Storque articles: ETSY NEWS

Tech Update: Dolls and Miniatures Category Coming Soon!

2008-10-06T18:41:00Z

UPDATE: Sellers, please start adding your items to the new category at 6pm ET! For your reference, we have made a PDF with all the sub-categories and sub-sub-categories. You can download the PDF file here.

[the following was originally posted on 9/30/08]
We're happy to announce that on Monday, October 6, 2008, at 6:00 PM (Eastern U.S. time), we'll be adding a new top-level category called Dolls and Miniatures. Etsy sellers who create these items have long wanted a top-level category for their goods. In general, determining when a new top-level category is needed requires research and thought. We considered whether the items can/cannot fit well into an existing category, whether there will be overlap with another category, how broad (or narrow) the market may be for the items, among other issues. This all took time, and we appreciate your patience while we examined all the angles.

The insightful feedback provided by the Etsy community also helped inform our decisions. An Etsy seller suggested the name "Dolls and Miniatures", and many Etsy sellers helped to develop the subcategories for this new category. Types of items in the category will include: art dolls, plush, amigurumi, doll clothing and accessories, dollhouses and dollhouse miniatures.

For Sellers: Adding Your Items to the Dolls and Miniatures Category

If you've been listing your dolls, miniatures or similar items in the Toys category, you may choose to list in Dolls and Miniatures or Toys, depending on which category best suits your target market. Many items may be appropriate for both adults and children. If this is the case for your items, please pick the category in which you feel your items fit best, or you may opt to list some items in each of these categories.

After 6:00 PM EST on Monday, October 6, you will be able to add your items to the new category, subcategories, and sub-subcategories. To switch an existing listing to the new Dolls and Miniatures category, follow these steps:

When logged in to your account, go to Your Etsy, and click "edit" next to an item.
Click "edit" next to the tags at the bottom of the preview page. You'll go to Page 2 of the listing/editing process.
Choose Dolls and Miniatures from the drop-down menu.
Take a look at the related tags that appear. Click any tags that accurately describe your item; this adds your item to those subcategories. If you already have the maximum 14 tags (including the category) in this listing, you may want to delete some of your tags so that you can add the appropriate related tags to place your item correctly in the subcategories and sub-subcategories for Dolls and Miniatures. TIP: You can browse in the Dolls and Miniatures category to check out the subcategories and sub-subcategories that are best for your item.
When you're done editing your tags, click "Last" at the bottom of the page, and you'll go to Page 5 of the listing/editing process. Click "Finish" and the item will appear in the category shortly.*

As the new category will be empty when it is first created, we hope that everyone who is able will begin adding items the evening of Monday, October 6, so that we can fill up the Dolls and Miniatures category as quickly as possible!

As with all the other top-level categories on Etsy, we will be creating a Category Showcase for Dolls and Miniatures. The Dolls and Miniatures Category Showcase will launch at a later date (not on October 6). Keep an eye on The Storque for more information about how and when you can purchase a spot.

Thank you so much to the many sellers who helped develop the ideas for this category. We appreciate your interest and patience. If you would like to learn more about how to suggest a new category or subcategory, please read Seller How-to: Making Category Suggestions.

We've closed commenting on this post so that we can follow your discussion on the forums. Please visit us in the forums to help us flesh out the ideas for subcategories and sub-subcategories for the Dolls and Miniatures category!

* As noted at the top of the page in the final step of listing/editing an item, it can take up to 24 hours for an item to appear in categories and subcategories.

ps
If you want to get the breaking, vital Etsy news as it happens — delivered straight to your email inbox, then sign up for Etsy News Alerts emails. Read more about it here. Expect this as an Etsy Alert email in your inbox if you already subscribe to the list.

You can also get an RSS feed of all TechUpdates here.

Tech Update: Holiday Gift Guides Launch!

2008-10-06T15:11:00Z

The holiday shopping season is upon us, and with that in mind we've added a brand spankin' new Holiday section to the Gift Guides. Do the right thing and support indie artists this holiday season!

