Welcome to our monthly roundup of Etsy updates and community highlights you don’t want to miss …
Singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves collaborated with Etsy seller Emilia Munoz Bowman on a collection that totally charmed shoppers (and the media)!
As a surprise gift to her fans, award-winning singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves and Etsy teamed up to launch Charmed by Kacey, a limited edition collection of handmade charms designed as a wearable extension of her new album, Deeper Well. Each hand-painted ceramic charm was co-designed by Kacey and Emilia Munoz Bowman, owner of Etsy shop EmiliaCeramicas.
Our team helped build buzz around the launch by securing stories in Variety and Billboard. It was such a hit that the charms sold out in just one day! Not to worry though, Kacey superfans can still shop her album mood board which is filled with items she picked from Etsy sellers just like you!
An update on Etsy’s advocacy work—and how you can help us build support for fairer tax laws
Etsy’s Advocacy team has been busy giving a voice to Etsy sellers in Washington, DC and across the United States. In DC, we’ve supported efforts to increase the threshold for 1099-K tax forms so sellers don’t receive a form for selling as little as one item on Etsy.
While the IRS announced an implementation delay for the 2023 tax cycle, we're still putting pressure on Congress to come up with a permanent solution. Lend your voice to the fight by writing your senators to advocate for fairer tax laws for small business owners.
Tools, tests, and tweaks
Our teams work every day to make shopping on Etsy even more fun and improve the tools you use to run your business. Check out three recent updates:
- Gift recipients can now message you with questions
We’re continuing to improve the gift teaser experience for shoppers, gift recipients, and sellers! Now, gift recipients who receive a gift teaser will see the option to send you a message if they need help with their gift. Gift recipients can reach out with any questions, but only the original buyer of a gift can request a refund, return, or exchange—depending on your shop policies. Gift recipients won’t be able to request a return or file a case. Learn more in our gift teaser post.
- In April, we’ll start notifying shops that have been inactive for four or more years that their shops could be closed
We have teams working year-round to prevent fraud and keep your shops and account details secure. To help us better protect users’ info, we’ll start reaching out to shops that have been inactive for four or more years.
Sellers whose shops are considered inactive will get a heads up via email 90 days before their shops will be closed. They’ll also get multiple reminders before any changes are made to their account. If they want to keep their shop open for business, all they need to do is log in to their account within 90 days of receiving the initial notice.
Shops still inactive after the 90 day notice period will be closed permanently, but the account can still be used to make purchases on Etsy. If you decide you want to start selling on Etsy again, you’ll need to open a new account for your shop (and choose a new shop name!) and add your payment details again.
- Showing buyers more accurate estimated delivery dates
Estimated delivery dates are important to the shopping experience on Etsy. In fact, Etsy shoppers are more likely to buy items that ship faster—even if it’s only by one day. To help show buyers more accurate estimates of when they should expect their items, we’re making improvements to the way we calculate estimated delivery dates.
In addition to information you already provide, such as processing times and shipping services, we’ve started using your shipping history, along with carrier information like latest transit times, to calculate estimated delivery dates.
The stated processing times and ship-by dates for your items won’t change and we’ll take them into account when making this new calculation. Currently this update only applies to US domestic orders. Learn more about estimated delivery dates in Etsy’s Help Center.
That’s all for this month! As always, we’ll share news you need to know and other updates in the Announcements section of the Forums and in the Seller Handbook.
