With Etsy being one of the fastest-growing online marketplaces, artists, craftsmen, and vintage sellers alike can no longer stay out of the Etsy game. Nevertheless, handling Etsy shipping may be a daunting task for many beginners!
Worry no more since Litcommerce’s got your back! In this article, we’ll be walking you through
- How does Etsy shipping work?
- Detailed steps on how to ship with Etsy
- How to deal with Etsy global shipping?
- Tips for shipping on Etsy
Let’s get down to it!
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How Does Etsy Shipping Work?
Etsy – one of the top online marketplaces – emphasizes six terms and agreements in its policy for shipping on Etsy that includes the following:
- Delivering your items
- Using Etsy shipping labels
- Return postage labels
- Delivery Insurance
- Fees
- APIs
It’s important to keep in mind that you are completely responsible for the delivery of your orders, whether you deliver the orders on your own or use a third party. Therefore, it’s best to go through Etsy shipping policy before working on your shipping strategy.
When developing your shipping strategy, you should go over all the available options for your shipping logistics. There are tons of choices when it comes to carriers, pricing, and pickup, drop-off, or delivery preferences.
A few things to note upon creating an Etsy shipping strategy include:
- Go for the shipping delivery option with a timeline that works well for you, your items, and your customers.
- Prepare a workflow with easily-met expectations even in high volume periods to ensure realistic processing times for your orders.
- Set aside a regular amount of time for fulfilling orders, managing to ship, and updating customers.
- Stock shipping materials such as packaging, boxes, or envelopes.
- Prioritize the use of sustainable shipping supplies with eco-friendly packaging.
- Set up a shipping profile.
- Create a shipping policy.
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How to Ship with Etsy?
Without further ado, let’s get down to how to do shipping on Etsy! The setting up process involves creating an Etsy shipping profile and shipping policies.
1 – Start with the Etsy shipping profile
Creating Etsy shipping profiles means setting pre-assigned shipping options for your product listings. Under each Etsy shipping profile, you will find blanks for filling in shipping details such as:
- Shipping prices;
- Country of origin;
- Origin zip code;
- Processing time;
- Where I’ll ship;
- Shipping services;
- Free shipping;
- Handing fee;
- Profile name (the shipping option that is visible for customers when making a purchase).
Etsy shipping profiles allow you to process shipping for orders in a much faster manner. You don’t have to enter the same information over and over again when shipping out each of your items.
This also does wonder if you need to bulk edit your listings’ shipping details.
Here’s how to ship items on Etsy using Etsy shipping profiles
- On Etsy.com, navigate to Shop Manager.
- Click Shop Manager > Settings.
- Under Settings, click Shipping settings > Shipping profiles.
- Click Add a shipping profile.
- Fill in all the required information as instructed.
There are a few things to be mindful of when setting up your shipping profiles on Etsy.
- Calculated shipping. This is a feature for sellers to pre-calculate the cost for shipping before setting up their Etsy shipping profiles and later for optimizing their profit margin. Etsy factors in your item location, the order destination, and your product’s size and weight to come up with the final shipping cost. Nevertheless, this calculator is currently available to only US and Canada-based sellers using USPS, Global Postal Shipping, and Canada Post.
- Processing time. For an accurate estimation of the shipping cost, you have to provide a correct processing time. This refers to the amount of time you need to prepare an order from the time receiving it. If your order is made-to-order, calculating the estimated processing time may be tricky.
- Flat rate shipping (US and Canadian sellers only). Another shipping option for US and Canada-based sellers is to use USPS’s flat-rate packaging boxes. The carrier supplies sellers with 3 sizes of packaging boxes that come with 3 flat shipping rates, regardless of the item’s weight. This is a considerable shipping benefit for sellers with heavy items.
- Etsy shipping labels. Etsy shipping labels are available for the following postal services: USPS, FedEx, Global Postal, Canada Post, Royal Mail, Australia Post, and Yakit. An Etsy shipping label allows you to print it out on your own and track the shipping process easily.
- Shipping upgrade offerings. It’s highly recommended that you offer premium shipping options for your customers to gain competitive advantages. For this, your items must be ready to deliver. You must also be able to package and ship them out on the same day.
