I know there are quite a few artists out there, like me, hawking their wares over on Etsy. So a wee titbit from this week.
“Effective July 16, Etsy’s transaction fee will increase from 3.5% to 5% and it will also apply to the cost of shipping. All other fees, including listing fees, will remain the same. “
Full update here: etsy.com/uk/seller-news/2018-june-update
If you looked at the forum this week you’d think this was world breaking armageddon time. The horror of a 46-page thread on the topic…
Three things are happening here. The first, we can strike straight off. People complaining about the introduction of subscription packages to help shops. Folk believe they will create an advantage for power sellers. They won’t. They’re awful.
The second thing to address is the increase from 3.5% to 5% on sales fees. A 1.5% increase. That’s going to increase your sales fee per £ from 3.5 pence to 5 pence. It’s nothing really is it? It’s also the first increase in 13 years. Etsy is still one of the cheapest places to sell all but the most expensive of wares.
Then we have the 5% fee on shipping. That’s annoying, but unfortunately necessary. You’ve all seen people pile on to the price of shipping. It still happens on eBay and Amazon to game search. Humans are feckers for finding ways around things and taking things to the extreme of taking the piss.
If the new fees are going to damage your income, consider just raising your prices by 1.5p per £ and incorporate the 5p per £ on shipping into the costs. It’s not a huge amount. It’s also certainly worth paying the 5% for the convenience of selling through Etsy. Although I sell 90% of my prints through messages on the site, Etsy does make the whole sales process easier.
If you want to start selling on Etsy or want a refresher course, consider trying a Skillshare course. For a 100% free course, sign up, skip payment info, and click the link below.
Building an Etsy Shop that Sells: Strategies for E-Commerce Success
Join Etsy’s Parker Gard to learn the ins and outs of creating a successful e-commerce business within an online marketplace.
Class link: https://skl.sh/2meUDhd
You can join for as little as $0.99 for your first two months, and you can cancel any time before the two months are up and you’ll never pay another penny. By joining Skillshare you gain access to thousands of top quality classes, including the epic Etsy class by Melanie Greenwood.
How To Sell Your Art On Etsy in 2017
Melanie delivers a four and half hour epic course covering quite literally everything a newcomer to Etsy needs to know. Plenty of things old hats could do with re-learning too.
Class link: https://skl.sh/2kzchKS
And of course, I have to get a plug into this post for my own Etsy store, etsy.com/uk/shop/LittleFears. There you can buy prints of my astrological series, the well-chirped birds, the cats at the top of this post and other fearful critters.
Ko-Fi | Patreon | Etsy | Kindle | Skillshare | Threadless
Little Fears 