How to Sell on Etsy from Cameroon
By Wondering how to sell on Etsy from Cameroon??? if yes, then this article was specifically written for you.
In this article, I’m going to show you how to start your Etsy store/shop from Cameroon, how to ship out the items you’re selling on your Etsy shop from Cameroon and how to receive payments on Etsy via PayPal in Cameroon.
One of the best eCommerce platforms through which the Cameroon based fashion designers, skincare brands, artists and Cameroonians involve with the production of traditional handicraft products …can easily sell their products at good prices to customers abroad, is by setting up a shop on Etsy.
Somebody may likely want to ask, What is Etsy???
Etsy is a US based online marketplace which makes it possible for both the small and big brands/manufacturers around the world, to easily sell their products to customers around the world.
On Etsy, you can sell items which fall under a wide range of categories, including handmade jewelries (beads), bags, clothing, Spices, home décor and furniture, toys, art, as well as craft supplies and tools.
In fact Etsy is a platform where local designers and manufacturers in Cameroon can expose their products to millions of customers worldwide and sell their products at good prices.
For example a bar of Mambo chocolate (from CHOCOCAM) that is currently being sold in Cameroon for 100frs, is being sold on Etsy for $4.99 (2500 frs CFA).
There are lots of Cameroonian internet entrepreneurs who are currently selling Cameroon products on Etsy from Cameroon and making huge amount of money on a daily basis.
Are you a Cameroonian fashion designer, beads maker, artist etc whose products often receive tons of complements and is bought by tourists in Cameroon, then you need to start selling your products on Etsy.
Somebody may likely want to ask, will i be able to get customers for my Cameroonian products???
It may surprise you to know that there are some Cameroonians who are making lots of money on a daily basis by selling Achu spices on Etsy from Cameroon and making more money per month than the classroom teachers in Cameroon. Some are even selling Calaba and dried grounded pepper at huge prices.
Summarily any Cameroonian product (especially those which are hard to find in the world markets) can easily be sold on Etsy. Its like the online version of marche Mokolo; where every Cameroonian can sign up to sell all kinds of Cameroon products (including ingredients). So Etsy is for everyone who wants to make money online.
One thing i love about the Etsy platform is the fact that they have made selling on their platform a piece of cake (easy-peasy).
To sell on Etsy from Cameroon, you just need to go through the simple steps below….
1) Create an Etsy account (if you don’t already have one)
2) Set up your shop on Etsy for free (to set up your shop, you will be expected to choose a shop name, location and currency, set a payment method (how you want to be paid) and finally set a billing method (how you want to pay your Etsy selling fees).
3) Create a listing (after you have set up your Etsy shop, you can start creating and publishing your listings on the Etsy platform).
4) Receive Payment (after you have successfully set up your Etsy shop and listed items on your shop, customers will start placing orders).
Requirements for selling on Etsy from Cameroon (How to become a Etsy seller in Cameroon)
To be eligible to sell on Etsy from Cameroon, you must meet the requirements listed below…
1) You must have quality and relevant products (your products must be of top quality or else you will receive tons of negative reviews from your customers…and if that happens, that would be the end of your business).
2) You need a PayPal account to receive payments for your items on Etsy (if don’t have a PayPal account, WhatsApp me and i will create you a PayPal account that receives money and also show you how to withdraw funds from your PayPal account via the ATM machines in Cameroon).
3) Thirdly, you will need a good camera (this shouldn’t be a barrier as most modern phones are equipped with very good cameras)
4) Lastly you will need a laptop or a smartphone to be able to create and publish items for sale on your Etsy shop.
If you’ve met the requirements mentioned above, then you are ready/eligible to start selling on Etsy from Cameroon.
Without any further delay, let’s start creating our Etsy shop from Cameroon.
How to create an Account on Etsy from Cameroon
Like i mentioned earlier, before you can start selling your Cameroonian products on Etsy from Cameroon, first! you will need to create an account on Etsy.
Like i mentioned earlier, its very easy to create an account on Etsy. This is one of the reasons why the platform has tons of users.
Follow the simple procedures below to create an account on Etsy from Cameroon.
1) Visit the Etsy website (accessible via etsy.com).
2) After arriving on the Etsy website, click on the Sign In button and in the next page click on REGISTER as seen in the screenshots below.
3) Enter your Email Address, First Name and Password.
Like i mentioned earlier, the procedures to create an account on Etsy is very simple and straight forward.
