Yesterday Etsy emailed it’s 1.6 million sellers to announce that April 5 shops will have a new look. “We’ve redesigned the way shops look on Etsy to put you in control of your creative business and brand,” Etsy Administrator Shadi Jurdi said in the Etsy Seller Handbook post explaining the redesign. “The new design brings all of your shop’s content together, so shoppers can browse your items, learn about your story and see your policies all in one place.”
Sellers have three weeks to update their shops before the changes go live.
One of the most long-standing complaints among Etsy sellers has been the inability to differentiate your shop and make it look like your own brand. The new layout seems to be a response to this, giving sellers the option to create a 1200 x 300 pixel cover photo to be displayed across the top of their shops. This image allows for a much greater brand impact than the previous 760 x 100 pixel banner. The shop icon is now also larger and more prominently displayed.
Etsy has partnered with the graphic design app, Canva, to create customizable templates sized for the new layout which sellers can use to quickly and easily make images that meet the new size requirements.
Sellers who aren’t interested in displaying a large cover photo have the option to stick with the current smaller banner size or have no banner at all.
An increased ability to make a brand impact isn’t the only significant change in this update; there are changes in how sold listings are managed as well. Now when you renew a sold listing it will remain in its original position rather than being bumped to the first position in your shop. And sellers have a new privacy option that allows them to hide sold listings from buyers.
Shop policies are changing as well. Etsy has devised a template for sellers to use to make setting shop policies simpler. “During research, many buyers have told us that they have a difficult time understanding Shop Policies on Etsy,” Jurdi wrote in an explanation of the new policies. Policies are now a series of check boxes. Sellers will be able to opt out of using the new template, but those who do use it will be favored in search.
Etsy shops will now display three items across rather than four. With fewer items displayed customers will have to do more scrolling to see all of the products. Product images are larger than they once were and there’s more white space on the page causing some sellers to describe their shop as “looking zoomed in.”
I reached out to Director of Product Management at Etsy, Arpan Podduturi, to ask whether mobile friendliness was one of the goals for the redesign. “This is the first time that shop homepages will look consistent when viewed on a desktop computer, mobile web browser and in the Etsy app – an important point because we know that buyers will frequently start their Etsy experience on one device, and then go to another device to complete their purchase,” he explained in an email.
A new navigation bar located just above the listings allows customers to jump to your About page (a page that was previously frustratingly difficult to find) along with Reviews and Policies.
Rather than clicking through pages of listing, all listings are on the same page with a “More Items” button at the bottom. For shops with many hundreds of items this means customers will have to do an intense amount of scrolling.
List view will not be available in the new layout.
Gone is the list view option that the old layout allowed.
A change many sellers are celebrating is the addition of five new categories bringing the total category number up to 15.
Sellers can now link out not just to Facebook and Twitter, but also to Instagram, Pinterest, and their own blog, although there’s still no email list sign up function.
Between now and April 5 sellers can begin implementing changes to optimize their shops for the new layout. Although the new layout will not go live until that date, any changes you make now will be visible to buyers in the current layout.
+++++
I’ve opened my Etsy shop on July 3, 2005, when Etsy was still in beta and listings were free. In the 10+ years since then I’ve weathered each and every change.
Etsy is a tech company and they put a tremendous amount of time and effort into creating an optimal user experience for both buyers and sellers. Hundreds of interviews and trials go into making changes as significant as these. Director of Product Management Podduturi told me, “We consulted with a large and diverse group of sellers to take into account their wants and needs, and we also did extensive buyer research to see what kinds of features are important to them and, importantly, lead to shopper engagement.” Although the reasoning might be difficult to understand, and the changes may in the end not be perfect, it’s important to recognize that they were not made on impulse.
I earn about $12,000 on Etsy each year with almost no effort on my part – it’s set it and forget it – and for that I’m so grateful. I don’t know yet how these changes will feel once they’re live, but selling successfully online requires a constant willingness to embrace change so here we go around the next corner.
