Listing Items on Etsy

Pricing

So you have your product, it has been processed, and now you are ready to list it on Etsy. Here is your step by step guide of how to do that.

Determine the value.

I mentioned Google lens previously. Snap a photo and check similar listings. You can also check Ebay under the category of sold listings if you don’t get many search results, although I don’t do this often unless it is a somewhat rare item.

The best way to approximate the value is to go to Etsy and search the item you are about to list and find similar listings. You want to undercut the competitor’s price if there are a number of same or similar ones for sale is in comparable condition, especially if you are a new seller without “Star Seller” status.

Those with this status have the trust of many good reviews and experience so they can trust the value of what they are about to buy. If you are newer, they may be willing to take a risk for a lower price.

Photographs

Your photographs are directly linked to how much you can sell. It is all about the customer experience. People don’t want to feel like they are buying some old junk out of your house.

Make them feel like it is a shop; a well curated, quality item. Use your phone to take the photos.

Photograph it from different angels and capture all sides. Stage your item on a table, shelf, or some similar flat, surface with good lighting.

I have a shelf in my kitchen which is next to a window. Behind the shelf is a white wall.

Keep it plain and simple with the attention on the item. It gets natural light, which is best, most of the day. Do not use flash. Many successful sellers have an outdoor staging area for good lighting, but remember to keep it simple.

For clothing, I have a room with a large window and blank wall/shade with natural light coming through until about 11 AM.

You must have a mannequin! You can buy one on amazon for about $50. If I am listing clothing, I take photos before 11 am to optimize the lighting.

You can visit my shop and other star sellers on Etsy to see what successful sellers listing photos look like.

Listing

The Etsy App is easy to use on your phone. I started out taking photos on my phone camera, downloading them to my computer, and then uploading to the listing. Very time consuming! I discovered it is much more time efficient to take the photos on your phone and then begin the listing process on the phone app. I then go to my computer to add and modify the listing because it is easier for me to type and add all of the details on my computer keyboard.

Download the Etsy app
Take photos with your phone
Open the Etsy App, click “listings” at the bottom, click “Create” at top right, a choice will pop up and you can pick from “Copy an existing listing” or “Start from Scratch”. Choose “Start from Scratch”. You will see a square that says “Add a Photo”. Tap on it and your recent photos will appear. Press and hold the first photo you want to appear as your listing photo. This will be the one that gives the viewer the best overall snapshot of the whole product, called the “Thumbnail”. After you tap and hold down on the first photo you can then tap, without holding down, on all of the additional photos you want in the listing. You are limited to ten photos. From here you are going to work your way down the page filling in blank fields or making a selection in a menu. Here is the basic process in order, once you have added your photos:
Add a title. It should be brief and say what the item is in general terms. For example “Vanity Fair Nightgown size small”, 1970’s Green Glass Ashtray”, “Vintage Gucci Silk Scarf”
Who made it? Select “another company or person”
What is it? Select “a finished product”
When was it made? Anything made prior to 20 years ago is classified as vintage on Etsy. So, you will select before 2004. Or, if you know more specifically, then select the appropriate decade.
Category: Type in a basic description of your item and a pull-down menu will appear for you to pick the category your item best fits into.
Renewal options are Manual or Automatic. Manual means that once the listing expires you will have to renew it. Obviously, automatic means Etsy renews it for you, and continues to until you change it to manual or delete the listing. I choose automatic renewal. Once an item has been in my shop for over a year, then I change it to manual. When it expires I either significantly reduce the price or delete the listing.
Type: Select physical, meaning it is not a digital file. You are selling a tangible, physical object.
Description: Start with the physical description. What it is made of, the size including height, width, depth, and if there is any flaw, like a chip, stain, hole, bent, etc. Then, you can qualify the condition. If it is perfect or unused, which is best, or excellent, good. If it is just fair condition then you should not be selling it. It doesn’t matter how thoroughly you describe a flaw, people are not happy with those purchases and they will give you bad reviews. Very damaging to your seller reputation! I avoid using color descriptions. The photo shows the color. It is a subjective thing. When I first started out, I sold fabric to someone who gave me a bad review because my idea of “hot pink” was different than hers.
Tags: This is the most important part of your listing. The tags are what drive people to you listing. Try to imagine the search terms people enter to look for an item like yours. You can even add general tags that are indirectly relevant. You are limited to 20 characters. For example, you are listing a cocktail shaker: Possible tags will describe it, like vintage shaker, cocktail shaker, martini shaker, vintage bar, mcm bar décor, cocktail bars, vintage home décor, bar tools. The advice from Etsy is that you do not need to duplicate terms you used in the title of your listing, or the listing itself. I don’t completely adhere to this advice. Adding the general tags like” vintage bar” are good because if someone is looking for vintage bar glasses, they will see the cocktail shaker and maybe they didn’t think about it, but maybe they need one of these as well.
Materials: this is to describe what the item is made of. If it is a clothing item, it would be the fabric content. If it is a vase it would be crystal, glass, ceramic, etc.
Price: There are a couple of different ways to determine your price. Before I even buy an item I don’t have familiarity with, while I am out shopping, I use Google Lens. I go to my camera, pick the “Lens” option, and click the photo. It automatically searches the internet for similar listings. You should choose the Etsy listings to compare what your competitors are listing the item for. Many customers are loyal to Etsy and will pay more for the same item than they do on Ebay or Poshmark. The other way I do it is to go to the Etsy site and type in the description of the item to see the search results. I choose to be competitive in my pricing because I want to sell and move merchandise.
Quantity: It will be 1 unless you have multiple of the exact same item. For example, I am listing eight linen napkins but I want to sell them in sets of four. In this case, quantity will be 2.
Variations: This is for creating a listing that has a variety of multiple items, which I call a menu. For example, you have seven different kitchen utensils to list. Customers will select which Item to purchase from a pull-down menu. You will show seven in a row in the first thumbnail photo.
The listing description will look something like this:
Choice of vintage kitchen cooking utensils
Use the pull-down menu to make your selection

