etsy strike
Apr. 14th, 2022 07:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spacefemThere's an etsy boycott this week but I didn't participate. I kept my shop up and I'm pretending I didn't hear anything about it.
Etsy raised their transaction fee price from 5% to 6.5% and sellers are mad.
I am not. I guess this means I'm a capitalist.
Sellers said if Etsy raises prices they will find another venue, dammit! Uh, well... that's what you do then. shrug. a one week blackout isn't going to make them change their mind.
Shopify charges a monthly fee to set up shop and sell things. Etsy charges 20 cents to list something, then doesn't charge you anything else unless it actually sells, then they charge the 6.5% transaction fee and a 3% + $0.25 processing fee if the buyer pays through etsy. if they pay through paypal, then paypal charges something similarly annoying. The processing fee likely goes to credit card companies... we can't pretend we don't know how that works.
It sucks, but I'm someone who has made my own website, with my own paypal buttons, and that sucks too. In fact I did that as a job way back when I was in college, charged people hundreds of dollars for website setup. So that's the alternative! Etsy doesn't have a monopoly. We can sell through ebay, amazon, facebook marketplace... so how will they set prices?
My dad used to say "they charge that much because they can".
This is just how the world works.
If I sell a $10 thing, I used to pay $1.05 in fees, now I pay $1.20. If I'm mad about it I'll raise my price to $10.15. As a seller we have to make sure we price our items so we're making enough money to justify our efforts. We tell ourselves that all the time. But when Etsy wants to raise a transaction price, it makes the news?
Etsy raised their transaction fee price from 5% to 6.5% and sellers are mad.
I am not. I guess this means I'm a capitalist.
Sellers said if Etsy raises prices they will find another venue, dammit! Uh, well... that's what you do then. shrug. a one week blackout isn't going to make them change their mind.
Shopify charges a monthly fee to set up shop and sell things. Etsy charges 20 cents to list something, then doesn't charge you anything else unless it actually sells, then they charge the 6.5% transaction fee and a 3% + $0.25 processing fee if the buyer pays through etsy. if they pay through paypal, then paypal charges something similarly annoying. The processing fee likely goes to credit card companies... we can't pretend we don't know how that works.
It sucks, but I'm someone who has made my own website, with my own paypal buttons, and that sucks too. In fact I did that as a job way back when I was in college, charged people hundreds of dollars for website setup. So that's the alternative! Etsy doesn't have a monopoly. We can sell through ebay, amazon, facebook marketplace... so how will they set prices?
My dad used to say "they charge that much because they can".
This is just how the world works.
If I sell a $10 thing, I used to pay $1.05 in fees, now I pay $1.20. If I'm mad about it I'll raise my price to $10.15. As a seller we have to make sure we price our items so we're making enough money to justify our efforts. We tell ourselves that all the time. But when Etsy wants to raise a transaction price, it makes the news?
no subject
Date: 2022-04-15 03:12 am (UTC)Raising fees, when there are many who want to attempt to make a living on etsy, can be damaging on many levels. I'm one of those people. I have to consider my bottom line. I'm not saying it will happen, I can hope, but if I'm selling a large amount of items, and this is my full-time job, those fees add up very quickly and the fee hike can be damaging to my bottom line. Sure one can say all day to just raise prices, it's capitalism, but no one, with any knowledge of business and understanding of how the customer's mind works, should do that. I know companies have all the power to do that, but if a company keeps raising the price of their items or services, people are going to try to find a cheaper alternative, especially those of us who are struggling to make ends meet and those of us that are in debt and struggling to keep afloat. It's happened to me. Aerie used to run a special on their undies, 10 pairs for $25 ($2.50 each). It felt like a steal so I bought a few sets over time. They've now raised their prices. It's now 6 for $30 ($5.00 each) which is less affordable and the price hike pushed me to consider other options that are more affordable. In the end, Aerie lost my business. This is just an example to show the psychology behind the customer. Now I know that there are people out there who can afford a price hike. That's fine, they may still continue to shop, by example, Aerie's underwear. That said, for people who are more in a financial bind and have needs, they may start searching for cheaper alternatives. People like feeling like they're getting a good deal and people, who are in a bind, HAVE to find a better deal. It's the same with gas prices. People will pile at the place that sells for less. Hubby and I do it, my parents do it, Sally and Dan next door would do it too. If you're selling something on etsy and a paying customer sees that you've raised your prices and that exceeds their possibly small spending budget, you may lose some customer loyalty.
Now I'm not saying that buying on etsy is the same as buy gas, but there again, it depends on a customer's needs and what the shop offers. A mother, who is sick and tired of diaper prices going up, may start to consider fabric diapers, which I know people do make. They may start buying from a seller on etsy. If the seller on etsy keeps raising prices to keep up with fee hikes, a customer could get frustrated and again, you lost some loyalty. This is one of the many things a business owner has to think about. I've worked enough retail to know that customer loyalty is very heavily pushed. In the end, it's important to retain your customer base.
Sellers said if Etsy raises prices they will find another venue, dammit!
This works the other way around too. Customers think like this, as well.
I'm going to be honest, I admire the people who are willing to stand up for what they believe in, even if that means they're "going on strike". If people are bothered by fee hikes and it's hurting their bottom line and their customer base, good on them for standing up for themselves. Nothing changes if nothing changes. It's okay, too, if people can afford to take the fee hike hit, who are more so selling as a side gig and it's not their full-time job. That's perfectly fine, but not thinking of those who do this for a living, who are hurt by any kind of increase, feels a little like they were disregarded.