Updates from our Etsy Educators!

Contributor post by Caroline and Jose of Handcrafted Consulting

Felt Arrow by OrdinaryMommy

There are several new features and ideas floating around Etsy these days!  If you are an Etsy Seller, you’ll want to take a minute to catch up on these new features so that you can take full advantage of them this Holiday Shopping Season.





Direct Checkout
If you are a US-based seller and not yet signed up for this, do it today! Direct Checkout is Etsy’s new internal credit card processing system. The system allows your buyer to proceed through the shopping cart system seamlessly and easily, entering a credit card number for payment on Etsy: no longer do buyers have to confusingly transfer over to Paypal to make a purchase. If you are a seller located outside of the US, sit tight: Etsy is working to comply with international regulations so Direct Checkout can be used by sellers worldwide.

What are the benefits of Direct Checkout? For one, it is easy-peasy for your buyer. Folks new to the Etsy shopping experience find it to be simple and quick, and they are spending more money in the shops that accept it.
Etsy reports from August 2012 show that new shops with Direct Checkout enabled sold 19.3% more than new shops that did not. In addition to that enormous stat, shoppers were 16.3% more likely to complete the checkout process (actually buying the items in their shopping cart) in shops where Direct Checkout is accepted.

Personally, at Paloma’s Nest, we saw an immediate shift in payment method when we set up Direct Checkout in our Etsy shop; we estimate that now close to 80% of our orders are processed through Direct Checkout, with the remaining 20% still choosing to use Paypal. While Direct Checkout will never be a required part of selling on Etsy, there will be benefits to using it in your shop in the future.
Read more about the system here on the Etsy News blog.
Initial Pendants by MerriweatherCouncil



Gift Cards
Just in time for the busy season, Etsy is gearing up to release Gift Cards! Scheduled to be available this fall, in time for holiday shopping, Etsy Gift Cards will be a great way to bring new shoppers to the site and to your shop. Any member will be able to purchase an Etsy Gift Card using a US credit card; with the Gift Card, a shopper can then purchase from any Etsy shop, but with a small catch: redeeming of Gift Cards will be thru a Gift Card code, which is processed through the Direct Checkout system. So if you haven’t enabled Direct Checkout for your shop yet, now is definitely the time to do so.


Rainbow Alphabet Houses by TheLittleRedDoor
Etsy Wholesale
One of the biggest announcements Etsy has made this fall is the creation of Etsy Wholesale and the potential for a wholesale online marketplace. The program, still in its infant stage, is set to be a platform to connect wholesale buyers with Etsy sellers wishing to offer their work at wholesale prices.
While many have been speculating about what this all means and how it will function for sellers and buyers alike, it is still much too early to know exactly how it will all work. The exciting news is that, whether you decide Etsy Wholesale is right for your brand or not, the new program is sure to be a resource for all Etsy sellers, offering education about the inner workings of wholesale business and learning to navigate all of the opportunities the wholesale market has to offer.


So hold on to your hats, folks! The holidays will soon be upon us, and its looking like it will be a great one! Etsy Success is back with their annual Holiday Boot Camp to help you get ready;  be sure to join us in the Online Labs on October 11 at 4pm EST, where you'll find us presenting a webinar to  answer common questions about prepping your shop for the season!

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Caroline and Jose are the duo behind the heirloom gift brand Paloma's Nest. They believe artists don't have to be starving, so they mentor and coach creatives like you at Handcrafted Consulting. Join them for a workshop or a one-to-one virtual chat about starting, growing or managing your handmade business (plus, they are Certified Etsy Educators)!

Jan Halvarson

3 comments:

CuriousDoodles said...

I'm really excited to see what the etsy wholsale will have to offer. It could potentially save me a lot of headaches. Very interesting.

Unknown said...

Ah, yes, I know these 2 new additions to Etsy. I'm very happy they are in place. I'm curious to see what Etsy Wholesale will be. It's so nice to be a part of an online, handcrafted and vintage marketplace that's always trying to improve things and help customers and sellers alike.

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing all this information! I am so excited to be able to offer my customers gift cards for the holiday season,a nd this wholesale shindig sounds like it could really be great!