The Holiday section of the Gift Guides will include the following exciting categories to shop from:

Entertaining and Decor: The perfect hostess gifts and all the final touches you'll need to achieve the holiday look you crave.
Gifting: Gift wrap, tags, embellishments, cards, and all of the perfect touches to make your gifts stand out from the crowd this season.
Stocking Stuffers: All the little things that count the most.

Stay tuned! We will be adding new themed Guides to the Holiday section in the coming weeks in preparation for the full holiday shopping rush! We hope you'll take a peek, and stop back by often because the Guides will be updated daily. Get em while they're hot!

Gift Ideas from the Storque | Gift Guides

Etsy Alert: Scheduled Storque Maintenance

2008-10-05T21:00:00Z

On October 7, 2008, Tuesday morning at 1:00am ET, the Storque database will be going down for five minutes of necessary maintenance. This should be just enough time for you to make a cup of tea (or for those of you in Australia, have an afternoon beer), listen to a favorite song, or read a short magazine article.

While this downtime is brief and many of you will likely not notice, we take any kind of downtime seriously and wanted to let you know in advance. We will be posting updates on fix.etsy.com.

Get the latest news about the site from the TechUpdates featured column.

Etsy Cooperative Advertising Program: Venus Zine Winter Issue

2008-09-29T13:52:00Z

Next up in the Etsy Cooperative Advertising Program: Venus Zine!

In case you're not familiar with this program, here are the important details:

Etsy will purchase ad space in various magazines, cover half of the cost, and design the ads.
Etsy Sellers are able to purchase spots in the ad at the discounted rate.
You will get to display your shop name, an image of one item, its price, and its category.
The limit is one spot per seller, per advertisement.

This ad will be in the Winter issue of Venus Zine.

30 spots will be available to sellers at a price of $25 each.
Spots will go on sale on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 1:00pm (Eastern Time).
Spots are purchased in the same manner as a Showcase.
If you successfully buy a cooperative ad spot through Showcase, your item photo and information must be sent to adam@etsy.com no later than 3:00pm (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

About Venus Zine

Circulation is 60,000.
Venus Zine is published 4 times annually. Each issue is on sale for 3 months.
The theme of the Winter issue is "Sixth Annual Hottt List" and it hits newsstands on December 1, 2008.

"Venus Zine is the only magazine covering the intersection of young women in independent music, fashion, film, and art, side by side with emerging DIY culture and entrepreneurship. The combination of today’s indie culture and the modern, independent young women behind the movement makes for tomorrow’s trend.

Venus Zine is more than a publication. It’s a community of thought leaders who distinguish themselves as both fans and creators in this groundbreaking culture. These readers drive other young women into new aspirations, products, and services. Venus Zine is in constant dialog with these leaders — reaching them at events, online, in print, and on the phone."

A few facts about Venus Zine readers:

84% are women.
95% access the internet daily.
82% shop on the internet.
70% buy clothes/accessories at least once a month.
77% visited in person; visited a website or called a company that advertised in the magazine.
79% showed someone an article or ad that appeared in Venus Zine.

Upcoming Ads:

This is the last Cooperative Ad opportunity for titles that come out in 2008. We'll be reviewing the program and making some improvements for 2009, so stay tuned!

FAQ

1. What is the Cooperative Advertising Program?

By purchasing a spot in a Cooperative Advertising Program, Etsy sellers can show off their items in an Etsy-branded magazine advertisement, reach new buyers, and help boost their sales and shop awareness. Print ads in popular magazines are often priced out of reach of small entrepreneurs. Etsy is able to purchase larger ads for more impact, and let sellers buy into the ads.

2. How does it work?

Etsy reduces costs to sellers by subsidizing the ads. We pay half of the cost. The cost to you is the remaining amount, divided by the number of spots for sale.
Sellers get to display one image of an item from their shop, its price, its main category and their shop name. The appearance of the ad is similar to our homepage. See the original article for an example.

3. How do I purchase a spot?

1: Go to the Showcase Gateway.
2: Choose "Cooperative Ads - Venus Zine Showcase." There will only be one date to choose from.
3: Hit the "Purchase" button. The fee will be added to your normal Etsy bill.

*Note: The items that appear in the Showcase section of "Your Etsy" will not affect this purchase. The item photo that you send in via email to adam@etsy.com will be what appears in the ad. There is not an online Showcase associated with this purchase!

