More Helpful Hints & Tips for Etsy Sellers!

More Helpful Hints & Tips for Etsy Sellers!

Part Two

Here's another installment of helpful hints and tips for those of us who sell on Etsy. I've been helping newbies for a while and decided to try to include a lot of that information here so it's all in one place that's easy to access.

The permanent links to these helpful hints will be over there on the left side of this page near the top of the list of links.

These are just some things I learned along the way in all my years of doing business online. This applies to being a buyer AND a seller. These are the things I've done to keep things as happy and smooth as I can make them.

I spent 11 YEARS reading the forums on eBay and now I'm reading them on Etsy. I learned how sellers feel about situations, as well as buyers.


What I share with you is what I've gleaned from those opinions, stories, situations, nightmares, plus personal experience of my own.

As a buyer I know what I love to see in a seller and in their customer service. And that's the kind of seller I want to be, too.

The things I like as a buyer, I like to do as a seller.

1.  Thank your customers. Whenever someone buys from me and I get the PayPal notification that I have money, I IMMEDIATELY hit that 'reply' button and thank them.

I also tell them in that same email when I plan to ship their item to them, whether it's that day or the next day, etc.

I put it all into one email. This way I don't have to write them a half dozen times. We don't want to 'over do it' in emails and annoy them.

Think of it like this, if you're a buyer, you blindly send money to a person who has shown you a picture of what they SAY they have for sale.

I think some sellers out there forget how scary this is for a buyer. I know it is for me, and I've been buying online for 12 years.

And if you send your money to that seller and hear nothing back, you have no way of knowing if they actually received your money, if they are going to ship your item, or when.

That leads to a lot of uncertainty and questions.
How is the buyer supposd to know they aren't about to be ripped off?

Besides, of all the people on the internet who make and sell dolls, if someone chooses to buy one of MY dolls, you better believe I'm going to thank them. The competition is very stiff out there. And if YOU don't thank them and show good customer service and courtesy, someone else WILL.

Communicate! A quick thank you goes a long way. The person feels acknowledged, appreciated, they know what to expect, and they can breathe a sigh of relief and feel more secure. This establishes the 'buyer / seller' relationship. Everyone likes to feel appreciated.

I can't tell you how many emails I've received over the years from people who thanked me for communicating with them. A lot of other sellers don't.
Guess which sellers will be remembered?
Guess which sellers get customers who return?

I want my customers to be informed, relaxed, and I want them to enjoy the transaction.

And I want them to come back!

I never want my customers to have to write and ask me if I received their money or if I have shipped. Not one of my customers has ever had to do that.

I communicate.

Also, if you decide to take checks and money orders for payment, always email the customer the day you receive that check or money order and tell them it arrived.

That way they know it arrived safe and sound. Let them know in that same email when you'll be mailing their item. We don't have crystal balls to tell us what's going on. Keep the lines of communication open!

Everyone's happy.

And if you are a buyer and you need to send a check or money order, or you don't get paid for a few days, tell the seller so she'll know when to expect her payment.

I know how frustrating it is to have a buyer 'buy' something, then I hear nothing. I don't know if payment is on the way, if they have changed their minds, or if they need some time till pay day. Don't just leave the seller guessing what's going on.

Communication goes both ways.

Personally, I have done away with all the guessing, lack of communication, and worry. I have it set up on Etsy to where the item isn't 'bought' till it's paid for. That way I don't have to deal with deadbeats.

• I no longer have to guess when I'm getting paid.
• I no longer have to chase down and email the buyer and ask for payment.
• I no longer have to deal with giving a negative, or getting one in return, especially from someone who never paid to begin with.
• I no longer have to file with Etsy that I had a deadbeat buyer so I can get my Final Value Fees back.
• I no longer have to deal with relisting the item and paying more listing fees.

And if this is an appealing feature for you, all you have to do is make sure you ONLY take PayPal as payment. If you accept money orders and checks, too, then this won't work.

But I LOVE knowing that when I receive notice that something is purchased, the payment has been made. No nightmare situation. I have it this way on eBay AND my website.

No, I don't worry about losing a sale because of my payment method. If someone wants my item bad enough and need to pay another way, all they have to do is email me.
Otherwise, I can only imagine the problems I have avoided.
Again, this is the voice of experience...I've been through it all.

You can also do this on a case by case situation, like if someone emails and requests another method of payment. This is up to you. But be careful.

2.  Always leave feedback. Never underestimate what feedback means to someone. There's been sellers that I have bought from where I've had no communication from them. I'm left to guess when and if I'll get my item...no 'thank you' from them, nothing.