As a frequent buyer on Etsy my main complaint is that so few items are shown at once and there is no “show all” function. To constantly click for more items is annoying and many times I only look at the first couple of dozen listings before I lose patience.
It looks like this will continue to be a problem.
I would love to know how you manage to make $12000 per year with only “set and forget” your etsy shop? I have a hard time selling anything at all . Looking forward to hear from you.
Lisbet
I sell $9 digital sewing patterns and sewing supplies. Having a shop for 10 years helps I’m sure. And I have a lot of products. Other than that I don’t really know.
Totally agree with Sandra. Etsy is technically years behind all other ecommerce sites. No “show all” function, having to constantly click “more items” after only being shown a few rows, dismal, useless categories, keyword spamming, not enough photos of items, not having the shipping cost visible with the price of the item, all make for a very frustrating and annoying shopping experience. They are obsessed with playing with sellers stores while they have all these exasperating technical issues that cause buyers to leave the site.
It looks terrible. Why can’t it be understood that pictures can be too big as well as too small? They are all I have as an online buyer, but overlarge pictures that don’t fit in the frame leave me wanting to see the item properly as I end up with no perspective. For instance how can I judge a skirt pattern that doesn’t allow me to see the length because I can only see either the top or the bottom of it and I can’t ever see the whole thing? The pictures were already a problem but now they are just ludicrous. The normal pictures are zoomed in, and the zoomed in pictures are super zoomed in and none of them shows me the full item. The constant scrolling drives me mad too. It’s all a bit crazy and very off putting. Oh well I haven’t purchased there in months, most sellers I am interested in now direct me else where, which is interesting.
It might not work for you, Sara, but extensive qualitative and quantitative research seems to indicate to Etsy that this new layout works better for buyers. I thought this fireside chat with Arpan Podduturi was really informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FT14oQv8t4
Greetings Readers and Hello Abby,
Very nice article, I am not very much experienced seller on etsy but I started with etsy from Dec 2015 and now I am really happy with the response for my shop on etsy. I appreciate etsy team for there hardwork and it is really important to think about “set and forget” approach, why sellers are so confident ?? It’s only because of the smoothness and presentations of the shops, I know the product should be good to catch the buyers eye but without an good presentation and smooth transactions it is not possible to sell that product.
Thanks for the good article Abby, I hope I will be soon in that “set and forget” situation 🙂
Joy
(Etsy Shop: ResumeMall)
If you only want Etsy cheerleaders to comment on your blog perhaps you should delete your comments section. So cheeky of you to tell two commenters to leave Etsy if they were displeased with any changes being initiated. Etsy is a site riddled with technical issues that does not meet the needs or solve the problems of their paying customers, the sellers. The new shop look is antiquated and cumbersome with too few items visible per page and photos that are way too large. Choosing to put feedback where items could be is seriously incompetent web design that will, without a doubt, increase your bounce rate. All sellers have a right to be concerned about design elements that sabotage views and sales .
You’re totally correct that all sellers can express their concerns about Etsy’s new layout. My point was that there are so many ecommerce options available that if you’re unhappy with one you aren’t obligated to stick with it.
I can’t even get my banner dispayed…very annoyed!!
I believe they’re rolling out the new shop look slowly.
Hi Abby,
When I found out about the sudden changes (via an accidental link to a Facebook notice – NOT a personal email to me, even though I’ve been an Etsy Seller for 4 years), I was rather taken aback. So, I had been looking forward to seeing your comprehensive analysis.
Have you read the hundreds of comments on the Etsy forums? So many unhappy sellers, and all with good reasons. A few include:
– The ‘pro-forma’ Policies are simplistic and deficient in many basic ways, and would not pass muster in several countries – and the tone is abrupt and unfriendly.
– Penalising those experienced Etsy Sellers who have spent hours formulating comprehensive and clear policies, is unfair.
– The limited word-space for FAQ and policies doesn’t allow for specific explanation, which some products require, and which helps customers.
