ETSY! CANCEL THE FEE INCREASE
It’s been a love/hate relationship with ETSY. It was the first online shop I opened in 2011 as the first shop to offer Argentine Tango upscale dresses all crafted by hand. It was a wonderful marketplace where crafters could create and sell with ease our unique creations and were appreciated by those searching for the same.
Etsy goes Public
Things changed dramatically when the company went public in 2015. Fortunately by then, my shop was one of the best sellers in the world of Tango apparel and was able to start the transition into creating my own website.
I noticed the shift from being a unique marketplace to a wanna be Amazon 2.0. As a seller with a small niche market, I quickly noticed that indie designers like me were put in a predicament where we felt shoved into the mainstream market of low budget products from importers & resellers, increased fees, low seller customer service support. By 2016 I finally opted to invest big and hire a fabulous web designer and team to help me create my own website tangowithlove.com and keep my Etsy shop for my one of a kind collections. Since then, the shop has been available in conjunction with my official shop with the same pricing available to my buyers even though my advertising fees constantly increase. Oddly enough, after 5 years of being “on my own”, conversion traffic to my official website is way higher than my paid advertising dollars bring in to my Etsy shop. Numbers don’t lie – Etsy sucks up a big part of my advertising dollars yet shoppers end up buying thru my official website. Who would have thunk?
Here’s the skinny
Etsy can take up to 30 percent from one transaction with additional fees including the listing fee to post products on Etsy, a payment processing fee for processing payments, and a fee for offsite ads that’s around 12 percent. This is astronomical to someone like me who remains faithful to slow and handmade fashion struggling to keep my prices still affordable in this particular platform. Due the new increase, thousands of handcrafters are being pushed over the edge. Earlier in the month, over 50,000 sellers went on strike to protest the astronomical increase fees, forced free shipping, low customer service support and many other demands that I tend to disagree with.
Updates to the Etsy Shop
As I unite with my fellow Etsy handcrafters in support for Etsy to lower fees, many of us have hard decision to make ahead. While many sellers are opting to increase prices, others are leaving Etsy for other platforms while others are closing shop altogether. I think about my Etsy shoppers. Many have been loyal Etsy customers for many years while others have gravitated towards my official website instead. Others find it very practical to shop thru both platforms. For now, dresses will remain at the same price but sadly beginning May 1st, Etsy shoppers will see a price difference in certain items within the shop while other items will be removed and be available only thru my official website. While shipping will remain the same, sadly coupons and discounts will no longer be available thru Etsy.
Support my official website
Because I’m a huge supporter of small business, I tend to shop thru their official websites because I understand the burden of having to pay high fees/percentages to platform marketplaces as a seller. If you love and support small companies or brands try shopping thru their official websites. You’ll find many perks, subscriber discounts and even a higher quality of customer care. You’ll also help us cover the cost of maintaining our own website, help drive up traffic and help with our organic marketing.
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