Best Advice for a Total Newbie Etsy Seller

Lots of brand new etsy sellers asking for the best advice, on the forums, when starting up...here is a very helpful response, with link additions edited in,  by EweniqueWoolWorks says:

There are a lot of really important things to know if you want to be successful on Etsy. Don't let it overwhelm you, just learn as you go.

One of the most important in order to be "found" is to work on tagging, descriptions, and item titles. This is often called SEO, or search engine optimization. It's how Google and other search engines find you. There's lots of great advice here in the forums and you can find "teams" that you can join that will help you learn more. Just Google it an do some research too.
For more SEO info click here.

The most important thing you need once someone is looking at your shop is fantastic photos. And I mean really good. Livjewellery isn't kidding. Take your photos very seriously.
For more information on taking great photos please check these posts: http://decoratingyourself.blogspot.com/2011/02/tools-of-trade-right-camera.html , http://decoratingyourself.blogspot.com/2011/02/after-right-camerayou-need-right.html ,
http://decoratingyourself.blogspot.com/2011/02/photos-with-personality.html ,
http://decoratingyourself.blogspot.com/2011/02/final-touch-photo-editing.html

Pricing is very tough. Don't forget that Etsy takes a small percentage of your sale, and PayPal will too. Remember that you also have shipping, so make sure you're not having to pay above what you are charging for that. It will cut into your profits very quickly.

You mentioned wanting to see what other people are selling. If you go to someones shop (on the items for sale page), look on the left side of the screen and you will see a little ways down the list of various options that it says "sales" with a number preceding it. If you click on this, you can view everything that shop has sold, although it won't give you the price paid.
Here is a link on pricing:
http://decoratingyourself.blogspot.com/2011/02/price-hitting-sweet-spot.html

Hope this helps! Good luck, and Welcome to Etsy! :0)