#1 marked stainless steel USA white with blue flowers, smaller spoon

#2 Ekco stainless steel USA orange and yellow flowers slotted spoon

#3 Ekco stainless steel USA woodgrain handle spoon

#4 Ekco ladle matches #3

#5 Ekco pie server matches #3 and #4

#6 Flint stainless steel USA forged black handle

#7 Masterpiece stainless Japan rose handle ladle

#8 Masterpiece stainless Japan rose handle ladle

Next, go to “Variations”, “Add a Variation”, select “Style”, check the boxes that are “Prices Vary for Each” and “Quantities Vary for Each”, “Save and Continue”. Next enter your prices.

Menu listings can be beneficial because they are going to have multiple items to attract shoppers. A buyer may be searching for #3 Ekco stainless steel woodgrain handle spoon, but then right next to it is a matching ladle. And, of course you will have a large variety of tags to attract many buyers.

Shipping

Here is a discussion of how to estimate the shipping of the item you are listing. This is a bit tricky because you aren’t actually shipping it yet and you aren’t packaging it and putting it in a box.

First of all, I use the shipping calculator built into the Etsy platform. It uses the United States Postal Service in conjunction with Pitney Bowes as one of the options.

Some sellers use Fed-Ex or UPS. The rate is discounted and allows you to print your label at home. I will talk more about this in the section that follows. For now, we are creating our listing.

First, you need to set up a shipping profile. Go to “Settings”, choose “Shipping Settings”, click “Create”. I leave it on “Calculate them for me”, which is the default. Enter your zip code in “Origin”, meaning where is it shipping from.

Processing time is next. It is calculated in business days, Monday through Friday. I have mine set on “1-3 business days”. You may need more time. I find that the faster it arrives to your customer, the happier they will be. You want good reviews.

Where I’ll ship is next. I started out shipping only within the United States. It was intimidating to think about shipping international. I took the leap and switched to “United States and Worldwide”, and I am glad I did.

Etsy shipping makes it very easy as long as you use their platform. The customer inputs their address at time of purchase and all you have to do is print the label. Well, there’s a bit more to it, but we will cover the process in the next section.

I leave shipping services set at the “6 USPS classes” as default. The buyer chooses which one they want/need at time of purchase and they are paying for the shipping.

I do not charge a handling fee. If you did, this would be to offset the cost of shipping supplies. I personally am annoyed by these types of charges and discouraged away from purchasing when I see this.

Now, back to your listing. The shipping portion is at the end. I keep a tape measure and shipping scale on my desk next to my computer.

Let’s say you are shipping a medium sized vase that weighs 1 lb. 2 oz. That is not the weight you will enter into the listing.

The weight you enter is the total weight once it is packaged to mail. You are going to add roughly one pound beyond the weight of the item.

I would enter 2 lbs. and not 2 lbs. 2 oz. because prices are calculated to increase at each pound, so once you pass the 2 lb. threshold it will increase the shipping charge significantly and subsequently, your customer may be put off by the shipping cost.

In the next field you will enter the dimensions. Assuming it is breakable, you will add inches beyond what the actual item measures.

If your vase is 8” height, 4” diameter. Then your input will be minimum 11” length, 6” width, 6” height. As time goes on, you will get better at ascertaining the size of box you will be using.

If it is not breakable at all, like a nightgown, you will add in a few ounces to cover the weight of your envelope and tissue paper.

So, if a nightgown weighs 10 oz, you will add about 3 oz. This will qualify for First Class Mail, being that the package is under one pound, and customers like that low cost shipping, so make it available whenever possible.