4. What do I do next?

You'll receive a conversation from Adam with details, and we will need the following from you:

Your shop name.
The price of the item.
The main category that the item is listed under.
A high-resolution photograph of your item (300 dpi).

If you need help with photo issues, please ask, and Adam will send you detailed instructions. If you already have a photo that you like, great! If not, check out some of our photography tips.

We will need your image by 3:00pm (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 to give us time to lay out the ad and meet our deadline.

5. How many spots can I reserve?

You can purchase one spot per advertisement.

6. Can I cancel a spot after I've made a reservation? Is the fee refunded?

We will only cancel and refund spots under very special circumstances. Deciding you are no longer interested in your spot does not count. If you feel like you really have a valid case please email adam@etsy.com.

7. How do I know if the current Cooperative Ad is right for me?

Do some research! We'll provide helpful info for each ad as it becomes available (see above). And, it may be helpful to visit your local bookstore or newsstand to see if they carry the magazine. Remember, there will be more of these Cooperative Advertising opportunities available in the future — stay tuned for the 2009 plan. If you don't feel like this magazine is perfect for you, there will be other opportunities...

Etsy Cooperative Advertising Program: Bust Magazine December/January Issue

2008-09-25T19:36:00Z

UPDATE: We're so sorry but the Showcase tool had an error today, and consequently we will be selling the spots for this ad on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:00pm Eastern time. So for all of you who clued us in that something was wrong, thank you. You've got another shot!

The following was originally published on 9/22/08:
Next up in the Etsy Cooperative Advertising Program: Bust Magazine!

In case you're not familiar with this program, here are the important details:

Etsy will purchase ad space in various magazines, cover half of the cost, and design the ads.
Etsy Sellers are able to purchase spots in the ad at the discounted rate.
You will get to display your shop name, an image of one item, its price, and its category.
The limit is one spot per seller, per advertisement.

This ad will be in the December/January issue of Bust.

30 spots will be available to sellers at a price of $90 each.
Spots will go on sale on Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 1:00pm (Eastern Time).
Spots are purchased in the same manner as a Showcase.
If you successfully buy a cooperative ad spot through Showcase, your item photo and information must be sent to adam@etsy.com no later than 7:00pm (Eastern Time) on Thursday, October 2, 2008.

About Bust

Total Circulation is 93,500.
Bust is published 6 times annually.
The December/January issue hits newsstands on November 25, 2008.

BUST is a groundbreaking women's lifestyle magazine that is unique in its ability to connect with bright, cutting-edge young women. With an attitude that is fierce, funny, and proud to be female, BUST's revolutionary editorial mix addresses a refreshing variety of women's interests, including pop culture, music, crafting, fashion, sex, news, and celebrity interviews. Hip, humorous, and honest, BUST is a cheeky celebration of all things female and a trusted authority on up-and-coming trends among young women.

98% of the readers are women.
Average income is $69,000.
Median age is 27.
80% of readers refer to BUST for fashion.
91% say BUST is their favorite magazine.
68% purchased from BUST advertisers last year.

Upcoming Ads:

Venus: Winter issue. 30 spots, $25 each. Spots go on sale at 1:00pm (ET) Thursday, October 9, 2008.

FAQ

1. What is the Cooperative Advertising Program?

By purchasing a spot in a Cooperative Advertising Program, Etsy sellers can show off their items in an Etsy-branded magazine advertisement, reach new buyers, and help boost their sales and shop awareness. Print ads in popular magazines are often priced out of reach of small entrepreneurs. Etsy is able to purchase larger ads for more impact, and let sellers buy into the ads.

2. How does it work?

Etsy reduces costs to sellers by subsidizing the ads. We pay half of the cost. The cost to you is the remaining amount, divided by the number of spots for sale.
Sellers get to display one image of an item from their shop, its price, its main category and their shop name. The appearance of the ad is similar to our homepage. See the original article for an example.

3. How do I purchase a spot?

1: Go to the Showcase Gateway.
2: Choose "Cooperative Ads - BUST Showcase." There will only be one date to choose from.
3: Hit the "Purchase" button. The fee will be added to your normal Etsy bill.

