Etsy

What is Etsy UK

Etsy UK is the United Kingdom's portal for the global online marketplace, Etsy. The platform focuses on handmade items, vintage goods, and craft supplies. It connects millions of small-scale creators, artists, and collectors with buyers from around the world who are looking for unique, non-mass-produced products. The core purpose of Etsy is to provide a platform for independent sellers to build a business and for customers to find personal and special items. The company was founded in 2005 by Rob Kalin, Chris Maguire, and Haim Schoppik. Its headquarters are in Brooklyn, New York, but it operates globally with specific regional sites like Etsy UK to cater to local currencies, shipping, and trends.

Etsy UK Features

Etsy offers distinct features for both buyers and sellers.

For Buyers:

• Vast Product Selection: Access to millions of unique items, from handmade jewellery and custom furniture to vintage clothing and digital art.
• Personalised Search: The platform uses your browsing history and favourites to suggest items you might like.
• Curated Collections: Discover new items through themed collections and Editors' Picks for holidays, seasons, and trends.
• Direct Seller Communication: Buyers can message sellers directly to ask questions or request customisations.
• Secure Payments: Multiple payment options are available, including credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal, all processed securely.
• Reviews and Ratings: Make informed decisions by reading reviews and seeing photos from previous buyers.

For Sellers:

• Easy Shop Setup: A guided process to open a digital storefront, list products, and set up payment and shipping profiles.
• Listing Management: Tools to create and manage product listings with photos, videos, descriptions, and pricing.
• Etsy Stats: An analytics dashboard to track views, visits, orders, and revenue to understand shop performance.
• Marketing Tools: Options to run sales, create coupons, and use Etsy Ads to promote listings within the platform's search results.
• Seller Handbook: A resource with guides and articles on how to succeed on the platform, covering topics from photography to SEO.

Etsy UK Pricing Plans

Etsy's pricing structure is primarily for its sellers. There is no fee for buyers to browse or create an account.

• Etsy Standard: This is the default plan for all sellers. It is free to set up a shop. Sellers pay fees on a per-item and per-sale basis. This includes a listing fee for each item, a transaction fee on the total sale price, and a payment processing fee.
• Etsy Plus: This is a paid monthly subscription for sellers who want more advanced tools. It includes a monthly credit for listings and Etsy Ads, advanced shop customisation options, restock requests for sold-out items, and discounts on custom packaging and promotional materials. This plan is designed for growing businesses that want to enhance their brand presence.

Etsy UK Free Plan

For buyers, using Etsy UK is completely free. You can create an account, browse products, favourite items, and make purchases without any subscription fees.

For sellers, there is a free plan called Etsy Standard. This means there is no monthly fee to open or maintain a shop on the platform. However, it is not entirely free to sell. Sellers incur costs for specific actions:

• A listing fee is charged for each item you publish.
• A transaction fee is taken as a percentage of the total sale amount (including shipping).
• A payment processing fee is also charged on the transaction.

So, while you can have a shop for free, selling products involves costs.

How to use Etsy UK

For Buyers:

1. Create an Account: Sign up with your email address on the Etsy UK website.
2. Find Items: Use the search bar to look for specific products or browse through categories like 'Jewellery', 'Home & Living', or 'Gifts'.
3. Filter Results: Narrow your search by price, location, shipping time, and other options.
4. Review and Purchase: Read the item description and seller reviews. Add the item to your basket.
5. Checkout: Proceed to checkout, enter your shipping address, and choose a payment method to complete the order.

For Sellers:

1. Register as a Seller: On the Etsy homepage, click 'Sell on Etsy'.
2. Set Up Your Shop: Choose your shop language, country, and currency. Pick a unique name for your shop.
3. Create Listings: Add your first product. This involves uploading high-quality photos, writing a descriptive title and detailed description, and setting a price.
4. Configure Payments and Shipping: Set up how you will receive payments (Etsy Payments) and define your shipping rates and destinations.
5. Open Your Shop: Once your listings and settings are ready, you can open your shop to the public and start selling.

