Chapter 1

Handmade for Each Other: Falling in Love with Etsy

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding Etsy's purpose and how Etsy makes money

Signing up for and navigating Etsy

Setting up your Etsy shop and understanding the selling process

Exploring the Etsy community

Introducing the Etsy apps

Launched in 2005, Etsy is a website where artisans and craftspeople can sell their wares online. Basically, the site - which describes itself as "the global marketplace for unique and creative goods" - enables artistic types to parlay their passion into their life's work.

But Etsy is more than that. In addition to providing a platform for e-commerce, the Brooklyn-based company also hosts a thriving international community of creators - a community with a shared set of values, including having a commitment to their craft, minimizing waste, embracing differences, digging deeper, and leading with optimism. "In a time of increasing automation," say the folks at Etsy, "it's our mission to keep human connection at the heart of commerce."

For even more details on Etsy, click the Read Our Wonderfully Weird Story link to open the site's About page. In addition to articulating Etsy's main mission, this page provides links for buyers and sellers to additional information and resources, a link to the site's Help Center, and links to the Etsy News blog and the Investor Relations page.

Having picked up this book, you're probably interested in joining this community of creators. To get you started, this chapter offers you a bird's-eye view of Etsy - its purpose and business model, how to sign up for the site and navigate it, and all sorts of good stuff about opening and running your own shop.

Creative Crusade: Understanding Etsy's Purpose and Business Model

Some people think of Etsy as a sort of eBay for handmade goods. And you can see why: People use both Etsy and eBay to buy stuff from other individuals. Also, both sites charge listing fees and make a small commission on every sale. Plus, members use feedback to rate their transactions.

But the sites differ in big ways, too:

• Although Etsy is growing - as of this writing, the site boasts 7.4 million sellers and more than 90 million buyers, and in 2021 it yielded $13.5 billion in gross sales - it's still the proverbial mouse to eBay's proverbial elephant.
• Whereas eBay uses an auction format, Etsy doesn't. Instead, it connects buyers directly with sellers through its online marketplace.
• Whereas (almost) anything goes on eBay, Etsy was created specifically to enable artists and craftspeople to sell their handmade wares online. Over time, however, the site has evolved to empower a broader array of small business owners and makers. You'll find out more about what you can and can't sell on Etsy in Chapter 5.

Etsy stays afloat by charging sellers a fee for each item listed on the site. At this time, the listing fee is $0.20 per item, which Etsy assesses when the item is listed.

Etsy also collects a transaction fee from the seller for each item sold - currently 6.5 percent of the total price of the item, plus the amount you charge for gift-wrapping and shipping or any other charges (if applicable). Etsy also charges a fee to process payments; this fee is assessed based on the total amount of the sale, including tax and shipping. (The precise amount of this fee depends on the location of your bank account. For sellers whose bank is in the U.S., the fee is 3 percent of the total sale, plus $0.25.)

Finally, Etsy offers various fee-based services to help you manage and grow your shop, like Etsy shipping labels (see Chapter 13), advertising (see Chapter 14), Etsy Plus (see Chapter 17), and Pattern (see Chapter 17).

You can pay these fees in one of several ways: by using a credit card that you put on file with Etsy; by using your PayPal account; or by having the amount deducted from any sales you've made. (If your sales balance is zero or negative, then you'll have an amount due.) We talk more about Etsy fees in Chapters 12 and 16.

Introducing the World of Etsy

Just what can you do on Etsy? And how do you use the site? This section scratches the surface. (You find the nitty-gritty, step-by-step info about these topics in later chapters.)

Registering with Etsy

You don't need to register with Etsy to scope out what goodies are for sale. But if you're in the market to buy any of said goodies - or to communicate with other Etsy members or participate in the site's community features - you need to create an account with the site.

Fortunately, creating an account is simple and free. You just enter your name and email address and choose a username and password. You don't even need to supply a credit card number!

If you plan to use Etsy to sell your own items, you need to take a few more steps as well as provide a major credit card (think MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express) and other vitals, such as your bank routing and account number and your address.

For step-by-step coverage of completing the registration process and signing in to your Etsy account, turn to Chapter 2. Chapter 6 covers the steps you need to take to become an Etsy seller.

Navigating the Etsy home page

Whether you're buying or selling, exploring or researching, Etsy's home page is your home base. It's the page that appears when you go to www.etsy.com. You can also access Etsy's home page from anywhere on the Etsy site by clicking the Etsy logo in the upper-left corner of each Etsy Marketplace page. (We explain why we say "Etsy Marketplace" here in a sec.)

The Etsy home page, shown in Figure 1-1, features several important sections. These include the following. (Note that this section assumes that you're not signed in to your Etsy account. You'll see additional options if you are logged in - and even more if you have set up your Etsy shop. We talk more about these options in the next few sections and in Chapters 2 and 7.)

• A standard search box, for when you know what you're looking for
• A set of links along the top, which you can click to browse items in popular categories and sign into your Etsy account
• A series of Editors' Picks for top Etsy items
• Links to recent Etsy Journal blog posts
• A "What Is Etsy?" section, with links to additional resources
• Access to Etsy's Help Center

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 1-1: Etsy's home page.

Understanding Your Account and Shop Manager

After you create your Etsy account (see Chapter 2) and set up your shop (see Chapter 6), and assuming you're logged into the site, you can access settings for your account and your shop from the links along the top of any Etsy Marketplace page. (See Figure 1-2.)

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 1-2: The Shop Manager and Your Account links.

The Your Account menu (see Figure 1-3) contains a series of links that provide access to all sorts of useful info - your public profile, your gift card balance, messages to and from other Etsy users, special offers just for you, items you've bought and reviews you've left, and your account settings, as well as a Sign Out option. If you have not yet set up your Etsy shop, you'll also see a Sell on Etsy link. For help navigating Your Account, turn to Chapter 2. Chapter 7 covers Shop Manager.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 1-3: Your Account.

Shop Manager is where you, well, manage your shop. It contains a dashboard that provides you with key shop stats at a glance (see Figure 1-4), as well as links to tools to create and manage listings, send and receive messages, keep track of orders and shipping, view stats, handle your finances, run marketing campaigns, and more. You can find out more about navigating the Shop Manager in Chapter 7.

Source: Etsy.com

FIGURE 1-4: Shop Manager.

Notice in Figure 1-4 that Shop Manager has no header bar, which means you have no easy access to the various links that appear on the header bar on every Etsy Marketplace page. To access those links, you have to switch from Shop Manager to the Etsy Marketplace. To do so, click the Shop Manager link in the upper-left corner of the Shop Manager page. Then choose Etsy Marketplace from the list that appears.

Etsy uses the term Etsy Marketplace to describe the area on the site where buyers can find items listed for sale. The part of the site geared toward sellers is called the Shop Manager.

Discovering what's for sale on Etsy

Etsy features unique items - goodies you simply can't find anywhere else - along with supplies for crafting your own pieces. In fact, Etsy offers an incredible breadth of items for sale, from accessories to ceramics, jewelry to quilts, and everything in between.

To help you find a specific item, Etsy offers a robust...