Welcome to our monthly roundup of Etsy updates and community highlights you don’t want to miss …
1. A huge thank you for making the holidays special
First, let us start by sharing how thankful we are for this incredible community! The way you all support each other, and the passion and creativity you bring spreads so much joy to people around the globe, especially during the holidays. Your one-of-a-kind items and personal touches makes finding—and giving—the perfect gift a delight.
We’re bringing this holiday magic to life in our latest TV ad, highlighting Alexis, the shop owner behind AlexisAnneGrantArt, and a very special story:
2. Connecting with sellers in Lisbon
We love to connect with our seller community–all over the world! Recently, a few members of our senior leadership team, Rachana Kumar, Chief Technology Officer, and Kelly Clausen, VP of Communications and Community, met with a group of sellers in Lisbon, Portugal for coffee. The sellers shared insights about their shop journeys, as well as valuable feedback! Thanks to BreezyTee, CasaAbril, EmmaMakeStudio, linhadalina, MURiiU, and OWLPaperLamps for joining us!
3. Apply now for the Nest Makers Future Fund!
Are you looking to take the next step with your business? The Nest Makers Future Fund is a financial readiness and capital access program designed to connect makers and small business leaders with the coaching, funding, and peer support they need to achieve their financial goals and grow their craft businesses. Learn more here.
Applications open now through December 8, 2024
4. A few holiday reminders for your shop—and how Etsy can help
- Increasing Etsy Purchase Protection during the holiday season
You work hard to provide an exceptional customer experience, but sometimes issues arise that you can’t control. During the holiday season, we’ll again be increasing Etsy Purchase Protection for sellers by covering refunds on qualifying orders up to $500 — double our current coverage of up to $250*. This means over 99% of orders will be covered if they meet the eligibility criteria, so even more sellers will keep their earnings if Etsy refunds the shopper because of an unexpected issue with their order.
*Qualifying orders based on criteria outlined as part of Etsy’s Purchase Protection program. Orders placed from November 1, 2024 at 12am EST through December 31, 2024 at 11:59pm EST that are up to $500 USD (or local equivalent) and meet all other eligibility criteria will qualify for Etsy to cover the cost of refunds if a buyer doesn’t receive their order, it arrives damaged, or it doesn’t arrive within the seller’s estimated delivery dates.
- Showing buyers more accurate estimated delivery dates
Estimated delivery dates are important to the shopping experience on Etsy because they let buyers know when to expect their order. 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—like 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. We previously shared that this update only applied to US domestic orders as of April 2024. Now, this applies to all international orders as well.
Learn more about estimated delivery dates in Etsy’s Help Center.
5. Holiday shipping tips to keep in mind during peak, gift-giving season
The holiday season is here and we know shipping is a huge part of a successful gifting season for your shop! Here are some shipping tips to help you get prepared and deliver a great shopping experience to your buyers:
Tip 1: Make sure your processing times and schedules are up-to-date
Accurate delivery dates are an important factor for shoppers when deciding when to make a purchase. To help improve accuracy of the delivery dates they’re shown, your processing times should reflect how much time you need to prepare an order and hand it off to the carrier before it ships. Order processing schedules should reflect the days of the week you process orders on.
You can review your processing times and order processing schedule all in your shipping settings.
Tip 2: Ship your orders on time, by the ship-by date, with tracking
Accurate ship-by dates help give shoppers peace of mind. Remember to set an accurate ship date for when you plan to drop off a package with a carrier. Mark orders as complete once the package is handed off to the carrier and make sure to add tracking information for an excellent customer service experience.
Tip 3: Keep your buyers in the know
Buyers have told us that when they’re waiting on late items that have yet to ship, they appreciate hearing from you to understand why an item is late and when they can expect it. Use the Etsy Seller App to communicate directly to your buyers about potential delays and update your ship-by dates to reflect delays on the go.
6. Scams to avoid: QR codes
As we enter the holiday season, keeping your account secure is important. We’ll continue to share security tips with you here, throughout this busy season, starting with how to keep an eye out for urgency scams:
Scammers may include QR codes or other images in messages to redirect you to fraudulent websites. These links lead you to sites where your information can be stolen. Tip: Avoid scanning any QR codes from unverified sources.
Find our list of common scams and how to avoid them in the Seller Handbook. See the list.
We’ll see you next month with a new batch of Etsy Updates. Stay close to the Etsy Community on Instagram and here in the Forums to join the conversation and get the latest updates. 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.
