➽ ➽ Seller Guidelines

[DecorDesignsAndMore]

➽ ➽ Seller Guidelines

www.etsy.com/help/article/4507?ref=help_home

~ The Highlights ~

Etsy’s marketplace is built on trust. You can earn the trust of your buyers by following these guidelines on how to maintain a transparent shop, provide great customer service, and respect our community.

Etsy will help you maintain a high level of trust with your buyers through our Seller Service Level Standards (“SLS.”) Read more about SLS here.

www.etsy.com/help/article/5690

Seller Service Level Standards

In order to maintain a safe and trusted marketplace and to help you provide the best experience for buyers, Etsy monitors orders that result in a negative buyer experience. This may include but is not limited to:

•Non-delivery cases
•Not as described cases
•Non-delivery chargebacks
•Not-as-described chargebacks
•Low reviews (1 or 2 stars)
•Cancelled orders

If you experience any of the above customer service issues, Etsy will reach out to you with recommendations to get your Shop back on track.

If your customer service does not improve, further action may be taken against your account. Refusal or inability to provide a minimum level of customer service may ultimately result in the closure of your shop.

~ This is a very serious issue since closure of your shop by Etsy could be a result.

--- Maintain a Transparent Shop ---

People come to Etsy to buy unique goods directly from artists, artisans, and curators. Make sure that your items are allowed to be sold on Etsy and that you are representing yourself, your business, and your items accurately.

•Be sure to fill out your shop’s About page. [Do all of our members currently have an About page?]

•Only list items in your shop that are for sale and fall into one of our three categories (handmade, vintage, or craft supplies). [limited manufacting per Etsy's approval requires that approval must be obtained first.]

•Items must be accurately represented in listings and listing photos. [Take time to be accurate and complete as possible in descriptions and photos too.]

•If you have more than one shop, follow our Multiple Shops Policy. [other shops must be disclosed in each other shop somewhere]

•Be aware that buyers can submit reviews of items they have purchased. [Tip: Perhaps it is best not to ask the buyer for a review? Why? This can be the topic of another discussion thread.]

•Respect the intellectual property of others. If you feel someone has violated your copyright, you can report it to Etsy. [this is a very complex matter and might best be handled by using watermarks in photos if needed and by only posting lower resolution photos too. Use prudent care here.]

•Do not engage in fee avoidance. [Sell through listings, not side deals.]

•Do not sell prohibited items. [Good to check this list regularly.]

•For sellers of Handmade items:

•Do not resell items in our Handmade category. [the word here is "resell" which means buy something and then resell it because handmade needs to involve the seller; see more information on this.]

•Describe every person involved in the making of an item in your shop. [this is clear; some even include a dog/cat too.]

•If you work with an outside manufacturer to make items that you have designed, we ask that you share additional information with Etsy and share information about the manufacturers you work with on your shop and listings. We also expect that you choose ethical manufacturing partners. [this can seem more complicated than it is, yet, how prudent it is that Etsy has sellers get permission on this first.]

•For sellers of wholesale, digital, custom, mature, and charitable listings, we have some additional guidelines. [Additionally, for sellers who sell in the USA, their listings do come under the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements that can be very detailed. Additionally, any of the 50 states could have other requirements. Selling to Europe has special requirements.]

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

--- Provide Great Customer Service ---

The following guidelines will help you meet the highest level of customer service.
•Honor your shipping and processing times.
•Respond to Conversations in a timely manner.
•Explain your shop’s policies clearly and honor those commitments.
•Try to work out disagreements or disputes directly with the buyer. In the unlikely event that you can’t reach a resolution, our Trust and Safety team can help.
•If you are unable to complete an order, you must notify the buyer and cancel the order.

[Consider some way to allow returns and refunds too.]

--- Respect our Community ---

As a member of Etsy’s community of buyers and sellers, we ask that you follow our Community Guidelines.

www.etsy.com/help/article/4509

Being a seller on Etsy gives you access to all of our seller tools: Direct Checkout, Shipping Labels, Google Product Listing Ads, Shopping Engine Ads, Promoted Listings, Gift Cards, the Sell on Etsy App, the Sell on Etsy Reader, and our Seller Handbook.

Check out our Seller Protection Program to see how Etsy stands by you and your shop.

www.etsy.com/trust

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Review Quiz:

True or False --- Etsy’s marketplace is built on sales.

[False. Etsy’s marketplace is built on trust.]

Where can a seller find standards to be met?

[Seller Service Level Standards - in Etsy Help Section]

What will happen if a seller receives a review rating of 1 or 2 stars?

[If you experience any of the above customer service issues, Etsy will reach out to you with recommendations to get your Shop back on track. and, more . . . YES, Etsy will become at least initially involved . . . so please understand a 1 star or a 2 star review rating is important to address professionally an respectfully too.]

True or False --- A seller does not need to be concerned about completing the seller's About page.

[Be sure to fill out your shop’s About page. The About page well done can be a great asset to one's shop.]

Team Members please post a link here to your About page; thank you.

Mike

I will start and share some comments about you/your process/more.

You About page is limited to 5,000 characters including spaces and any symbols used too.

Thank you for reading this material.

[DecorDesignsAndMore]

The Pendant Treasury's About page link:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PendantTreasury/about

--- Some Highlights ---

Welcome to the Pendant Treasury! Simply stated I want to provide my customers with the Best Quality Photo Artwork Pendant Necklaces available on Etsy. I hand make each one to order. You can choose 1 of 6 pendant bezel finishes and 1 of up to 12 pendant artwork designs allowing you to custom design your very own unique pendant necklace. You can also request a custom order. You have my 60-Day Money Back Satisfaction Guarantee. Additionally, I personally guarantee your 100% safe delivery with USPS Tracking™ with Delivery Confirmation; and of course, 100% safe product materials.

From my review of "review ratings" (yours may differ) I find well over 90% of the "1 Star" reviews occur because the buyer did not receive their order as promised. I choose to do my best to avoid this by offering my 100% Safe Delivery with USPS Tracking™ with Delivery Confirmation. And, I do personally follow to make sure delivery is confirmed.

I still do have some mixed feelings about offering a wide range of variations (a great tool Etsy provides us all with) since is offers variations for the shopper to think about. My shoppers can choose the first listing photo as is, or, they can choose to create their own in a wide selection of variations. If this does not fill their wants the shopper can make a Custom Order Request.

Additionally, I take care to make sure my products are as safe as I can offer.

CARE = Customers Are Really Everything

Guiding question: If I were a shopper could I trust this seller?

--- --- ---

The About Page in Your Shop

www.etsy.com/help/article/2661?ref=help_search_result

[DecorDesignsAndMore]

This thread is simply a re-statement of Etsy Guidelines for Sellers.