Chapter 9

Policy Academy: Establishing Your Shop’s Policies

In This Chapter

Understanding policy basics

Setting payment-related policies

Setting shipping policies

Establishing your policy for returns and exchanges

Setting up your Shop Policies page

Rules. Who needs ’em? In a word, you. Or, to be more precise, your Etsy shop. As you set up your Etsy shop, it’s critical that you lay some ground rules for buyers. You want to establish clear store policies, especially with respect to payment, shipping, and returns and exchanges. That way, your customers know what to expect if they buy from you and they’ll feel more confident and at ease. Setting clear policies, and spelling them out on your Shop Policies page, also enables you to head off problems down the road.

Although developing your shop policies will likely be an ongoing process — and one that will probably result in a set of policies that’s as unique as the items you sell — this chapter can help you get started.

Keep in mind that although you can avert a lot of crises by establishing clear store policies, you’ll still face the occasional conflict with customers. When that happens, you need to take three actions: Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Oh, and one more thing: Communicate. For more on dealing with disagreements and other customer service issues, see Chapter 17.

Fair and Square: General Policy Tips

Before we get into policy specifics in the rest of this chapter, we want to talk in general terms about what, apart from honesty, constitutes a good policy. A good policy has two key characteristics:

It’s fair. Yes, you put policies in place to protect your business. But a good policy also protects your customers. Your shop policy needs to be one for which you would be grateful if, through some amazing breach in the space–time continuum, you were your customer.

It’s simple. Although it’s important to use your words, you don’t want to use too many of them when crafting your shop policies. Keep your policies simple, clear, and concise.

One more thing: When it comes to setting your shop's policies, you have a lot of leeway. Shops' policies are often as unique as the items they sell. That being said, you do need to adhere to Etsy's terms of use (www.etsy.com/policy/terms) and respect the site's DOs & DON'Ts (www.etsy.com/policy/dosdonts). And of course, you must comply with all local and federal laws.

Financial Matters: Establishing Payment-Related Policies

Perhaps the most important policies you need to consider relate to payment. After all, you started your Etsy shop in the hopes of pulling in a few Benjamins, right? In Chapter 8, you see how to specify what forms of payment you’ll accept, as well as your preferred currency. You’ll want to be sure to be sure to convey both to your buyers on your Shop Policies page. As you craft your payment-related shop policies, you’ll also want to cover sales tax.

If, after checking the local laws in your area and consulting a smarty-pants accountant, you’ve determined that you must collect sales tax, you can easily do so. In fact, with Etsy’s tax calculator, you can collect sales tax during the checkout process. When you do, Etsy automatically assesses a sales tax for buyers in the region that you specify. (Not sure whether you need to collect sales tax? See Chapter 18 for more info.)

Before you can set up Etsy’s tax calculator, you’ll need to have finalized the setup of your shop — which means you’ll have to have added at least one item listing. (You find out how to add item listings in Chapter 13.) After you’ve done that, you’ll want to flip back to this section to get the skinny on getting set up to collect sales tax.

Follow these steps:

1. Click the Your Shop link along the top of any Etsy page.

2. Click the Shipping & Payment link, under Shop Settings, on the left side of the page.

The Shipping & Payment page opens.

3. Click the Sales Tax tab.

The Sales Tax Settings page opens (see Figure 9-1).

4. If you live in the United States, click the State drop-down list and choose your state.

If you live in Canada, choose a province from the drop-down list in the Canada section. If you live in another country, select it from the drop-down list under Other Countries.

5. Click the Add Tax Rate button.

6. Enter the appropriate tax rate in the Tax Rate box.

7. If the laws in your area require you to charge sales tax on shipping fees, select the Apply Rate to Shipping check box.

Figure 9-1: Set up the Etsy tax calculator to automatically collect taxes.

8. If local laws require you to assess a sales tax on buyers from specific zip codes, click the Zip Code Range or Zip Codes tab, enter the applicable zip code range or zip code, and repeat steps 5 and 6.

9. Click the Save button.

Etsy saves your settings.

You find out more about collecting sales tax in Chapter 18.

Ship Shape: Establishing Your Shipping Policies

Unless you enjoy keeping customers in the dark about how and when they can expect to receive their items, you’ll want to outline a clear policy with respect to shipping.

