You started with one Etsy shop. Now you have three sales channels, a holiday rush approaching, and a spreadsheet that may or may not be telling you the truth. We write about the real, messy complexity of tracking stock across platforms without spending money on software that doesn't fit how you work.
Etsy updates your quantity when an order comes in. Shopify does the same. Your wholesale buyer emails you a purchase order on a Tuesday. None of these systems talk to each other automatically unless you pay for integration software that costs more per month than some makers earn in a week. We explore that gap.
This blog exists because the advice for handmade sellers usually stops at "use inventory software." We think there's a lot of territory worth exploring before you get there, and a lot of situations where you never need to.
Learn about our approach
How to keep Etsy, Shopify, and your wholesale ledger aligned when no automatic sync exists. The logic behind a central source of truth.
What happens the moment you sell something you no longer have. How to handle it, how to apologize gracefully, and how a shared spreadsheet can prevent it from happening again.
Using one year of sales data to make reasonable production decisions for Q4. Not a formula, but a thought process you can adapt to your product and pace.
Designing a Google Sheet that actually works under pressure. Tab structure, update frequency, color coding, and the columns that matter most when you're packing orders at midnight.
Wholesale buyers don't follow your Etsy listing quantities. Understanding how bulk orders interact with your retail stock, and why this is harder than it looks.
We don't sell software and we don't recommend software as the first answer. Every system we describe can be built with tools you already have access to.
Most makers we hear from have already built something that half-works. The missing piece is usually structure, not software. We explore how to take what you have and make it reliable.
Practical systems written for people who make things with their hands and sell them on multiple platforms.
Have a question? Get in touch
You get the second order notification and your stomach drops. You only had one left. Here's what to do, in what order, and why the way you handle it matters more than the mistake itself.
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One year isn't enough to be statistically confident. It's enough to make a reasonable production decision if you ask the right questions of your own data and account for what you don't know.
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A shared Google Sheet sounds simple until three orders come in simultaneously on two platforms. The sheet design decisions you make in September matter enormously in December.
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