Pros and Cons of Etsy UK

Pros:

• Unique Products: A massive marketplace for items you cannot find in traditional retail stores.
• Support Small Business: Purchases directly support independent creators and small businesses.
• Established Customer Base: For sellers, Etsy provides immediate access to a large, global audience of buyers.
• Easy to Use: The platform is intuitive and simple for both buying and setting up a shop.

Cons:

• Variable Quality and Shipping: As items come from individual sellers, quality and shipping times can be inconsistent.
• High Competition for Sellers: The marketplace is crowded, making it difficult for new sellers to stand out.
• Fees for Sellers: The combination of listing, transaction, and payment processing fees can reduce a seller's profit margins.
• Less Brand Control: Sellers operate within Etsy's framework, offering less branding freedom than a personal website.

Etsy UK integrations

Etsy offers integrations primarily for sellers to help manage their shops more efficiently. These are typically done through third-party applications that connect to a seller's shop via the Etsy API.

• Printful and Printify integrations: For print-on-demand services. These apps automatically process and ship orders for products like t-shirts, mugs, and posters.
• QuickBooks and Xero integrations: For accounting. These connect to your Etsy shop to automatically import sales data, simplifying bookkeeping and tax preparation.
• Royal Mail, Evri, and other shipping carriers: While not a direct integration in the software sense, Etsy's platform allows sellers to purchase and print postage labels from these carriers directly from their shop dashboard.
• Social Media platforms: Sellers can easily share their listings on platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook to drive external traffic to their shop.

Etsy UK Alternatives

• Amazon Handmade: This is Amazon's section for handcrafted goods. It offers access to Amazon's huge customer base and Prime shipping, but has a stricter application process for sellers.
• Not on the High Street: A UK-based curated marketplace for unique gifts from small creative businesses. It is more selective than Etsy, focusing heavily on gifting.
• Folksy: Known as the 'British Etsy', this marketplace is exclusively for designers and makers based in the UK. It is smaller than Etsy but has a strong, supportive community.
• Shopify: A platform for building your own independent e-commerce website. It offers complete brand control and no transaction fees (besides payment processing), but you are responsible for driving all your own traffic.

Etsy UK API

Yes, Etsy provides a public API that allows developers to build applications that interact with the Etsy platform. The API gives access to data and features such as listings, shops, sales data, and user profiles.

To get an API key, a developer must:

1. Create an Etsy account.
2. Go to the Etsy Developers portal.
3. Register a new application by providing details about what the app will do.
4. Once the application is approved, Etsy will issue an API key.

The API is used to create tools for sellers (like inventory management or analytics) or new shopping experiences for buyers.

Example API connection code (Python):

import requests

# Replace with your actual API key and shop ID
api_key = 'YOUR_ETSY_API_KEY'
shop_id = 'YOUR_SHOP_ID'

# Example: Get active listings for a shop
url = f'https://openapi.etsy.com/v2/shops/{shop_id}/listings/active?api_key={api_key}'

response = requests.get(url)

if response.status_code == 200:
    listings = response.json()
    print(f"Found {listings['count']} active listings.")
    # You can now process the listings data
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code}")

Etsy UK Affiliate program

Etsy has an affiliate program that allows creators, bloggers, and publishers to earn a commission by promoting Etsy products. The program is managed through the Awin affiliate network.

To join, you must:

1. Apply to the Etsy program through the Awin website.
2. Once your application is approved, you will get access to affiliate links and promotional materials.
3. You can place these links on your website, blog, or social media channels.
4. When a user clicks your link and makes a purchase on Etsy within a specific timeframe (the cookie duration), you earn a commission on the sale.

Commission rates are typically a percentage of the sale amount and can vary by region and publisher type. Payments are handled and distributed by the Awin network. If you cannot find a direct application, it is best to check the Awin site or contact Etsy's support for partnership inquiries.