Seller Handbook

The following is a transcript of a live podcast episode recorded in October at our European Captains' Summit in Warsaw, Poland, and released in November 2018. The transcript has been edited slightly for this format. You can listen to the episode on iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tess: Hi, I’m Tess and I work on the Seller Content team at Etsy and produce the Etsy Success podcast. I’m here today with three Team Captains who are going to talk about their experience with Teams. First we have Virginie Lykins of the Made in Norway Team, Helen Gillespie of the Lancashire Etsy Team, and Tania of Etsy Team Belgium. Welcome! Thanks for being here.

All: Thank you!

Tess: Let’s start with some introductions. Can everyone say your name, your shop, what you sell, and how long you’ve been on Etsy?

Tania: I’m Tania. I’m from Belgium. I’ve been selling crochet for three years on Etsy. I started small. A few years back I was really interested in the Etsy community. My shop, TCA Shop, was growing. I was starting to be more involved in communities like Etsy Team Belgium and Etsy Team Gent. The first Team is the country Team. We have 1,500 members. We have meetings, both small and big ones. We talk a lot about growing local communities in Belgium. My second Team is my favourite. OK, I didn’t say that. [Laughs] But it’s the Team I work most with and it’s a small local Team with 150 members. We have markets or meetings eight times a year. We do big markets in an old church. So for me it’s really community building, meeting people, growing Etsy Local, growing other Etsy shops. It’s a lot of equal-minded people.

Helen: Hi, I’m Helen Gillespie of the Lancashire Team, which is in the UK. My shop is Betsy and Els. I make laser-cut English flowers that I draw and paint by hand, and I do wedding decor. I’ve been on Etsy since the beginning of 2016.

Virginie: Hi, I’m Virginie. My oldest Etsy shop is celebrating 10 years. It’s called Roland Designs and it’s named after my oldest son, who has autism. A few years back I was looking for a local Team. There were no Teams for my country, Norway, so I started one. It's called Made in Norway and it’s still going. I sell embroidery patterns. I also have another shop where I sell jewellery and vintage, because as a Team Captain I wanted to sell physical items. I thought it was important because of customer service, to be able to experience those situations that come up with physical items. I thought it was important and relevant to be versed in both.

Tess: Virginie, you mentioned that you started your own Team. Helen and Tania, how did you find your Teams and what led you become Captains?

Helen: There was a very small Team near us that was new but as I tried to join it, it was starting to fold. I went to a local Team to try and join them, which had quite strict rules about how they took members in and I didn’t live near enough. So we turned around and we set up a Team, because we’re quite a big area where we are. I was having to travel over an hour if I did go to the other Teams. So we set up a new Team. We didn’t know how to do it. We didn’t really know what we were doing, but we just worked intuitively. We decided to hold Etsy Made Local, and that was our turning point, really, because it made our Team.

Tania: For my first Team, Etsy Team Gent, it was meeting with the Belgium Captain. She was Captain before me. She said, “We want to make local Teams. We want to make them smaller and be more [on-the-ground].” She asked me to come and I said yes, and then she asked if I could become a Captain. I said, “Yes, I want to be because I love communities. I love to work with all the people. I love to see people grow.” So I became Captain for the small Team, Gent.

Then she was pregnant with twins. She was being a mum, working on her own shop, and being overwhelmed with work. She asked if I wanted to become Captain of the Belgium Team. I wanted to so I took over the Team from her. Now we’re starting to build new things in Belgium, making time for markets and meetings. It’s really growing the community now.

Tess: Can you tell me a little bit about how your Team supports one another and how you encourage support within your Team?

Virginie: My Team, Made in Norway, is for the whole country. I checked quickly this morning on Google and we only have about 5.3 million inhabitants in Norway, compared to London that has over 8.7 million. So where the whole country has only maybe a couple hundred sellers, some come in, some go, some stay longer. Our Team covers so much that it’s difficult to have physical meetings. Some people live above the Arctic Circle so travelling is not exactly going to happen, but we have a very good forum we’ve been using. We’ve been using Facebook. I don’t know if it’s a Scandinavian thing but the people are very polite and very respectful, so it’s never been any problem to use an open forum like Facebook.