2 – Set up an Etsy shipping policy
Another thing to check off the list is to set up your Etsy shipping policy. In the shipping section, you should be transparent about the shipping time. You can also use the FAQ section to address common issues your customer may have with the shipping process.
With clear shipping guidelines, your customers will have a better idea of how they will receive their items. They will be less frustrated by problems that are already addressed in your shipping policies.
This is highly effective, especially for occasions like the holiday season. When holidays approach, you may need to adjust the expected shipping time to deal with the significant number of coming orders.
After all, shipping policies are just another form of communication with customers that helps you deal with customers’ expectations. The better you communicate with your customers, the more likely they will come back for other purchases.
3 – How to Deal with Etsy Global Shipping
For Etsy sellers and beginners alike, Etsy global shipping seems to be a bit more complex. Let’s untangle how to ship internationally on Etsy!
If you are a US and Canada-based seller, you can easily estimate the cost of shipping international orders as mentioned above. Otherwise, you can follow the steps below to set the Etsy shipping price for your shipping profile.
- Click Shop Manager and choose Listings > Select the listing you want to make available for international shipping and choose Edit.
- From the dropdown menu of the Shipping Area section, click Shipping Origin to select the product’s departing location.
- Click on Add Location and select the destination you want to ship to. Then you enter the shipping cost for each location under the Shipping cost field.
This can demand much labor to set up international shipping for every listing you have. Often, Etsy sellers (especially those residing outside the US and Canada) may go for a third-party shipping partner to handle international shipping. These service providers allow you to integrate with Etsy to get easy shipping options.
Another thing to consider when deciding to ship internationally is the VAT. Many European countries charge custom VAT to non-EU shipments. Since 2021, Etsy has started to collect VAT on physical orders of under €150 shipped to the EU from non-EU countries. It is quite a high rate considering this over 15% standard rate. As a consequence, it might not be a good idea to scale your market to the EU when you are a non-EU seller.
Regularly, international shipping has to deal with more issues such as delays, custom taxes, etc. Therefore, it’s best to ship all international orders with a tracking number and protective shipping materials.
Our Tips for Shipping on Etsy
Let’s continue with discovering a few tips on how to do shipping on Etsy effectively and economically!
Read more: How Much Does It Cost to Start an Etsy Shop?
1 – Take advantage of flat shipping rates
For sellers with heavy orders, it’s best to use flat shipping boxes from USPS to cut down the shipping cost. These shipping boxes are free to order from USPS and will standardize the cost of sending packages based on box sizes. USPS provides sellers with 3 box sizes Small, Medium, and Large. The carrier also offers envelopes as an option for this flat-rate program.
2 – Adopt media mail for media items
If you are selling items like books, recordings, scripts, music CDs, or anything that works under the term “media”, you can use USPS Media Mail for a lower-priced option. This is another way to cut down the expensive cost of shipping.
3 – Leverage order packaging
The last tip on Etsy international shipping is to create a branding impact and stand out via order packaging. You can include branding decorations on the packaging or any text that presents your brand spirit. This helps with building a brand identity in the customers’ minds.
It’s also highly recommended that you use eco-friendly materials for your package. This is because environmental matters are also of personal liking for many customers. It will create a better impression as a brand caring about environmental issues and plastic waste.
How to Ship with Etsy – FAQs
- How do beginners ship on Etsy?
- Create a shipping profile in your shop setting dashboard. Fill in the information in fields such as zip code, processing time, and package destination.
- Update your listings to include the size and weight of each item.
- Edit the shipping options with the listings that need calculated shipping.
- What is the best way to ship on Etsy?
The best way to ship on Etsy is to adopt the Small Flat Rate Box and Padded Flat Rate Envelopes. This works wonders for items that are heavily weighed yet can fit into flat-rate boxes and padded envelopes.
- Does Etsy pay for shipping for sellers?
You take the entire responsibility of packaging and shipping your order. Most of the time, buyers will pay for the shipping costs and you can add up the cost in the item price.
Conclusion
Figuring out how to ship on Etsy may seem complex, especially for sellers just starting up on the platform. Nevertheless, once you get there, the shipping process will be automated for every order later on!
As you scale, Litcommerce will help you manage the shipping process and stock levels effectively with our all-in-one management solution. If you are interested in finding out how we can help, just drop us a message! You can also join our community to receive more tips and updates on eCommerce topics and other best selling platforms.
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