To create an account on Etsy from Cameroon, you will be expected to provide just 3 information; Your Email address, First Name and Password.
After click ing on the Sign In link, in the next page, click on the REGISTER button and enter the required info to create your Etsy account.
The easiest way to create an account on Etsy is by signing up using your Facebook account, Google account and Apple account.
If you wish to sign up using your Gmail, Facebook or Apple account, just click on the Google, Apple or Facebook button below and in the next page you will be asked to log in to your Facebook or Google account or Apple.
After you have logged in to your Facebook or Google account, Etsy will automatically collect your credentials on Google or Facebook and use it to create your Etsy account without you entering your credentials.
However if you created your Google or Facebook account using fake credentials, i won’t advise you to sign up using the Google and Facebook account option as the information on your Etsy account will also be fake.
Ok after you have entered the three required information, just click on the Register button and your Etsy account will be created and you will be taken to your Etsy account dashboard.
However you are not yet done….before you can start creating your Etsy shop, first, you will need to activate your Etsy account.
After your Etsy account has been created, you will receive an email from Etsy telling you to Confirm your account.
In the Confirmation email, you will find a CONFIRM ACCOUNT link.
Simply click on the confirm account link to activate your Etsy account.
After you have clicked on the link, you will be taken back to the your Etsy account dashboard; where you will see a message which says….“Perfect! You’ve confirmed your email address and your Etsy account is all set”.
After you’ve successfully created and activated your Etsy account, the next thing you will need to do before you can start selling on Etsy, is to create your shop on Etsy.
How to Start an Etsy Shop from Cameroon
It’s very easy to create a shop on Etsy. Just follow the simple procedures below to create your shop on Etsy and start selling on Etsy from Cameroon.
To create your Etsy shop, this is what you need to do…
- In your Etsy account dashboard, click on the Shop Manager link as seen in the screenshot below.
2. Enter your Etsy Shop Preferences (PHASE 1)
After you have clicked on the shop manager link, you will be expected to enter your shop preferences.
At this phase you just need to choose your shop language, shop country and shop currency.
Your shop language is the default language you’ll use to describe the items on your Etsy shop. So choose carefully! You can’t change this once you save it, but may add other languages later.
As a Cameroonian your Etsy shop language should be English or French.
In my case i have chosen English (as i’m an Anglophone Cameroonian).
Your shop country should be Cameroon (as you are based in Cameroon and will be shipping your Etsy products from Cameroon).
Your Shop currency is the currency you’ll use to price the items on your Etsy shop. Shoppers in other countries will automatically see prices in their local currency.
Its advisable to price your items in US dollar (USD) as it is the most popular currency used by most Etsy sellers in Cameroon.
Ok after you have entered your shopping preferences, click on the Save and continue link to proceed to the next phase….
3. Name Your Etsy Shop
At this phase you just need to give your Etsy shop a name.
You can use the name of your brand or give your Etsy shop a name which reflects the kind of products you are selling on Etsy.
In my case, I’m going to use the name of my brand; Cameroon For Sale.
After you have entered the name of your Etsy shop, Etsy will check if the name you have chosen, is available (has not been used by an Etsy seller).
If nobody has created an Etsy shop with your chosen name, Etsy will tell you that the name is available. This simply means that you can use the name.
From the screenshot below, you can see that my chosen Etsy shop name (CameroonForSale) is still available.
If your chosen Etsy shop name is available, simply click on the Save and continue link to move to the next phase…
4. Stock your shop
At this phase, you will be expected to create listings for the items that will appear on your Etsy shop after you have set up your shop.
For those of you who don’t know, the term listing refers to the items available for sale on your Etsy shop.
Below are samples of Cameroon products (listings) available for sale on Etsy.
To create listings, you just need to….
- Name your items,
- Perfectly describe your items,
- Price your items in US Dollar
- Choose a delivery time
- Upload photos and videos of your items and…
- Publish the listing for it to appear on your Etsy shop.
You can add as many listing on your Etsy shop as you want.
Adding 10 or more listings gives buyers more opportunities to find your shop.
OK, after you have created your first listing, click on the Save and continue link to move to the next phase.
5. Choose how you will get paid on Etsy.
At this phase, you just need to choose how you want to receive payments for your sales.
Simply put, when you list items for sale on your Etsy shop, people around the world will buy them.
How do you wish to receive payments for your products???
Etsy allows sellers to receive payments via bank transfer and PayPal.