Then the item arrives. Everything is fine. And in spite of poor customer service I leave glowing feedback for them.
They never leave me any feedback.

???
How rude and thoughtless of them.

I mean, I found their item...chose to do business with THEM out of all the other thousands who have similar items...I paid immediately, cause no trouble, and I'm a really good customer. I even plan to be a repeat customer.

And I don't deserve feedback?

Needless to say, I never do business with them again. Feedback is like a 'thank you'. It closes the transaction. Others can read about what kind of a person we are to do business with. That goes for buyers and sellers alike.

You can predict a lot from a customer / seller just by viewing previous feedback.

A lot of sellers are under the impression that a buyer's feedback isn't important. That's not true.

With a glance at not only the feedback they've received, but the feedback they GIVE, I can tell you if they are pleasant to deal with, or a nightmare customer from HELL who nit-picks and tries to negotiate AFTER the purchase has been made, if they leave feedback at all, or if they are good with payments and communication.

If they don't leave feedback for anyone, I don't leave it for them, either.
If they are nit-pickers and quick to leave negatives and neutrals, I certainly won't leave feedback first.
If they leave me bad feedback, especially without trying to contact me first, I want my chance to explain MY side of things. Etsy doesn't allow for 'follow up' feedback. You get one shot.

So, again, it's a case by case situation with me.

We're all trying to build up our reputation on Etsy. And feedback is the way to do that. I just don't think it's fair if one person gets to rack it up, yet never gives it to others.

Or, they skip and pick and choose who they give it to.

Why is it that I can spend $40 buying charms from someone and they give me NO feedback, in spite of our flawless transaction and the fact that I left it for THEM, AND I'm a repeat customer, but someone else spent $1.99 on one charm and THEY get the feedback? It doesn't make sense to me.

And it doesn't even matter if you leave the same feedback to everyone. Just copy and paste it. It's better than leaving none. Don't worry about being tired of saying the same old thing. The point is, leave feedback.

I know there's people who love to cling to the 'feedback is voluntary' thing, but those are always the people who are either too lazy to leave it, or they downplay the importance. There's plenty of others who know the value of feedback. And those are the people I prefer to do business with.

I learned 11 years ago how important feedback can be. I use it religiously to see what kind of people I'm dealing with, whether they are buying from me, or I'm buying from them. It's kept me from making a lot of bad buys and being ripped off simply by looking at a seller's feedback.
Forewarned is to be forearmed.

I know and understand that some people do not want anyone to know who they buy their supplies from. But now Etsy is more private about the items we buy. Not everyone can see the items we buy anymore.
Etsy is currently making changes in the feedback system.

Every time we sign into Etsy we are reminded in red letters how many feedbacks we need to leave. Feedback IS an important part of the transaction. Take a few moments to leave it for completed transactions.

Don't expect your buyer to 'understand' that you don't want to leave it, or you let yourself get behind in leaving it, or that you don't care about it or think about it.

If for no other reason, do it because it pleases your customer and it completes the transaction. You'll never know how many customers won't return because you don't leave feedback. Can you afford that?

NEVER underestimate what feedback means to someone.

3.  Again, communicate. If you are a buyer and you purchase something from someone and it goes wrong somehow, please try to work it out with the seller before giving them a negative or neutral feedback. Give them a chance to make it right for you.

And if they DO make it right and you're happy, then they still deserve a positive feedback. After all, they did make it right and you were satisfied, right? They did the work to make it right. And they may have had to take a few losses in order to make it right for you.

Don't punish them further by leaving a negative or neutral feedback. They have earned positive feedback.

If you 'win back' a seller or a buyer, they'll be even more loyal to you than a lot of customers who never had any problems.

4.  Always ship your item as fast as you can. There's a lot of complaints against sellers who take their sweet time mailing your package, and not even telling you when to expect it. They'll likely lose you as a customer. And none of us can really afford to have that happen.

We've all done business with those whom we've paid immediately, but waited WEEKS for our items, and we had no communication from them. I've even had to remind sellers to send the item I PAID FOR.
Bad business.  
I won't be back.

5.  If you get an email similar to this one, STAY AWAY FROM IT. Do not respond, just report it to Etsy. It's a scam.

These type of scammer targets brand new shops because they know the seller doesn't know it's a scam. And we all love a sale, but don't fall for it for the sake of a sale and 'in case' it's legit.

It's not legit. You can have all the hope and optimism in the world, but it's still not legit.

These people raise an ID on Etsy the day they approach most people. They send out lots of those emails. By the time people report it and Etsy shuts them down, they're already raising up another ID and they are back in business.