– The over-sized fixed photos are not flattering (and are sometimes grainy), and may have to all be re-uploaded.
– Making the customer scroll through endlessly will undoubtedly put them off, before they complete the sale.
– The emphasis on reviews can easily work against a newer seller (with few or no reviews), or the unlucky seller who happened to have their most recent review sent by an unhappy customer – there it will be – front and centre, for all to see (whether accurate or not).
There is no longer a side-bar link to the Reviews (with the number of reviews) – as a buyer, that’s one of the first things I check. However, Etsy has included a prominent “Report this Shop” link – which customers (and sellers) may find confronting.
Apparently this launch had been planned by Etsy several months ago (according to their recent share-holder speech in February), though the details were hidden. Yet, they give us, the Etsy Sellers (their bread-and-butter income earners), a mere “two weeks” to implement. Many of us are too busy actually creating product and liaising with customers – we don’t have time to spend re-fining our entire store – certainly not without the courtesy of receiving notice. Those sellers with hundreds of items will need to spend hours manually “dragging” each product photo to the desired spot, and probably having to re-load photos with higher pixels. All these hours will be Non-Income earning.
Sneaking this change in just before the Easter / school holidays will take many Etsy Sellers by surprise. I’m probably not the only one who had planned to close my shop for vacation (returning 5th April). So, with it being inactive – my shop is locked from making any of these changes.
All in all – regardless of the reasons – the timing and execution were unnecessarily rushed. I’ve asked Etsy for an “Opt Out option” so we can retain our previous layout, or at the very least, a longer transitional period for Sellers (say 3-6 months to convert their shops). Any less is just disrespectful of our professionalism, and our time.
If this layout is so fantastic – why doesn’t Etsy use it, itself? Will Etsy’s Policies be ‘front and centre’ on their Home Landing Page – where everyone will have to wade through them (even repeat customers), until they get so fed up they leave? I suspect not.
In my view, this is a sad day and a backward step for Sellers. But, now that Etsy is a publicly-listed tech company, it should be expected that their focus will be putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into creating an optimal user experience – for their Shareholders. Look out for many more, rushed, changes in the immediate future. (In my humble opinion). Let’s hope we can all find the time to conform.
We have three weeks to work on it. Yes, I did read the Etsy forums while writing this post and I’m aware of the criticism of the new layout.
I totally agree with everything Lisa says in her comment. Getting an email saying you have three weeks to make major changes to your site is jarring to say the least. I have a full time job, am in the midst of moving houses, and am trying to keep up with Etsy on the side and this is not helping. A bit more advance notice would have been nice! I also much preferred the sidebar layout the way it was before, where it was easy to see reviews, etc. I was working on my new header photo and layout of the store over the weekend, so this was the first time I tried the new look out, and having to scroll and click on Show More seemed to me like it would hurt business a lot more than helping it. I was getting annoyed with it and I wasn’t even trying to find anything in particular. Opening my own store separate from Etsy has been on my to do list for a couple of years now, I think this might be what finally gets me to set aside a big chunk of time and do it.
Why would Etsy even bother putting their policies front and center. They never conform to them anyway. They continue to ignore peer reports and China made resale crap is dominant. Not only do they blatantly and fraudulently entice people to sell on this site with policies they refuse to implement as long as these illegal resallers make them money but they are also being sued for fraud against the new share holders in a class action.
Its time the sellers file one also.
I personally have reported ( and kept copies of every one of the over hundred of them on file as should anyone who does reports) hundreds of sites, with links to the wholesale sites like Alibaba, Sammydress.com etc and in three years NOT ONE ITEM OR SHOP BEEN CLOSED!
Than try to find my own items with knowledge of all keywords and still cannot find half of them.
So why does Etsy care if their policies are front and center when they have no intentions of following them anyway.
I have over a quarter of a million in inventory of fine vintage clothing and was deceived by policies they have no intention of keeping. And there are pages upon pages with thousands of complaints about this going back to 2008.
I think a good law suit is way past due.
In too deep to bail now.
