etsy

lovinituk

Had a couple more sales on Etsy. I really am very impressed so far seeing as I have put very little effort in to it. They are all so far either US or Canada and one for Australia so looks like a good platform for extending my international reach further.

I just hope they're not expecting it this side of Christmas!

djp64

I sell on Etsy - hand made / crafted items. Sold just under £1000 worth in the last year.
I list all items as £ sterling and receive payments via Paypal in £s so no conversion fees. Etsy have just launched their own payment infrastructure but the percentage fee is more than Paypal.
Etsy fees are cheaper than eBay and you list for 3 months and not 1 month.

Biggest drawback for me is that a lot of the customer base is in the USA who think we are literally across the pond and have no idea of how long it takes to ship to the USA :-)

Not had a single item not received claim or item go missing in the post.

Debbie

lovinituk

djp64 wrote: »

I list all items as £ sterling and receive payments via Paypal in £s so no conversion fees.

Thats interesting. campdave - maybe you just need to set your default currency to sterling?

I hadn't added Paypal but think I will now if the fees are cheaper.

lovinituk

djp64 wrote: »

Etsy have just launched their own payment infrastructure but the percentage fee is more than Paypal.

Whoa!!! 4% + 0.20 GBP!!! I'm changing mine to Paypal right now!

campdave

lovinituk wrote: »

Thats interesting. campdave - maybe you just need to set your default currency to sterling?

Probably - I'd set my account up ages ago when the site was pretty US-centric.

lovinituk

candyflossing wrote: »

What payment infrastructure are you referring to? I get paid straight into my bank account and thought you only pay 3.5% of the sale + the 20 cents listing fee? How is this more expensive than Paypal?

As I posted above, its 4% + 20p (plus the listing fee)...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/help/article/2028

Paypal starts at 3.4% + 20p but because I'm a high volume business seller I pay a lot less than that.

Its worth noting though that if you only accept Paypal you are not covered by Etsys seller protection and can't accept Etsy gift cards (although I don't know how much use either of those are).

djp64

One other thing that just came to me!

Make sure your store policies are clear on payment methods accepted and think about including something brief in each listing. Just like eBay some people don't bother to read the store policies or even the listing information.

I've had a few USA customers who want to pay with a cheque and don't understand why I can't accept them. Very few seem to realise that you're in another country although it does show your home country on the listing and your shop pages. I'm guessing it's because it's a US site they're assuming that all sellers are in the US.

My favourite question is always How long it will take to get to me?
My answer - What country are you in?

Dx

bluebug

I'm on Etsy and have been for the last 4 months. Have sold one small item. It is hard work but it can pay off, you need to know how to tag your items to make sure they come up searches, keep listing new items and hope they come up in the front page, favouriting other people's items and shops to build a rapport, join teams and discussions. Like any business you have to work hard to promote your store.