Etsy, Amazon FBA, or Shopify — 10 Years of Lessons from a Creator

My name is Athanasios Athanasiou, I’m an architect from Greece and the founder of Dezaart, a small studio that designs and creates wooden lamps.
This is my first blog post, and I want to share something that has defined my professional journey — my experience on Etsy and Amazon.

How It All Started

In 2015, three years after graduating from architecture school and completing my military service, I was working as an architect on a small Greek island. It was a difficult period for the country — the economy was struggling, salaries were low, and opportunities were limited.

But the hardest part wasn’t the money. It was the lack of creativity.
I felt like I needed to build something of my own.

I had no capital, only about €1,000 in savings, but I had a strong desire to create.
At first, I thought of making furniture — tables, chairs — but soon realized it was too complicated: it required space, tools, and a lot of money.

So I turned to lighting. It was closer to design, smaller in scale, and felt achievable.

My First Etsy Store

Around that time, I started experimenting with laser cutters, a technology still new to most people. I sent my first lamp designs to a company for cutting, assembled them myself, and decided to sell them online.

I tried selling locally — no interest.
Then I tried eBay — not a single sale.
But the spark was there.

I decided to return to my hometown, Agrinio, work a few months in an unrelated job to save some money, and fully commit to this idea.

In March 2015, I listed my first three lamps on Etsy. All three sold within a few months.
By autumn, I was already getting 20–30 orders per month — something that felt unbelievable at the time.

Back then, I was still outsourcing the laser cutting, paying nearly €100 per lamp — basically selling them at cost. I never charged customers for that; I just wanted to keep going.

Soon I found a local partner who cut them for €40 each, and within two months, I bought my first laser machine — a Chinese model from eBay for about €2,000.

I rented an old, abandoned tavern and slowly turned it into a small workshop.
That’s where Dezaart was born.

From Etsy to Amazon FBA

Until 2019, Etsy was my main platform. But I wanted to explore more, so I decided to try Amazon FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon).

The idea looked perfect on paper: storage, shipping, and customer service — all handled by Amazon. It was supposed to open new markets, especially in the U.S. and Germany.

At first, it seemed promising.
But very soon, I realized the downside.

Around 18–25% of the products were being returned, often for no reason at all.
While on Etsy, my return rate was under 1%, on Amazon it was shockingly high.

No one seemed to care about what that meant for a small creator — damaged goods, lost revenue, wasted effort.

The FBA model, as convenient as it sounds, shows no respect for the work behind handmade products.
So I decided that by the end of 2025, I will completely stop selling through Amazon FBA.

The Big Shift: 2020–2021

Then came the pandemic — and everything changed.
For Dezaart, it was a period of massive growth.
Orders on Etsy tripled or even quadrupled.

We had to expand fast: hire people, buy new machines, organize production.
Despite the supply chain chaos and raw material shortages, we managed to keep up.
For the first time, the business had real profitability.

When Etsy Started to Change

Over the last few years, Etsy has become a very different place.
The fees, which used to be around 10–12%, have now exceeded 30%, mainly due to “mandatory” advertising campaigns controlled by Etsy itself.

When you add shipping costs, materials, and labor, it becomes almost impossible for a small studio to stay profitable.
For a creator like me, that equation simply doesn’t work anymore.

What I Learned

My years on Etsy and Amazon were a real education.
I learned that:

Customers don’t buy products — they buy stories.
You must understand every part of your business, from production to finances.
Marketplaces help you start, but they are not your home.
True independence and sustainability come when you build your own brand.

Why I’m Writing This

I’m writing this not as a “successful seller,” but as a creator who learned through mistakes.

Etsy is an amazing place to begin.
Amazon can open doors.
But if you want control, identity, and a long-term vision, you need to take the next step — build your own space, your own website, your own world.
For me, that means Shopify.

Epilogue

If there’s one thing I take from all these years, it’s that every mistake, every delay, every return — was a lesson.
Etsy and Amazon were my teachers.

But my dream is to continue building Dezaart into a true brand of wooden lighting, a brand that reflects creativity, craftsmanship, and timeless design.
And through my own website, I want to be in full control of my work — to shape it, grow it, and express it in my own way, without depending on any platform.

That’s the next chapter that inspires me the most.