Etsy Direct Checkout -- What do you think?

[Former_Member]

So I got a notification about Etsy direct check, and I'm curious to see what everyone is thinking about it at this point.

I personally love that you can utilize it easily, which could make it a whole lot easier for customers when checking out.

I noticed though that their fee is more than paypals though. Pay pal takes 2.5% and $0.30. Etsy will take 3% and $0.25. So if a customer pays you $34.50. Pay pal will take out $1.16. Etsy will take $1.29. I know in the end it comes down to a few cents, but I personally hate paying a processing fee to begin with and feel like it has the potential to add up over time.

Plus reading the FAQ section it seems as if you don't have the protection that paypal offers you in case of fraudulent charges. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it's paypals buisness to deal with transactions and I have personally called them to take care of a transaction issue which they helped me out a great deal. Etsy's FAQ section says that you have to solve it with the customer and take it to Etsy if that is not working.

Another concerning factor is that I noticed you don't actually receive money from a payment until after you have actually shipped the item.

I'm not complaining, just trying to run an effective business. I guess I need more thoughts and opinions/facts before I make my final decision.

So what do you all think?

[Former_Member]

I hope that etsy does not make Paypal obsolete that's all. But, once I print the shipping label from my printer, it is marked as ship...so technically i should get my money as soon as I print the label

[Former_Member]

yes that's true. Just curious on others advice and opinions.

[LetterLuxe]

Great topic! I haven't heard many benefits to the new Etsy pay system -- are there any other there? I'd love to hear them, if so.

A practical problem for me is that my products cost a lot to ship, so I like having the customer's payment when I pay for postage - it's convenient to do that right from my PayPal account.

[Former_Member]

I guess not everyone has paypal... if Etsy provides direct checkout, it might increase sales?

[PaperDotCo]

I would like to have an option with both Paypal as well as a direct VISA/Mastercard Credit card purchase.

Many people who don't want to open a Paypal account or are confused about it, don't end up buying items, even if they are interested. So having an option of direct Credit card pay, would be definitely be better for sales.

I hope Etsy brings that option soon.

[Former_Member]

bumping this up to see if anyone has any more insight :D

[TrioArtisanDesigns]

I think having the option of direct checkout is great. It allows buyers not interested in setting up paypal to still buy from me. However, I did not know about it being maybe less protected. I also like paypal since I use their shipping label system. I'd hate to see paypal done away with but it will be nice (I think) to have both.

[PlatoSquirrel]

I like the idea. More payment options equal more potential buyers. I have had two different instances were paypal was giving someone trouble, one ended up buying, and one gave up.

I read above about it not offering the same protection paypal offers. I've never had any disputes are problems so not too concerned with that. I do like printing the shipping label on paypal ( more convient, and easier.) I don't have crazy amounts of sales so this really wouldn't matter too much :)

In short, I am super excited about it !

[StarJewels]

I saw a blog post that ran the numbers and if your purchases are under 50 direct pay is a little cheaper, paypal is cheaper for payments over 50. But it's not a huge differene either way I think the real point is offering it as an option in addition to paypal may help you get customers who don't have a paypal account and might not buy otherwise. Personally I think from what I've read I much prefer PayPal, I've started using the PayPal shipping and I love it, it doesn't appear that Direct Pay has any shipping help.

[Former_Member]

in my opinion any thing that removes a barrier to the sale is a good thing. And for may PayPal is a barrier.

Now if we could just let folks purchase without actually having to sign up to be a part of the Etsy Community. I see this as one more barrier to sales

[Former_Member]

You can still sign into paypal as a guest though. You don't have to have a paypal account to purchase.

Yes it does certainly have the potential to bring more sales, as I'm sure paypal is confusing to some people even through guest check out. I think that's why I'm still interested in learning about it despite the things I'm not too crazy about.

I also pay a good deal for shipping my items so having it up front is important to me as well. I don't want to be taking from my money to ship someones item and then waiting several days to be reimbursed essentially.

[GraniteMountainGems2]

There are lots of pros and cons, I'm not sure if I am going to sign up for it just yet. I can see doing it with a higher volume of sales.

