Etsy Seller Interview with Mike and Emily of HyperspaceProps

How HyperspaceProps got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

We sell replica costumes and props inspired by Star Wars. We focus on currency and gambling games in the Star Wars universe. Our customers are Star Wars fans and collectors, and they want to have a real Star Wars experience. We originally started creating costumes as a hobby. We joined different costuming and cosplay communities and had people interested in where we purchased/how we made our costumes. We created our first product at the end of 2018 and started selling it in 2019. It sold really well. We slowly built up a catalog. In 2019, we added plastic Star Wars currencies and metal in 2020. We've continued to add more products and designs as we're inspired. We are both passionate Star Wars fans, and it's always hard for us to clear up the blurry line between work and play. We love what we do and really feel like, at least for us, we're living the dream.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

Each of these listings sells really well because they were each created (as most of our items are) to solve a specific need in our community. Either we felt there was a problem with existing products or products didn’t exist. We try to create items that are special and tell a story on their own. Most people are confused that our items sell so well, but it’s not surprising to anyone familiar with our niche. The trick to having a successful shop is having a narrow niche with a passionate community.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

After listing our first product, it took about 2 weeks for us to get our first order. We run Etsy ads and that’s pretty much it for us driving customers to our Etsy shop. Etsy organic supplies most of our traffic. I came from an online marketing career and was well-versed in SEO tactics, so, from the very beginning, our shop was focused on capturing people as they were searching on Etsy. 

We used to use email, Instagram, and Facebook to drive traffic to our Etsy shop, but now they are all pointed to our website (https://hyperspaceprops.com). We try to get all returning customers to make purchases on our website.

Managing HyperspaceProps

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

Emily and I both work on the business and pretty much have since day one. Currently, I focus on marketing and our coin, glove, and deck product lines. She focuses on day-to-day operations, including shipping and finances, as well as the sewing and laser product lines. We use Pirate Ship for all of our shipping. We also use Zapier for automations, Google Drive for organization, Adobe CC for video and image editing, Audacity for audio editing, Fusion 360 for 3D modeling, and Klaviyo for emails.

The future of HyperspaceProps

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

Right now we really feel like we’re living the dream. As for the future, we’re also looking to design new products that our customers will love. We’re currently trying to expand the capabilities of our in-house work. We are focusing on gaining new skills and adding completely new product lines to continue to diversify our business. We’ve thought about adding on an employee, but we’re really loving the freedom of being our own boss and doing something that we love. We don’t set any revenue or order number goals since we try to not stress over finances. Our motto has just always been to make an amazing product that will amaze our niche and then they’ll be lifelong customers.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

My first tip would be to find a narrow niche. That has really catapulted our business and made us "famous" in our little space. Find a community that you can serve, ideally a community that you are already a part of, and solve their problems. My second piece of advice would be to stick with your business. The hardest thing that we faced was just sticking with the business. There were 2-3 years of each of us working 16-hour days and also trying to be a parent. We spent a lot of time trying to design and build out our skills, even when we were making very little money. It wasn’t until after that period that we were able to get enough sales to both quit our jobs and do this full-time.

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