Getting lost in ETSY!

Anonymous

Getting lost in ETSY!

Anonymous

Have you guys seen this website????? http://www.etsy.com/  There was an article about it in the NY Times this morning and I couldn't resist a look! All of the items are handcrafted and for sale. It's supposed to be a venue to promote small businesses/home sales and purposely distinguishes itself from chain stores, mass markets, etc.

You can get completely lost in this stuff and get so many ideas for your own crafts and gift-giving! What fun!

~Marin

iodine

Wow!

saluki

Love Etsy

I've gotten some really unique things that I don't think anyone would produce en mass.  I find if you find something you like you need to jump on it because of the uniqueness and limited quantities.

After browsing the arm warmers there last week I decided to pick up a pair of knitting needles again.

biondi

hi fitchic, thanks for the etsy link.  i ordered a print from one of the artists.

can you tell me what method of payment is best. i told him i would send a check until i establish another safe way to make payment..

thanks, biondi 

saluki, just noticed you ordered from etsy, what method of payment do you use?

EachDay

I belong to etsy as a seller and a buyer.  The safest way to make any payment on etsy is through paypal.  If you don't have a paypal account, you can set one up while you are browsing/shopping through etsy.

saluki

If you do set up a Paypal account--Even going through Paypal--its in your best interest to pay with a credit card through them.  That way you still get all the protection of a credit card. That is something different than backing up your Paypal payment with a credit card.

If the money is taken directly out of your checking account and you don't get the merchandise--you can be left whistling in the wind. (---Even though there is a Paypal guarantee and dispute process.)

I had it happen to me on Paypal with ebay purchases.  (I should have been wary because the sellers were new and had only a few transactions to their name and very little feedback.)

I paid for the items--never received them.  Paypal said indeed I was due a refund;  But, the seller had drained their Paypal account of all but fifty cents. As a result, Paypal could not give me a refund.  In the meantime, the member became unregistered as an ebay seller.

----So, even with the Paypal guarantee

there was no way to refund my money.------Had I used a credit card

on Paypal I would have been able to get my money back.

Be safe with any large purchase and use your credit card on Paypal rather than have money taken directly out of your checking account.

Anonymous

EachDay

Do you do very good selling here?? I ask because my daughter is a stay at home mom...She is very crafty and does wonderful things and has interest in sellling some but not sure how to go about doing it...She was going to try ebay but it is so huge that she didnt have much response.

Thank you

Jule

badboob67

Those are good tips about PAYPAL. It is very important to read ALL of the information Paypal provides about dispute resolution, etc.

In the past I found eBay's message boards very helpful in learning how to use Paypal and what procedures to follow if there is a problem. Even though some of the information wouldn't apply to ETSY, checking the message boards on eBay might be useful to you. 

saluki

Yes Badboob,  Its very important to know how PP operates.

The other incident in which I lost my money was also due to my niavety in how Paypal operated.

I bought an item and when I didn't receive it I contacted the seller. (who incidentally had a great rating until then.)  Apparently, she got ill according to her husband.  So, I decided to wait.  I started seeing suddenly pages of horrendous nasty feedback  --I still continued to correspond with them-- inquiring of her health and figuring she would send the product when she could. I never got the product and they are continuing to sell.

Eventually, I decided to contact Paypal and stop going back and forth with the seller.

To my dismay I found that in giving them the benefit of doubt I ran Paypals statute of opening a dispute which is 45 days from sending payment.----Now I mark it on my calender!  Then, you get another 20 day limit by which time you have to initiate an escalation to a  claim or it will be dropped.

You give up your rights if you do not initiate a dispute within their deadlines and take the proper steps. 

dash

I know, it's easy to spends hours browsing! I bought about 25 items off Etsy since I 'discovered' it for myself in Oct or Nov and by and large, the sellers seem to be very nice and accomadating.

I did as much Christmas shopping that I could on Etsy this year--my recipients were very happy with their gifts. I sent one of my friends a handpainted, kiln fired porcelain ornament she loves it so much she's keeping it out all year. To my toddler nephew I sent an I SPy bean bag that the seller personalized with objects that he knows/loves--ie., 4 colorful cats(he has 4 cats), a bird(he has a bird) the letters of his name, his favorite activity(a shovel and bucket) etc. The sellers wrapped the items and sent them directly to my friends so it was less work and postage for me, too

chemo072

Great advice about the credit card protection.

Also, with paypal accounts, beware of all the phishing spam - don't answer emails that are supposedly from paypal - instead, log in to your account and check out what's going on from there.

Other than that, paypal is sooooooooooooooo useful.  One just has to be proactively protective and cautious.   

I know a bunch of craftspeople who sell through Etsy, it's a great place!  There's also lov.li.  Plus eBay is starting a new crafts-centered project that I think is now a project of World of Good and called that, but sometimes it's called Project Good. Anyways, it's not live yet but it will be sometime this spring I think.