New Etsy shops with no sales and review history typically struggle to get sales. This is because Etsy shoppers typically have trust issues with new shops. In the world of e-commerce, including Etsy, online reviews carry a lot of weight. In fact, a study by the Spiegel Research Center found that products with just 5 reviews are ~270% more likely to be purchased than those with zero reviews. Another study published on ResearchGate found that highly rated products tend to increase consumer trust and influence purchase decisions. This is why a new Etsy seller is at a disadvantage compared to established shops. However, there can be many ways new sellers can navigate this phase with ease. In this article, we will explore research-backed 8 effective ways to get sales on Etsy with no reviews.
1. Offer products that others are not selling
It is easy to get lost in the competitor research and find products that sell well. However, there are thousands of other new sellers doing the same, launching stores with similar products. If you want to get sales fast on Etsy with no reviews, you need to think differently. Here are a few examples of analyzed Etsy stores that acted differently and made huge sales in their first year:
Examples of Etsy shops that acted differently and what their initial reviews indicated?
Example 1
An Etsy wedding template store offered hand-drawn doodle illustrations, while other shops were selling generic watercolor floral templates. These designs became a major trend on Etsy for their visual appeal. The shop has made 32k in sales over a 3-year period, at a much higher price (around $30) than the typical $5-$10 price for generic wedding templates sold on Etsy.
Example 2
An Etsy T-shirt store offered biology process-diagram designs, while other shops were selling generic T-shirts with science-based graphics, such as test tubes and microscopes. This shop has made 4.5k sales in its first 9-month period, which is impressive in a highly saturated T-shirt market on Etsy.
After analyzing the initial reviews for these two shops, it was found that customers indicated the design as the reason for their purchase.
Example 3
An Etsy store offered digital passport wedding templates, while other shops were selling printable passport wedding templates. This shop started making consistent sales even without any reviews, solely because of their idea to offer a different format.
The examples above show that if customers see a design they can’t find anywhere else, they are forced to buy it, even from a shop with no reviews. Therefore, you should create your own unique style or offer a different format (e.g., digital vs. printable) to sell something that other sellers are not considering. However, offering something different does not mean ignoring buying motives and making random designs. You need to conduct research to ensure your product will be well-received in the market. You can read more about this in the article 20 Reasons Why Your Etsy Shop Is Not Selling and Solutions in 2026: A Research-Driven Guide with Real-Life Examples.
2. Follow a niche
When starting out on Etsy, you need to offer products that appeal to a specific audience. For example, if you plan to sell T-shirts, focus on specific designs, such as nurse T-shirts, cat-themed T-shirts, and dog-themed T-shirts. With this approach, you can create a wide range of designs within a specific product category and can compete with big sellers offering generic products.
Simple logical insight
If an unrated store with no reviews offers a generic T-shirt, shoppers skip it. If an unrated niche store offers a highly specific product that is not easily found elsewhere, shoppers are more likely to take a risk and buy it.
Insights from successful new Etsy shops
After analyzing successful new Etsy shops across popular product categories, it was found that the majority of these shops have a specific niche, style, color palette, and photography style. For example:
An Etsy wall art shop only offers Japanese-themed designs.
An Etsy wedding template shop only offers hand-drawn doodle wedding invitations.
An Etsy T-shirt shop maintains a consistent design style, using the same color palette.
In fact, during the analysis, some shops were spotted that started without a niche but later consistently produced designs similar to their best-selling product, mimicking a niche store.
3. Invest in high-quality listing photos
Many new sellers underestimate the importance of listing photos. They see popular listings on Etsy with average photos and think they can get sales with similar photo quality. Old, established shops dominate search results and buyer trust because they have good reviews, better organic reach on search engines, and strong sales numbers. A new Etsy store needs to make better listing photos than old shops to compensate for a lack of reviews and sales history.
In fact, according to the Etsy Seller Handbook, the Etsy algorithm considers various metrics, including clicks and favorites, to determine a listing’s ranking in search results. This means more clicks and favorites lead to higher visibility on Etsy in search results. And better listing photos do get more clicks and favorites. If you want to save on professional photography costs, you can also create click-worthy listing photos using high-quality mockups, where you drop in your design and digitally create scenes.
4. Reach out to relevant blogs
When I was just starting out on Etsy, I got initial sales from a small wedding blog that featured my listing. I learned about this when I searched for my shop on Google to check indexing, saw that wedding blog in the search results, and visited it to see my listing there. I also saw external traffic in my shop stats, confirming that I was getting traffic from that blog. Though that wedding blog featured my listing without me asking (I guess they might have liked my listing photos), a new seller can reach out to relevant blogs to see if they would like to feature their listings. In fact, according to Hostinger’s blogging statistics, consistent and interesting blog posts encourage purchases from 55% of users.
Many new sellers are unaware that Etsy has an affiliate program that pays commissions to blogs for promoting its products. So they are also getting a reward for promoting listings. If you have perfect listing photos and good products, there is no harm in reaching out. However, cold ‘feature my listing’ pitches might not work. You can reach out only if at least one of these is true:
- Your product is noticeably better or more relevant
- You found a broken link (a featured listing no longer exists, and your listing can replace it)
- You offer a different category/angle that they didn’t cover
- Your listing fits a new trend (e.g., editable templates, personalization)
- You can add value to their readers, not just promote yourself
Blogger prioritizes reader value, SEO, and affiliate links. So if you provide a value-add or a meaningful update to their content, such as a current trending product, a better product, or a broken link replacement that went unnoticed, they might feature your product.
5. Look for buyers in friends and family
Etsy’s shilling policy does allow transactions and reviews between friends and family, but with some caveats. Basically, the key idea of the policy is that these transactions are fair, honest, and unbiased and not solely for the purpose of obtaining a review. However, this approach can only work if your products can also meet independent buyers’ expectations. Additionally, you also want to make sure such reviews do not appear inauthentic or overly glowing.
6. Post consistently
A new Etsy store needs to post consistently to stay visible. You need to design and offer a wide range of designs in your niche to discover your best-sellers. However, staying consistent does not mean blindly posting bad products. You need to post competitive products with excellent listing photos. Volume alone will not get sales if designs are not sellable.
7. Consider Etsy advertising
Many unrated new stores spend on Etsy advertising to get initial sales. However, this approach can only work for products that get lots of views and favorites. If you are blindly advertising every product without looking at the statistics, you can waste money. Your advertised product should be noticeably better than popular competing listings to make the most out of your advertisement budget. Advertising can compensate for a lack of trust in a new store with competitive products, but it can never compensate for an average product.
8. Promote on social media
Social media promotion is not a quick sales scheme and only works if you can build an interested audience over time. Generic content will not help build a loyal audience. You need to post highly specific content that appeals to a specific audience. This perfectly aligns with your Etsy store strategy. If your Etsy store follows a niche, your social media marketing can be more effective