Etsy’s New CEO: A New Hope or Just A New Fee?

Etsy just got a new CEO.

Cue the ceremonial Etsy seller panic, half the internet’s hand-lettered candle brigade lighting sage to manifest algorithmic stability, and the other half angrily crocheting effigies of Chad from corporate.

Etsy, the supposed boho utopia of the creative middle class, now has the same energy as a Silicon Valley yoga studio.

All calm lighting and mindful messaging, while quietly siphoning your margins like a vampire on oat milk.

For years, sellers have been screaming into the pastel void: Etsy doesn’t feel handmade anymore!

And they’re right.

It feels like Amazon if it joined a pottery class for branding reasons.

So now that there’s a new CEO, the collective question is: Is there hope?

A new Etsy CEO usually means one of three things:

But let’s not be cynical. (Okay, too late.)

There’s a weird sense in the air… maybe, just maybe, this isn’t the next corporate rebrand before Etsy becomes a Metaverse pop-up shop.

Maybe this new CEO actually understands the product ecosystem.

That Etsy’s real asset isn’t the interface, but the freakishly creative horde of designers, digital sellers, and accidental entrepreneurs fueling it.

If they’re smart, they’ll look at Etsy not as a store, but as a rebellion, a platform for people selling weird, wonderful, copyright-adjacent nonsense in the face of mass-produced everything.

But if history’s any guide,

Etsy’s leadership changes usually go one of two ways: either visionary realignment or corporate re-skin of the apocalypse.

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Let’s talk about something you can actually control, your next income stream.

If you’re selling digital products on Etsy, you’ve probably heard whispers about PLR (Private Label Rights) the dark arts of reselling pre-made digital stuff as your own.

Sounds scammy? Kinda.

Sounds profitable? Definitely.

That’s why I’m shouting out this YouTube gem: What are PLR Digital Products and How to Sell Them on Etsy.

This video breaks down the strategy that turns lazy sellers into efficient capitalists:

A sort of passive income without reinventing the wheel, or touching Canva until your retina detaches.

You don’t need to sell these as-is.

The power move is to bundle, remix, or niche them down.

Example: Generic Goal Planner becomes Witchy Moon Cycle Goal Planner for Freelance Designers with ADHD. Suddenly, it’s not just a planner, it’s an identity crisis in a PDF, and people will pay $9.99 for that all day.

The video nails the psychology too, PLR it’s delegation.

Alright, comrades in digital commercem, let’s talk battlefield tactics.

Because Etsy in 2025 isn’t a marketplace.

It’s Mad Max: Fury Road, but with more glitter and printable wall art.

Etsy’s leadership doesn’t sell art; they sell traffic.

And sellers (that’s us) are basically gladiators in a pastel death match for visibility.

So while everyone else is burning incense to the SEO gods, you need to start thinking like a media brand.

Here’s your survival checklist:

If the new CEO has any sense, they’ll double down on helping sellers own their brand identity instead of just renting shelf space.

But until then play offense.

Etsy is a tool, not a home. Treat it like Tinder: fun for exposure, but don’t get emotionally attached.

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Let’s zoom out for a sec.

Etsy’s handmade revolution was basically the anti-Amazon movement.

People rebelling against mass production by selling things that feel personal.

But now, Etsy’s corporate moves look suspiciously like the same thing it was built to defy.

It’s poetic in a depressing way, the cycle of creative capitalism eating itself like a crochet ouroboros.

Let’s call it Digital Decadence: Etsy Edition.

Because here’s the pattern and it’s the same one that doomed Myspace, Tumblr, and half the creative internet:

The only thing that can save Etsy now isn’t another corporate visionarym, it’s a shift back to weirdness.

Etsy was never about scale. It was about obsession.

About the girl making Frogs Wearing Tiny Hats stickers in a free time and selling them to people who just get it.

That’s the soul.

And if this new CEO is smart, they’ll realize their biggest threat isn’t Amazon or Temu, it’s boredom.

Because Etsy without soul is just Shopify with better SEO.

In 2024, Etsy sellers collectively spent over $2 billion on marketing their own listingsmore than Etsy itself spent on marketing the entire platform.

Translation: we’re literally paying to advertise the marketplace that’s supposed to advertise us. That’s like working at McDonald’s and bringing your own fries.

But hey, maybe the new CEO will flip the script.

Maybe they’ll empower creators again, lower ad extortion fees, and make Etsy feel like the indie wonderland it once was.

Or maybe they’ll just introduce Etsy Premium+, where for $39.99/month you get your listings shown to humans instead of bots.

Who knows? For now, keep your fonts sharp, your files backed up, and your sarcasm monetized.

Because the Etsy revolution isn’t over, it just needs a new villain to rebel against.

Have a good day,

Miroslav from The Design Nexus

Even if you sell products other than mugs or t-shirts, it doesn't mean it will cost you more.

There are tools that can help you with the tasks, and most of them have free versions.

Disclaimer: Within the article, you will find affiliate links. If you decide to purchase through these links, I want to sincerely assure you that I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you.