Last week we looked at how to fill out the first 4 sections of the template. This week we will look at setting up a shipping profile. As defined by Etsy, A shipping profile is simply a collection of shipping-related settings that you can apply to item listings in one fell swoop instead of entering them one by one. Etsy also provides the ability to create USPS and FedEx shipping labels based on the profile you select. (We will discuss creating shipping label in a future post on how to process your first order)

In the shipping profile you list the following information.

• You Zip code. Used to determine the shipping point
• Your Processing Time. This is the time it will take you to get the order ready for shipping. Since I do most of my own printing I usually set this to 1-2 weeks.  Etsy will tell you that shoppers are more likely to purchase something if the processing time is quick. NOTE: once to drop it off at the Post Office or FedEx, actual delivery time is out of your control so you should state this very clearly in your profile.
• Where you will ship. You can ship anywhere in the world you want.  I limit my shipping to just the United States as I do not want to deal with Customs and other regulations. Plus shipping cost would make it cost out of the reach of most of my customers.
• Shipping Services.  I offer USPS priority Mail as in normal times this would get the print to the customer in about 1-4 days.  However with Covid it has taken as much as 1 months to get a package across NYS, so again, make sure you state in your profile that delivery time will vary depending on the shipping method.

o   Free Shipping: Now is the time to talk about Free Shipping.  Etsy offer you the ability to offer free shipping for any item over $35.  If you think about your own experience with on-line shopping, you are more drawn to offer that offer free shipping then those that do not.  Etsy also will tell you that if you offer free shipping, you get more points in their listing algorithm. I chose to take advantage of the free shipping option, I just add the cost of shipping to my price. Normal shipping cost is around $10 for USPS Priority. I also offer one option, my 5 x 7 print that cost less than $35, just to give the customer a low cost option.  I also do not include shipping cost (materials and postage) in this price as if a customer orders just one print, they pay the $10.

o   You can also offer a free shipping option for individual profiles. This is different than the $35 free shipping limit and I when I first set up the profile, I selected this as well as offer the $35 limit and somehow it cost me more.  I contacted Etsy and they said that you can either off the $35 limit on you whole shop, or just limit it to certain item in the profile, but not both

• Handling Fee. If for some reason a person selects the low cost option and has to pay the shipping cost I add $5 to cover the cost of shipping materials.
• Profile Name. Finally you have to give this profile a name.  Now I only use 1 profile for all of my listings.  It just make it simpler.  Click save and then you can assign this profile to your listing template

So now you have all the information together to create your fist listing and a template. Start with uploading your photo, then go through each section filling in the required information. As I mentioned in my first post, pick a picture that represents most of your work, and one that you will always renew. As you upload new pictures. You will click on the gear icon in your template listing, select copy, and then create your new listing.

Next week will be the final post in this series and we will focus on how to process your first order and some final thoughts.