As for alternative sites.. Well I didn’t invest hundreds of thousands to be told that if I don’t like being lied to by this company I can go elsewhere.
And as for this new layout and implementation? Well went from over $2500 a month to less than $300 since it went into effect.
Not only that but I spend the time looking at what people who favorite an item also favorite and the amount of Chinese crop and new sites selling resale has gotten to be epidemic. Every single one I look at has cheap resale items by the tons saved.
Also when I view an item, 90 percent of the ” You might also like ” items are these resale shops. And in three years I have yet to see any one of my hundreds of items ” featured”
Thank you for that useful article, hope I can share it please. very down to earth and sensible. I am trying to make my existing banner to 1200 x 300 pixels and not having any luck. I am think I have to re do my banner /cover photo from scratch. I was not going to bother with one in the new format but seeing everyone else’s it looks good.
My guess is that trying to change the size of your existing banner will distort it. If you do want the large shop banner it’s best to start fresh. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks like Etsy has created some Canva templates for us that might make it easier.
Yes I have just had a go, trying to use my own photos, Will keep practicing till I get something how I want it.
Thank you.
Maddy
Madeline, make a banner 3360 px x 840 px and make it a png if you can (Canva can do it, go for custom dimensions), .1200×300 when stretched out will look like low resolution even if your photo is good.
What a fantastic summary of the new changes! I found this much easier to understand than the email Etsy emails. Thank you for writing such a concise and direct summery of the changes.
Sorry, I’m not buying that these changes were based on any kind of research. This is the standard Etsy BS that gets spewed to justify their bad judgement and lack of business acumen. Buyers will have to constantly click on see more to view items because and they put the feedback in with the items. How insanely stupid is that? Buyers go to a shop to view the merchandise, they know you have to click a separate link to see a seller’s feedback. Can you imagine if you went to ebay and only got to see 6 rows of gallery photos at a time and at the end of the 6 rows items reviews were posted instead of more merchandise?
You seem really angry at Etsy. Maybe it’s best to move on?
I think people are entitled to be angry when something that they were happy with and that enabled them to make contact with sellers of handmade in mutually satisfactory ways, no longer operates in any way so as to be recognisable. The wanton destruction of something that you cared about can make people angry.
It isn’t as simple as moving on. There becomes a void and people miss what they once had. Anger is often a positive emotional response. Non anger allows all manner of things to happen while people pass on by. I am glad of angry people in the world. It depends how it is directed. Moving along is often not an appropriate response. Anger is often fully justified.
Incidentally it looks like any choice will soon be out of my hands. Etsy seem to be doing their best to destroy the market place between the USA and countries in the EU with their new one size fits all policies that have sellers up in arms. I do not blame US sellers for simply pulling up the drawbridge, what real choice do they have but this? This is what many are saying they will do. Who can blame them? The demands on sellers is simply too much to expect. They will get by without us I expect but it is still a shame.
We the sellers and buyers made etsy but it has changed for the worse . To ask us to simply stand aside limply and without a voice while it gets destroyed is patronising. We have a right to care.
This blogger is just rude.
You want to praise a company who has over the past 8 yrs alienated both sellers and buyers? Why? What is your motive?
Anyone who has sold for any period of time here knows this site has gone down the toilet. In the meager three years I have been selling I have seen nothing change for the better. And the amount of changes and the loss of revenue for sellers each time is insane!
Maybe Etsy ought to put the same effort into enforcing its policies and responding appropriately to the shop reports on the ever rapidly increasing resale shops that have just bred like rabbits here instead of trying to screw up sellers.
The proof is in the pudding. I have heard nothing but seller after seller loosing views, hits and sales.
Once again, another Etsy fubar has led me from $2500 plus a month to under $300!!
Stop telling people to go elsewhere and deal with facts. The fact that Etsy refuses to support the USA sellers and has done no changes that will benefit anyone but the companies selling mass produced, child labor items.