As you develop your shipping policy, consider these areas:

What shipping carrier you’ll use: Do you plan to ship via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)? FedEx? UPS? DHL? Pony Express? Delivery owl? (For help in choosing a shipping provider and making other shipping-related decisions, see Chapter 15.)

Which delivery option you’ll select from your shipping carrier: Say that you’ve opted to ship via USPS. Will you choose First Class? Priority Mail? Media Mail?

  Whether you’ll include delivery confirmation or insurance: Smart money has you providing both — especially for higher-priced items. That way, if a package gets lost en route, you’re covered.

Whether you’re willing to ship internationally: If you are, decide whether you or the buyer will be responsible for any Customs fees incurred.

How you’ll handle combined shipping: Many sellers discount shipping when buyers purchase multiple items from their Etsy shop at once. Although you’re certainly not obligated to do so, adopting this practice can be a good way to increase sales.

How quickly you’ll ship the item: Some sellers promise to ship items within one business day. Other sellers need a little more time. Be sure to let your buyers know what they can expect from you in this regard.

If you make custom items, you want to account for the time it takes to make the item when estimating how quickly you’ll ship it.

Your willingness to upgrade: Sometimes buyers need their items quickly. To accommodate those buyers, consider offering expedited shipping — for example, overnighting the item.

How you’ll package items you ship: Will you send your piece in a padded envelope or a box? Do you recycle packaging materials? Is gift wrapping available?

After you decide on your basic policies, you can add them to your shop’s Shop Policies page, as we describe later in this chapter.

Return to Sender: Handling Returns and Exchanges

Obviously, you want all your customers to love your items. But — no disrespect — sometimes they won’t. (What? We said “no disrespect”!) When that happens, you need to refer buyers to your policy on returns and exchanges.

Your policy for returns and exchanges needs to cover the following:

Whether you accept returns or exchanges: Some sellers do; other sellers don’t. Be sure to spell out your policy on both regularly listed items and custom pieces.

Some items just aren’t conducive to being returned — think panties, swimsuits, bath and beauty products, personalized items, and the like.

Under what circumstances returns or exchanges are permitted: Some sellers accept returns or exchanges for any reason, the theory being that they want their customers to be happy, no matter what. Other sellers allow returns or exchanges only in certain circumstances — for example, if the item doesn’t fit correctly or if it was damaged en route.

How long customers have to return or exchange an item: If you do allow returns and exchanges, you want to lay down the law on how long customers have to contact you with their concerns and send their item back to you — for example, 1 week, 2 weeks, or 30 days.

Who pays to ship the item back to you: Do you cover shipping costs, or does the buyer?

After you select your return and exchange policies, it’s time to add them to your Shop Policies page, as we describe in the next section.

Policy Wonk: Setting Up Your Shop Policies Page

With your policies established, all that’s left is to share them with your buyers. Fortunately, your Etsy shop includes a special Shop Policies page, where you can do just that. In the following sections, we list the page’s sections and explain how to populate the page with your shop’s specific information.

Your Shop Policies page doesn’t have to be all business. Although it includes information of a serious nature, there’s nothing to stop you from letting your quirky personality creep in.

It’s a good idea to read other shops’ policies. You’re almost certain to run across great policies that you never thought of implementing. To view a shop’s Shop Policies page, go to the shop’s main page and then click the Policies link on the left side of the screen, under Shop Info.

Introductory offer: Introducing the sections

The Etsy Shop Policies page includes the following sections (see Figure 9-2).

Welcome

The Welcome area is a great place to, well, welcome customers to your shop. You can also talk a bit about your shop, the pieces you sell, and your overarching philosophy as an artist or craftsperson. Here’s an example of a solid Welcome statement:

Welcome to LadyBird Stitchery! Thank you so much for visiting. Our cross-stitch kits include only the highest-quality fabrics and threads. Alternatively, you can opt for a downloadable pattern! We hope you find something here to love. Please check back often, as we regularly add new kits and patterns!

This section is also a great place to reiterate important announcements — for example, if you’re away on vacation for a week and you won’t be shipping items during that time.

Figure 9-2: An Etsy shop’s Shop Policies page.

