Setting Up an Etsy Business Day 5 - Opening a New Shop and Listing Items on Etsy

Today I am going to be talking about opening a shop and listing items on Etsy. Yesterday, I listed my first three items on Etsy! They can be purchased by following this link: www.etsy.com/shop/PearTreeStitches

Luckily, for all of the current and potential Etsy sellers out there, the process of opening a new shop and listing items on Etsy is fairly strait forward.

Step One: Open a Shop and Choose an Etsy Shop Name

To open a shop, you simply need to log into the Etsy account that you use when you are shopping on Etsy. Then scroll to the very bottom of your profile and click the button that says "Open A Shop".

Now it's time to name your shop.  Be careful when choosing the name. You want the name to be short, simple, and easy to spell, so that potential customers that you meet and network with in the real world, can easily find your Etsy shop online. 

I chose to use my Etsy username, "PearTreeStitches" as my shop name. 

Then click "Save", and if your shop name is unique and acceptable, you will be directed to the next page where you can start listing items. 

Step Two: Listing Items on Etsy

Etsy will direct you to a page where you can stock your shop. As of September 16, 2014 the page looks like this:

Click on the plus sign in the box that says "List a new item" and you will be directed to create a new listing. 

Here you will begin to describe the item that you are selling. Try to be as specific as possible to make sure that the shoppers who come across your item while searching Etsy, are the kind of buyers that would potentially buy your item. 

You are allowed to add up to 5 images of your item. The first image will be the thumbnail that will be used throughout Etsy to grab the attention of your shoppers.  Try to make your first image as clear as possible, so that shoppers know what they are looking at. Then add supplemental pictures that show the item's scale, details, and potential uses. 

 As part of the listing process, you are asked to add "Tags". Tags are keywords that shoppers might enter into the Etsy search bar if they are looking for a particular type of item. You are allowed to add 13 tags, and you should definitely utilize all 13 of them.  Use simple terms that describe things about your item, such as size, color, item type, and potential uses.  Think about what you would be entering into a search engine if you wanted to buy something like the item that you are now trying to sell. 

You will be asked to list the price of your item, how many copies of an item you have to sell, and how much you will be charging to ship your item both domestically and internationally. Be sure to actually weigh a sample package and look up accurate shipping costs! See yesterday's post, "Getting Started With Etsy Day 4: How to Estimate Shipping Costs" for more details.

Also, keep in mind that, when an item sells, Etsy takes a 3.5% transaction fee based on the item's price. If you use Etsy's Direct Checkout Service, an additional 3-4% of the total cost (including shipping) will also be taken by Etsy.  Make sure that you are calculating these fees into your price! 

When you are done listing an item, you are given the opportunity to list more items. Every item that you list makes it more likely that a potential buyer will find your Etsy shop.  Listings cost $0.20 and last for four months, so listing ten items to start with would only cost you $2.00.  For my first day as an Etsy Seller, I listed three different humbug bags.

Step Three: Setting Up Your Etsy Shop Financials

Under the "Get Paid" tab, you will be asked to decide whether or not you will use Etsy's Direct Checkout Service. If you decide to do so, you will need to enter the information for the bank account that you want your Etsy profits to be deposited into. 

You will also need to provide account information for how you would like to pay your Etsy fees. As of right now, with three items listed, I owe Etsy $0.60.  On the first of the month, or if my bill reaches $25 USD, Etsy will automatically charge this amount to my credit card. 

Step Four: Open Your Shop!

As soon as you have told Etsy how you would like to be paid, and how you plan to pay your fees, you can open your shop! Be sure to copy the URL and share your shop with your social media networks. You never know if that girl, whom you have not spoken to since high school, has an intense love of flamingos and would want to buy a flamingo humbug bag! 

Well that was a long post, so I will end it here for today. Thank you for reading, and good luck getting your Etsy shop up and running! Until tomorrow, feel free to check out my shop at www.etsy.com/shop/PearTreeStitches!