I have been selling on Etsy for over a year now and have found it to be a great market place for selling handcrafted Items. As a seller Etsy is what you make of it, if you offer good customer service with a quality in demand product you will be successful.
As a buyer you must be smart about who you purchase from just like you do with any other market place. Check reviews, read policies and contact the seller with questions before your purchase and you'll probably have a good experience as well as a unique product not to be found anywhere else.