Well, okay, if you want a million bucks, you probably won’t find it on Etsy (well, actually…).  But if you want a sterling silver necklace with a cat pendant, I can pretty much guarantee you there will be something.  Ditto for a purple vintage scarf.  But how do you find these items amidst the vast collection on Etsy?  That’s what this post is here to help you with.  While there’s no guarantee that you’ll always find exactly what you’re looking for on Etsy, these tips can help you come closer to what your little heart desires.

• Embrace Treasuries and Gift Guides: I love looking at treasuries, which consist of items handpicked by an Etsian based on a specific theme, much like my Etsy Love sets.  There is always a treasury displayed on the front page, with delightfully beautiful items.  I’ve found many of my favorite sellers through treasuries.  One thing I love doing is checking out the shop of an item that I’m drawn to in a treasury.  Gift Guides are another great place to look if you’re browsing.  Showcase is a daily set created by sellers, and another place to find some good stuff.
• Try Etsy’s Various Search Tools: Etsy has many search tools to offer you, although I’ve had varied success with them.  The Colors search lets you search for items by color, but it doesn’t often find what I’m looking for.  Instead, you might want to search for items tagged with a color, such as navy.  Pounce lets you find shops that just opened or items that just sold.  Shop Local lets you find shops in a specific city.  The Time Machine lets you see items as they’re being listed.  Sometimes, I love watching the time machine slowly scroll through new items while listening to podcasts.
• Browse through your favorites:  I am favoriting items on Etsy constantly, and I always have at least 30 pages of favorites at any given time.  I love browsing through them and looking at other items sold in the shops.  Often, you might find a gorgeous gem that you favorited months ago and had completely forgotten about.  Don’t forget to look back through your favorite sellers too.
• Use Advanced Search:  Being a library science graduate, I love advanced search tools.  Etsy’s is very effective.  You can choose between the categories of Handmade, Vintage, Supplies or all three.  You can choose what section of handmade items you want to search, from jewelry to needlecraft.  You can search by tags, titles, etc.  You can set price limits.  You can change how the items are sorted.
  • So here’s an example of how I would use advance search.  Let’s say I wanted to find a handknit purple scarf in merino wool.  In the search terms box, I will type “purple merino scarf”.  I’ll be searching for handmade items in the knitting category.  I want to search tags and titles.  I’m willing to pay between $1 and $60.  This will limit my results to items that fit within these parameters, and it will be much easier to look through than a general search for “purple scarf”.
• Be willing to spend some time browsing: When I create Etsy Love sets, I usually start out with a keyword search, such as “leather clutch” and then browse through 20 + pages of hits before finding what I’m looking for.  It can be a bit tiresome to look though so  many pages, but there are lots and lots of items on Etsy, and sometimes the best way to find what you really want is browsing through many, many pages of listings.  When browsing, look for quality images, because that is often the sign of a serious seller.

What’s your favorite search tip for Etsy?