They can post all the lies in the world on their policy page but they do not follow any of them
Profit over policy and greed over integrity is the Etsy way..
Face it.
Maybe you should move on huh? You obviously don’t know a thing about selling or buying online. I’ve been online for 20 years and I’ve not seen such horrid behavior before. Thanks for nothing, Pete
I have been in the vintage business over 35 yrs and had several very successful ventures Also graced the pages of major fashion magazines many times. I think I have a great idea how to sell. Made over $30,000 my first year on just 285 items.
I had sold on Ebay for over a decade and watched it go down the toilet also. Horrid behavior? You mean how Etsy is being sued by its share holders from the first month it went public for deception? Or the deception it continues to perpetrate on poor hard working people who are given policies that should protect a seller of the items ALLOWED ON ETSY only to invest thousands if not tens of thousands to find out that Etsy doesn’t give a crap about us legit sellers and will ignore all peer reports unless its a trade violation. Again, greed over principle and policy. Nothing but CHINA CHINA CHINA.
If you take the time like I have to report obvious mass produced items ( like a bulk of Etsy sites these days, like 20 people are hand making the same Indian Headdress or Mouse Ring or vintage style bathing suit etc etc by the hundreds of sellers and more every day. And also include by doing their jobs because they refuse too, the links to the exact items between sellers and from the wholesale China crap sites like Alibaba and Sammydress.com
Rude? I will tell you what is rude. Whats rude is lying to the investors and to the sellers. Not only rude but criminal and hoping that a class action happens sooner than later. Like Ebay, maybe they will straighten up and be forced to enforce their policies.
I am not the minority. So maybe you ought to do some research before throwing your two cents in. Just type Etsy and complaints and spend a month reading the thousands of them basically for the same reasons.
You crack me up.. Horrid behavior and go elsewhere. Spoken like a person who cannot debate or hold an intelligent conversation. Like I hurt your feelings or something?
I would love to go elsewhere. Waiting for a site that will actually enforce its policies and protect its sellers. But alas I have a quarter million investment in a site that has gone from great to trash. I went from thousands a month to one sale in May after last change and every change prior was a drop. I am lost in a sea of Chinese shit.. is that what you sell? Since anyone who is legit is screwed.
Could you give us a link to your shop?
I know there was research on Etsy’s part, because my mother was selected to try out the beginning trials of the new layout last year. She had to play around with the settings and provide feedback to the company. There were many people that were interviewed in this process.
There absolutely was. Etsy does extensive user experience trials for every new feature.
Not angry at all, only frustrated. Why would I want to move on from nine years of $25,000 in extra income I earn on Etsy? I love selling on Etsy but it’s very dispiriting to see them aimlessly messing about with seller’s shops on a yearly basis when the search function is the most antiquated of any current ecommerce platform out there. If they had proper categories, sub-categories and advanced search technology sellers wouldn’t have to worry about the influx of factory made goods and Etsy wouldn’t have to waste time on all this haphazard search manipulation they’ve become so keen on. There is enough success out there for everyone but the proper tools are a basic requirement the selling platform should be providing, that’s what we pay them for. I like to see my fellow sellers succeeding, it makes for a happy, fun marketplace customers enjoy visiting.
The search engine and ridiculous categories make it difficult to to find products.
I like the new look but I hate what Etsy is becoming. They’ve lost the confidence of the sellers but it does not seem to register with them.
Faith
Sundrip Journals
It doesn’t matter to them.. Not that it doesn’t register.
Etsy has become another Amazon or Ebay with massive amounts of child labor, mass produced Chinese crop.
Everyone knows you can get away with it as long as you make Etsy money.
I have hundreds of copies of every shop reported in the past three years ( yep, keeping copies and have been in contact with class action firms) Not only do I report items but spend sometimes five minutes and sometimes two hours, finding the items that are obviously mass produced and being resold. ( like how stupid do you have to be to not know that if you type Indian Headdress and there are 20 pages of the exact same item by 20 sellers that these are not wholesaled items? Yet even with this information and links etc not one ever removed or shop shut down)
Etsy is being sued for fraud by its new share holders as we speak. They deserve nothing less as for just Google Etsy and you can spend a month reading how they have continued to lie to the true investors, their sellers, since 2008!! And than bully them if they report or speak up.