However Cameroonians are not allowed to get paid via the default Etsy payment method ( the bank transfer option).
Cameroonians can only receive payments for their items via PayPal (i mean a PayPal account that receives money).
Like i mentioned earlier, if you are in need of a PayPal Cameroon account (that receives money) to accept payments for your items on Etsy, WhatsApp me and i will tell you how to get a verified PayPal account that receives money in Cameroon and how to withdraw money from your PayPal account via the ATM machines in Cameroon.
To choose PayPal as your Payment method on Etsy, simply click on the link titled Other Payment methods and enter your PayPal email to link your PayPal account to your Etsy account.
And enter your PayPal Email….
Ok after you have entered your PayPal email, click on the Save and continue link to proceed to the last phase.
6) Set up a billing method for the Payment of Etsy Listing fees (THE LAST STEP)
Etsy charges $0.20 for every listing published on an Etsy shop… that’s how they make money from their platform.
For example i will be required to pay $0.20 to Etsy as listing fee for the Mpuh fish spice listing which i created in phase 4.
You will be expected to pay the selling fee at the end of every month.
If you fail to pay your listing fee at the end of the month, your listing will be taken down.
However this is not an issue to worry about as the listing fee ($0.20) is very affordable (in my opinion).
With $1 you can publish 5 listings on your Etsy shop and make 600% gain when you make a sale.
In this phase, you just need to choose how you will pay your Etsy listing fee at the end of every month.
Etsy only allows sellers to pay listing fees via credit card only.
If you have a credit card, simply enter your credit card info and click on OPEN SHOP to completely set up your ETSY SHOP and start selling on the platform.
From the screenshot below, you can see that my Etsy shop is now open and people around the world can start buying the Mpuh fish spice that i have listed on my Etsy shop.
Don’t have a credit card to pay your Etsy listing fee??? no worries, you can easily buy a virtual credit card with the funds in your MoMo account and use the virtual credit card info to pay your Etsy fee.
If you are in need of a virtual credit card in Cameroon, WhatsApp me and i will tell you how to get a virtual credit card in Cameroon in minutes ( i mean stress free).
What to sell on Etsy from Cameroon
One of the questions i get asked often by wanna-be Etsy sellers in Cameroon is, what can i easily sell on Etsy from Cameroon???
Like i mentioned earlier, any Cameroonian product (especially those which are hard to find in the world markets) can easily be sold on Etsy.
However if you still can’t figure out what to list on your Etsy shop, you can simply search for the best selling Cameroon products on Etsy and list those same items on your Etsy shop.
Hot selling Cameroonian products on Etsy are Cameroon products with hundreds of sales and positive.
Simply type “Cameroon” in to the Etsy search bar and browse through the search result to find listings with tons of positive reviews.
List those same items on your own Etsy shop (provided that you know how to source the items in Cameroon and package properly).
Etsy shipping from Cameroon (How to ship on Etsy from Cameroon)
One of the questions i get asked often by Cameroonians who wish to start selling on Etsy from Cameroon is, How can I ship my Etsy products out of Cameroon and how to estimate Etsy shipping?
DHL Express shipping is arguably the best way to ship out products from Cameroon to your Etsy customers around the world.
With the DHL Express shipping method, it takes just 5 business day for a package to arrive its destination (irrespective of the destination of a customer).
The shipping fee charged by DHL varies depending on the weight and dimension of your shipment.
For example it will cost you more money to ship heavy items like the Bamileke coffee table than shipping a small package of Mpuh fish spice.
Like i mentioned earlier, the dimension of shipment is also taken in to consideration by DHL when calculating the shipping cost of a particular shipment i.e. light weight items (tables) with a large dimension (which occupies to much space) will also be charged a higher shipping cost.
Please before you list any item on your Etsy shop, its adviseable to go the DHL office in your city to find out how much it will cost you to ship the item from Cameroon. Failure to do so, you may end up losing money as the cost of shipping may exceed the price you listed the item for sale or the set shipping cost. So do your research first.
In addition to the shipping cost, also find out how long it will take for the item to arrive so that you can set an appropriate delivery time when creating your listings.
It should be noted that when items don’t arrive before or on the set delivery time, most Etsy sellers will give you a negative feedback and this will greatly tannish the reputation of your Etsy shop and reduce your sales.
Nevertheless some Etsy sellers have noted that DHL express shipping is super fast but very expensive as compared to shipping via CAMPOST (Cameroon Postal Service).
