got harder.

Step one: export your listings, photos, and descriptions

Your Etsy listings are an asset, and you can take the underlying material with you. Etsy lets shop owners download a CSV of their listing data from Shop Manager under Settings - it includes titles, descriptions, prices, tags, and quantities. Download it first, because it is your master reference.

Photos need a separate pass. Etsy does not bundle full-resolution images into the CSV, so save the original files from your own device or camera roll rather than re-downloading compressed versions from listings. If your only copies are the ones on Etsy, right-click and save each at the largest size available. While you are at it, audit them honestly - if any photos are weak, this is the moment to reshoot. Our smartphone product photography guide for makers covers a setup that costs nothing.

Rewrite, do not paste

Resist the urge to copy descriptions across word-for-word. Etsy descriptions are written for Etsy’s search algorithm and keyword conventions. SCRAPD listings should lead with the story and specifics of the actual object - materials, process, dimensions, the fact that it is one-of-one. Treat the migration as a chance to make every description better, not just transplant it. The handmade product descriptions that sell playbook is built for exactly this rewrite.

Rebuilding your customer connection off-platform

This is the part makers most often skip, and it is the most valuable. On Etsy, the customer relationship belongs to Etsy. You generally cannot export buyer email addresses for marketing, and Etsy’s policies limit how you contact past buyers. So the connection has to be rebuilt on ground you own.

1. Start an email list now - even a free tier of any newsletter tool works. Add a small printed card to every order inviting buyers to subscribe for first looks at new pieces.
2. Make sure your social profiles point to a destination you control, not only to your Etsy URL.
3. When your SCRAPD storefront is live, announce it everywhere your existing buyers already follow you: your newsletter, your social accounts, and any in-person channels like markets or fairs.
4. Tell repeat customers directly. A short, warm message - “I’ve moved my work to a curated marketplace, here’s the new link” - converts loyal buyers better than any ad.

Re-pricing for SCRAPD’s lower fees

SCRAPD charges a 5% commission for its founding-50 creators - meaningfully below the ~10-11% effective rate many makers see on Etsy. That gap is real money, and you get to decide where it goes. You have three honest options.

• Keep your price the same and keep the difference. Your margin improves on every sale, which is the simplest choice if your Etsy pricing was already too thin.
• Lower your price by the fee difference. Pass the savings to buyers - useful if you have been priced at the top of your range and want to widen your reach.
• Split it. Trim the price a little and bank the rest. This is what most makers land on.

Whatever you choose, do not simply mirror your Etsy numbers without thinking. A migration is the natural moment to fix prices that were too low to begin with - and underpricing is the single most common mistake handmade sellers make. Work through pricing your work on SCRAPD before you set a single number.

Run both shops, or go all-in?

There is no universally correct answer, but there is a sensible default: keep both running at first. Running parallel storefronts for a few months lets you build SCRAPD sales and reviews without losing any income, and it tells you - with real data - where buyers are actually finding you.

Go all-in on SCRAPD once two things are true: your SCRAPD storefront is producing steady sales, and you would rather spend your limited hours making work than maintaining two listing systems. Some makers stay dual-platform permanently and that is fine. The goal is not loyalty to one URL - it is a business that does not collapse if a single platform changes its rules.

Your first 30 days on SCRAPD

Once your storefront passes review, the opening month is about momentum. Here is a realistic plan.

1. Week one - Launch with at least eight to twelve strong listings. A storefront with a single item looks unfinished; a small, well-photographed collection looks like a real shop.
2. Week one - Announce to your email list and social following. Direct traffic from people who already trust you is your fastest path to first sales.
3. Weeks two to three - Fulfill early orders carefully and ask each buyer for a review. Your first handful of reviews carries disproportionate weight.
4. Week four - Review what sold and what did not. Adjust photos, descriptions, and prices on slow listings, and plan your next drop of work.

If you understand the review step before you apply, your launch will be smoother - read how SCRAPD curation works and what SCRAPD looks for so your first submission is also your last.