Thankfully I have a 4 yr law degree and so far they havent banned me or illegally shut down my site.
If anyone interested in class action.. get a hold of me.
I love it! Visually it’s beautiful, modern and makes perfect use of the space. It allows us to design our shop entry point and merchandise as if it were a window display of sorts – changing the look and feel for seasons or promotions. This is a big advantage for targeting sales, in my opinion. I think it comes across as more professional and less like a glorified eBay. Thanks for this article, I learned things I hadn’t noticed yet. Going in now to work on my shop policies.
I really like the new big banner, too.
I can understand Etsy wanting to make changes – their old layout seemed out-of-step with the rest of the ecommerce world. I’m not happy with the new layout but I get it. Many sellers, including myself, are opting to go “topless” and not include any banner or large photo so that their products are front and center instead of buried.
The policies are a different story. They read like they were written by a twelve year old child and offer so few options to make a good fit to one’s store. Despite the penalty in search, I feel that I must use my own policies going forward.
Given that digital products sellers have one of the poorest fits to the new policies, I’m wondering, Abby, whether you are adopting these in your shop or not?
Hi Booth, I went ahead and set up my new shop policies. They aren’t really ideal, but this I used the form. Here is how they read as of this moment:
Additional information from whileshenaps:
Digital downloads
File delivery
Your files will be available to download once payment is confirmed.
Returns & exchanges
I gladly accept returns and exchanges
Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship returns back to me within: 30 days of delivery
I don’t accept cancellations
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
The following items can’t be returned or exchanged
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can’t accept returns for:
Custom or personalized orders
Perishable products (like food or flowers)
Digital downloads
Intimate items (for health/hygiene reasons)
Conditions of return
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
I like the simplicity of the policy but it just will not suit every shop , vintage being one. Not sure I can change mine as it may leave me open to all sorts of problems. Any others out there with vintage shops. What do you think?
sucks as usual the past three changes.. Just basically will close you down.. great for mass produced crap Etsy seems to love so much despite it being against policy.
Good luck.. don’t over invest like many of us who are not just beaten out of business by someone who is clueless and keeps screwing up a once great idea.
Thanks for the information. I did get an email from Etsy yesterday, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. I read your post more than their!
It is always hard to change how we do things. I also think many makers are Obsessive Compulsive and have a extra hard time dealing with change.
Thank you for this! People are always resistant to change. I remember the hullabaloo when people resisted having the ‘wall’ taken away in Facebook, now it would be ridiculous not having a news feed. And sometimes so rude about it too! I think the new shop layout looks nice. I hope they improve their searching next!
“Why don’t you move on” was not the most professional, confrontational answer you could have given.
I may be told the same.
I only use art sites I can trust, Etsy was one of them. What bothers me is the clear indication that fine art is not welcome on Etsy. I say this because you lump art in with collectibles. It doesn’t take a genius to know fine art should have its own category. Even the bar listing wedding, birthdays, children, etc leaves out fine art. I wonder when the next update will say that fine art isn’t an acceptable product here.
We can’t even accurately describe our hand painted work. The most popular and understood types are missing in categories. Expressionism. Impressionism. Cubism. You’ve done your best to put fine art in the back of the shop where no one can see it, in categories that don’t fit.
I agree with many of the so-called negative remarks. But I’d like to add that it seems when individuals post complaints, it’s not really heard. There’s definitely a reaction “Maybe it’s time you move on”. That response really saddens me. Your response was confrontational, not informative. Anything you said after that probably lost any validity it may have had.
We are your customers and sellers. We’re part of the Etsy family ; respect us as such.
