Etsy :: Help Guide: Shop Setup

Setting Up Your Shop

Welcome to selling on Etsy! Operating an Etsy shop is a fun and exciting process that we hope you'll love!

If you haven't yet, register for an account on Etsy (think carefully about your shop name, since you can't change it!). Then click the Sell link at the top of the page. Follow the steps to enter your personal and billing info. You will need a Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express to sign up as a seller.

All the links we'll talk about in this guide are in the left-hand sidebar of Your Etsy.

Set your Public Profile

Shop Setup: Appearance

Shipping Options

Make a profile to save time

Featured In Shop

Shop Setup: Sections

Step 1: Set up your Public Profile

Go to Your Etsy > Public Profile to set your profile information.

Avatar: A 75x75 pixel image is an icon for your shop.
Country, City, Location: Help buyers find you in a geographic search. Click the map to place a marker where you live.
Bio: Buyers are interested in you and your process, so tell them! Also a good spot for lengthy shop policy information.

Click Save Changes when you are done.

Step 2: Create your Shop Appearance

The Appearance page has settings that determine how your shop will look. Find it at Your Etsy > Appearance (under Shop Setup on the left).

Shop Title: a name or description of your shop.
Banner: an image at the top of your shop. See this banner tutorial for a how-to.
Shop Announcement: for important shop info.
Message to buyers: automatically sent to buyers with their receipt. You can use this to thank them for their order, remind them to give you color or size info for custom orders, or ask how they found your shop.

Click Save Changes when you are done.

Step 3: Set your Shipping Options

Shipping Options are under Shop Setup in Your Etsy. You can create and edit your Shipping Profiles from there.

Click "create a new shipping profile."

Type a name for the profile.
Choose your country using the "from" dropdown menu.
Next you choose the first country or region to which you wish to ship. You can choose to specify shipping costs per country or a particular region of the world.
For each country or region, you then list the primary shipping cost: how much it will cost to ship this item by itself. You can also enter the secondary shipping cost: the additional amount to ship this item if shipped with another item. This is usually less than the primary shipping cost. If you do not offer a discount on shipping multiple items, enter the same value for the primary and secondary shipping costs.
You can choose multiple countries and regions if you ship internationally; to do this, click "Add another shipping destination." If you wish to ship worldwide without specifying shipping costs for the remaining individual countries or regions, choose EVERYWHERE ELSE from the "ship to" dropdown menu.
Click Save.

To edit a Shipping Profile, go to Shipping Options and select the profile from the "view profile" dropdown menu. Then click Go. Make your changes, and click Save Changes.

After you edit a Shipping Profile, it does not automatically update the profiles in your listings. To do this, or to add a new profile to existing listings, go to Your Etsy > Batch Shipping.

Step 4: Choose and arrange your Featured Items

The three items featured in your shop appear in gallery view at the top of your items.

Go to Your Etsy and click the star next to the items you would like to feature. You may select as many items as you like.
Go to Featured in Shop under Items in Your Etsy.
The top three items are featured. Click the gray up and down arrows to arrange the order of items.

Step 5: Sections

Sections are like categories for your items. They appear at the top right of your shop.

To make and edit sections, go to Sections under Shop Setup in Your Etsy. Name a new section, then click submit. Change the order of sections with the up and down arrows.

To put your items into sections, Click Sort all your items at once (batch sorting). Choose a section for your items from the drop-down menus, and click Save Changes when you are done.

FAQ

Got any tips about my shop name?

First, think carefully about it, since you can't change it! While you can open another shop, your transaction information won't carry over, so you will want to get a name you love! We discourage strange spellings and random number strings that may be hard for buyers to remember (and thus find you again!). Please check out this article for more helpful tips on choosing a username: What's in a Name?.

Can I use a debit card or PayPal to become an Etsy seller?

You can use a debit card if it has a credit card logo on it. Otherwise, you will need a credit card to become an Etsy seller. We hope to be able to take PayPal soon, but right now this isn't possible.

What is the web address of my shop?

It's http://username.etsy.com. Only instead of username, it is your Etsy username!

My avatar and/or banner looks blurry (and it looks fine in the original file). Help me please!

You have probably uploaded an image which is too small, and the picture is stretching to fit. Make sure that your avatar is square, and at least 75 pixels x 75 pixels. Your banner should be 760 pixels x 100 pixels.

What sort of images make a good avatar?

Your avatar is an image which represents you in forums, chatrooms, and workshops. A clear, eyecatching photo of yourself, or one of your items is generally considered best, however any kind of avatar that is interesting and represents your shop well is great!

Got any tips for my Shop Announcement?

Keep it short 'n sweet! Long Shop Announcements will bury your items, and you want buyers to see your items when they first get into your shop! Make it friendly and light-hearted, and leave the long shop policy type stuff in your Bio. This is also a great place for important announcements, like vacation dates, sales, etc.

Why should I enter my location?

Many buyers like to know where their item is coming from (country and state or province) so they know when to expect it, or out of simple curiosity. Let 'em know, why doncha?

Why should I enter my birthday?

So you can appear on the Birthdays page on your birthday. Also, many buyers like to know the astrological sign of the person they are buying from to make sure you are compatible (ok, we made that last part up!).

My computer skills don't pay the bills, and I need a banner! Help!

If the banner tutorial didn't help, and you want to buy one from an Etsy seller, search for custom banner in the search bar. You can create get a very basic banner using some pre-fab components with Etsy's Bannerator.

What should I do with my shop while I'm on vacation?

Many sellers like to put their items in edit mode while they are on vacation, or otherwise unable to operate their shop. To do this, go to Your Etsy > Currently For Sale. Click edit next to an item. Then, click Currently for sale again, and click edit next to another item. Continue until all of your items are in "edit mode". They are now inactive, and no one but you can see them.

To reactivate your items, go to Your Etsy > Inactive listings, and click activate next to the items that you would like to make active.

How do I pay my Etsy bill?

Go to Your Etsy > Your Etsy bill. Here you can view your billing statement, and pay your bill. Click Make Payment Now to pay with the credit card on file. Please see How Billing Works for more info.

Can I pay my Etsy bill with PayPal?

Alas, not at this time.

Can I have more than one shop?

Yes. However, it's not a practice we encourage or support. There are certain guidelines you must adhere to, including full disclosure of ALL your accounts in each profile. Additionally, your actions under one username will apply to all your accounts. So if you break the rules, the consequences effect you across the board. Please see the DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy (under Member Accounts) for more information.

Can more than one person operate a shop?

Yes. This is called a "collective". Certain rules apply to collectives, and they are subject to review by Etsy staff. Please see the DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy (under Membership) for the full policies for collective shops.

What is the Shop Policy page for? What should I include in my policies?

Your Shop Policies page provides information buyers need to know in order to make an informed purchase from your shop. On Etsy, each transaction happens directly between the buyer and the seller. Etsy has some site-wide policies in the DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy, but it is up to each seller to determine certain sales terms for their own shop like payment, shipping and returns/refunds. You can edit your Shop Policies page by going to Your Etsy > Shop policies (under Shop Setup). For more information about writing your Shop Policies, check out this Storque article: Customer Care Tips: Hello Policy.