Does Etsy need one more thing on its plate? Are there really enough people to help with disputes as they describe?

I like the ease of online shipping through PayPal.

I want more control over when the money transfers to my bank. Not "every Monday" (and then have to wait 3-4 days for it to show up like it sometimes does with PayPal transfers?) That could mean I'm waiting for up to a week and a half or more to get money from a sale.

Also, I use money in my PayPal account from *that* sale to pay for *that* sale's shipping label. If the money isn't released until it is shipped (nevermind how to make the online shipping labels easy!), that won't be possible.

I do agree that offering a more direct payment method should remove a barrier to sales for some potential customers and that's a GREAT thing, but it seems there are a lot of bugs to work out first! Maybe I'm not understanding some parts of this, I will keep reading as they share more info.

[GraniteMountainGems2]

Also, I fear this will turn Etsy and it's own payment system into a monstrous thing like another similar business relationship has (if you know who/what I'm talking about). Where "they" seem to have ultimate say on who is right in a dispute, namely the customer, and sellers get the short end of the stick (and often loses the product AND the money). They seem to have forgotten that the seller is the company's paying customer! I like Etsy because it is so DIFFERENT from that monster, I don't want it to turn into that same thing!

[LetterLuxe]

Interesting discussion! I'm glad to hear that others are concerned about the delay in getting paid and the trouble this causes for shipping payment.

Also, it sounds like some sellers don't know that people can check out through PayPal without having a PayPal account -- customers can checkout as a one-time guest using a credit card. If you have a customer with questions about PayPal, you can let them know this. I guess I'm lucky - I have never had a customer say they didn't want to use PayPal.

[GraniteMountainGems2]

Oh, and I agree with Sprywhimsy. Since so many of my buyers are from outside Etsy, they join that day to buy from me, there's not much gained by them being members (it's not like they had feedback I could look at or anything anyway). I think not having to make an Etsy account to buy would be a great move! I think it should be optional.

[Former_Member]

Wanted to bump this up to see if anyone has had current experience with the Etsy direct checkout and what they thought. Thanks!

[Former_Member]

I'm not ready to jump on board just yet.

[Former_Member]

I personally don't like it. I don't plan to use it, if someone does not have paypal, I have other options available in my shops. If etsy decides to get rid of pay pal, I will probably close all of my shops.

[Former_Member]

You don't have to have a Pay Pal account to use it. You can use a direct cc if you click on use PayPal as a guest. I just did it the other day even though I have an account because it was easier and I just wanted to use a cc, not my bank account that PayPal is linked to.

[Former_Member]

Sorry just read the few posts above me that stated the same thing about direct checkout on PayPal.

I def would close my shop if I had to use Etsy check out...I need payment before I begin work since all of my work is custom. I wouldn't just bank on the getting paid and go out and spend the time making things for people w/o payment since my paintings are personalized w name/initials/etc.

[Former_Member]

I also do mostly custom work and would not order supplies for a customer's purchase without having that money in hand. That's the main reason I'm holding back from signing up. Reading through the TOU's also freaked me out a bit! I like the protection of Paypal, even if it does prevent a few sales on occasion. I guess, since I don't actually know that people are being turned away from my shop by Paypal woes, I won't worry too much about that :)

[Zehland]

I thought at first it would be a great idea, but then upon more consideration, decided that I will not use it. Etsy is not close to what PayPal is and cannot offer the protection and services that PayPal can. Maybe in time, but like everything else, there will be kinks to work out first and I'd rather wait.

I have not had any customer complain about my payment options. Most of them use PayPal anyway - it is more secure than entering payment info online. Some do not want to pay online, and they send a check, so I don't see the need to have the Etsy option.

Also, I want payment before shipping, not after, especially for custom work.

[QuirkyUniverse]

Just addressing the fees, even if you took credit cards directly, without having to go through Paypal or Etsy you would still have to pay a fee to the credit card company for every transaction you ran. There are always going to be fees. I would imagine Etsy and Paypal use part of the fees they collect to pay the credit card companies their fees.

[Former_Member]

I haven't been able to get it yet. which is frustrating.