Faith
Sundrip Journals
Faith, I don’t work for Etsy. I’m an Etsy shop owner just like you. When I opened my Etsy shop in 2005 selling online was really hard. Ten years later there are so many ecommerce options. I think choosing a different one that better serves your needs is entirely appropriate.
We’re still your Etsy family.
I opened my shop in 2007 but didn’t make a sale until 2008. For a bit my original art sold steadily but now there is nothing….nothing.
When I read that comment you made it hit as rude. I only wish you could step outside of your view point to hear how those words land and how very inappropriate and unnecessary they were. How would you have felt if someone said the same to you?
Did you expect to write an entry about forced changes without having comments against Etsy? Exactly what did you expect?
When homemade becomes cutting and combative then there’s a problem.
At this point I’m not certain it matters much. I’m beating a dead horse as I try to explain that the way people are spoken to matters.
Will you support people in their efforts to use Etsy or will you make comments that breed hostility? I hope in the future you choose peace not a quick line telling a person to get lost.
Faith
Sundrip Journals
Faith……You go girl.
I had a strong feeeling when more commerical sellers began lising on Etsy we skilled artisns would be kicked to the curb.
My selling parter and I are in our 70’s. We have a very large inventory. I ‘m worried The Salvation Army will have a feast day if Etsy continues with this impossible dream format.
Cecelia & Wilma
Please let me add one more thing. Ads
Etsy ads have taken over the site. In my own feed, half are adds.
As a low income seller, I am not able to pay you to give me an advantage over others. I can’t pay you to pass up one artists work and put my listing in its place.
The site has become one where a seller can purchase his way into search results, pushing to the back all of us who cannot afford to pay all the fees. Listing and renewal. Promotion. Selling fees. By the time fees are paid I’d make nothing on my art. This subject can’t be new to you. This also explains why I have zero sales since July and why I have so few hits on my art. It’s like it’s sitting there collecting dust. Once I realized what Etsy is doing, I understood why I couldn’t get a view on my art to save my life.
Faith
Sundrip Journals
Since you don’t work for Etsy, feel free to delete this post about Etsy ads.
You cannot nor can the majority of sellers who are actually selling per the policies.
We cannot pay when we cannot sell and we cannot sell because the Resale sites that are to be illegal on Etsy and of whom Etsy is more than aware of, are making upwards of $100,000 a year in a country where it cost $`10,000 a year to be comfortable.
They have ILLEGALLY AND FRAUDULENTLY continued to disregard peer reports on these sites as far back as 2008 and even intimidated people who reported sites by threats, harassment and shutting of shops.
There are thousands of horror stories out there on Google.
This is why all of the legit sellers sales are down. I cannot compete with China and neither can any of us. It is a scam that Etsy is well aware of and knows that it can make millions by ignoring its policies, than once again, knowingly and with malice entices poor honest sellers to spend money they are not making trying to make money they should make if Etsy would follow its legally required policies.
They are committing fraud and a class action is necessary.
They have had 8 documented years of chances by thousands of sellers and buyers alike.
They are getting away with fraud and now that they are a public company it is a Federal issue also.
If you want to attempt to get a case going feel free ANYONE to contact me I have already spoken to a couple of firms. I have a quarter of a million and every dime I have ever made into my shop all based on lies and fraud.
Pretty pissed myself.
Thank you for sharing this comprehensive list of changes that Etsy is making to the appearance of shop pages! This new design is interesting and I am excited to see what everyone thinks of it. Personally, I feel that with all of the added information to the front page of the shop it takes away from the product itself. Seeing shop policies, shop about page information and more on the front page can be distracting…. I prefer a simple clean look with a focus on the product and the ability for buyers to easily access information on policies, etc.
I’m thinking this might just be a case of needing to get used to the new look and I’m trying to keep an open mind about it. I also agree that Etsy should incorporate a newsletter signup into the shop so people can opt into marketing communications. Right now HandmadeNewsletter.com is a good substitution for that function that Etsy hasn’t taken on yet.
I feel that this new design is probably the first step in a series of changes they are making. As people use the new design and give feedback hopefully they will make some changes until it’s just right. Thanks again for this article… extremely helpful!
