Starting an Etsy Business For Dummies
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These days, you're no longer limited to conducting Etsy business online. Now, with the Sell on Etsy mobile app, you can do it in person, too — assuming that you use an Apple iOS or Android device and you live in the United States. (Etsy hopes to expand the service to more locations soon.) For example, you may use the app to handle transactions at a local art fair or farmers' market.

You can use the Sell on Etsy app to peddle items already listed in your Etsy shop in person. Etsy updates your shop inventory in real time to reflect the sale. Or you can use the app's Quick Sale feature to sell items you haven't listed. Just enter an item name and price. (After you've entered details for a Quick Sale, you can access them by selecting Sell from History. That way, you don't have to enter the same title and price over and over again until your fingers fall off.) Either way, your shop's total sales will reflect these transactions.

What's super great about the Sell on Etsy app is that you can use it in combination with an Etsy credit card reader — which you can order free from Etsy — to process Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover transactions. (Etsy charges just 2.75 percent per swipe and waives all other transaction fees.) Funds from in-person transactions will appear in your Etsy account alongside monies from online sales.

You don't have to use the Etsy card reader. You can also accept in-person payments in cash.

Before you can use the Sell on Etsy app (with or without the card reader), you need to do a few things. First, make sure your Etsy shop is set up to accept Etsy Payments. Second, make sure that you have the latest version of the Sell on Etsy app installed on your mobile device. Third, if this is your first time using the Sell on Etsy app, you need to accept the Terms of Use and enable location services. Fourth, set the app to apply the appropriate sales tax to your in-person sales. Here's how:
  1. Launch the Sell on Etsy app.
  2. Tap the More button in the lower-right corner of the app's main screen.
  3. Tap the In Person Sales option.
  4. Tap the Sales Tax option.
  5. Tap the Add Sales Tax Rate button.
  6. Tap the Name option and type a descriptive name for the tax rate (such as the state for which it applies).
  7. Type the Tax Rate option and enter the desired rate.
  8. Click Done. Etsy will apply this rate to all in-person transactions with the Sell on Etsy app.
With that done, you're ready to make in-person sales. Here's how it's done:
  1. Launch the Sell on Etsy app.
  2. Tap the Sell Now link in the upper-right corner of the app's main screen. The Sell in Person screen opens.

    etsy-in-person Source: Etsy.com

    Make an in-person sale.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Tap Quick Sale. Then type a name for the item, type a price, and tap Continue.

      etsy-quick-sale Source: Etsy.com

      Process a Quick Sale.
    • Tap Sell from Listings. The app displays your shop's active listings. Tap the one for the item you want to sell.

      etsy-existing-listing Source: Etsy.com

      Sell an existing listing via Quick Sale.
    • Tap Sell from History. If you're selling an item for which you've already entered the details in the Quick Sale screen, you can access it here.
  4. To add more items to the sale, tap Add Another Item. Then repeat Step 3.
  5. To apply a discount, tap Add Discount. Specify whether the discount should be a cash amount or a percentage, enter the discount value, and tap Apply Discount.
  6. Tap the Charge button at the bottom of the screen.

    etsy-charge Source: Etsy.com

    Process the transaction.
  7. Tap Cash or Credit.
  8. Indicate the amount of cash received or swipe the credit card using the card reader. If the buyer is paying by credit card, the app will prompt her for a signature.
  9. If the buyer wants a receipt, ask her to type in her email address in the screen that appears. That's it! You're done.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Kate Shoup is the author of numerous crafting books, including Not Your Mama's Beading, and Rubbish: Reuse Your Refuse. Kate Gatski is an artisan, an entrepreneur, an educator, a veteran Etsy seller, and a member of the Full Time Etsy Crafters Team an exclusive group for full-time or high-volume Etsy sellers.

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