# Esty do or dont?



## nc_mtn (Nov 24, 2007)

Many things here first, is it worth starting?

I've read the thread and some comments on Esty and starting up a store. I was wondering a few things from those that do it.

I'm not really understanding how payment works. I've read on their FAQ how I have several options (Credit Card, PayPal, ....) but I'm not understanding how the money makes it to me. If a customer purchases something say with a credit card, is it my responsibility to process this account with something like square (on my smartphone) or will the payment be with Esty, and they'll send me my share of the $$$$ 

Is there any "hidden" cost I need to remember when pricing an item? Say I have an item that I normally sells in person for say $10, do I need to add $.20 (for listing) and 3.5%? That means I need to price it for $10.55 to break even on my normal profit?
Then, assuming it fits in say a flat-rate box from the USPS, I need to add $11.35 + a buck or so for packing material???



I've never ventured out on this before and years ago, I tried selling some stuff on ebay and got totally burned because I didn't understand how the "extra" stuff worked....

Thanks so much for reading and helping


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## Nairtseuqe (Nov 7, 2012)

I am a big lurker, but I actually have knowledge on this topic  I have been selling on Etsy for a long time now, and my shop gives our family a nice part time income. Your return may vary, and has a lot to do with what your product is, your marketing, how good your luck is, etc.

For the first question, you are not responsible for processing credit cards. When you set up your shop, you set up your payment methods. You can choose to recieve payment through Paypal (you will need a free account with them) and / or you can use Etsy's new direct payment feature. The buyer would then purchase their item and then be prompted to pay in the way you have chosen. Paypal will process credit cards, or electronic checks (it takes a few days for checks to clear and they will tell you when it does). If they pay through Paypal, you can transfer your money from Paypal to your own account at any time. If they pay through Etsy, Etsy will deposit your money in your account once a week (I think this is adjustable). You can also choose to accept check or money order or whatever (which the buyer would mail to you). Once you receive payment you click the button on your order page to say you were paid and then you ship the item. I don't take checks or money orders in the mail in my shop. I think it is too much hassle, but you can choose however you want to run your shop.

Yes, there are "hidden costs" to remember to add to your listing price. Your main concerns would be this: Etsy charges you $.20 to list an item. It is a flat fee and doesn't matter how many you list, or how much you are charging. They also charge you 3.5% of the sale price when the item sells. You are then charged a percentage of the sale price by either Paypal or Etsy for them to process the credit card for you. Etsy charges 3% + a $.25 transaction fee. Paypal charges 2.9% + a $.30 transaction fee (so they are very comparable). So, in total, your fees come to $.20 to list + 6.5% of sale price at the end. For your $10 item the "hidden fees" would be $.85. Don't get too stressed about it, though, if you want to just mark everything up $1 for ever $10, you'll more than make up for your fees. You can find the full fees for Etsy and Paypal here:
http://www.etsy.com/help/article/2144
& 
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees

Now for shipping. I think this is where most people lose money and freak out. We tend to think that we have to get the postage cost exactly right or the person on the other end will see that they payed $3 for postage and we only had to pay $1.69 or something and freak out. Postage should cover your box, your label, and your time to take it to the post office. Go ahead and round your postage up a little to cover these expenses. Trust me, you're still probably under charging and you are not gouging your customer. Unless you are selling something that is small and very heavy (bolts, beads, soap, etc), it is much more economical to send things via first class mail, or priority mail (if it is over 13oz) instead of in one of the flat rate boxes. I know that it is a headache to figure out the weight and the shipping, but getting a close estimate will save your customers lots in shipping and make them more likely to buy. Would you really want to buy a bar of soap that costs more to ship than the soap it's self?! To figure out your shipping, start by placing your item in the box or envelope that you are going to ship in. Padded envelopes are great for some things because they are light (don't add much to shipping weight). Even relatively small boxes can add like 8oz to the shipping weight, but protect fragile products much better. So, place your item in it's box or bag and then weigh it on a scale that can measure oz or smaller. I use a food scale that will go up to 5 lb. Here is the calculator for the USPS where you can check your price to ship:
http://postcalc.usps.com/
Enter your zip code and then one across the country from you to get a good domestic price. Then pick a country in Europe, Australia, and somewhere in Asia to figure out your international price (or just say you don't ship international if you prefer). 

Here is a great website I ran across for the new rate hikes in 2013 that is a little simpler to work with than the one on the USPS website:
http://brittanysbest.com/2013/01/usps-shipping-calculator-for-2013/

It takes a little time to get a shop set up properly, and we all make mistakes where we realize we didn't make any money (or lost money) on a given transaction. Grumble to yourself, use that knowledge to fix your shop so it doesn't happen again, and just figure that you have sent good karma out into the world. This happens in all small businesses, not just online. 

I hope I helped some, and I hope your shop does well! You can look me up on Etsy to see how my shop is set up if you like. I am Twiceshearedsheep


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Welcome to HT! Wow what a nice and informative first post. Hope ya stick around and join in the fun. I have thought about starting a shop myself. Maybe with all this info I might just do it.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

what a timely question. And thanks for the info, Nairtseuqe! I'm in the process of starting an Etsy store, too so you answered questions that had been rattling around in my head, too.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I agree with others here. That is clear information you have given Nairtseuqe. Thank you. I've been looking at various places to set up shop too ... strictly for nice (as well as customed) jewelry and various types of "construction" TOYS....have hundreds of constructs, legos, etc.


