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[#1]

For some time, we’ve heard from our community that our categories could be clearer. Previously, categorization was based on many different concepts, including what an item is, who it is for, and what it is made of. That made it tricky for sellers to pick the right categories for items – and for buyers to find them.

Over the past year, we’ve been working with Etsy buyers and sellers to better understand how searching for products on Etsy can be improved. Based on their feedback, we have updated our listing categories to ensure there is a logical place for every unique item on the site. The new categories take effect today. You can check out the new categories by searching for an item, adding a new listing or editing an existing listing.

To go over these changes and what they mean for your shop, we will be hosting an Online Lab on Wednesday, February 25 at 11 a.m. (ET). We’ll also be answering your questions during the workshop.

In the meantime, we encourage you to check out the category changes and learn more about them in this Forums thread http://etsy.me/1Aivcfz and FAQ http://etsy.me/FAQ3280.

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Subject: Exploring the New Listing Categories
When: Wednesday, February 25 @ 11 a.m. (ET)
Where: http://etsy.me/labs225
Who: Etsy Admin, and YOU!

To Participate: For those of you who get a chance to take a look at these new categories, let us know if you have any questions, thoughts, or advice that you’d like to share. We will be highlighting as many comments as time allows during the live session on Wednesday.

When posting, keep in mind that this team is dedicated to sharing small business advice in a supportive environment. Please do not share social media links, Treasuries, new item listings, calls for entries or submissions in team discussions, unless you are sharing or asking for small business advice. Thank you!
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There are no sign ups or automatic reminders for this session so please be sure to set your own reminder. If you are unable to attend, we will be posting an archived version of the video in this thread the day after the live session. Please note that if you would like to participate in the live chat, it is only available during the live session.

[SimplyMarvelousMary]

Bobbie I think us vintage/antique people need to voice our opinions on the categories. I believe the value of what we sell does draw business to Etsy and cutting down or turning away our items would not behoove them as a business. In the short time I have been on Etsy I have sold to famous people, whom I am sure would rather not view the other E site!

[ArtToArt]

I'm totally overwhelmed. My sales have plummeted since this began. I make Digital Prints. there is no category exclusively for Digital Prints. I have over 300 items in my store and some have been designated with no category whatsoever. This means I must manually check everyone. Many have been wrongly designated by Etsy. I'm about one third through and I'm terrified that Etsy will make another change before I'm finished then I'll have to start again.

[sharong1127]

This is a really difficult situation. Our miniatures are definitely not toys, they are not intended for children. They need to be in a category of collectibles. These changes will significantly hurt artisans and sellers on Etsy, making it so much more difficult for buyers to find items they are looking for. Etsy might consider looking at Ebay...even they offer a Dolls and Bears category, with a sub of Dollhouse Miniatures. Putting miniatures into a category of toys will definitely make it difficult for new buyers to find artisans and sellers on Etsy and even discourage them from looking. The buyers will move to other venues, that are more easily navigated. Everyone will lose from this decision. Sales will be down for artisans and sellers, and revenues will be down for Etsy. I believe this decision was not well thought out.

[Former_Member]

The changes I've seen to category listings are horrible and not well thought out at all. My graphic design listings (i.e. logo design, premade logos, business card design etc) are now listed initially under paper products! How does that make sense. Very disappointing and frustrating. I'd like the team that worked on these changes to know that they are missing some very important categories. If anybody has any suggestions for me as to how to listing these types of products/services under the new hierarchy, in a better place that 'paper products', I'm all ears.

[QuirkyCabbage]

I'm not happy at all. A whole side of Etsy has now gone with the removal of Geekery. There is nothing that comes close to video game merch, quirky or geeky jewellery etc. The closest is jewellery-necklace-charm which has got me nowhere as my type of customers are looking for a specific type of item and won't find it in the plain jewellery category. And now my views are pitiful, let alone order numbers.

[CapitalCityCrafts]

I hope this lab will be available after the fact. I will probably be working during the broadcast , thanks.

[LisaGarnerArt]

I won’t be able to join you in the live chat, so I would like to offer some comments now. I am a newbie and I am thrilled to be a member of the Etsy community!

Category: Art & Collectibles > Sculpture > Art Objects, Figurines, Vessels
Suggestion 1: Art & Collectibles > Sculpture > Figurines, Statues, Vessels
Suggestion 2: Art & Collectibles > Sculpture > Figurines & Statues, Vessels

I really appreciate that the new sub-categories of SCULPTURE are all-inclusive of the endless variety of mediums or techniques such as wood, metal, clay, ceramic, carving, casting, etc. This works well for my polymer clay sculptures. However … here is where I get confused: What is the difference between ART OBJECTS and FIGURINES? What exactly is an “Art Object” anyway? Here is what I found in various dictionaries:

ART OBJECT – Objet d'art means literally "art object" in French, but in practice the term has long been reserved to describe works of art that are not paintings, large or medium sized sculptures, prints or drawings. This means that Art Objects would actually include both Figurines and Vessels. Hmm…. still not clear.
VESSEL is a hollow container, such as a bowl, cask, cup or vase. This is a very clear subcategory for functional sculptures and is very useful (pun intended) for buyers, definitely a keeper!
FIGURINE or statuette is a small statue, usually small enough to be picked up.
STATUE is a three-dimensional work of art, usually close to life-size or larger.

MY QUESTIONS: When buyers look for non-vessel category sculptures, do they shop first for the size, or look first for the three-dimensional art form and then consider the size? As sellers, where do we list “medium (tabletop) sized” and “large sized” sculptures?

