Putting Shop into Vacation Mode

[BostonPaperCompany]

I will be leaving out of town next weekend for about 10 days and wonder what the recommended etiquette is for putting my shop into vacation mode. Should I wait until the day I'm leaving to switch over? Would it be better to do it a day (or several days) ahead of my actual departure?

Also, beyond changing my banner and shop announcement, is there anything I should do on Etsy to 'officially' go on vacation?

[Former_Member]

I usually put mine on a day or two before, if I know I won't be able to make it to the post office...and I take it off vacation mode as soon as I walk in the door lol, for some reason after you take your shop off even for a few days your views go waaayyy down! So when you get back be ready to promote!:) Hope you have a great vacation!!<3

[DecoratingYourself]

don't use vacation mode....
you will miss sales..
announce that you are on vacation in you banner and that you will be mailing on x date...
add this info to you announcement and note to buyer

to pay them back to waiting for shipping you can give free upgrades to priority....

this works well for me...

[Former_Member]

I agree with Lisa, don't put vacation mode on. You might miss sales.

I only use vacation mode for a day when I'm at Fair and only because I sell the same items on Etsy and Fairs and I only have one of a kind items.

[Former_Member]

Absolutely agree with Lisa and Kristina...... don't put your shop on vacation. I've been gone for periods of 3 weeks and let my customers know in the banner and in the note to buyer, have never had a problem and always come home to lots of sales.

As far as fairs and festivals, Kristina is right on. I'll be doing a show next week and in that case, I have to use vacation mode because all of my inventory will be at the show and I never know what will still be available for sale the following week. In fact, I have that announcement on my banner right now if you'd like to take a look. I always give a week's notice ahead of time, so there are no surprises.

Good luck Anna and and have a great time away for those 10 days!!! :-)

[hooknsaw]

We just returned yesterday from a 2 week vacation, and had our shop in vacation mode. Our views returned to normal the same day we re-opened. We put our shop into vacation mode 2 days before we left so we wouldn't have to worry about shipping any last minute sales. The auto reply message was sent to anyone sending us a conversation. We will definitely use the vacation mode option again.

[heartsabustin]

The only problem with going into vacation mode is your customer won't be able to find your shop in search. Vacay mode removes you from the general shop search, and obviously all your items get pulled, as well.

When we leave, I just put an announcement up as to when items will be shipping out - I don't even say I'm going out of town, I just say items purchased "between this day and that" will be shipped on "date". Of course, we're rarely gone longer than just a few days, so it's really up to you.

[GracefulRosaries]

The answer really lies in how much busy your shop normally is.

I put my shop on vacation mode because I was trying to get ready for my trip and the shop activity was interfering with my being able to get ready. I was glad that I could stop the customers from coming because I could not do that on my other website. On the other website I told customers that I was on vacation and orders would not ship for a few weeks. When I returned from my trip the other website had sent me tons of orders.(despite my note) I felt rather frazzled to respond to all of them and get them all ready. I had other loose ends to tie up in my personal life, and would have preferred to focus on that rather than being put immediately back into a busy business.

My greatest concern with an Etsy shop is that if customers don't read your banner, they may get annoyed that they have to wait. There is a risk of bad feedback. No one wants that....so I would be concerned about relying on a shop banner for that information.

Just my two bits! Hope it is helpful!