4. What do I do next?

You'll receive a conversation from Adam with details, and we will need the following from you:

Your shop name.
The price of the item.
The main category that the item is listed under.
A high-resolution photograph of your item (300 dpi).

If you need help with photo issues, please ask, and Adam will send you detailed instructions. If you already have a photo that you like, great! If not, check out some of our photography tips.

We will need your image by 7:00pm (Eastern Time) on Thursday, October 2, 2008 to give us time to lay out the ad and meet our deadline with Bust.

5. How many spots can I reserve?

You can purchase one spot per advertisement.

6. Can I cancel a spot after I've made a reservation? Is the fee refunded?

We will only cancel and refund spots under very special circumstances. Deciding you are no longer interested in your spot does not count. If you feel like you really have a valid case please email adam@etsy.com.

7. How do I know if the current Cooperative Ad is right for me?

Do some research! We'll provide helpful info for each ad as it becomes available (see above). And, it may be helpful to visit your local bookstore or newsstand to see if they carry the magazine. Remember, there will be more of these Cooperative Advertising opportunities available in the future, including Craft, Venus, and Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. If you don't feel like Bust is perfect for you, there will be other opportunities...

Tech Update: Tweaks to the Storque

2008-09-25T15:27:00Z

Dear Readers, (sound of airhorn)

Did the new Storque reach out and bite ya? Have you noticed? We've made some tweaks to the Storque's layout:

The homepage of the Storque now defaults to the "all articles" lay-out. Many of you wanted a more blog-like layout in order to see the most recent posts at a glance. This will give you an overview of the 15 most recent posts (which is roughly two week day's worth of content). You can still use the brightly colored Sections to navigate through the various types of content.
Video embeds now show up right there in the list of articles. We were hearing that it was too hard to find videos, so we hope this helps. We also change the Section title "Multi-Media" to "Videos" to make it more intuitive. (Pssst! Don't forget to subscribe to our Youtube Channel too!)
We added the tagline "Etsy's Handmade Blog" to better communicate what we're doing.
We have a new "Hot Posts" feature on the left side bar.
We gave the Storque Showcase some design treatment to make it stand out as its own thing a bit more.
We adapted the layout of comments to better utilize space.

Change is good!

Let us know what you think in the comments below. We really, REALLY value your input, you lovely readers!

Community & Tech Updates: Updated Privacy Policy

2008-09-25T11:43:00Z

Your privacy is very important to us at Etsy. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, store and distribute the personal information you share with us while you use the site.

In an effort to make the Privacy Policy easier to understand and more user-friendly, we have made a few revisions. We have also added information to the policy regarding how your personal information is used for Etsy’s email newsletters and the Invite A Friend feature.

Etsy is a secure site. We are a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program and we comply with the EU Safe Harbor Framework set forth by the Department of Commerce. As noted in our Privacy Policy, it is our duty to notify the Etsy community of material changes to this policy. We’ll also be doing a log-in alert to let all our members know about these changes.

Please read Etsy's Privacy Policy for more information.

ps
If you want to get the breaking, vital Etsy news as it happens — delivered straight to your email inbox, then sign up for Etsy News Alerts emails. Read more about it here. Expect this post as an Etsy Alert email in your inbox if you already subscribe to the list.

You can also get an RSS feed of all TechUpdates here.

Tech Update: More Info on Search & Categories

2008-09-24T13:12:00Z

Last week Etsy's new CTO, Chad Dickerson wrote an honest account of some of the technical challenges Etsy.com is currently facing, specifically in reference to the search function. In that article, Chad mentioned some new hardware and "other tweaks" to improve things. Many of you may be curious about what we're working on, how it's helping and how it will impact your ability to shop and sell on Etsy. So let's get right into the nitty gritty ...

New Hardware

Without getting into too many technical details, last week we added some new hardware with the goal of improving speed. We're happy to say so far it's helped, and some of our slowest queries more than doubled in speed. This is a great improvement, but still below our internal goals — which means there is more work ahead. The Engineers are continuing to monitor search speeds and page load times.

