{You can find my other Selling on Etsy posts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3}
When I first started researching what I would need to be an Etsy seller, I was imagining lots of expenses for silly things like bubble wrap and cardboard boxes!
Have no fear, you don’t need to spend your resources on boxes if you don’t want to.
{look at that adorable toddler in a box… how did she get in this post?!} 🙂
I want to share my favorite tips about Tools & Supplies, Shipping & Storage when selling on Etsy.
Tools & Supplies
First of all, totally get amazon prime membership if you don’t have it already. It’s a lifesaver and you get a great supply of boxes to reuse.
Have your friends and family save boxes, bubble wrap, air pockets, brown paper or newspapers for you, and you will have a free supply of shipping materials. I just print off a “recycled packaging materials” label that includes my logo and stick it on the box. Upcycling is part of being a good resource manager.
{This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details.}
Shipping
Many people have questions about shipping when they consider being an Etsy seller. The customer pays for shipping. That’s good news — but you also need to be prepared.
USPS shipping calculator is your friend. Input weight and box sizes for accurate shipping quotes. Buy your postage online. You can even schedule a package pick-up. You can ask my hubby what a blessing it was when we finally figured out that he didn’t need to traipse into our local post office each day with my shipments.
Make sure you have a reliable postage scale. I started with a cheap kitchen scale and worked up to a digital scale.
After you buy your postage online, you can easily print it with a DYMO label printer. This printer is not a necessity, but it’s a great investment. I sold on etsy for several years by printing out my postage on computer paper, then taping it on the box. But if your sales end up increasing you will want to upgrade. This label printer has been a huge time-saver. And it prints thermally, so your label’s information won’t rub off during shipment (don’t ask me how I know this the hard way!)
Storage
Storage has always been an issue for me. For several years, my etsy storage was mingled in our basement with our family storage. It was crazy! I wrote on my boxes what the contents were, so when an item sold, I had to go search for the right box. Terrible system.
I now have a bunch of space solely for my etsy boxes. But my best shipping system is not necessarily having a lot of space — it’s having an inventory list.
Next to each of my listings on etsy, in the title section, I have a letter and/or number label. That tells me where to find the box in my storage.
Each box is numbered 001-180, plus many in between like B014 (back shelf 14th box) or C003 (center storage 3rd box). Do whatever system works for you, but if you’re going to have more than a dozen items waiting to sell and ship, please develop a system! I really wish I could go back in time and enlighten myself.
Setting up a shop and adding your first listings can be tackled in a few hours. If you’ve thought about starting an etsy shop, go for it! The risk is really actually small. And you never know — it might take off better than you thought. Message me if you’d like a link for 40 free listings.
