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| My new Etsy Reader on my old work board... |
The problem with selling both in person and online, especially with one of a kind items like mine, is that you need to ensure you don't sell something in person, then find out that you have sold it online.
Etsy have a "Sell on Etsy" App, that has gradually added features over the years, that now allows you to manage your listings and deactivate listings from your event which is helpful, but, it's frustrating sometimes to pay for your listing fee, but then have to deactivate it if you sell it in person and not get the benefit of that sale counting towards your statistics.
The Etsy Reader is the perfect compliment to an online Etsy store.
In combination with the Sell on Etsy App, it allows you to -
- Sell your listings in person.
- Create 'quick' listings on the fly for items you haven't listed.
- Add pictures to these 'quick' listings if you want to, or not.
- Sell a combination of 'quick' and already listed items.
Selling through multiple outlets can also be confusing for record keeping. Managing Square statements, in-person cash sales and online Etsy sales makes for more pieces of paper than I personally like, and I know my hubby doesn't, since I have a tendency to file in 'piles'...
The Etsy Reader is the answer to this!
It's orange, with the Etsy logo and has a slightly rubberized feel to it. It connects into the headphone jack of your phone like other card readers.
To use the Etsy Reader, you must have the "Sell on Etsy" App installed on your device (it works with both Apple and Android devices and with tablets and phones).
I wish I were tech-savvy enough to actually do screenshots, but, for some reason, my shonky Galaxy S2 won't co-operate. The page describing the reader does have screenshots of how the App works.
My main point in writing this, was to actually review how the Etsy Reader works in practice and its benefits / drawbacks.
Benefits
- You can receive credit card and cash payments.
- You can add a sales tax profile and it will automatically calculate and add this amount to your sale, for both cash and card payments.
- Quick sales are not subject to the Etsy listing fee of 20c.
- Cash sales incur no payment processing fees.
- All sales count towards your Etsy sales statistics.
- Much easier to manage your Etsy-listed items and unlisted items at a craft fair
- You can keep all your paperwork in one place - ie an Etsy monthly statement.
- You can have a cohesive feel to your shop - ie, Etsy in person and Etsy online.
- You can send email receipts
- Buyers can leave reviews for Etsy listings sold in person (not quick sale items) if they are on Etsy.
Drawbacks
- It's a little time consuming to have to type in the quick sale description. They need to add the ability to create quick listings that you can store and simply click on.
- You have to wait for Etsy to transfer money to your bank account, whereas Paypal transfers instantly to a Paypal account and many sellers use their Paypal account with a debit card in lieu of a bank account.
- Higher fees for a manually entered transaction. This is pretty standard (as the card doesn't have to be present and therefore it's a higher security risk), but a little unfair if you have the card with you and the swipe function isn't working (whether it be the reader or the card stripe itself at fault).
- Some sellers feel that the recent changes that Etsy has made to search and its business practices are not helping sellers and the Etsy reader is designed as a money-making option for them and less of a help to sellers.
Overall I love the new reader. To me, I would be paying the fees anyway (they're pretty universal) and I don't operate my business on a shoestring enough that a couple of days before the money transfers to me matters all that much.
I love having my paperwork in one place and I love that I don't need to put my store in vacation mode ahead of a big show because it's too hard to manage the Etsy-listed items as well as those that aren't listed. I can simply sell them there and then.
I also like the ability to have the equivalent of a cash register that records all sales and I love that I can increase my Etsy sales statistics at no cost to me for cash sales in-person.
The reader seems durable and I haven't had any problems with it at two shows over the past 2 weeks.
In short - it's a winner for any Etsy seller!
I agree completely, and really liked it this week. If etsy would add a de it card, PayPal would be obsolete for me!
ReplyDeleteSo are you paying double if you use this cause the swipe fee and 3.5 fee plus 20¢???
ReplyDeleteNo - in person sales you only pay the 2.75% like you would with Square. No 20c fee either unless you have already paid it to list in the Etsy Marketplace.For cash sales of quick list items there is no fee.
DeleteI absolutely love it! I too was tired of having to put my shop on vacation then edit my listings when I got home. Thank you Etsy!
ReplyDeleteI agree Julie, I love mine and it's been a great alternative to putting the shop on vacation. All my items are one-offs, so if I sold something twice, it would be a big problem!
DeleteI loved it when I used it for the first time this past weekend. My only complaint, when searching for an item in my shop, it seemed to take to long. I would scroll and scroll and sometimes could not find it. I didn't want the customer standing there to long waiting for me, so sometimes, I just did it as a quick sale and then went in and deactivated the item when I had the time. Maybe I just need more practice. :)
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing during busy times, although the filter option is really cool - give that a try :) I was able to find things much quicker.
DeleteSame here. It's fine if you have 2-3 pages of listings, but I've got over 500 listings -- I would have been scrolling forever! I would love several "preset" quick sale items like 5x7, 8x10, 11x14 that I could simply add a title to.
DeleteAgree Elizabeth. Preset quick sale items would be a great bonus!
DeleteThanks for the review, you've answered some of my questions .
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! Glad you found it helpful!
DeleteThanks for that info. A question? Does it work for one if one doesn't have a mobile phone, tablet etc. I'm mobile 'phone phobic, except when travelling to let family know where I am! and only use a laptop. Have expressed an interest as and when it gets rolled out in the UK, but there's no point in my going any further if laptops only are barred
ReplyDeleteRight now it needs the Sell on Etsy App and you would need a wireless or other data connection to use it. If they do an App that would work on a laptop. What about a tablet? It would definitely work on that?
DeleteAm I missing something? If you sell a $100 items at a craft show (which you probably had to pay a fee for) and you sell it thru Etsy, you are paying $6.70 in fees ($.20 listing, Etsy sales fee 3.5% and Direct Checkout fee 3%) if you use Paypal, you pay $3.40 if you have already listed it on Etsy, $3.20 if not ($.30 per transaction + 2.9%) I don't mind paykng Etsy for a sale I made thru them but why would you pay double the fees for a sale that you DIDN'T make thru them? You already paid for the right to sell to the show. As for convenience, if you are running cards, you already have internet. Open the Etsy Seller's App and just delete.
ReplyDeleteNo, that's not true. If you sell a listing at a craft show, you have already paid 20c to list it, but then it also was available on Etsy. You will only pay 2.75% if you use a card, you will pay zero if you take a cash payment. The 20c only applies if you list something in the etsy marketplace. If you create a quick listing you don't pay the 20c because the item was never available on etsy to purchase. You only pay the card fee (2.75%) for these sales, or again, zero for a cash sale. So, no, you don't pay double.
DeleteReally wishing we had the ability to break down total Show sales (using specific dates) from Shop sales . I had to go through and tally them all by hand -- it took forever. Big downside, I may go back to Paypal or Square until they add that feature.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a really good feature, especially for people who have a very busy Etsy store. I tend to find I am much busier in person so it's only a couple of sales to pick out and subtract, but certainly more of a breakdown of sales would be helpful. I also wish it would break down cash vs credit card etc sales too...
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