Direct Checkout

[Former_Member]

Oh boy...yet another dilemma. Direct checkout or just stick with Paypal. What are you all doing? I use "Square" in person (at craft shows) and that has really helped my business. But I don't really think I've lost sales because I only accept Paypal. What do you all think??

[threestonebirds]

I signed up for direct checkout the day I heard about it and, despite how much I want it, haven't gotten that long-awaited email yet. The minute I do, it's getting activated. I figure it can't hurt to give customers more choices and if my brother is any indication I might be missing out on a sale because someone doesn't want to bother with PayPal.

[Former_Member]

I had a DC sale within one day of activating it so I think it is going to be a huge service to my shop.

[Former_Member]

I plan to use it when it's available for my shop. I requested to be put on the list a few days ago.

[designedbyval]

Within a day of activating it, I had a DC sale. From talking with others, it's my impression that customers love it. It's much simpler than PayPal.

[RebeccasSoapDeli]

I know someone else on etsy who recommended it to me as it increased her etsy sales so I am trying it. I got a sale via DC the day after activating it so we'll see if it increases sales. It doesn't hurt to offer it. I just need to make sure to keep enough money aside for shipping since it doesn't pay until 3 days after you ship.

[Former_Member]

I think that many people don't want to attempt paypal... it's really not that hard and you don't have to have a Paypal account to pay by credit card but I have a feeling I'll activate DC as soon as I'm able. I'm not really looking forward to the hassle of shipping with DC but if it means more sales...

I have Square and I'm looking forward to trying it out at my next craft show in the fall. I'll have to do a couple test runs first :)

[ShopDeliciousThreads]

When I finally get the opportunity to use DC, I will. I think the more options you give your customers, the better. The fees will be lower with DC for all of my items anyway (all under $50).

[ReginaLynnDesign]

When you activate DC it is the default checkout option so most people are not choosing it on purpose necessarily. To use Paypal from there you have to choose that option where before you never had to.

Jen - The fees are higher with DC then Paypal, only a a tiny bit but still higher. DC 3.0% + .25 Paypal 2.9% +.30

[SerenityInChains]

We are not using the DC until the address the concerns that have been brought up about it like:

1. No phone support. I'm not comfortable letting them handle our money when i can't call someone if I have a problem.

2. No shipping integration. Not a huge deal, but it's kind of a pain to manually type the shipping info into paypal.

3. Fund held until shipped. This doesn't work for us. When we do a custom order, almost 75% of the time we have to order special supplies we do not keep in stock. The deposit paid for the custom order allows us to purchase those supplies without having to risk dipping into other capital (this protects or overhead from a customer backing out last minute).

4. The automatic 10 day hold when opening the account, even though they activate it immediately. It shouldn't be able to be used by a customer until the account is verified and actually ready for use by the seller.

5. Unclear terms of service.

there are other reasons too, but those are the main ones. If they address them to our satisfaction then I'll activate the DC in our shop

[susanstreasures]

First sale using DC, shipped item! Crossing fingers!

[InspiredByMocha]

Serenity - those are valid concerns!

I really hadn't given direct checkout any thought because I like the sense of protection I get from using Paypal (real or imaginary...). But I got an email today telling me it was live and I could use it in my shop.

/sigh I hate to miss out on a sale but I also don't want to be screwed out of my time and money.

PS - loopedwithlove your shop is wicked cute!

[Former_Member]

Please help me out teammates. What is Square?

[CloesCloset]

I love DC.... just manually enter the items in PayPal shipping!

[Former_Member]

I agree with Serenity, especially about the holds. If an Etsy seller is in good standing with Etsy and feedback, then there should be reason for Etsy to hold it (the bank itself is another matter). I have done 3 custom orders now and luckily I have had the materials on hand, but if I have to wait 10 days to buy materials then it takes at least another 7 days to make and 7-10 business days for the customer to receive it that is almost month! A sure way to lose a customer if you ask me!

I am waiting until they get the bugs worked out. They have about 5 months until the Christmas season.

[Rt9NJvintageFun]

My last 6 sales are with DC, can't say enough about this Etsy Option. I have never gotten so many sales so quickly.


