MAKE MONEY ON ETSY
HOW TO SELL YOUR ARTS AND CRAFTS ONLINE
LOOKING TO SELL more than the odd second-hand toy? Then step right up to the Etsy marketplace. Focussing on vintage, hand-made, and personalised goods, if you’re someone with an up and coming business, Etsy may be the perfect platform for getting your product into the hands of buyers all over the world. Launching first in the US in 2005, Etsy has since gone on to become a go-to destination for unique and one-of-a-kind gifts perfect for any occasion, whether it be hand-made jewellery, living room furniture, abstract wall art, or a personalised keychain. After last month covering the basics of browsing and purchasing items on the site, we’re now going to walk you through the process of setting up your very own store.
THE BASICS
WHAT TO SELL. Deciding if Etsy is the platform for you will depend on what it is you’re looking to sell. Etsy’s seller policy outlines the three types of items able to be sold on the site. The first is handmade items that are designed or created by you – any other parties involved in the product’s creation must be disclosed on the item’s listing. The second category consists of items that are vintage – that is, goods which are 20 years or older. Last on the list is craft supplies which includes materials and equipment commonly used in the creation of other items – for example paints or fabrics.
GETTING STARTED. To create your store, first you’ll need to set up an account. If you haven’t already registered in the past as an Etsy buyer, visit www.etsy.com/ and click the sign in option located in the top-right corner of your browser. It’s from here that you can then create a new account using an email address, first name and password. Once signed up, click Sell on Etsy to be taken to a page which outlines things like fees, ways to manage your store plus some handy Q&As. After clicking the option to proceed, you’ll be asked to pick your shop’s default language, country and currency (most likely AU$) along with a name for your store. The rest is pretty self-explanatory – Etsy will walk you through the process step-by-step.
LISTINGS. During setup you’ll be asked (forced) to add at least one listing to your store. Every item you add uses the same template. Begin by uploading some photos of your item (we’d recommend at least five), before adding a title, category and description – be sure to think about what keywords a shopper might use when searching for your item. The final step is choosing your listing’s price, quantity and delivery method (which we’ll cover later).
MANAGING YOUR STORE. Every shop on Etsy has a landing page showcasing the different products up for sale. In addition to uploading a logo and cover photo, you can also organise listings into different sections so it’s easy for shoppers to browse. To add a new section, visit the Shop Manager (accessed from the top-right corner of any page) and click Listings.
STEP IT UP A LEVEL
FEES. Before racing to set up shop, it’s important to understand the different costs involved. For starters, as a store owner you’ll be charged a listing fee of $0.30 for every item added to your shop regardless of whether it sells successfully or not, with listings remaining active on the site for up to four months. For items that do sell, Etsy charges a transaction fee that’s 5% of the total cost along with a payment processing fee of $0.25 plus an additional 3-4% of the total amount.
PAYMENT. The easiest way to accept payments is through the Etsy Payments system. Doing so will allow your store to automatically accept a variety of payment methods such as credit card, PayPal and Etsy gift cards. Enrolling in the program means Etsy will also automatically convert and show the price of your listings in the local currencies of buyers all over the world. If you’re yet to set up Etsy Payments, visit Payment Settings in the finance section of Shop Manager. On this page you can also update your payment details plus choose how often you want profits deposited into your account – daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly.
POLICIES. While all sellers must adhere to a number of store standards, you do have the power when it comes to choosing whether to accept change-of-mind returns and exchanges. It’s for this reason that it is extremely important to be clear in your shop policy which is displayed alongside every one of your listings. To edit your policy, in Shop Manager click the pencil icon displayed under Sales Channels and scroll down until you see the policies section.
DRAFTS. Crafting the perfect listing can take time. So if you’re not ready to go live with a new item you can save it as a draft to come back to later. You’ll find all of your drafts on the listings page within Shop Manager.
SHIPPING. As a marketplace for buyers all over the world, it’s important to take shipping into account. For example, do you set shipping as a separate cost, or include it in the final price to ultimately offer customers ‘free shipping’? Etsy offers both standard and express shipping options, with the easiest probably being via Australia Post.
MESSAGES. With shoppers able to get in touch with sellers to ask questions about a listing, it pays to be responsive as a store owner. To access your conversations, click the account icon in the top-right corner of any page and select Messages. If you find yourself answering the same question over and over then why not take advantage of the saved replies feature which lets you send pre-written responses to customers in one click. To set it up, from the messages page click Saved replies.
STEP IT UP A LEVEL
PERSONALISATION. One of the best things about Etsy is the large number of products able to be personalised in some way. If this is something you’re able to offer to customers, then be sure to
toggle the personalisation option when creating your listing – doing so will reveal a text box where you can type instructions for the buyer on what information to include such as the recipient’s name, colour preference, etc.
SALES. What better way to drive new customers to your store than with a special offer or discount. Etsy gives store owners the ability to offer limited time free shipping or a percentage off selected items. Alternatively you can share a discount coupon with shoppers who’ve recently abandoned one of your items in their cart or added it to their list of favourites. Coupons can also be created and shared on social media sites. To set it up, visit the marketing section of Shop Manager and select Sales and coupons.
FORUMS. While it’s easy to become overwhelmed when first setting up your store, there’s plenty of resources to help get you on your way. The Etsy forums offer a place for tips and tricks on anything from taking photos right through to ways of marketing your store. In addition to the forums, you can also subscribe to an Etsy Team made up of store owners passionate about a particular topic or interest.
SELLER STANDARDS. In order for Etsy to remain a reputable and reliable site, all sellers must adhere to a number of standards. As a way to measure store performance, Etsy uses an Order Dissatisfaction Rate (ODR) which takes into account the percentage of your past orders with a customer rating of two stars or less, plus the number of opened cases within a given time period. All stores must adhere to an ODR score of less than one percent, or otherwise risk being penalised.
ETSY ADS. If you’re looking to increase the visibility of your store, then advertising could be an easy solution. Similar to other shopping sites, Etsy allows store owners to create ads that promote listings on both Etsy and Google search results. Working off a bidding system, just specify a daily budget and Etsy will do the rest. To get started, visit the marketing section of Shop Manager.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION. As mentioned last month, positive reviews can have a huge impact on the performance of your store, so it’s important to provide shoppers with exceptional service – this is especially the case when things go wrong. For buyers that are dissatisfied with a recent purchase – either that it doesn’t match the description or simply hasn’t been delivered – then their first step is to contact you directly. If unhappy with your response they can then file an official case with Etsy which you’ll have three days to respond to and resolve, otherwise it will be escalated for Etsy to mediate.