Hi Abby,
I’ve been very busy with big orders, and just got around to reading this. I’m wondering if you knew about the Pattern website launch, from your research and discussions on this article. It seems that Pattern and the new header available on shops, and the partnership with Canva, are both geared towards bringing in more capital for Etsy, which I totally understand. They are still losing money, and we don’t want them charging us more in order to make that up. But it makes me weary and a little distrustful of each change. I’d be interested to hear your perspective on this.
Hi Cindy, I have a post planned about Pattern for tomorrow 🙂
There is a good article about Pattern here: http://www.mycraftassistant.com/why-i-would-not-use-pattern-by-etsy/
It goes through the downsides of Pattern, I wonder if anyone thinks it’s a good idea?
Bottom line. I hate the new format. It makes me dizzy and confused. I try to “take a tour” to help me figure out how to redesign “my” shop and a “skip tour” button covers the take a tour button. Totally frustrating. I don’t like the look, the pictures are too big, and the layout is too big, so to scroll through you can’t see where you are going. Its an absolutely dreadful change. I really could go on all day. But simple enough to say what an awful change.
I have only sold one item this month. Usually I sell more than that. What’s up? Am I the only one who has lost business since the new site changes?
I’m with Barbie. My sales were not huge but were consistent – since the changes they have completely dried up. Views are down, its like my shop has died.
Also, has anyone else had a problem with the different views I’m getting. I had my shop bookmarked on my menu bar and whenever I clicked “my shop” I got the old view. I actually thought my shop hadn’t got the new look – until my partner looked at it on his laptop and we found the new look. So I’ve renewed the bookmark and get the new look – but still not when I click on My Shop, or on my profile picture, both of which show the old view. I contacted Etsy through the help pages (does anyone else also find that incredibly frustrating – there never seems to be an option that fits what I want) – but no response.
I loved Etsy and my shop brought me lots of pleasure and some sales – but now it is just sad and frustrating.
Oh not even alone.
Went from over $2500 a month to April $900 and May so far just around $300. Three years and every change my shop suffers a little more to now being out of business.
Etsy is a scam.
Period.
I’ve seen you recommend that if the Changes Etsy is making results in a poor fit for our products, we should consider other eCommerce solutions. I’m new to selling online. Do you have any in particular solutions that you recommend? I picked Etsy initially, because it seemed to have a wide audience, since I’m new to this, I don’t have a lot of followers on my personal website.
I think Etsy is a good fit if you’re new. It should be one piece of the puzzle, but it’s a good piece.
How do you view sold items in a store?
Along the left side on any Etsy shop.
Hi,
Thanks for the summary of the changes. In the new layout, I cannot see what item(s) was sold and when like I used to see with the old list view. Is this information available anymore or is it in another view?
Thanks!
Antay
Hi Antay, On the left side, toward the bottom, you can still click to see what sold. It is no longer in the list view, though, so you can’t see when it sold.
HATE, HATE, H-A-T-E the new look / layout of etsy!!!!
At first I thought it must be a new layout for mobile users –surely, it must-, as I was looking from my Kindle Fire. In which case, I could simply switch to ‘desktop view’….but nooooo, this new crap layout is everywhere -desktop and mobile! And it ABSOLUTELY BITES BOOGERS!!!
Images are larger, thus taking up more space and requiring us to scroll and scroll and scroll down the page to see more items -vs. being able to quickly see 10+ items on the screen before needing to scroll down. Other options / features of a shop are harder to find / access, as well. It all just ABSOLUTELY SUCKS in general!
All these changes result in taking more time -wasted time- to view items & get to things. Changes are supposed to make things EASIER / SIMPLER and LESS time-consuming…this is NOT the case with the new look / layout of etsy!
Another site I used to frequent did something similar with their look / layout last year…and I stopped visiting the site and buying from them because of it. I hope that won’t be the case with etsy…but I fear it might be if they don’t change things back, and soon.