Square Market- Anyone have any experience with it?

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

I have a square reader and it looks like they also have a square market, where you can sell your items on there. They only have the one check out fee. I didn't see anything about listing fees or commissions. So this right there had me really intrigued.

Than again, it doesn't have some of the benefits Etsy has (the name recognition, the google ads, etc. . . ) and I'll have to a lot more foot work to promote.

Did anyone consider selling on the Square Market, and if so, what were your experiences? I am really considering this, but not sure if this is something I'll be ready for. . .

[rusticcraftdesign]

I have made one sale so far...it's a nice layout....they have a time limit on your listing orders though---like the order will expire in 7 days and the order will be refunded to your customer if not completed in that time----something like that from my memory.... so I'm not sure it is set up for long lead time items.

[Former_Member]

I have put a few of my items on there. Haven't sold anything on it yet. It doesn't seem to have any great SEO benefits either.

[GoldhawkPotteryEtc]

I have been curious about this too. While it seems like a good deal, they likely don't have a lot of traffic on their marketplace... People that go to use Square are people looking for a credit card reader and perhaps some other financial tools. It seems that Square customers are not the same as Etsy customers so I have chosen not to use their site for now. But I would be interested to hear if anyone has had success.

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

Thanks for the input!

@Sara, I thought the same as you. While it costs nothing to put up, I was just hesitant to put the time/effort into it for those same reasons.

[AttentionGetting]

I actually wrote a blog post about their marketplace a while back. It is a free benefit when you get the reader. They really don't do anything to promote the marketplace unfortunately, and you kind of have to search for it. I do think the Square Reader is a great idea for anyone who wants to be able to sell to anyone at any time, including out of the trunk of your card.

[PrairiePrimitives]

Several years ago, I realized that I had my things listed on about 8 different sites. Most of them weren't even generating any traffic/views and there was no way that I could promote (or even effectively keep up with!) so many sites. Now it's just Etsy and occasionally/rarely eBay. I still have my account at a few other sites, just don't have anything listed for sale, and no plans to do so anytime soon.

[CopperLeafStudios]

I've had a couple of sales there ~ it's a nice site, and pretty easy to navigate. Plus they deposit your $ directly into your bank account within like 24 hrs. of sale completion. The drawback is that it isn't set up like Etsy, where you have a storefront. It can be tricky for people to find you (although I did have one of my buyers find me there vs. here, so people somehow do!)

Sam Squailia mentioned the listing expiration -- you have 7 days to acknowledge an order. I spoke with a Square rep. and they said if it is a custom item or something that will take longer than seven days, you just have to click the button to acknowledge the order and you're fine (assuming you are communicating all of this to the customer). I did a custom design once and it took just over a week and it went through fine. It does send an email reminder if you are getting close to that time marker.

As for having another online market, I'm not sure I need another -- but it might be nice if you are already using Square Register, for example.

[Mzcarley]

I signed up for square. I never opened the store. I have considered it though cause of the low costs and no listing fees. Anyone could list anything and there was not a whole lot of handmade items. I was thinking that customers might not be coming to this site shopping for handmade. I did however get the free card reader.

[CozyDawg]

I signed up for Square just in case I ever had a need for local sales. I was looking into having a booth at the local farmers market. But then I learned that they are all full and there's a huge waiting list. So I have some items in the marketplace. Not sure if I'll ever get a sale there.