My Etsy Shop – Paivatar Yarns
I have had a shop on Etsy for over 10 years and have loved the experience. I have met so many wonderful customers and Sellers throughout the years. I am sad to say that I will be leaving Etsy (well – not totally leaving) – still plan to keep a bit of a toe in the door.
I will now be selling all of my handmade products through my own website at Paivatar.com . I will still sell some smaller items via Etsy, EBay and Folksy. All custom orders will now be sold only through my personal website.
There are a few reasons for making this move to an independent website:
– Rising costs in Etsy fees
– Constant changes to their search algorithm so that products can’t be found in search
– ‘Star Seller’ requirements in order to gain ‘Badges’
I have lost my ‘Star Seller Badge’ a few times in the past year. Due to ‘late shipping’. I have always shipped my items within the agreed time frame, but due to issues with Royal Mail tracking, the tracking number was not forwarded to Etsy in time. Therefore, I lost the ‘Badge’ for 3 months. The result of this is that my ranking drops in the search engine, and it can take months to go up again – and Sales drop drastically.
I have recently read on the Seller Forums that Etsy Support is now run by Bots. Etsy Support to sellers has always been poor, but now it seems that Etsy Support to buyers goes to a Bot. If a buyer has an issue with the item they received, they can contact Support and the funds are immediately returned to the Buyer. Previously, the issue was referred to the Seller, who could then contact the Buyer and agree to a solution.
In my opinion this is not right. I thought that Etsy had a special human touch. Many items are handmade by the Etsy seller and are one-of-a-kind items. Any issues should be resolved by the Seller.
I think the only way to deal with the AI invasion is to JUST SAY ‘NO’!’ Subscribe to the websites, newsletters and channels of those that you like, so that you can keep in touch. If the AI algorithms change their mind about the ‘quality’ or validity of a website, you may not find it anymore in the various search engines. For example when searching on Google, the Googlebot may send you links that it thinks you want based on your previous searches. And Not what you are looking for. The Google AI Brain thinks it knows you better than you do.
For those who are considering their own website, I have found that navigating the International tax rules, customs charges, shipping rates are not as onerous as I first thought.
I will write another article soon, describing what I have done to work through this.
More About Etsy Seller Policies
Etsy Buyer Refunds
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