My suggestions to clarify sub-cats of ART & COLLECTIBLES > SCULPTURE:

Current: ART OBJECTS, FIGURINES, VESSELS - Figurines and Vessels are also Art Objects, so these subcategories are redundant.
Option 1: FIGURINES, STATUES, VESSELS - There is still too much overlap. Since most of us can pick up a child or a small dog, would that intermediate size be listed as a Figurine or a Statue?
Option 2: FIGURINES & STATUES, VESSELS - There would be only two sub-cats, where the buyer can find all three-dimensional art and the seller can define the sizes. As buyer or seller, I would prefer this option.

Thanks in advance for all the work and feedback on this topic!

[VintageMaineia]

As a vintage seller, I think that the category changes are a great start. That vintage button on the left makes all the difference, when people find it, lol.

There has been some discussion as to whether or not the word "vintage" is now needed in tags. It no longer can be seen there along the bottom like other tags, and like it used yo be.

With well over 500 unique items in my shop, it will take some time to check and adjust them all. It would be wonderful to have some way to see quickly what the category is without drilling down into the listing, either through the quick edit function, or making the categories visible at the shop level like eBay does.

Thanks!!

[InkFive]

What about Digital Collage Sheets? Can not find anything like this anymore but there are really thousands of these here... Any advices?

[Former_Member]

it would be great to have a gypsy category under jewelry style! Pleaseee?

Sometimes something isn't 'boho' or 'hippie' enough to be categorized as that. Plus 'gypsy' sounds prettier than 'boho' LOL j/k..but boho is starting to feel wore out and my jewelry doesn't seem to fit anywhere else. :/

[LoopingHome]

For my products I miss more specific topics which do not appear in the categories.
I do puffs of crochet and the best category I see is Home & Living ---> Furniture ---> Kids' Furniture ---> Bean Bag Chairs

I think it would make more sense in the Home & Living category add Kid's Room and Nursery specifically listed.

Thank you!

[Jularee]

My jewelry is wire-wrapped, mostly gemstones, and some crystals. My bracelets and necklaces are not strung and are not "beaded".

There is a "crystal necklace" category but not a "crystal bracelet" category.

Also, why are the "browse" categories different than the categories we can choose when listing our items?

[UncomplicatedStyle]

Hello! Can you please let jewelry makers know what to do with ring styles that don't fit into the new categories (cuff rings and wrap rings) as well as hand made charms that can be added to a bracelet or necklace but are sold individually?

Thank you!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/205213940/small-circle-mothers-handstamped-pendant?ref=shop_home_active...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/163859980/explore-ring-cuff-ring-sterling-silver?ref=shop_home_active_1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/173543571/sterling-silver-ring-twist-ring?ref=shop_home_active_6

[Former_Member]

The food categories are very hard to find when you are looking to purchase. The edible section seems to have disappeared

[Former_Member]

Thank you,
Looking forward to this :)

[DutchTrader]

I'm lost I'm a vintage and antique retro seller I can't find any category that fits anymore where do I list vintage pottery,glass,horse brasses,toys,etc

[Marianne26]

A previous request was made to have a Dolls and Miniatures sub-catgory added to Collectibles. While this would be infinitely better than the arbitrary relisting of adult dolls and miniatures in Toys, what most miniaturists and art doll makers have asked for is to have our previous specific top level category restored. This would make for continuity for our customers here on Etsy, and be familiar to new and existing customers coming to Etsy from other mainline sites. Collectibles is misleading for many - as 'collectables' suggests vintage or antique items to many many people, not new items. And a way should be found to re-assign all those items that were moved into Toys to a more appropriate category, one that presents less potential hazard to children.

[Marianne26]

Please could the menus for categories in Browse be drop down menus? Some of new categories and placings of items are confusing us - how much more will they confuse customers? Many will not think of clicking onwards if they do not see the categories they expect. But if hovering over the top-level categories brought up a list of the sub-categories, I think they might be less likely to give up and go away.

[SimplyAnnabella]

I joined the team and know I will enjoy learning from everyone. And hope to have input to share.

I found the online lab: Exploring New Listing Categories and where to listen. I am looking forward to hearing more about them.

I was surprised not to find 'precious' and 'semi precious' or 'faceted' beads as categories and have concerns about the category "other polygon beads" (if it's a search term!). Glad to see bead shapes categorized specifically.

[Former_Member · Accepted solution]

Hi sellers!

Here is a list of resources that we will be sharing during the live event. You can reference these links at your convenience.

You can see a full list of the categories for sellers here: http://etsy.me/newcategories
If you need to find a specific category, hit the Command + F keys on a Mac, or Ctrl + F on a PC and type in the category that you're searching for in the search bar that pops up.

Missing a category? Our category feedback form is here: http://etsy.me/categoryfeedback

Here is our help article with more information about categories: https://www.etsy.com/help/article/3267

For those of you who aren't able to attend the live session, I will also be posting a link to an archived version of the talk in this thread later on today.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the live chat today! http://etsy.me/labs225

♥ Clare

[Former_Member]

why can't we put our product under "Kids" category? if the category does exist at the "search"?

[BeastiesBabies]

so as I was listening to the live feed, I was thinking.. Why have the browse sections for example( kids )if there's no kids category? and what picks items to go into the browse section?

[Former_Member]

For anyone interested in the chat thread from the chat re; New Categories
Here's a link to a word doc.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1YkOMv8Nkw1eUV4MjR0MURGT2M/view?usp=sharing

[SimplyAnnabella]

webpage closed and now I can't find how to get back to the seminar at 11:00

[Former_Member · Accepted solution]

Hi there team,

The archive is now up! If you were unable to attend the live session, or if you'd like to watch it again, you can find the recorded version here: http://etsy.me/labs225archive

Thanks again to all of you for participating! Make sure to check out the resources I provided in my previous post if you have any questions after watching the video.