It always makes me feel so good when a seller puts up a question and everybody participates to help and find solutions. I tell people our Team is mostly an online support Team for Etsy sellers. I think that’s something that’s very important for a country that’s so spread out, with people living in small places who may not actually get to come to a meeting, meet-up, or market. So an online community can be quite important.

Helen: It was a very slow start with us. We were a slow burner. It was the Etsy Made Local that did it for us. That bonded people. They literally left the event laughing together and joking about things. So we then pushed that and carried it forward.

We found that there was one lady who was a huge character, and so we’ve put her in charge of our Facebook group. She throws out very bold, daring funnies. Rather than just talk about our shops — like, “Can you tell me how I do this little thing?”— she throws out a bold question that, sometimes when you read it you go, “Oh, wow!” But then people interact and we’re getting such high engagement by getting her to lead something forward. She’s very good about answering every single comment put in and then redirects it into something else. She’s been one of our driving forces.

And that’s finding where your strengths are in the Team. Because maybe as a leader or a Captain you don’t have [all the information], but people further out do. And that’s how we draw it in for us.

Tania: For Belgium and Gent, my house is our meeting point so every day I see somebody from my Team. If you have a problem, we meet online also. We talk about bookkeeping, because the Belgium law is really strict. We have to do insurance and stuff like that. For the new Etsy shops, it’s such complicated information so we want to help them be correct for the law.

We also have our markets. My fellow Etsy Team members design the posters and spread the news for the markets. They help each other with markets. We also build the markets together, so we drag the tables and chairs around. If it’s somebody’s birthday or somebody has a child, we give a small gift to each other. It’s really about being friends, friendship, and giving something to each other in return.

If I need a present, the first thing I do now is go on Etsy and look at one of my fellow Team members to see if I can get it from their shop. I really support my local Team shops. I buy stuff from them for birthdays, Christmas, the New Year. For me it’s about giving to each other, getting from each other, and spreading the love of handmade products.

Tess: That’s amazing. I was also wondering if you guys could talk a little bit more about the specific activities that you organise in your Team, whether it’s online or in person.

Virginie: My Team is mostly online, like I said, so that’s something we miss: the personal touch. I live in a town where there’s, I think, only two other Etsy sellers. The next one is kilometers away so we have to keep in contact online. Last year we did a Secret Santa and that was a lot of fun. I think we’ll do it again this year. We started it a little earlier to make sure it gets done in time for Christmas. That was a great way to get the Team to interact with each other.

I know a lot of Teams do a lot of face-to-face meeting and that really inspires us. But we couldn’t really do that and sometimes online you become a faceless voice in a way. So when we do shop reviews, I’ve started as Team Captain to do a small video for shop reviews. I’m not an expert, but I feel like it puts a voice on the Captain of the Team in a way. So I do three- to five-minute reviews when we put up a shop for evaluations. Then I’ll just go to the shop online and I’ll talk along the different points I’ve seen or something. People said they really appreciate it. It makes it feel more like a human connection.

I think that’s a tip that you can use when you have a mostly online community, is try to somehow use video. I just felt that videos make it feel like you’re connecting with the person, the Team Captain, Team leaders, and the other Team members.

Tania: We have the markets in Gent. It’s one of our biggest events. We’ve had 5,000 to 7,000 visitors. What’s important here for Etsy shops is that it gives you live feedback. People see the product. People talk about the product in front of them. So they know what they have and how they can improve their product in a way. People say, “I don’t like this, but I like that.”

They also learn to showcase their product in the market, so that might give them an idea about how to photograph their product in a new way. And after we have an event, people send me emails like, “Oh my God, I sold something to the USA!” We have a lot of tourists in our city. So if afterwards they sell their first item to the US, we know it was somebody who found out about them through the market. For them, it’s really inspirational because now they see and hear that it works. It’s really building their shop from a small public and growing worldwide. It’s really important for them.

