1) CreativeWorkshopCA - https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/CreativeWorkshopCA
I chose this competitor because they seem to be doing exactly what I want to be doing in the sense that this is the medium that I want to start in - plastic with minimal auxiliary design components. This is also the type of puzzle that I want to design - sequential discovery.
Pricing - When comparing the seller to others in the space, the seller positions themselves in the lower-mid range of similar products. Building their puzzles out of plastic hurts their prices because the consumer deems it to be worth less than a wood puzzle box of the same calibur. They have many small puzzles in the low-end of prices (under $50), which gives them a doorway to new customers looking to explore the puzzle box space.
Position - Their position is fantastic. They have a 4.8 star rating with over 1700 total sales. They have additional puzzles for their clients who want to buy more puzzles that range in price from $16 - $150. They have 560 "followers" on Etsy which demonstrates a loyal fanbase. New ratings for their Etsy store every month. They aren't gaining market share, but they are consistently in the first row of results for their category.
Social Media - They have no social media presence, some of their fans have tagged the seller in instagram posts but this is less than 10 total posts. They have one of their puzzles reviewed by the #1 puzzle Youtuber which gained 500k views. If they have a relationship with the creator, this would be a massive tool for them.
Summary - This seems to be a stable and consistent business that doesn't have much development since their latest product was released over a year ago. Their long history of continuous quality has given them a strong position to maintain dominance on the Etsy store. I think their strong following could give them more opportunity to sell new puzzle boxes especially since they have a Youtube video with 500k views that will continue to give them attention for years. I like the idea of giving my puzzles to influencers to promote them and will look at who I could do this with. I think the idea of having 1-2 flagship products alongside several long-tail products is a smart strategy.
2) JPGAMESLTD - https://jpgamesltd.co.uk/ & https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/JPGAMESLTD
JP Games is a dedicated business when compared to CreativeWorkshopCA which seems to be more passive. This is a comprehensive store that ranges from playing cards to dice to puzzle boxes. While they sell a variety of toys, I will be focusing on exclusively the puzzle box category. Their mediums are wood, metal, and acrylic.
Pricing - Their collection, having higher quality materials, demands a higher price point. These pieces range from $120 - $500, this is a massive difference from CreativeWorkshopCA. From the varnish to the staging of the product in the photos, it's clear why this company can both afford to produce these higher quality items and demand the price for them. The price on Etsy for the same product seems to be 80% higher, this is extreme and can be reflected in the Etsy reviews where some clients note that the price is disproportionate to the depth and breadth of the puzzle.
Position - This store has 7000 sales on Etsy with an equally impressive 4.9 star average rating after 1400 reviews. Having a dedicated website to avoid Etsy fees makes perfect sense and their website has an even larger catalog of puzzles (though many seem to be 3rd party). Having a dedicated website cuts out the 6.5% Etsy processing fee. It also removes the listing fee ($0.20 per item every 4 months). The Etsy cross-platform ad campaigns are also marked up - up to 15% for an offsite ad-generated sale.
Social Media - The disclaimer of this analysis is that JP Games does much more than just puzzle boxes. Therefore, there should be a distinction between what a puzzle box business might do and what JP Games does. JP games has a huge instagram presence with 16k followers and frequent giveaways. Their Tiktok has only 660 followers and isn't their main social media business driver. Several Youtube channels have videos on solving these puzzles, but none have more than 100k views. Cumulatively, I would guess this business has over 1m views of people solving their puzzles.
Summary - This is a fully operational toy store with a puzzle box component. While their puzzle boxes are niche, they themselves are a niche business focusing on playing cards, dice, and collectables. I don't believe there's much overlap as I understand that each collectible is often siloed from other collectables. My takeaway from this operation is presentation; both their website and Etsy page are beautiful and photos are clear and high quality.
3) FlarPuzzles - https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/flarPuzzles
FlarPuzzles is one of the smallest possible businesses to sell 3d printed toys. I would consider this to be the first step towards operating a puzzle box business. More unique than most, their main product is the digital file of the puzzle box rather than the physical object.
Pricing - The vast majority of their 600 sales come from the design document which costs $25. To buy the physical puzzle box costs $500. Looking over the sales, I only found 1 review for the actual box purchase, which makes sense since the cost of the actual plastic is roughly $20. This seller has sold 600 copies since March 2022. I notice that smaller businesses tend to sell the design document while the larger ones don't. It's likely a question of scale in the sense that the smaller operation can't produce the boxes at a large scale.
Position - Similar to CreativeWorkshop, this is a passive business that nets revenues of $5,000 per year. A significant note to this revenue is that there is virtually no cost since the product is a digital file. This factor must be weighed when considering how CreativeWorkshop doesn't sell any digital files while they remain relatively the same size business.
Social Media - Like CreativeWorkshop, their design was featured on 2 prominent Youtube channels, garnering 300k and 60k views respectively. These are essentially the only sources of outreach the business has done. Flar has 220 Etsy "followers", which seems like a reasonable amount given that they don't generate new products. I worry that many of these followers don't have an interest in the business anymore given the inactivity and this metric is misleading.
Summary - Overall, I like what Flar has done. I think seeing the smaller businesses doing collaborations with Youtube channels makes a lot of sense. Selling the digital file is an interesting proposition and needs more consideration. The price for the completed box is too high; it's delivered completed and I think if sent unassembled it could cut costs and increase revenue.
