What is Etsy? Etsy Review

Etsy is an online store platform that features the sale of handmade products. It has been compared to eBay, Amazon and "grandmother's basement collection" by the New York Times. Products sold on Etsy include art, clothing, jewelry and other decorative items, and crafts.

Platform Advantages

1. Etsy is the world's largest creative market e-commerce platform, with 33 million buyers and $3 billion in sales in 2017.

2. Etsy provides a series of auxiliary tools, such as Sell on Etsy App, discounted postage, and simple and convenient store settings.

3. Provide assistance to sellers, such as answering sellers’ questions by phone and email, and establishing seller magazines and seller forums, all of which are to help sellers successfully run their stores.

Main Users

Etsy data survey shows that about half of the website's traffic comes from outside the United States, mainly from the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, Australia, etc. The survey sample involved 67 countries, and 97% of the respondents were women.

English is the most spoken language, followed by French, German, and Spanish. Almost all choose to make transactions through PayPal.

How to open a store

1. Register an Etsy account. Click the "sell on Etsy" link in the upper right corner of the homepage. Register an Etsy seller account:

2. Set up your Etsy store information, select your store language, country and currency, and click Save to continue.

*Note: Once a language is selected, it will be set as the default language by the system, mainly used for product descriptions, and cannot be changed. However, after the store is activated, the seller can add other languages.

Select the country where your store is located: Some platform tools cannot be used in certain countries.

Select the currency in which the product is priced. If the seller's bank currency is different from the store currency, a handling fee will be incurred.

3. Set an Etsy store name: Set a name that reflects the seller's style and is impressive. The store name must meet the following requirements:

Length is 4-20 characters;

No spaces or special characters;

No blasphemy;

Not yet used by existing Etsy members;

Not infringe on the trademarks of others.

If the store name you enter is already in use, the system will suggest other store names. You can choose one of them or write a new one.

4. Upload product listing;

5. Select the payment method. The options are as follows:

Etsy Payments: This is the main payment method on the Etsy platform.

Paypal: If you're in a country that's not eligible for Etsy Payments, you can use a PayPal account to accept payments.

· Check or Money Order: If the seller uses postal money order, please select "Payment by postal money order" on the "Accepted Payments" page, and then select "Money Order" and/or "Check". The address entered by the seller will only be displayed to buyers who purchase products and select this payment method.

Other: Check this box to indicate that you are using another payment method. Please be sure to include information and instructions about payment methods in your merchant information and store policies.

6. Set up invoices. Depending on the country/region, some sellers may need to enter a credit card to open a store. The main credit card types are: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Carte Bleue (France).

Etsy requires sellers in certain countries to provide a credit card as a form of identity verification. Sellers may see an authorization charge to verify the credit card information. Sellers can also pay their bills through PayPal. Sellers in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands do not need to provide credit card verification information.

Note: Chinese IP operation is prone to problems, it is best to use a foreign IP.

cost

Listing fee: $0.20 per item, expires after four months. Listing will automatically renew for $0.20 after each item is sold.

Commission: 5% of the sales price. This does not include any shipping costs and taxes you may be charged.

Style fee: 30 days free, then $15 per month

Note: At the end of July 2018, Etsy fully opened the Etsy Plus subscription plan, with a monthly fee of $20. Sellers who subscribe until the end of this year can enjoy a 50% discount. With the Etsy Plus subscription plan, sellers can customize their stores and packaging, hold promotional discounts, and provide consumers with "restock requests" arrival notification services. In addition, sellers can also get 15 free listings and $5 worth of Promoted Listings advertising discounts every month. In 2019, the platform will also launch the Etsy Premium plan.

Prohibited Products

1. Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, drug paraphernalia and medical drugs;

2. Animal products and human remains;

3. Dangerous goods: dangerous goods, recalled items and weapons;

4. Hate Projects: Projects that promote, support or advocate hatred;

5. Illegal items: items used for illegal activities and highly regulated items;

6. Internationally controlled items;

7. Pornographic and adult content;

8. Violent items: items that promote, support or advocate violence.

Development History

- On June 18, 2005, Robert Kalin, Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik founded Etsy, a small company called iospace. Later, Matthew Stinchcomb (founder of French Kicks) and Jay Nuzzolillo, Simon Forman and Alex Somma joined. Investors included Union Square Ventures and the founders of Flickr and Del.icio.us.

- In May 2006, Etsy's sales reached $170,000

In 2008, more than 3 million customers from 150 countries purchased approximately $87.5 million worth of merchandise on Etsy.

-In 2009, Etsy sold more than 100 million items, with a turnover of $177 million.

-In 2010, the number of Etsy users reached 7 million.

-In March 2011, Etsy launched People Search, a Facebook-style social networking system to help buyers and sellers connect with each other and become friends.

In 2012, Etsy had over 800,000 stores.

In 2015, Etsy sold $2.39 billion worth of handmade goods.

-On March 31, 2015, retro creative e-commerce Etsy will launch its IPO roadshow tomorrow, with a market value of up to US$1.77 billion.

In April 2017, Etsy announced the launch of Etsy Studio, a new handicraft platform, along with new features and services.