Simple Searches Redirect to Categories

Many shoppers use simple one-word searches, such as earrings or purse. Since there are several thousands of items that will match such a simple query, the current system gets bogged-down in an attempt to return all the possible results. To help alleviate that demand, we've begun automatically redirecting several one-word searches to the corresponding category or subcategory pages.

[ ABOVE: Screen shot of the Art category page. ]

As you may have noticed, we've already done this for terms like jewelry and art, and we will be adding more redirects as necessary. From a category page, shoppers can easily narrow the results by clicking subcategory links or searching within the category.

Limited Number of Search Terms (or "My nots are not working!")

Just as one-word searches can cause problems, too many terms in a search can be taxing on our current search structure. Therefore, we've limited the maximum number of terms available in a single search to seven. The current search system will return results based only on the first seven terms in an inquiry and simply ignore the rest.

[ ABOVE: Screen shot of the search results page for women dress -green -doll. ]

Unfortunately, "not" is counted as a term, so if you try to exclude several terms from a search, you are likely going to find that some of your "nots" weren't effective. The good news is that we've enabled the use of the minus sign (-) to work exactly like "not" in a search. The minus sign (-) does not count against the seven-word limit. For example, these searches should now produce identical results: women dress not green not doll and women dress -green -doll. We'll be updating our Search Tips sidebar and Search Help Guide with this info.

Batch Loading in Search and Categories

When you list an item on Etsy, there's a note that says it may take up to 24 hours for your item to appear in category and search pages. New, renewed and relisted items are posted in your shop immediately, but they are not added to search results and categories in real-time. Instead, Etsy adds items at regular intervals in batches to the category and search pages. This is a function of the mechanics of the master-slave database system Chad explained last week. Once loaded into the master database, items are replicated to "slave" databases. It takes some time for the data to be replicated; the technical term for this is "slave lag." This system is generally good for overall site performance (i.e., speed) and stability, but not so great for the instant gratification of sellers who want to see their items immediately appear at the top of their chosen categories.

Category pages and search results pages currently default to display the most recently listed items first. When there are many items being simultaneously listed, relisted and renewed it creates a traffic jam in some of Etsy's more populated categories. There could be dozens of items in a batch, however, each category and search result page on Etsy shows 21 items. This means some items could make their first appearance in a category on page two, or even farther back. Listing, relisting and renewing will place your item toward the front of a category, but not necessarily on page one and not instantaneously.

What Does This Mean For Sellers? (or "How will shoppers find my items?")

It's critical that sellers tag their items correctly. This will ensure that your items appear in the correct categories and subcategories. It will also make it easier for shoppers to find your items when they use specific multi-word searches. If you have items that fit equally well in more than one category, try placing some items in each category. For example, a potter could list one handmade ceramic bowl in the ceramics and pottery category and another one in housewares to have greater cross-category visibility. The articles on tagging in the Seller Handbook will help you determine the best way to tag your items so shoppers can find them.

So, is renewing for exposure worth the $0.20 if you don't land on page one each time? Ultimately, that's up to each seller to decide. While your item may not appear on page one for jewelry, it may be on page one of specific search for blue flower earrings or steampunk cufflinks or a specific subcategory page (like necklace within the jewelry category). Also, items still appear in other browsing features that function independently of the batch loading system, such as Time Machine 2, Recently Listed on the home page and Shop Local.

There are many ways to promote your Etsy shop on the site (Promotions Forum, Virtual Labs, Showcase) and through off-Etsy methods (blogs, advertising, etc). The best way to get customers into your shop is to target your own marketing. There's a wealth of information on advertising and marketing linked in the Seller Handbook. As an alternative to renewing to hit the top of a category, sellers may want to consider purchasing a Category Showcase spot. This is a one-day paid advertising spot displayed on the top of each page of a main category. To learn more about Showcase, check out 13.5 Questions about the Showcase and Showcase Deconstructed.

Looking Ahead

Chad and the Engineering Team are working on longer-term solutions to our current search issues. We don't want to disrupt site performance during the holiday shopping season, so in the meantime, the above measures are aimed at the goal of ensuring people can find and purchase the many incredible items available on Etsy.

