Tips of the Day!

[#1]

Hey guys!

I don't know about you but I am constantly learning new things in all the different forums and through teams. It's a lot of information, and sometimes very contradictory! Each day I am going to add a tip that I have learned to help us all out :o). Feel free to give it a shot, or share your opinion!

Did you learn something today?! Feel free to share what you learned!! The more information we can gather, the better!!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Here's some info about some more spam emails that have been going out recently!

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7718/questions/discuss/12942361/

[DapperCatDesigns]

For anyone interested in using etsy on sale, here's a really good explanation of what the app can do!

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7718/questions/discuss/12948298/

[Quagorsky]

Wow, this thread has been super helpful! I immediately went and tweaked my listing titles/tags. I'll definitely come back to share things that I learn.

[Quagorsky]

Two links that I found useful for figuring out my international shipping costs:

Shipping calculator by Brittany's Best (unlike the USPS calculator, this uses the commercial rate you'd get if you bought Etsy shipping labels): http://brittanysbest.com/2013/01/usps-shipping-calculator-for-2013/

USPS rates (a pdf that includes retail and commercial rates for all mail classes): http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/Notice123.pdf

On a related note, does Etsy not have its own shipping calculator available unless you are in the process of purchasing a label? I'd been trying to find one so that I could calculate shipping costs but ended up relying on the two links above.

[DapperCatDesigns]

Michelle,

I haven't found a shipping calculator for etsy.... I've been using the online price at USPS. Thanks for the great links!! I always have to hunt for them :o)

[Former_Member]

I recently shipped an order to the UK from Iowa. I went to the post office to send it because it was my first international order and I had no idea what to do (customs and so forth). It ended up costing me $12.00 and change to ship it first class but the lady at the post office said it would be twice that to add tracking. I opted not to add tracking. After playing around with the USPS website I learned that you can track packages by the customs form number. I gave that information to my customer and she was able to track her package. I'm not sure if this will work every time but I just thought I would share.

[DapperCatDesigns]

Definitely good to know!! I know if you do the label on etsy, they automatically provide the custom forms you need, and populate the information from the order to the form :o). (Just in case you want to save a step, but I probably would have done the same thing as you to make sure it was right!). Thanks for the tip!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Today's tip - a web address of www.etsy.com/shop/dappercatdesigns works the same as www.dappercatdesigns.etsy.com ! And the second looks so much more professional!! Check it out with your shop :o).

[DapperCatDesigns]

Photography self-critique thread has some pretty useful tips :o)

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/discussions/discuss/12984595/

[Former_Member]

I didn't know about the web address thing. Thanks for posting that. Wish I'd known that before I ordered business cards. Oh well. Hopefully I'll pass out all the business cards I have and I'll have to order some more. I can make the correction then.

[Former_Member]

Awesome tip on the web address Nicole. My husbands a web developer...how come he didn't tell me that! :)

Go team!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Tips from other sellers on using an iPhone (or iPad) to take listing photos

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7718/questions/discuss/12883404/

[Former_Member]

This site is a great discovery! I opened my shop SecondSister Quilts awhile back, but have started working seriously the past 3 months. I have only had 3 views so far, and no sales at all, very discouraging. However, reading your threads has given me lots of things to do, like join teams to network. Also I need to redo tags to be more direct. I will let you know what happens!

[Former_Member]

Good luck Christine!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Christine - great to hear this has been helpful :o). Good luck with your shop, and remember we are all here for support if you need anything!!

[Popobell]

Hello all,

Is there any features on etsy that can show what people search on etsy beside shop stat option. I want to know what is people search the most in general in etsy.

Thankss

[Former_Member]

Sumy - If you start to type in the search bar you will see the most common things pop up below what you are typing. If you type in "baby" you will see a long list starting with "baby girl" "baby boy" "baby shower". There may be another way,but that's what I know.

[Quagorsky]

Just thought I'd revive this thread because I wanted to share my experience with shipping during the holidays. I know everyone's been saying this for weeks but it just never sunk in for me: shipping during the holidays means there WILL be delays. Often when customers ask me how long it will take for them to receive an item, I tell them I can't guarantee a delivery date, but I do look up past packages sent to their geographical area and tell them how long those took. I don't think I'll be doing that anymore, especially during the holiday season, because 1) customers still kind of assume you're giving a guarantee, and 2) USPS has been really slow! And even though as a customer, I prefer concrete answers to shipping questions, as a seller, I realize unfortunately that it's not the best idea to offer them.

[CheckerboardFaire]

I agree! I had a customer who wanted expedited shipping so upgraded to Priority Mail and it said it would be 2 days and listed the actual "guaranteed" delivery date - December 9th - on the receipt. She received it December 10th. (Luckily she was OK with that.)
Also regarding shipping...
I ship my button orders in cute little boxes I got from Uline. I have been taking them directly to the post office and everytime it costs the same: $2.07, first class, without tracking. That is because I am offered the option of "envelope," "envelope with rigid enclosure" and "package," so I ship it as a package.
Just out of curiosity I went through the "Print Shipping Label" link on the Etsy order/invoice page which only offers the options of "Envelope/package" and "Oversize package" and it comes up as, like, $1.37 -- W/TRACKING!
I haven't tried that option because I'm pretty sure that the shipping label that prints out is too big for my boxes and don't want to lose the time if it gets rejected for not having enough postage.
Why the price difference? How can one be so much less AND have tracking? I don't want to change from my boxes back to bubble envelopes, but to save that much on shipping and have tracking would be great! (Plus, customers like tracking!)
Any thoughts?

[CheckerboardFaire]

On the bright side of shipping delays...
Customers probably won't receive their package until the comment window opens, so MAYBE they will be excited enough to go to the comment and leave positive feedback?

[DapperCatDesigns]

The online shipping price for USPS is cheaper than waiting in line as well... I've found that the etsy shipping prices are on par with that, plus it automatically emails the customer your tracking number and pulls the address from their order (less chance of me being a ditz and making a mistake)... I've been using the etsy shipping since my 3rd sale and it's been a dream for the holidays! I just pop in to the post office and drop my packages off! I don't been have to wait in line :o)

[Former_Member]

I think you get the business rate or something like that when you go through Etsy to purchase your USPS labels. It's the mailing rate the post office offers larger businesses (thus the lower prices).
I've purchased all my postage through Etsy and I've never had a problem. Plus I like that it automatically emails the customer a tracking number. I believe you also get $100 worth of insurance on your package for free.

[Quagorsky]

Agnes, I second Jeana and Nicole's comments about Etsy shipping labels. Definitely recommended! If you're concerned about the size of the label, there's an easy fix--when you download the shipping label, save it to your computer as a pdf. After that, you can crop it and adjust the scale so that it will fit to whatever size paper you need. I print all of my labels on 4.25" x 5.5" (quarter sheet) labels. You can also wrap the label around the box--as long as the barcode is scannable, I've heard that's fine.

[Former_Member]

Hi all, I'm new to etsy and was wondering if any of you had any more tips for a sale and more people to see your shop? I know a bigger inventory is probably necessary for me, but anything else? I'm getting a little discouraged.

[DapperCatDesigns]

Hi Jaclyn! Welcome! Congrats on your first sale! That's awesome for just having opened! From my not-so-expert opinion, it looks like you've got your tags nailed down, and your photos look great!! I agree with you that a bigger inventory is probably important, because it gives you a greater opportunity to be discovered! What are you doing to promote yourself? Have you tried any social media or any promotional teams?