Then we have the meetings. We have bookkeeping, photography, shop critiques. Most of the time everybody brings an item into the meeting, we swap items, and we let other people take the pictures of the items. So they get a new angle or perspective on how to take photos of their items. People will take photos, make a listing for them, and we let them make prices. So what will you pay for that item? It’s really funny because people are like, “Oh, you would pay that much for my item?” You see a lot of people undervalue their work, or their items. So it’s really important if you can meet up with your Team members. You learn a lot from each other.

Helen: We’re building our meet-ups. We’re quite a big county, so we meet one of half the county one time, one half of the county another. Because you’ll travel an hour to an hour and a half to get to where we are.

One of our places that’s getting really successful is our makers’ centre. They support us and give us the facilities for free. They do inductions and training for all of our makers, so they can go and use that space for their own manufacturing. They’ve got 3D printers, CNC routers, and lasers. So we’re trying to get our makers’ skills up that way. We pick some of our strongest sellers and they impart their knowledge and little tricks that they’ve learned. And our makers can go off and do this induction course and then they’ve got access to all of the equipment for any time that they want. It’s free and hired equipment. So it’s pushing the skill sets out in new directions creatively.

Tess: I know that some of you and your Teams participate in in-person selling events. Can you talk about what you’ve learned from selling at Christmas markets?

Helen: It’s all about first-hand experience. Etsy is lovely for selling online because you get chatty customers. But when you’re selling in person and you’re getting that direct one-to-one feedback all of the time, we just say it’s the best form of marketing that you can get. It’s cheap and it’s really immediate.

We have this saying that there will always be one surprise at every event you do. You always make some link somewhere because you’re networking with other sellers. You’re networking with people that are out there as your customers. But there will always be gallery people coming around. That’s actually how we found our venue for our Etsy Made Local. We got signed up because we were trying to promote this new Team that we have. We’ve now secured this beautiful art gallery in the middle of our city and we wouldn’t have got it otherwise. She’d never put an event on like ours before and it’s just been so successful.

We’ve also started working with very established markets where they said, “Please will you come to us now? And can we give you a dedicated area where it will say Etsy all over it and you can say you’re an Etsy Lancashire seller?” They’re now wanting us to go and join them under the Etsy brand because they’re seeing that it’s actually helping their market, which is quite an interesting turn.

Tania: We try to do something extra for Christmas markets. We have a gift wrap table where after people buy stuff, somebody from the shop is going to wrap your present. We have stamp with “Etsy” on it. We put a stamp on it, so people see, “Oh, this was bought on Etsy!” In Christmas markets, it’s about the details. You can even get your [greeting] card from the Etsy shop. It’s ready. You can give it to the person when you see the person.

So we are really working together to make it not just a market, but an experience. You come out and you’re happy. You think, “Oh, Etsy, that’s good thing! I loved it.” We also want [shoppers] to go online [to our Etsy shops]. We can explain what Etsy is. We talk to them like, “On Etsy you can buy stuff. No, it’s not Amazon, it’s Etsy. It’s handmade and unique. You buy from real people.” It’s really the experience you build around your market. It’s not just about buying something. You want to talk to your customers. You want to give them the experience of being important, being there in person. For me, that’s a market. You give them experience. Not only the customer, also the person who’s selling it.

After the market we always have feedback from the sellers: What can we improve? What’s fun? What worked for you? Do we need more publicity? More Facebook Ads? So we try to improve our markets all the time.

Tess: As Christmas is drawing closer, things can get pretty hectic. How do you make sure that your shop is prepped and ready for the busy shopping season? What advice do you give to your Team around this time of year?

Virginie: As with many people, having an Etsy shop is not your only job. Many of us have children. Christmas is a hectic time all-around. Many of us have day jobs that also have Christmas as a fully booked, packed time. The best tip I can give, or have given to my Team, is to prepare actually July before their holidays. I say, “Don’t forget. Christmas will come up. Use your time on holidays to plan, to order your packing supplies, whatever you’re going to do for Christmas. Get it ready in July.” Most companies already have their Christmas plan and stock already on the way by July. So use your summer holidays to plan Christmas.