We've closed commenting on this article. If you would like to comment, please join the discussion in this Forum thread.

Tech Update: Vacation Mode for Sellers now live!

2008-09-23T15:30:00Z

We're thrilled to announce today that we've just launched two new helpful tools for Etsy sellers to manage their shops: Vacation Mode and Batch Deactivate. These features provide different solutions for sellers to quickly and temporarily "close" a shop or make certain items inactive when they will be away from Etsy for an extended time. Read on to learn all about how to use these new tools in your Etsy shop.

When in Vacation Mode, items in a seller's shop cannot be purchased. The seller's shop will appear empty, with a special vacation announcement. The seller's items can still be viewed via a direct item link (if they are linked from an outside blog for example), and can still be Hearted (added to favorites), but will not appear in site searches or the Category Browser. Buyers can sign up to be notified via email when the seller returns from Vacation Mode.

How it works:

Your personal Vacation Mode settings:

From "Your Etsy" click on "Vacation Mode" under Shop Setup.
The Vacation Mode page has prompts for a vacation announcement, Convo auto-response, and on/off switch.
Enter your desired announcement message and Convo auto-response about being on vacation.
Leave the on/off radio buttons set to "off" if you are just setting up the process at this point and click "Save."

Turning Vacation Mode on and off:

When you are ready to go on vacation, click on Vacation Mode from Your Etsy and set it to "on" and save.
Your shop will now be in Vacation Mode and will function differently:
- Your Shop Announcement has been replaced with your Vacation Announcement.
- Items no longer appear in your shop.
- Any Convos sent to you will get an auto-reply.
- On your Shop page, Potential buyers will see a field where they can opt into having Etsy notify them when the seller returns from vacation. Their email addresses will be kept private.
- On all of your listing pages, a banner appears across the top announcing that the shop is temporarily closed and the "Add to cart" button has been replaced with a greyed-out "on vacation" notice.
- Your items no longer appear in Gift Guides, searches, Category Browser, flash apps such as Pounce, Colors, Shop Local, or Geolocator.

Once you return and are ready to turn off Vacation Mode and reopen your shop, log in and select Vacation Mode from Your Etsy.
Set vacation mode to "Off" and click "Save."
Your shop is now back to normal and your vacation messages are saved for future use.
Any buyers who signed up for an email notification will be sent an email from you alerting them your items are again available for purchase and the email notification list will be reset for future use.

Batch Deactivate:

Along with the new Vacation Mode feature, we have added an additional feature for deactivating (sometimes called placing in "edit mode") and reactivating multiple items at once. With this batch activate/deactivate feature, you can temporarily remove some listings from your shop so that they cannot be seen or purchased. Deactivated listings are not visible to buyers in the seller's shop. Listings also become inactive when you edit them.

How it works:

Log in and go to Your Etsy to see a list of your items currently for sale; you will see a checkbox next to each item.
Select the items you wish to deactivate and at the bottom of the page, click the button to deactivate the selected items and click submit.
You will see a notice at the top of the page telling you the selected items are now inactive, with a link to the list of inactive items.
When you are ready to place your items for sale in your shop again, go to Your Etsy > Inactive Listings and click the check box next to the ones you want to reactivate; then hit the Activate button.

FAQs

Q. Why would I use Vacation Mode for my shop?
A. This would be a great tool for sellers going on an extended vacation or for other occasions when they will not be able to check in regularly on their shops.

Q. How do I put my shop on hold while I am sick or on vacation?
A. To put your shop in Vacation Mode, go to Your Etsy > Vacation Mode. Enter a brief message to replace your normal shop announcement while you are away. You can also write an auto-reply message for your Conversations that will be sent to anyone who sends you a Convo during that time. Your items will be removed from view in your public shop, but will still appear in Favorites.

When you're ready to go on vacation, set Vacation Mode to "On Vacation" and click the red "Save Changes" button.

Q. When should I use batch deactivate instead of Vacation Mode?
A. Sellers may prefer using this option when they only need to remove select items from their shop for a special event, but do not want to take the rest of the items from their shop out of the regular Etsy search. Using the Vacation Mode feature will automatically temporarily remove all listings from your shop.

