A Collection Of Shop Tips To Help You Make The Most Of Your Selling Experience On Etsy

By Michelle of Evie's Tool Emporium

The Etsy Supply Street Team - ESST - is very lucky to have a very diversified group of sellers. Each seller brings a level of expertise to our team with their unique business backgrounds. I'm excited to share with you today the expertise of Amanda, of 32NorthSupplies. Her shop is filled with amazing Dresden trims from Germany, fancy fabric trims and other delightful finds. Today Amanda is sharing with us her collection of shop tips to help you make the most of your selling experience on Etsy. Some are tried and true, others are more subtle, and all are worth trying out!

* MAKE GOOD USE OF THE REARRANGE FEATURE
Keep your shop looking fresh and organized by re-ordering your shop. We recently started arranging certain pages of our shop by color and saw sales increase immediately. Rearranging allows you to make customers feel like your shop is always new.

*KEEP DESCRIPTIONS CONCISE AND ACCURATE
Descriptions that are short and sweet are easy to understand. Be sure to include accurate measurements and, if possible, include an object like a quarter in photos for size comparison.

*KEEP YOUR SHOP POLICIES SIMPLE AND STRAIGHT FORWARD
Simple shop policies make customers feel comfortable and know what to expect.

*GOOD PHOTOS
Most of us have heard it a million times but it couldn't be more true: good, clear photos taken in natural light that are accurate representations of how items look are photos that make sales happen. There are tons of sources and tutorials if you're not sure how to set up your shots that are all worth looking into (the Storque is an excellent place to start).

Taking advantage of being able to add multiple images to listings also helps sell items. Different angles and detail shots add to your listing and help give your customers an idea of what they're really looking at.

If you sell multiple colors of the same thing, consider including a color chart as one of your photos to show customers available options.

* LIST OR RENEW THINGS EVERY DAY
Not only does it keep your store fresh and full, but listing/renewing a few things every day keeps your listings closer to the top of search results. Being at the top means buyers see your items sooner.

*RESPOND PROMPTLY TO CONVOS
Customers appreciate prompt responses. It shows you value them and their time and that you take what you're doing seriously.

*SHIP QUICKLY
We ship orders out within 2-24 hrs, the only exception being Sundays and holidays. Customers appreciate getting their items fast. It lets them know their business is valued and that getting purchases in their hands is a top priority. Quick shipping tells your customers they can count on you and increases the likelihood of building a repeat clientele.

*INCLUDE MULTIPLE DESTINATIONS IN THE SHIPPING SECTION OF LISTINGS
This is something we wish we'd done from the start. We made postage to Canada, the EU, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan standard on the majority of our listings and saw sales increase immediately. Not everyone wants to ask then wait for you to add their country -- give them the option to shop with you and check out right away.

*USE LOGICAL CATEGORIES
With just over 2,000 items in our shop, organization is a must. Etsy allows 10 categories so make the most of them with concise and descriptive names. When we're shopping we often pass over shops that don't categorize their items. Don't get me wrong, we love a good treasure hunt, but there is such a thing as too buried.

*PARTICIPATE IN PROMOTIONS
Each time we participate in a sale or promotion we have a great result. We're always sure to advertise the terms of our sale in our banner with extra details in our shop announcement to make it clear and obvious to customers.

*THE GOLDEN RULE
"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." So simple, so true, something we've all heard before and something to always keep in mind.