When the time does come, if you ran out of packing supplies or something, just relax. Take it easy. Don’t force it. Don’t try to cram something that doesn’t fit. If it doesn’t fit, just be honest with yourself. It’s OK. It’s better give customers an amazing experience than to have a half-baked loaf of bread, for example. Just do what you can. If it gets to be too much, you’re busy, or your kid gets sick, just put your shop on holiday. Next time plan a bit earlier or have a bit more packing supplies. Think about it as an experience for next time.

Helen: Yes, I think the advice we would say is: Don’t be scared to ask for help. Have your family ready. Have your friends ready. Another one is to really look after yourself. We were talking about this as a Team recently. I said, “I know I need to eat well. Me eating well will keep me going.” So I’m actually preparing now. I’m filling my freezer. When I cook a meal, I’m cooking a bit more. It’s funny because I’m a little bit lazy. I’m freezing it and I don’t label them. We call them at home “winner dinners” because when the food comes out, it’s only when we defrost it we know what we’re actually eating for a meal. But it’s homemade, it’s balanced, and it’s there. Anyone in the house can get that ready for me.

Tania: The first thing I’ll ask my Team in 2019 is, “How was your Christmas season?” Because you have to learn from the past season. So you have to review your past sales. The first thing is, “What went wrong?” You have to learn what went wrong. Did you have enough packing supplies, cards, stamps? Because what went wrong teaches you for the future. You have to prevent it. Was I late with dispatch? Did the cat have enough food? Did I forget birthdays?

It’s really busy, you have family, and you have things to celebrate. I make a binder for the next month and I put a birthday card with a stamp on it for each person’s birthday. All I have to do is take it to the post office. You have to prepare your private life with your work. So I prepare myself food, vet visits, all the things you need to remember. I put it in the binder. Every month, every day, I see what I need to do.

Another thing we do in the Team is order our packing material as a group. In August, I ask what everyone’s needs are for boxes and things. At my house at the end of August, there was a big shipment of boxes for all the Team members. We had a whole room full of packing boxes. That way we can get cheap packing boxes. We work together to get cheap stuff. We watch all the promotions online. We work really close together to help us to get through the Christmas season. If somebody’s baby is sick and they have a lot of work, they can bring their baby over for an hour so they can go to the post office or something like that.

Tess: I like what you said about learning from your past seasons. On the flip side of that, what advice would you give a seller who’s in their first-ever selling season?

Tania: Talk to fellow sellers, really. Talk to them. Listen to them. Read the Forums. Think as a customer. What do you want if you buy something online? Fast dispatch, a certain colour, something that’s made for you? Think about what you want as a customer. How you want to be treated, how you want your items packed, how you want your things dispatched. So you have to think: What does my customer want? I think that’s most important: that you write it down, talk to people about it, and learn from others.

Virginie: When people first open their shop, they sometimes have very high expectations: “This Christmas is going to be amazing and I’ll make a fortune, so I’m just going to quit my day job in January.” Then there’s others, who are like, “Oh well, it’s never going to work anyway so I’m just going to throw a few things together and then I’ll just quit afterward.” It’s very rare you actually get somebody who’s very level-headed and has gone through the whole planning. There are some professional sellers who sell on Etsy who actually have the experience and know that you have to take the small steps. Some people really go into it very excited.

If I could give them a tip for the Christmas season, it’s to ask questions in the Forums. Look at other shops, maybe in the same country, who sell similar items. Contact that seller and ask them, “Can I just ask you a small question?” Let’s say you’re selling Christmas mugs or something. Say, “I know you’re selling Christmas mugs and I’m starting something similar. What is it like for you? How many customers did you have last year? Is there anything special you learned about dispatching and packing for less damage or lowered postage costs?”

And just ask other Team members. Most people don’t consider it competition. They’re actually very flattered that you ask them for advice. And not to look to international. Just look local in your own country, because the dispatch at Christmas can be quite hectic and often the estimates are wrong. Ask other sellers in your country what they’ve learned throughout the years with delivery because often that is the main issue at Christmas: the time. Will it get here in time for Christmas morning? Ask other sellers and don’t be shy. That’s the main thing. When you’re going to sell online, you can’t be shy.

