you’re buying or selling, exploring or researching, Etsy’s home page is your home base. It’s the page that appears when you go to www.etsy.com. You can also access Etsy’s home page from anywhere on the Etsy site by clicking the Etsy logo in the upper-left corner of each Etsy Marketplace page. (We explain why we say “Etsy Marketplace” here in a sec.) If you’ve created an account and are logged in to the site, you can also click the Home button in the upper-right area of the screen.
❯❯ A standard search box, for when you know what you’re looking for
❯❯ A set of links along the top, which you can click to browse items in various popular categories, including Clothing & Accessories and Jewelry
❯❯ Editors’ picks for top Etsy items
❯❯ Top shops that are worth a look
❯❯ Recent reviews from happy shoppers
❯❯ Access to various Etsy blogs
Source: Etsy.com
FIGURE 1-1: Etsy’s home page.
For more information about these and other home page features, check out Chapter 3.
Understanding your account and your shop
On Etsy, managing your account is easy. Etsy has grouped all the key settings and info in two easy-to-reach places: the You menu (see Figure 1-2) and the Shop Manager page (see Figure 1-3). You access the You menu and Shop Manager page by clicking the You and Shop Manager links, respectively, that appear along the top of every Etsy Marketplace page when you’re logged in to your Etsy account. (If you haven’t set up your Etsy shop yet, you may not see a Shop Manager link.) The You menu contains a series of links that provide access to all sorts of useful info – your public profile, conversations with other Etsy users, items you’ve bought, account settings, and teams you’re on. The Shop Manager page contains links to various shop-related settings and more. For help with navigating You and Shop Manager, turn to Chapter 4.
Source: Etsy.com
FIGURE 1-2: The You menu.
Source: Etsy.com
FIGURE 1-3: The Shop Manager page.
Discovering what’s for sale on Etsy
Etsy features unique items – goodies you simply can’t find anywhere else – along with supplies for crafting your own pieces. In fact, Etsy offers an incredible breadth of items for sale, from accessories to ceramics, jewelry to quilts, and everything in between.
Ensuring your safety on Etsy
❯❯ To make sure that no one accesses your account without your authorization, choose a strong password. Select one that meets all the following criteria:
• It’s at least eight characters long.
• It doesn’t contain your username or your real name.
• It doesn’t contain a complete word.
• It differs from passwords that you’ve used in the past.
• It contains a mixture of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, and spaces.
For an added layer of protection, change your password every so often – say, every 30 to 60 days.
❯❯ Be on the lookout for scams. These often involve the use of money orders or cashier’s checks, along with an offer to pay significantly more than is necessary to expedite shipping or to cover some other weird request. If you do get taken on Etsy, contact your financial institution immediately. Then report the situation to Etsy. You may also opt to alert your local law enforcement.
❯❯ Before you jump into a forum or team discussion, monitor it for a while. See whether the folks engaged in the discussion are people you really want to interact with. If a discussion goes south, simply disengage.
❯❯ Play it close to the vest. Don’t share your digits or other personal details, such as where you live or work, on Etsy’s forums or other public spaces. Oh, and if you decide to meet up with someone you’ve met on Etsy in person, pick a neutral, public place, let a friend or family member know about your plans, and be sure to bring your phone with you in case you need to call for help.
Chapter 6 covers important safety issues in more detail.
When you set up your Etsy storefront, you can personalize it in several ways:
❯❯ Uploading a cover photo and a shop icon
❯❯ Including a shop title and shop announcement to describe your shop
❯❯ Using sections to organize your
