Is only accepting paypal a disadvantage?

[Michellemurraydesign]

I know the summer is a slow time and my shop is pretty new with not tons of items but I am wondering if also only accepting paypal and no other methods is hurting my sale potential?

I am just wondering why I have only sold one thing so far and getting a bit discouraged sometimes.

[Former_Member]

Hi Tracy,

Are you accepting Paypal only by choice? I think it does hurt your sales. About half my sales are by direct checkout, and I've had the occasional check/money order. Your jewelry is beautiful!

[JLAccessory]

Love your shop! and I just got DC about a week ago and did get more orders from it. But it could be different for every shop.

[SelkieCrochet]

is direct checkout available yet for sellers who are outside the US?

[Former_Member]

DC is only available for shops in the US, so I can't use it, but other shop owners say the sales went up when they offered it. If you're in the States I say go for it!

[ecarlateboutique]

i agree. I have seen a increase of sales since accepting direct checkout. I think it is always good to give more options personally and plus I know that my mom wouldn't order something if she couldn't use her credit card even though you can use a credit card through paypal. She doesn't have a paypal (there are some out there that don't)...

[ThePartyDeeva]

I am considering the DC option now since their new announcement of not holding funds.

Granted it's much easier to only have to track one source for your income. I will give it a try and see how it goes.

[Former_Member]

It says that DC is only for us citizens. i'm not from the states...
So why is that??

[Former_Member]

since I was able to add DC, most of my sales have been by credit card.
I average a sale a week. I think this is a slow time for everyone.

[AllieBlankets]

DC is still very new, so no, I don't think it will hurt you too much to not accept payment through it. Once I was able to activate it I got some sales through it, but I don't think accepting it has gotten me more sales.

[JannisBitsAndBobs]

I think that, in theory, offering your potential buyers a variety of ways to pay for their purchases is good business practice. Right now, I don't think there is enough statistical information to tell us whether offering direct checkout actually leads to more sales.

I accept PayPal and I offer direct checkout. I decided to accept PayPal years ago when I sold a bit on eBay. It offers security and protection for buyers and sellers. Also, my income is limited and getting hit by my bank with "returned item" fees hurts.

If someone were to convo me and ask if I would accept an alternate form of payment, I'd consider it. However, I'd want a postal money order or a certified check. I know most people are honest, and I've always appreciated buyers who accepted my checks, but again, I just can't afford to lose not only the money from the sale, but the fees my bank is going to hit me with if something bounces.

[Former_Member]

I don't have DC but I have heard a lot of people think it ups their sales because DC is the default payment method. Even so, it isn't available to international sellers yet, though I thought I recalled them coming out with something similar for international sellers a while before they came out with DC. Some kind of bank transfer or something?

I honestly think the reason your slow is because you sell jewelry, though very beautiful well photographed jewelry, and as I'm sure you know the jewelry category is over saturated. Your 41 items represent about 0.00001% of the category. That doesn't mean you should be discourage or feel like you need to list hundreds of items to get sales, it just means jewelry sellers more than anyone else need learn to market off Etsy. There is a team called blog sponsor connection you can use to find smaller blogs with in expensive ads, as well as ones that will do shop features for free.

Just my opinion though, Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I had one buyer that would not use Paypal. I had to create an special invoice for them. Now, with Direct Checkout- no problems.

[Michellemurraydesign]

Thanks everyone so much for your opinions/advice. I am in Canada so DC is not an option for me yet. I guess I was wondering how many buyers would use money orders, etc.

Courtney: yes, I know I am in the most saturated market with not a huge shop and this accounts for some of the slowness but I was still hoping when I opened that I would at least get a few sales a month. I love what I do so obviously will persevere but it is just difficult to have to put so much time into all the changes (SEO) and finding time to add new items all the time when I also have a day job. I am hoping the fall/Christmas season things pick up.

[ionesAttic]

In the month of September, when I first signed up with direct checkout I have had 21 orders, with 50% of them being DC

I was hesitant about the lag time in payment to my account, but now the option to deposit within 1 day for some sellers has convinced me that it is good for my business.

I am hopeful that with the holiday season, and gift card roll out, this will increase potential sales.

[Former_Member]

I actually prefer the DC, because I'm not a big Paypal fan. As someone who bought things through Etsy before opening my own shop, I didn't like when I had to pay with Paypal. I notice that the majority of my sales come from DC.

This month there are covering the fees on DC so I make a better profit when people pay with DC than paypal.

[Former_Member]

I just started using DC and I haven't really seen a jump in business! More of my customers still come thru PayPal. But I do offer the option!

[Former_Member]

I was without PP for awhile when I first started because someone stole my debit card just a month before I started on Etsy and PP viewed that as suspicious activity and put a hold on my account. So my only alternative was DC and thank God it was there because I got my first sale through it. The hold thing was a bummer but now that they have taken that away it should be fine. If you don't do custom orders and need the money to create the item before you ship it then it might just work great for you.

[Former_Member]

i got tons more sales after DC. i had 21 sales in the last year and im up to 50 in the last month after DC

[SewWhatByErica]

I take paypal and DC and haven't seen any changes. Maybe people are just waiting for the holidays?

[Former_Member]

Since we've had direct checkout I've noticed most people using it instead of PayPal - but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't have bought using PayPal if that's all I offered. I did take a break though, so I'm not quite back in the swing of things.

[Former_Member]

Unfortunately it is actually pretty unlikely for most shops to get a few sales a month when they first start out. There are a large number of stories about people going a whole year before even getting their first sale, so don't feel discouraged. It isn't you ,it's Etsy.
Like I said though, I don't think you really need to spend too much time on SEO and adding items, because it will always be difficult to get found on Etsy. I think the best thing would be off Etsy marketing, which shouldn't take more than 1 hour a day.

Your shop is adorable and many of your photos is really great, once more people start to find you, I'm sure things will pick up.
I just read a great article on handmadeology written by a jewelry seller "1,000 Sales in My First Year of Business on Etsy: Low Cost Marketing Strategies", check it out if you haven't seen it yet you may find it helpful: http://www.handmadeology.com/1000-sales-in-my-first-year-of-business-on-etsy-low-cost-marketing-stra...

[Former_Member]

Ok, I may have to try out DC. I have been very leery as I sometimes have to use the funds paid to purchase product to make and if that money isn't available it could be tough. I think I will give it a go and see what happens. Thanks for this thread it has been very helpful!

[Michellemurraydesign]

Thank you Courtney, and thank you for the link - great article! I really am excited about my shop and trying to stay confident that things will pick up in time. I really have only been open for 2 months now despite it saying I opened in May.

I think I will put a note on my payment method option section indicating that I will offer DC as soon as Etsy makes it available to shops outside US.

Good luck everyone else as well!

[Former_Member]

my sales have been about half and half. the whole pay with paypal thing was a bit confusing for customers. so im glad that they offer direct checkout. i have been having way more sales and most have been from DC!!!