Many home crafters and others that focus on handmade items turn to Etsy as their primary source of distribution and income. What they don’t expect is the entitled attitude of an Etsy customer. Beyond anything you would normally experience on any other platform including your own website. More about that later.

Etsy has put so much power in the hands of the customer that many Etsy sellers simply give up and close their shops. Recently Etsy made it worse with their feedback system to be a “Star Seller” on their platform. If a customer does not leave the seller a 5 star review, the little Star Seller badge will not be displayed on the seller’s store. (Be sure to read: How to be successful on etsy 2021)

That’s right. Even if you have 4 stars, on-time shipping and message response rates, you’re not a Star seller. Below are the parameters. Two you can control. What you can’t is the opinion of an Etsy buyer.

• Message Response Rate (Target 95%)
• 5-Star Rating (Target 95%)
• On-Time Shipping and Tracking (Target 95%)

As a marketer, I have many Etsy sellers as my clients. Believe me when I say that many Etsy customers are entitled, I know first hand. Demanding. Unfair. I’ve read the messages. I’ve read the reviews. 99% of these? Invalid. Yet there is nothing, NOTHING, an Etsy seller can do about it.

In my experience over the past several years, an Etsy seller truly cares about providing the best to their customers. Yet Etsy has taken control away from these sellers time and time again.

The most important thing EVERY Etsy seller should know is that you will never be able to contact the customer or see their email addresses. Etsy has made it so that you are completely reliant on their platform and not able to build the most important resource your business needs to succeed – a customer email list.

What can you do about it? Launch your own ecommerce store. I recommend this immediately to all my Etsy clients and it’s something that should be done sooner rather than later. You want to be able to contact the customers you’ve worked so hard to reach.

My favorite platform is Big Commerce and there is an app that will connect to your Etsy shop. Why is this important? Because your customer information, order shipment, inventory management will all be handled through Big Commerce. HUGE.

From me to you? DO IT NOW. Take back control of your business for your future growth and success. You can get info on Big Commerce here: Big Commerce Platform

The post Why Etsy Customers are the WORST. appeared first on Sanger Marketing.

Story time… In addition to being a remarkable, super marketer I run a small ecofriendly business that focuses on reusable menstrual products (for the non menstruaters out there, sorry if this topic grosses you out!). Recently, the FDA has begun enforcing stricter regulations on retailers of cloth pads, forcing small and big businesses to register as medical device manufacturers. In short… cloth pads = medical device, and you have to pay a hefty price to continue making them. Unfortunately, this now means that hundreds of small businesses are being forced to shut their doors. Yep – you guessed it, my store has also been impacted by this change and sadly I don’t believe we’ll be able to pay the fee in time to continue producing cloth pads for 2015.

What do you do when your business hits a huge hurdle such as this?

Well, for one, don’t do what I did. I panicked, I worried, and I became depressed. All that accomplished nothing, except panic attacks and anxiety. Not so good.

Once I calmed down, I put things in perspective. I launched a campaign for funding, I launched ridiculously good sales on social media, and I’m in the process of launching an email campaign. In other words, I took action. With all that said and done, I am now planning for the future. I’m thinking about new and exciting opportunities, and I’m thinking of ways to revamp my business.

Moral of the story:

Do NOT let challenges and hurdles deter you from your dream and goals. Instead, when you hit a bump in the road, do these four things:

1. Put things in perspective
2. Take action
3. Plan for the future
4. Revamp your business

Namaste folks,
Aly

The post Being A Small Business Is Scary: Tips For Overcoming Hurdles appeared first on Sanger Marketing.