Helen: Yes, and I would say to know your last dispatch days for Christmas. We’ve already put out what ours is with Royal Mail so that people can plan ahead. Then know when you want to stop for Christmas, so you enjoy your own Christmas with your family. Because too many of us keep saying, “No, I’ll just keep doing these next orders.” So setting out that they know when the dispatch dates are, when their last dispatch date is, and why they want it that way. We’ve said to keep your stock levels online lower so you can always back out when you need to and say, “I need to stock that product or I want to extend my dispatching time”. Just to give yourself some ease time so you don't start panicking. Really the little trick is to hold the panic off.

Tess: Can you tell me about your proudest moment on your Team? Are there any moments that stand out to you?

Helen: I think ours was at Etsy Made Local. I co-Captained and it was our first-ever one. We really didn’t know what was going to happen or how it would be or how many people would walk through the door. This art gallery that we have is just stunningly beautiful and it’s three floors. It was quite difficult because we were putting sellers on all three floors. So we could have lost the sellers on the second and third floor. And the day before we had to go in and we had two radio interviews, a TV interview, and then we had to set up. My co-Captain and I were absolutely exhausted. We were driving home and we were going, “This is just so painful.” And we laughed and said, “It’s a little bit like giving birth.” [Laughs] When you have the contractions and you’re just going, “Holy moly, why are we doing this?” Because we were shattered.

Then the next day we stood in the bottom, because we placed ourselves at the bottom so we could be on hand for everyone. And we could hear the noise and the excitement. We had visitors right the way through [all three floors]. My co-Captain just turned around to me and she went, “We’ve given birth! This is it!” It was just brilliant, the euphoria of it. We said, “We must remember this for next year.” But we haven’t. We’re just doing it again. That was our proudest moment.

Tania: It’s also a market with me. It was the first time we had the church. We entered the church like, “Oh my God, [we get to] use this building?” Because it’s an old building with big ceilings. We thought, “Is this now ours for use for the markets? Wow!” So we made some flyers and posters. I opened the door and [a lot of] people were coming in, I thought, “Oh my God, what’s happening here?” We could only have so many people in the church. We had security saying, “No, no, no. That’s it. We have to close the doors because we are at the maximum.” It was only a half hour [after we opened the doors]. People keep pouring in. I thought, “It’s not possible. You’re dreaming.”

People were selling and I could hear them saying, “I sold that!” I’d see people walking outside with bags and bags. We had the dream. We had the perfect spot for our market. People were happy afterwards. We went to a bar. We got a little drunk. [Laughs] We celebrated really hard. This is what we’re going for in a Team. We find the perfect spot, reach the people we want to reach, and build and grow the market. Next time we hope to do that in other cities, to have the same level of [success with the] market. I’m really proud of the Team because they’re always there to support each other. So every moment with my Team is a proud moment.

Virginie: I was thinking about that: What is the proudest moment? I can’t say there’s one proud moment but I think it was when I realised the Team was still going. Because when you have an online community, it goes up and down. Sometimes it starts really grand and peters out. Sometimes it starts small, it grows, and then it dies out. But I realised it had been five years and it just keeps on going and people keep participating and helping each other. That, as a Team Captain, makes me very proud. I really like to see people succeed.

I don’t like to say, “I’ve got this amazing shop and I’m perfect in SEO”, because I’m not. There are other Team members that have really amazing shops and better photos. They’re much better in SEO and they’re amazing at finding tags and keywords. It just makes me feel so good when I see those experienced people giving [their knowledge] to the other Team members.

There’s one person who’s really good with tags and search engine optimisation things. Every time I see her, for example, giving advice to others, I feel like this is what it’s all about when you have a Team and a community. And seeing other people [pitch] in and giving counsel or little tips or suggesting. Like, “You can get your packing supplies from here. That’s my little secret.” People sharing things like that with each other. It makes me feel like that’s what a handmade community is about. It’s not just people keeping their secret suppliers to themselves, but being open, helping each other, and watching each other succeed. So the Team’s been going for five years and I hope it goes for another five years still, or more.