I am sure this can't be done, but...

[Ecobota]

Is there any way to mark an item sold without having an etsy buyer actually buy it? I ask because I have deactivated a few of my pieces when they have sold to friends and people outside of etsy, but I'm realizing now they no longer show up in treasuries and google linkbacks because of it.

I don't mind when a treasury lists something as "sold" or when a link takes you to a sold piece because you still get to poke around the shop plus it shows what plants and things I have access to over the seasons. But If someone gets an error message forget it, they aren't going to try to figure out what happened.

[JensMysticMadness]

Yes I would like to know this too!

[ReginaLynnDesign]

No way to do this that I know of. All listings have to be for sale. The only way to keep the listings is to have your friends actually purchase them through Etsy so they will stay as an active link even though sold.

Or you could also have them as made to order if they are not OOAK, so if they were to be purchased you can then make it.

[Former_Member]

In payment options, you can change paypal to money order or other (I don't remember which are the other options, sorry), that way, someone can buy without the need of having to go directly through paypal

A lot of persons who do trades/barter have the "other" option for checkout for that same reason

Hope that helps

[WryghtDesigns]

If you are going to go down the route of having a fake "buy" without paying for the item, remember the drop the price to $0 and the shipping to free as Etsy and paypal both charge you a percentage of final sale price!

[Former_Member]

If Esty figures out that you've lowered the price so someone can buy offsite/trade, its considered "fee avoidance" and against the TOU. I would make sure its worth it before doing that!

My suggestion is the same as Regina's, list it as made to order if you can make another.

[Ecobota]

Sadly each piece is dependent on what flowers I am able to gather and press. Once they are out of bloom I have to wait an entire year when I use them up!

I didn't think it was possible. Oh well.

[ParadiseChicJewelry]

I have a customer that buys dirrectly from me because she doesn't know the computer or internet. So it is nice to have it say sold on Etsy, but I just wind up deactivating it. I would like it to say sold, but I figure I still have a sale. With mine I usually don't have the same supplies to make another one exactly, so I just take it off and add something new. :)

[Former_Member]

Emily from PurrdyInPinkDesigns says
If Esty figures out that you've lowered the price so someone can buy offsite/trade, its considered "fee avoidance" and against the TOU. I would make sure its worth it before doing that!

My suggestion is the same as Regina's, list it as made to order if you can make another.

Posted at 6:32 pm Jan 5, 2012 EST - Report this post



I sometimes take offers for my originals, which are lower than the list price on here, for friends and such. so I can't let them buy through etsy at the lower price then?

if I just deactivate etsy would get $0, but if I set it lower and let them buy here with "other" etsy still gets a fee...

which should I do?

[Former_Member]

One of the things I do is post photos of custom items on my blog, so that people can see other pieces I've made that are no longer available - regardless of if they sold on etsy, a craft show, offline custom order, or something I've made to give away. I want customers to see all of my creations, I think that's what you're wanting as well.

[thevicagirl]

Which would you rather have, a sold piece or a listing on etsy? I don't see the big problem in this. You win some you lose some.

[Former_Member]

I like the blog idea; this way somebody can see your crafty history AND you get extra coverage!

[GrowingUpWild]

@anji~ you are safe in your scenario. You are selling the item on etsy for the price you determined. That is your right. Selling an item on etsy for 0.00 that you truthfully sold for more is the problem. When I first joined Etsy I was in the same boat as Eco it's. I wished I had the option to mark items that sold locally. I know realize that this would open Etsy up to all kinds of scams. I am a regular shopper on etsy as well as a seller and that would scare me off. I imagine it would scare others as well. Their sales policies and feebacl systems (though not perfect) do help me to feel more confident as a buyer

[GrowingUpWild]

Sorry for the auto-correct errors there! Hope my message still comes across

[Former_Member]

Even if you sell to someone off of Etsy but can count it as a sale from marking it as a money order/check/whatnot, you will still have to pay Etsy the normal percentage.

That being said, I bet Etsy would encourage that since they collect a fee?!

Ecobota - just want to say I love your shop and your prints. I also love the mounted staghorn fern (I think) that is featured as a prop in a photo, so beautiful!

[PiggleAndPop]

if you deleted all the info and pics, sold it to your friend and listed a different item in its place...that's probably against a rule right? and also the treasuries would still have that link, so everything would probably get messed up and weird...

[SheEarth]

I had this happen once, where customer was poking around in my etsy storage and fell in love with one of my necklaces - she is a REALLY GOOD customer so couldn't say no- I simply went on and edited the listing to a different necklace. Changed the photos, info and etc. I figure I am still paying all the due fees, so hopefully it is ok. They can still see the new necklace and hopefully my shop through ll relevant links, but not the first item I listed. Either way I wouldn't make a habit of it, they have rules for a reason and they are bound to notice after a while.

[Former_Member]

thanks kelly, I was hoping as long as I listed what I actually sold it for it would be ok. I had given one thing away and marked it at a dollar here and had her come buy it! I didn't mind paying the few cents, as it was linked to by many other sites, and I wanted it to still be visible even though I gave it away...

haha she paid me a dollar through paypal and everything.

usually people offer pretty close to the actual listing price though, so as long as it's marked at what they pay, that's good to know.

[MythOfTheWild]

Unless you change the price to like 20c and then buy it yourself, no, I don't think there is. But, if you buy it for 20c and still pay shipping, you'll be getting almost all of that back anyway.

[DeerGirlDesigns]

Great question. I am wondering this very thing, too. Ugh. I wish Etsy offered us a blog and a gallery of not for sale work. For me, it is less about keeping in treasuries and more about wanting to have all of these OOAK pieces still available for potential clients to see what can happen in terms of custom work.

[Ecobota]

davkadeergirl from DeerGirlDesigns says

Great question. I am wondering this very thing, too. Ugh. I wish Etsy offered us a blog and a gallery of not for sale work. For me, it is less about keeping in treasuries and more about wanting to have all of these OOAK pieces still available for potential clients to see what can happen in terms of custom work.
____________

Exactly. It isn't a big deal when it is as simple as renewing a listing, but when everything you do is different you want people to know what you have and are capable of. But I do see how that would be super scammy. I actually wish Etsy listed the price something sold for on the sold listing - so you can tell someone didn't just lower their prices to a buck and buy a whole bunch to give good ratings.

I like the idea about the blog though - thats a really good point.

[Former_Member]

I 'sold' one of my scarves at a craft fair recently except the buyer bought it through etsy because it was actually her husband who bought it for her. What I did to stop anyone else buying it was put RESERVED at the beginning of the listing title and a message in the description saying not to buy.

This method would also work when selling to friends and if you are offering friends a discount you could either reduce the price on etsy when you reserve the listing or make them a coupon code.

This way you don't have to deactivate the listing it will appear as a sold item and your friends can leave feedback

[Former_Member]

This doesn't exactly answer your question, but I sell most of coasters in places other than Etsy. I post pics to my website and FB, so people can see what else I've done. Obviously, these pics are available for Treasuries, but I like having them out there for people to see.

[Former_Member]

Anji,
Have you though of giving your friends and family a discount code for Etsy? This way you can give them the lower price, but still have the regular price on Etsy. It will count as a sale for your numbers and it's not against the rules.
Just a thought...