Q. How do I return from Vacation Mode?
A. Go to Your Etsy > Vacation Mode and set Vacation Mode to "Off", then click the red "Save Changes" button.

Q. When I turn off Vacation Mode or reactivate my deactivated items, will they reappear in the Gift Guides if they were in a Guide before?
A. No, the items will not reappear in the Gift Guides once returning from Vacation Mode or deactivation.

Q. Can I still work on my shop while away and set to Vacation Mode?
A. No, while set on Vacation Mode, you will not be able to do the following: create a new listing, edit a listing, or renew a listing.

Q. What will my listings look like when I am in Vacation Mode?
A. When your shop is in Vacation Mode, your items will not appear in your shop. But if someone has bookmarked or Hearted (favorited) a listing or reaches it from a link on an outside source like a blog, they will still be able to view the listing page. We'll show a notice at the top that you are away. The green "Add to Cart" button will be grayed-out until you return from Vacation Mode.

While in Vacation Mode your items will not appear in search, Gift Guides or the other shopping tools (such as the Geolocator).

Q. Will Vacation Mode automatically turn off?
A. No, you will need to manually turn Vacation mode on and off, even if your shop announcement says you will be back on a certain date.

Q. I'm a buyer. What happens if I sign up to be notified when a seller returns?
A. When a seller is away, a form will appear on their shop homepage letting you sign up for email notification when they return. When the seller’s shop opens back up, we’ll send a short message to the email address on your account. The message will come from Etsy, and will only be sent once.

Q. As a seller, can I see which buyers have signed up to be notified when I return? Can I customize the message they get?
A. In order to respect shoppers' privacy, we do not allow sellers to see which buyers have signed up for notifications. When you return from Vacation Mode, we'll send them a note to let them know you are back. The short message will come from Etsy and is not customizable. If a buyer would like to get in touch with the seller, the buyer can still send the seller a Convo even if the shop is in Vacation Mode.

Q. Will putting my items in vacation mode change the expiration date on them?
A. No. Just like when your item is inactive, the expiration date stays the same.

Q. Can I use the Conversation auto-reply feature without putting my shop in Vacation Mode?
A. At this time, no; auto-reply is only available for shops in Vacation Mode.

Q. Do I have to use Vacation Mode, or can I just post a note in my shop and/or listings that I'm away like I did in the past?
A. Ultimately, it's up to you as a seller to decide which strategy is best for your shop. Posting a notice and keeping your items active while you're away for a short time might be a viable solution for some sellers. Others may decide that they do not want to risk delayed communication or order fulfillment for customers and choose to use Vacation Mode or Batch Edit Mode. It's up to you; we're happy to provide multiple solutions so sellers can choose the best solution to suit their needs.

Q. Can I use the Conversation auto-reply feature without putting my shop in Vacation Mode?
A. At this time, no; auto-reply is only available for shops in Vacation Mode.

Q. Do I have to use Vacation Mode, or can I just post a note in my shop and/or listings that I'm away like I did in the past?
A. Ultimately, it's up to you as a shop owner to decide which strategy is best for your shop. Posting a notice and keeping your items active while you're away for a short time might be a viable solution for some sellers. Others may decide that they do not want to risk delayed communication or order fulfillment for customers and choose to use Vacation Mode or Batch Deactivate. It's up to you; we're happy to provide multiple solutions so sellers can choose the best solution to suit their needs.

As always, we welcome your discussions, constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement with this new Vacation Mode feature. Please use this Forum thread for discussion. We'll close commenting here so that we can consolidate discussion in one place.

Hope you are as excited about this feature as we are!

Handmade Kids Sweepstakes: Winners Announced!

2008-09-22T15:26:00Z

Congrats to the following 14 lucky Etsians, winners of the Handmade Kids Sweepstakes:

Happy shopping! (Winners will be contacted directly with instructions for redeeming their prizes.)

If you missed it, check out the Members Choice Award Winners and the Expert Panel Award Winners. Thanks to all who participated and all the judges, it's been a blast! Handmade Kids Challenge

For more great items for kids, search "INTLKIDS" to see what some of Etsy's international artists and designers have to offer. (The related items below show a sampling.)