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## sohio (Jan 18, 2013)

NC Mountain...I was wondering....I see a lot of folks on there selling items they crafted etc., but I also see a lot of stuff, that I take are getting at wholesale somewhere and reselling it there....where can you find wholesale items like that, and do you craft your items yourself. Thanks for the helpful information.


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## Nairtseuqe (Nov 7, 2012)

Ooo! I forgot to mention my new favorite feature of Etsy! You can print your shipping labels directly from them including international labels! You have always been able to print domestic labels in Paypal, but never international. Now you can ship directly through Etsy, no need for a stamps.com membership, and never need to stand in line at the post office again 

And thank you for the wonderful welcome everyone. I have learned so much from reading here over the last few months. I'm just glad that I could give something back


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## sohio (Jan 18, 2013)

Sorry I meant to address my post to mairtseuqe not nc mtn :smack


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

i dont have any advise because i only buy on Etsy. i'm glad for this thread though because i found another site from ht selling on Etsy. i have tried to buy from hters if they shipped to canada. so many dont so i had to scravel right over to TSS to find out and yes she does! the shipping cost to canada is excellent too. i think that's supposed to go up on jan 31 though. i read on one of the etsy sites. course i pay twice as much for shipping if i order something from canada which i stopped doing. i'll keep looking for a link for the others on here who are going to start selling in the future. ~Georgia.


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## Nairtseuqe (Nov 7, 2012)

Sohio,
Etsy allows you to sell items that you have had made yourself, items that are vintage (20 years or older I think), and commercially made supplies. Everything I sell fits into the handmade section, so I'm not the best person to ask about commercial supplies. I am sure that they buy in bulk from large wholesale suppliers, shows, etc. If it is something you are interested in perusing, I'd start with a google search on where you can buy the supply item you are interested in bulk at a good price. You really have to buy in large quantities to get prices good enough to resell and I have never wanted to take the risk of buying something that didn't sell


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

I have a shop on Etsy and shipping is where I have the most frustrations. I don't have a good set up, which I'm working on remedying. I make soap, and so shipping for soap IS expensive compared to the price of the soap, depending on how it ships. It tends to be heavy for its size, so yes, it can cost as much to ship a bar of soap as it does cost to buy the bar! I usually end up just barely covering the actual postage costs, sometimes I even lose money on shipping, but I try to be very careful about it now. And I've had times where I'll charge too much for shipping, and if it's over a buck I'll refund the money to the buyer. I try to include packaging (like bubble mailers, etc) in my purchase price, so that shipping is just actual shipping.


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## happychick (Sep 20, 2010)

I see most of your questions have already been answered here! I'll just add what I can...
Our family has been selling successfully on Etsy for just over a year now. There is a bit of a learning curve, but overall it is a MUCH more friendly site then eBay. If this is your first time selling online, start with Etsy.

On Etsy, direct checkout with credit cards is a fairly new feature, not all shops qualify for it (you have to have been selling for a period of time, good feedback, etc). So even if you did go that route, you will still need to start with Paypal. Paypal is easy to use, just like having another bank account. They do take a small % (I think 3.5?). We tried out direct checkout, but prefer paypal because then all incoming money goes to the same place. Direct checkout goes straight to your local bank acct. instead.

You can pay for your postage costs at your local post office, but if you get to selling a LOT you will stand in line forever. We print all our shipping labels online through paypal. When a payment comes in, there is a little 'print shipping label' button, and it automatically fills in your address & theirs - you just put in your packages weight, dementions & service you want to use. Then you can just drop them off at the post office (or use carrier pickup) and they just scan the bar code. We do still have to do international buyers shipping at the post office for customs, but we don't have as many of those so it's not a problem.

There are a few 'hidden' costs, but not much. The paypal %, Etsy's % (I think 3% of total sales). It's $0.20 to list an item for 3 months - very cheap compared to eBay. Doesn't go up with the price of your item. eBay fees you for everything, Etsy is just the 20 cents and their 3% of your sales. Very affordable for the traffic you get (WAY more then having your own private website), as thousands of people browse and find you on Etsy.

On shipping, we use UPS for large items. USPS for everything else - First Class mail for all items under 13 oz, Priority for 1-5 lbs, over that we try to use flat rate boxes or parcel post. 
Media mail is great for books, CDs, printed matter, etc. but it can only be used for that. 
For handling/packing materiel costs, that is up to you. On eBay we charge $1 on everything just to help pay for it. Don't have that feature on Etsy, just round up on the shipping a little. We get all our packing through friends instead of buying it. We have a dentist office in town that gives us all their bubble wrap, mailers & boxes, an antique store that has boxes, etc etc. This is SO much cheaper. We used to get our bubble mailers/envelopes at the dollar store, but we found we could get them in large lots at auction on eBay for on $0.40 a pc (the large ones you cut down into 4 mailers), so thats much cheaper. Mailing tape and computer paper for printing the labels online we get at walmart.

There is a TON more tips and tricks, down to how to make your Etsy listings come up higher in Google searches, get found, use tags and special features on Etsy that I would be happy to help you with.  I would also be helpful to know what you are thinking of selling! 

Everyone feel free to check out and ask all your questions in my 'Do you Sell on Etsy?' thread. There are lots of newbie Etsy shop owners who post there together: 

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/co...rk-home-business/415143-do-you-sell-etsy.html

Also, you can check out our shops in my signature link for examples -


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