You can also ship Etsy items via CAMPOST but items may take about 2 weeks to arrive its destination.
So if you wish to use the CAMPOST shipping option, make sure you choose the 2 weeks delivery time option when creating your Etsy listings.
How to advertise Etsy shop (How to get Etsy traffic)
One of the easiest way to get sales on Etsy is by driving traffic to your Etsy shop.
Just like a shop in Marche Mokolo, the greater the number of people that come to your Etsy shop, the higher the probability of making sales hence one of the ways to boost sales on Etsy is by driving traffic to your Etsy shop.
One of the ways you can send tons of potential customers to your Etsy shop is by running Ads on Facebook and instagram (which will cost you just peanuts).
By running Ads on Facebook and Instagram you will be able to make tons of sales as Facebook & Instagram have made it easy for Etsy sellers (advertisers) to easily get customers by sending targeted traffic to their shops.
Facebook and Instagram has made it possible for Advertisers based on their interest.
For example to get potential customers for my Mpuh fish listing, i just need to target customers who are interested in Cameroon food and recipe. Those are the people who will likely purchase my Mpuh fish listing on Ebay.
You can also get potential customers by running Google Ads.
If you need more information about running Facebook, Instagram and Google Ads to get sales for your Etsy listings, WhatsApp me.
Frequently Asked Questions about selling on Etsy from Cameroon
How do I sell on Etsy from Cameroon? Is there any advice on shipping, packaging, etc.?
You can watch YouTube videos to learn how to effectively package your Etsy items to ensure that they don’t arrive damaged (which may cause customers to ask for a refund and give your Etsy shop a negative feedback).
How much does it cost to have Etsy shop from Cameroon???
The cost of starting an Etsy shop from Cameroon is free. All you need is a credit card, to pay your Etsy listing fees ($0.20 per listing).
How do you ship out items you’re selling on your Etsy shop?
You can ship out your Etsy listings via DHL express, CAMPOST and by using a fulfilment Centre in your destination country.
I want to start an Etsy store but don’t want to pay high shipping costs. How can I avoid this?
The best way to reduce shipping cost when selling items on Etsy from Cameroon, is by shipping your packages in bulk to a fulfilment centre in US and other target countries.
The owners of the fulfilment centers will store your items in their warehouse… and whenever a customer purchases an item from your Etsy store, you just need to send the shipping address of the customers to the fulfilment center for them to ship the item to the client.
For example i may decide to ship my Mpuh fish spice packages in bulk to a Fulfilment center in the US.
Whenever a customer in the USA purchases my Mpuh fish spice, i just send the address of the customer to the fulfilment center for them to ship the item to the customer.
Since my items are already in the US, the cost of shipping to customers in the US will greatly reduce and my US customers won’t also need to pay custom duties to collect their purchased items.
if you need more information about this shipping option, WhatsApp me.
How to easily sell things on Esty from Cameroon???
You can easily sell on Etsy from Cameroon by selling the hot selling Cameroon items, driving traffic to your Etsy shop using Facebook ads and by pricing your Etsy listings reasonably…and offering free shipping.
How long does it take a typical Etsy seller to make a first sale?
By leveraging Google, Instagram and Facebook Ads you can make your first sale barely few minutes after setting up your Etsy shop.
How do i offer free shipping on Etsy???
One of the best way to make your listings stand out on Etsy and get an upper hand over other Etsy sellers, is by offering free shipping.
To offer free shipping on Etsy, you just need to include the shipping fee in the price of the item. This is will give customers the impression that shipping is free and they will impulsively click on the buy button hoping to save cost.
Can i make Etsy a full time job ???
The simple answer is yes as there many Etsy sellers in Cameroon who are making hundreds of dollars in sales per day on Etsy (and i hope to be one of them in the nearest future).
However its only advisable to make Etsy a full time job after your shop has received tons of positive feedback from customers and are currently making more than $100 in profit per day.
Don’t quit your job to start an Etsy shop.
Start working as a part time Etsy seller and quit your job after you have started making tons of sales on Etsy.
In fact, after you have started making tons of sales on Etsy, you will have no choice but to quit your day job as you will be preoccupied with routines like packaging and shipping.
Ok we have come to the end of this article. If you need more information, simply WhatsApp me via the WhatsApp buttons on this blog.
I wish you good luck as you prepare to start your Etsy business in Cameroon.