They do change the wording so as to throw you off. But the basic email can read sort of like this:

i am interested in purchasing your item with no delay,but first? What is the final price of the item? Is the
price firm? Will you be accepting a US certified Check or money order
Contact me with the present state of the item and your contact
information to mail out the payment to you as soon as
possible. Name you want on check:
Home Address:
City:
State:
Country:
Phone Number/Office Number:
N B.Note please make sure you contact me via email below

They also want to arrange for pick up (another delivery service), they want to send you MORE money than what was agreed upon. It's all a scam and the money order they MIGHT send is bogus. By the time your bank figures it out, they are long gone with your money.

If there is ever an email you aren't sure of, by all means, don't hesitate to write to me and I'll be more than glad to look at it for you and tell you what I think.

I really don't want you to be ripped off.

And like I said, they try to stay a step ahead and change the wording, but it's still a scam.

6.  And this is a tip to keep you from getting into trouble on Etsy. Even if someone has done business with you before, or if they have 'hearted' your shop or item, or you are in their Circle, or they are in YOUR Circle, never write to them and offer a discount or a coupon code, or advertise sales you may be having.

Even if people have done that to you. It's against Etsy policy.

This is considered Spam on Etsy and no one likes it. Eventually someone will turn you in and you can get into trouble. I have never turned anyone in, but I'm just saying, someone else will.

I get at least a dozen or more of these each and every day. It's horrible. It makes me want to go and take my shop heart back.

Many of these people don't even say hello, or thank me for the shop heart I gave them, or anything....they just bark out a sentence to come take advantage of their discount coupon, blah, blah, blah. That's it. How rude.
They 'sound' like those late night LOUD commercials that annoy the fire out of you.

And these same people never gave ME a shop heart, even though I had given THEM one, but they sure want me to come buy from them.

Think that's ever going to happen?

Never.

Remember, there are many reasons why people give shop hearts or item hearts:

• They might be interested in the item.
• They might be building a treasury and chose your item.
• They might want to feature your shop in their blog.
• They might want to share your shop with a friend.
• They might want to share your item with a friend.

Not everyone is a buyer. And to write to people who heart your shop or item and treat them like they are nothing more than 'money' is a huge mistake.

It's the quickest way to turn them off of your shop, your item, and from ever wanting to do business with you.

Ever since Etsy introduced the 'discount code' lots of people are being Spammed by people who have hearted them. If you read the forums you'll see that it's a huge problem. People are really angry about it. And it's even worse with the concept of Circles.

If people keep Spamming everyone like this, pretty soon people will stop leaving hearts and joining Circles just to avoid being Spammed.

Plus, I'm a seller, too. I'm not here to just spend money. I'm here to SELL, just like you.

Please read the Etsy Do's and Don'ts.

http://www.etsy.com/policy/dosdonts

These sentences are included in the section of Convos:

"You must not use Conversations to send unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations or "spam."

If someone hearts your shop/item to mark it as a Favorite, that is not an invitation to send a Conversation to that person."

Again, I LOVE hearing from the Etsy members. The communication is wonderful. And I help a lot of newbies with lots of information. I enjoy it.

But I honestly don't want to deal with the unsolicited notices of discounts and coupon codes and being directed to websites. Besides, it's against Etsy policy.

7.  About your shop...improve, improve, improve. None of us are ever done improving and tweaking our shop. Read the forums for tips:

Etsy Forums

You can learn everything there. It's like the Bible for Etsy.

Even if you only have a few minutes a day, or during meals like I do, read when you can. You will come away with a wealth of knowledge. It's your Ace Card, trust me.

You can start by going for just five minutes a day. You don't have to spend hours a day reading. I don't have that kind of time, either. And I'm not going to do ALL the reading for everyone else.

I don't mind sharing the things I'm sharing, and you can be sure, what I'm sharing isn't all there is to know.
We each have to do our own work for our own business and shop.

Imagine how much time it takes for me to put these tips together and present them here in order to help people. I really enjoy doing it, but my time is just as valuable as everyone else's.
So, I like helping people who help themselves.

And here's the link to another forum of Etsy members. It's even BETTER. There's a Critique section where you can ask people to critique your shop and give advice. It's wonderful.

You have to sign up there, but it's worth it, and it's FREE. You will learn even more there.
And it's just like anything else, you'll find good people and a few bad.
Concern yourself with learning things to improve your shop and business, and take 'opinions' with a grain of sale.

Unofficial Etsy Forums

More tips are coming soon!!


 Copyright © March 16, 2011 Catt Alexander

No portion of my Etsy Helpful Hints and Tips are to be copied in part or in it's entirety without my permission. These installments are the result of my own hard work, research, opinion, and experience.