The Etsy fee structure — what you actually keep
Before anything else, understand what Etsy takes. On every sale:
• Listing fee: $0.20 per item listed (renewed every 4 months or when an item sells)
• Transaction fee: 6.5% of the sale price including shipping
• Payment processing: 3% + $0.25 per transaction
• Etsy Ads (if running): Variable, typically $0.20–$0.50 per click
• Offsite Ads: 12–15% of sale if a customer found you through an Etsy offsite ad
On a $24 candle with $6 shipping, you're paying roughly $2.40 in transaction fees, $0.97 in payment processing, and $0.20 in listing fees before you've accounted for your cost of goods, labour, or actual shipping costs. That's $3.57 off the top on a $24 sale. If your candle costs $9 to make and ship, you've netted $11.43 — which sounds okay until you factor in the time it took to photograph, list, pack, and post it.
The Etsy Profit Calculator handles all of this automatically. Put your numbers in before you set prices, not after.
Why most Etsy candle listings don't convert
Etsy search surfaces hundreds of candle listings for any given query. The listings that convert share a few common traits:
Photography that sells the feeling, not just the product
Candles are an emotional purchase. Your main listing image needs to communicate atmosphere, not just show a jar on a white background. Lifestyle context — a candle burning on a wooden surface with soft natural light — consistently outperforms product-on-white for candle conversions. Your first image is your entire sales pitch to someone scrolling.
Titles optimised for search, not poetry
Etsy's search algorithm reads your title for keywords. A title like "Amber + Cedar / Hand-poured / Studio Collection" is evocative but invisible. A title like "Amber Cedar Soy Candle | Hand Poured Coconut Wax | Warm Woody Home Fragrance | 8oz" surfaces for the searches your buyers are actually running. Front-load your primary keywords.
Descriptions that answer questions before they're asked
Your description should cover: what the candle smells like (describe the scent story, not just the notes), what it's made of, how long it burns, vessel size and weight, cure time before first burn, and care instructions. Buyers who have to message you for basic information are buyers who don't buy.
Tags used fully and specifically
Etsy gives you 13 tags. Use all 13. Prioritise multi-word phrases over single words — "coconut wax candle" is more useful than "candle." Think about how your specific buyer searches: "gift for candle lover," "clean burning soy candle," "woodsy home fragrance," "cozy fall candle."
Pricing on Etsy — the race-to-bottom trap
The most common mistake Etsy candle sellers make is pricing to compete with the cheapest options in search results. This is a losing strategy. You cannot win a price war against mass-produced candles or makers who don't properly account for their time.
The candle buyers who convert to loyal customers are not buying on price. They're buying on aesthetic, story, and perceived quality. A well-photographed, thoughtfully named candle with a compelling description regularly commands $26–$38 on Etsy — even from small shops with few reviews.
If you're under $20 for an 8oz candle, run your numbers through the pricing calculator. You're almost certainly underpriced.
Getting your first reviews
Reviews are the social proof that converts browsers into buyers on Etsy. Getting started without them is the hardest part. A few approaches that work:
• Send samples to people in your network who would leave honest reviews
• Price your first few listings slightly lower during your launch period to drive initial volume, then raise once you have reviews
• Include a handwritten note with every order encouraging a review — personal touches have a measurable effect on review rates
• Follow up with buyers through Etsy's messaging system (within platform rules) after delivery
The Etsy shop elements that most makers ignore
Shop announcement: Tell someone immediately what makes your candles different. Not generic ("hand-poured with love") — specific ("coconut-apricot blend, phthalate-free fragrance, made in small batches").
About section: Buyers on Etsy actively look at the maker's story. A genuine, specific story about why you make candles converts better than corporate language. Your COVID origin story, your design background, your shift from designer to maker — that's exactly the kind of thing Etsy buyers connect with.
Shop policies: Clear, complete policies reduce purchase anxiety. Especially around digital products, returns, and shipping timelines.
Driving traffic from outside Etsy
Etsy's internal search will only take you so far. The shops that grow consistently drive external traffic — from Pinterest, Instagram, or Google — directly to their Etsy listings or their own site.
Pinterest is particularly powerful for candle makers because it's a visual search engine with long content lifespan. A well-optimised pin can drive traffic for months. Create pins that link directly to your listings and focus on lifestyle imagery rather than product shots.
When to leave Etsy (or run both)
Etsy is a great starting point. It's not always the right long-term home. When your Etsy fees, the lack of customer data ownership, and Etsy's brand restrictions start to limit you — that's when building your own Shopify store starts to make sense.
Running both simultaneously is a valid strategy: Etsy for discovery, your own site for repeat customers and better margins. The Six Figure Wick ebook covers the full arc of building a candle business — including when and how to make the move beyond Etsy.