The filing didn't disappoint. Etsy is a powerful business with extraordinary network effects. Its customers are extremely loyal, and its committed sellers are earning significant income. But there are legitimate concerns: it is the quintessential case study on the challenge of low margin platforms. Additionally, it faces uphill challenges – a slowing growth curve and unclear product pipeline. Most importantly, the IPO comes at an inflection point as Etsy looks to expand from its niche, artisanal focus to serving a much wider market.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/29/unpacking-etsys-s1/
>it is the quintessential case study on the challenge of low margin platforms
Solution is real simple, low overheads. That means they will need to vote themselves out of the pretend jobs most of them have. Unlikely.
I know why they're doing it, but a part of the reason a lot of people love etsy is going to go with an IPO. It's been slowly slipping from the craft fair vibe and into more commercial stuff for years now but a lot like facebook nt being cool when your mum joins, etsy doesn't feel like a place to find really coll stuff now - folksy is visibly rising (in the UK) and I suspect there are more new versions popping up in other countries.
As a seller I stopped bothering to list on etsy a while ago - partly because people in eastern europe make the same things I do way cheaper and better and at half the postage but partly because its not as much fun as it was.
I think margins will increase as sellers move more and more to semi-mass produced items which will cope with more mark up and the real home made sellers go elsewhere, and there's still enough people who haven't seen it yet to guarantee an expanding market from ne customers getting excited about it for a while, but not sure I'd invest for long term profit there.
What Mark said > low fing overhead.
There is a good market for "Vintage" stuff @ Etsy
Ran into a bird from London selling "Sounds Of Tijuana" that she found in a flee market.
::)
Etsy Vendors to get option to buy $2,500 of shares before public float
http://www.wsj.com/articles/etsy-vendors-to-get-a-piece-of-ipo-1428971989