Supporting Etsy Sellers

Hello and Welcome to this Blog!

I just created this blog with the intention of helping and supporting local hand-made artists and artisans who have an Etsy Store, and those to wish to expand their business and start selling their creations on Etsy.

So, for the sake of those who perhaps are new to Etsy, here is a quick introduction:

WHAT IS ETSY?

Etsy is an international platform that hosts many personal stores. When you join Etsy, you will have your own online shop. You will name your shop, place a logo, write a short description of what you do and how you do it, provide your own personal details and relate a little bit about yourself. Then of course you will start adding your products, with photos, details, price, colours, sizes etc.

It is important to note that on Etsy, one can sell only items from these 3 categories:

1 - Hand-made items made by yourself or someone else from your team.

2 - Vintage supplies (that is anything that has been created by anyone before 1998).

3 - Supplies (example findings, loose beads, and anything that is used for craft-making - This section is now called Etsy Studio).

The main thing that made Etsy so popular and loved is the fact that sellers are available to create 'personalised' versions of their products to cater for their buyers' particular requests. Remember this when you are creating your listings. For example, if you do stamped bangles, you can say that the buyer can choose their own name or word to appear on the bracelet. If you create stuffed bears, you can say that the buyer can choose their favourite colour and theme.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO OPEN AN ETSY SHOP?

Opening a shop on Etsy is absolutely free!

As you start listing your products on your shop, Etsy will charge $0.20 (€0.19) for each item, and this price covers a period of 4 months. If the 4 months elapse and the item is not yet sold, you can choose to 'renew' your listing for another $0.20 (€0.19) for another 4 months.

When you sell an item, Etsy charges 3.5% transaction fee on the sale price (this will not include shipping cost). So if you are selling an item at €20, you will pay only a total €0.70c as transaction fee.

The only other charge is the transaction fee; that is when Etsy transfers the money you made onto your bank account. This is usually at 4% and it will be on the amount of money to be transferred. 

WHAT ABOUT 40 FREE LISTINGS?

Wouldn't it be great to start off your shop with 40 free listings? That is a great deal to give you the chance to start earning money before you start paying fees! If you have not yet opened an Etsy store, you can go directly to this link to earn your free listings:

http://etsy.me/2pZr6cG

This link applies only to those who have not yet opened an Etsy account. If you already have an account, you can use this link BUT you need to insert a completely new email address when filling out the information, and start a new account all over again.

I do hope this blog provides you with the advice and support that you need. Here are some of the issues currently on my mind that I would like to talk about in this blog:

- Photography

- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

- Titles, Tags and Descriptions

- The new Etsy Attributes

- Linking other social media (Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, etc)

- Customer Care

- Pricing your items

- Personalization

- Holidays related items

- Reviews

- Packing & Postage

- Paid Promotion on Etsy and Google

I invite you to comment here and to let me know what issues you would like to read more about. 

I look forward to receive your feedback and start this journey together!