UPDATE: Sellers, please start adding your items to the new category at 6pm ET! For your reference, we have made a PDF with all the sub-categories and sub-sub-categories. You can download the PDF file here.

[the following was originally posted on 9/30/08]
We're happy to announce that on Monday, October 6, 2008, at 6:00 PM (Eastern U.S. time), we'll be adding a new top-level category called Dolls and Miniatures. Etsy sellers who create these items have long wanted a top-level category for their goods. In general, determining when a new top-level category is needed requires research and thought. We considered whether the items can/cannot fit well into an existing category, whether there will be overlap with another category, how broad (or narrow) the market may be for the items, among other issues. This all took time, and we appreciate your patience while we examined all the angles. 

The insightful feedback provided by the Etsy community also helped inform our decisions. An Etsy seller suggested the name "Dolls and Miniatures", and many Etsy sellers helped to develop the subcategories for this new category. Types of items in the category will include: art dolls, plush, amigurumi, doll clothing and accessories, dollhouses and dollhouse miniatures.

For Sellers: Adding Your Items to the Dolls and Miniatures Category

If you've been listing your dolls, miniatures or similar items in the Toys category, you may choose to list in Dolls and Miniatures or Toys, depending on which category best suits your target market. Many items may be appropriate for both adults and children. If this is the case for your items, please pick the category in which you feel your items fit best, or you may opt to list some items in each of these categories.

After 6:00 PM EST on Monday, October 6, you will be able to add your items to the new category, subcategories, and sub-subcategories. To switch an existing listing to the new Dolls and Miniatures category, follow these steps:

1. When logged in to your account, go to Your Etsy, and click "edit" next to an item.
2. Click "edit" next to the tags at the bottom of the preview page. You'll go to Page 2 of the listing/editing process.
3. Choose Dolls and Miniatures from the drop-down menu.
4. Take a look at the related tags that appear. Click any tags that accurately describe your item; this adds your item to those subcategories. If you already have the maximum 14 tags (including the category) in this listing, you may want to delete some of your tags so that you can add the appropriate related tags to place your item correctly in the subcategories and sub-subcategories for Dolls and Miniatures. TIP: You can browse in the Dolls and Miniatures category to check out the subcategories and sub-subcategories that are best for your item.
5. When you're done editing your tags, click "Last" at the bottom of the page, and you'll go to Page 5 of the listing/editing process. Click "Finish" and the item will appear in the category shortly.*

As the new category will be empty when it is first created, we hope that everyone who is able will begin adding items the evening of Monday, October 6, so that we can fill up the Dolls and Miniatures category as quickly as possible!

As with all the other top-level categories on Etsy, we will be creating a Category Showcase for Dolls and Miniatures. The Dolls and Miniatures Category Showcase will launch at a later date (not on October 6). Keep an eye on The Storque for more information about how and when you can purchase a spot.

Thank you so much to the many sellers who helped develop the ideas for this category. We appreciate your interest and patience. If you would like to learn more about how to suggest a new category or subcategory, please read Seller How-to: Making Category Suggestions.

We've closed commenting on this post so that we can follow your discussion on the forums. Please visit us in the forums to help us flesh out the ideas for subcategories and sub-subcategories for the Dolls and Miniatures category!

* As noted at the top of the page in the final step of listing/editing an item, it can take up to 24 hours for an item to appear in categories and subcategories.

ps
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