Every new program has it's pros and cons, there have been numerous comments about the negatives of DC and Pay Pal. We all need to embrace change, go forward. If it works for your Shop great, if not that is OK.

I don't know exact %'s of people/future buyers are walking around right now the streets of the world with a major charge card in their possession, but I am sure the total is staggering!

Pal Pay is also good, but my sales numbers speak for themselves. Numbers Talk...

Giving people choices to me is what it is all about, life is full of choices! It is live going out for ice cream and the only choice is vanilla.

Thank you Etsy for going forward and making checkout a bevy of choices for our customers!

[Former_Member]

I have the same concerns as Serenity so I'm holding off for a bit....but I AM torn, especially after reading about all of you increasing your sales!! Does anyone know if it's possible to choose the DC option...and eventually go back to Paypal??

Deborah, 'Square' is a little device which allows you to accept credit cards. You can attach it to your IPad or smartphone & you swipe the credit card. Just go to square up.com and you can read more about it.

[ContempoJewelry]

I have it, most of my etsy sales have used it. Not sure if has helped my sales or not.

[simpleneedleart]

I've had DC now for a couple of weeks..no DC sales yet

[Former_Member]

I've had DC for a few weeks as well, and even though I've had some sales in those weeks, none by DC either

[Former_Member]

Last three sales have been DC & I've been activated less than a week. I've already had the first deposit made to my checking act.

[Former_Member]

I just activated it today. I signed up last week, it became available this morning, and I activated it as soon as I could. No hesitation. The risks are there, sure, but the risks are there with Paypal, too. It takes time to transfer money from Paypal into a checking account, too, and that doesn't stop people. I'm not worried about transfer time.

I just had a customer this week who needed walked through the process of paying through Paypal with debit because it's complicated, takes a LOT of verification if you haven't done it before, and it can get messy. I love the idea of streamlining it within Etsy. It seems a little more professional, IMHO.

For me it's worth a shot.

[ThePlaidPineconeCo]

I've had it for a couple of weeks and have gotten 4 sales from it. It's a pain in my butt compared to PayPal due to reasons listed above (i.e. everything in SerenityInChains' post). But it does seem to be bringing in business for me.

Overall feeling: I'm completely unimpressed by it and feel very relieved when I get an order confirmation email from Etsy with a follow-up Paypal funds received email. I much prefer Paypal. But I'll keep DC for now and see if it drums up any extra business.

[Former_Member]

I received the email for DC, but haven't done it yet.
My biggest concern is the shipping thru DC. Being able to ship thru Paypal has made my life so much easier! If I do accept DC i will have to print label thru USPS and I will loose the Paypal (small) shipping discount and I will have to add the addresses manually, which will be a pain.
I also don't like that we only receive the money after we ship. How will I know that the payment cleared before I customize an item?

I wonder if all those people getting DC sales are getting them because it is the default pay option or because people actually prefer it? For the customer to see the payment options they would have to go to your shop policies (I think that a lot of them don't do that) or already have added your item to the cart. So it might be a benefit that doesn't really made the difference between a sale or not...
Hopefully Etsy will add shipping to DC and start depositing the money to our account before shipping. I think I might wait on that.

[PiggleAndPop]

I've had it activated in my shop for a bit now, and most of my sales are through Direct Checkout and there has definitely been more of them.

Three things that are annoying to me are:

1.) I use OUTRIGHT to track all my income/expenses and it is synced with my PayPal account, so paypal transactions are a breeze, and I have to do nothing. Outright is not yet compatible with DC, so you have to manually enter the sales, shipping income, and DC fee which is kind of annoying.
2.) Shipping. I hate using Paypal's multi-order shipping, and there is no way to confirm an address that I know of through DC.
3.) The holding of your money!! That should actually be number one. Though I do feel like I am spending less since it is not readily available. So maybe it is a blessing in disguise. And I still have enough PayPal sales to buy supplies etc.

UPSIDE:
There seems to be less hassle. Like some of you mentioned previously I have had a LOT of back and forth with customers trying to use a debit/credit card through paypal to no avail.

I prefer PayPal 8,000 times over because it is easier for me as a seller.
DC is definitely easier for the customer, and I feel that is what is most important.
:)