Setup Etsy Store

Setup Etsy Store

Okay, once you have registered a seller account, it is often a bit of a dilemma as to what to do next. List straight away or set up your store properly? And then having to search around to figure out if you have covered all the basics you need for your store. This article will help you in setting up a Etsy store and all the things you will need so that your store is ready for selling.

Etsy has a much better Help and Guide section than Artfire including how to setup your store.
See Setting Up Your Etsy Store guide. This covers item by item what you need to setup your Etsy store. I will only include notes that are not mentioned in that guide, in the same order.

Your Etsy Public Profile

Bio: No HTML allowed.

Tip: if you write a long bio, take a copy (Ctrl+C) before you try saving. If there are any errors in any of the fields, the error message will come up but your long bio will disappear.

Do not write your shop's Selling and Shipping Policies here. Sellers used to do that before Etsy provided a separate Policies page - which is easier to use; for both sellers and buyers. See "Your Shop Policies" below

Favourite Materials: no dots (full stops) as that will throw up an error.

Example of my Etsy Bio.

Your Etsy Shop Appearance

Your Etsy > Shop Setup > Appearance (left column)

Banner ~ 760x100px / .jpg, .gif, .png

This is the same size as an ArtFire (basic Non-Verified member) banner - so handy as your one banner can be used at both sites, which also helps consistency, branding, and brand recognition.

Shop Announcement

Keep this (optional) announcement short and simple. Useful for Vacation Notices, Sales, etc.

Alchemy Announcement

If you want to be able to take request or custom orders from your potential buyers, you can do so here. Set out your conditions or what you will be happy to take requests for. This will show up in:
Your Etsy > Request Custom Item (right column)

Example of my Etsy Alchemy Announcement

Your Etsy Shipping Options

Your Etsy > Shop Setup > Shipping Options (left column)

You can set up numerous Shipping Profiles here ~ for e.g., for each weight range, you can specify shipping cost to specific countries and/or "Everywhere else". These Shipping Profiles allow you to easily apply your shipping rates to items as you list them.

Remember that your are entering the costs in USD.
In the "secondary shipping cost", you cannot leave it at $0.00 - the system will not accept it.
Updating your Shipping Profiles will not automatically update the rates on existing active listings.

I think you cannot see any of your Shipping Policies/Rates (as it will appear to buyers) till you have some active listings.

You can also create a new shipping profile when you are listing an item.

Featured Items

Your Etsy > Items > Featured in Shop (left column)

Only when you actually have active listings.
  • Can choose as many items as you like to be featured - only top 3 will appear at a time in Gallery view in your Etsy shop at the top of your items.
  • Use the up/down arrows to move your selected featured items.

Sections

Your Etsy > Shop Setup > Sections (left column)

  • "Sections" = your shop categories
  • max. 10 sections.
  • no subsections
  • Will appear in top right of your shop.
  • Can change order of sections by using up/down arrows.
  • Will show up whether you have items in it or not.

Your Shop Policies

Your Etsy > Shop Setup > Policies (left column)

See useful article on setting up your Etsy Shop Policies.

Within your Policies, there is a section for "Payments". Here you can specify what payment methods you accept and also timeframe of payments, refunds, and other payment options you might have.

Later, there is a specific "Payment Methods" where you can be more specific, e.g. entering your PayPal email address.

Payment Methods

Your Etsy > Shop Setup > Payment Methods (left column)

If you are accepting PayPal payments, you must enter your PayPal address here.

Web Analytics

Link to your Google Analytics to track movements and visits to your Etsy store. (Optional)
See Etsy's Guide on Google Analytics on how to use and setup.

That pretty much covers the basics of setting up your Etsy store. Modifications and tweaks are inevitable as time passes and your policies, philosophies, and or store items change. Or when Etsy itself has changes. But for now, we are ready to list to the world ...