Payment

This area is where you spell out any policies that relate to payment: forms of payment you accept, whether (and for whom) you charge sales tax, your preferred currency (assuming that it’s not the default, U.S. dollars), how long buyers using methods of payment other than PayPal have to pay for their goodies, and so on. Check out this example of a strong Payment statement:

LadyBird Stitchery accepts payment via Direct Checkout and personal check. Beagle puppies are also an acceptable form of compensation. (Kidding!) If you opt to pay by personal check, please send your payment within 48 hours of placing an order; otherwise, we’ll have to cancel your order and relist your item. (If you need a little more time, just let us know. We’re nice people! Really!) Indiana buyers are subject to a 7 percent sales tax. (Sorry, neighbor!)

Shipping

Indicate your shipping policies here — how you ship items (and how quickly), whether you ship internationally, whether buyers can upgrade shipping to expedite delivery, how items are packaged, and so on. Here’s an example of a thorough Shipping statement:

LadyBird Stitchery is happy to ship anywhere in the world! All items are carefully packaged using recycled materials (gift wrapping is available upon request) and shipped within one to two business days after payment is received. Domestic packages are shipped via USPS Priority Mail, while international parcels are sent using USPS Priority Mail International. (International customers: Please allow one to three weeks for delivery — or longer during holiday periods. Also, please note that buyers are responsible for any Customs fees, taxes, tariffs, or other duties incurred.) Delivery tracking and insurance are included. Oh, one more thing: You pay shipping for only one item per order. All others ship free of charge!

Refunds and Exchanges

Here’s where you say whether you accept returns or exchanges, and under what circumstances. You can also indicate how long customers have to contact you about an item they want to return or exchange, and who pays to ship the item back to you. Here’s an example of a good Refunds and Exchanges statement:

If you’re not happy, we’re not happy! We want you to love your purchase. If you don’t, please contact us within seven days of receipt to return the item (provided that the item is in its original package, in the same condition as when it was sent to you) or exchange it. Please note that you are responsible for shipping charges.

Additional Policies and FAQs

You guessed it: This area is where you include any additional information that you want to share about you, your shop, or your products. For example, you can use this space to indicate that you welcome wholesale inquiries or accept custom orders. You can also include a copyright statement to scare off design poachers, as well as provide your contact information. Here’s an example:

Interested in ordering wholesale? Convo us. Ditto if you’d like to place a custom order.

All artwork, reproductions, and images on ladybirdstitchery.etsy.com are copyrighted © by Allison Strine. All rights reserved.

You might also use this space as an FAQ of sorts, so you don’t have to respond over and over again to the same question from potential buyers. Finally, this is a great place to include care instructions, sizing information for wearables, and/or other details pertaining to personalization.

Population control: Populating the page

To populate your Etsy Shop Policies page, follow these steps:

1. Click the Your Shop link along the top of any Etsy page.

The Shop Name page opens.

2. Click the Add Shop Policies link on the left side of the page.

The Shop Policies page opens (see Figure 9-3).

Note: If your shop is already open (that is, you’ve created your first listing), you can access this page by clicking the Your Shop link, clicking the Info & Appearance link on the left side of the page, and clicking the Policies tab.

3. In the Welcome Message text box, type a welcome message for your customers, share your philosophy, and enter any other bits you want to share.

4. In the Payment Policy text box, indicate which payment methods you accept, along with your payment terms, deadline requirements, tax policy, cancellation policy, and the like.

5. In the Shipping Policy text box, enter what shipping method you use, whether you’re willing to upgrade shipping, whether you ship internationally, and so on.

6. In the Refund Policy text box, indicate whether you issue refunds and under what circumstances.

7. In the Additional Info text box, add any other policies you’ve established.

8. Do you live in the European Union? Or are you specifically targeting customers in that region? If so, then you should fill in the Seller Information field to include your name, the physical address from which you run your shop, an e-mail address that buyers can use to contact you, and, where applicable, your tax ID number.

Click the FAQ link under the Seller Information box for more information on this subject.

Figure 9-3: Spell out your shop policies.

9. Click the Save button.

Etsy saves the changes you made to your Shop Policies page.

Be sure to proofread your policies before you post them in your Etsy shop. You don’t want any grammatical errors or misspellings making you look like an idiot! That being said, you can always go back and edit your shop policies, as well as many other store settings. (For more on that, see Chapter 18.)