I've been wanting to open an Etsy site but I've not done it because I'm a little confused by paypal stuff. Right now we have a premier account. Would I need to change my account type? How do you get paid/ accept payment? It all just seems so over whelming when I look at all the fees between Etsy and Paypal it looks like an $8 item would lose 13% in fees. So then you have to mark everything up? Or should I open a new Paypal account that is a personal one and only accept echeck type payments? Can you even do that? Any thoughts would be great! Thanks, Emily
me too, I've used it elah BUT I don't know if I got hacked or what? Yeah and the "fee" I don't get. Where are the pro girlies on here? You'll get lots of advice and I'm gonna peek too. I am still kicking around putting stuff on there. I want to more than anything do our farmers market in the summer but I have NO experience and thought etsy would help a lil. Good luck!!! What type of stuff are you gonna put up?
I sure could use some direction on this subject as well. I just opened an etsy shop but haven't stocked it yet. Still working out my plan. I haven't researched payment options yet. Guess I better get on the ball!
I sell mostly primitives and early style stitcheries.
Okay I sure don't know all the answers so here is the best I've got. Etsy charges a .20 listing fee for you to show an item on thier site for 4 months. When the item sells they take 3.5% of it's value for there profit. (They are a business) Buyers then must go to paypal to pay for the items. Paypal charges a fee of 2.9% of the total transaction amount plus 30 cents. Here is an example. I recently listed a scarf for 26.00 and shipping was 4.00. I recieved 30.00 from the buyer from which paypal took 2.9% (.87) + .30 for a total of 1.17. I orginially paid .20 on etsy to list the item and when it sold they took 3.5% (.91) as a sold item fee. So in "take home pay" I ended up with $27.72. I only charged 4.00 for shipping but the actual cost was 4.95 so once I shipped the item I was left with 22.77. When I figure in my cost for selling an item I figure in what my fees will be, what it will cost to ship, how much it cost me to make, how much my time was worth and what I would like to get that is purely "profit".
There is a "science" that goes into figuring the price of an item and I think most crafters GROSSLY UNDERPRICE their items!
As far as paypal is concerned I have used it for years with NO problems. It is safe and easy. The money you make goes into your paypal account which you can then use to spend anywhere that accepts paypal or you can request that the funds be deposited into your bank account at anytime. It is really easy. I do think for etsy you must have at least a "premium" account.
Thanks Julie! Your math was the same thing I did to come up with my figures. After looking at different Etsy sites I was wondering how they could make money because of all the fees so I'm glad to hear you say that they grossly underpriced. It's not worth it if you can't make any money at it. So if I want to make $8 for an item then I need to mark up the price to cover all the fees and then clear $8 after that and shipping. Very helpful info!
If anyone else has info I'd still love to hear it. I'm not the type of person to rush into any new adventures without running through a million what if's in my head and looking at it from ever angle.
I'd sell a variety of sewn items and then some homemade chocolates. Most of my sewing is custom stuff by adding a person's name etc. From time to time I'd add some other items I'm sure. I tend to make more items then I can use or give as gifts. So I though that this might be a good outlet for me without having to work at a craft show with a toddler and newborn at my heels!
Yes Elah. figure your "bottom line" and then increas from there! If it's a good product it should be worth paying more for. Also many people would rather pay more for a product and less for shipping so sometimes it's worth it to charge more and give free shipping!
Everything Julie said. I have used PayPal from the very beginning and have never had a problem. It's the online payment option that most everyone chooses. Etsy is way cheaper than eBay. When I was selling a lot on eBay I figure my eBay fees along were running almost 25%!
Paypal and Etsy questions...
Posted - Dec 12 2007 : 09:04:36 AM
