How To Set Up Your Etsy Shop Policies
Etsy is known as the world’s top online marketplace for unique handmade and vintage products, and plenty of individual and small business owners have used the site to display and sell their own products over the years. However, just like with any other shopping site, business pages on Etsy are highly encouraged to have easy-to-understand policies that make the shopping process safe for both buyers and sellers.
Related: How to start selling on Etsy
Why Do You Need an Etsy Shop Policy?
While displaying an Etsy Shop Policy is optional for Etsy sellers, using and showing one to buyers is the only way to protect the Etsy shop from dishonest shoppers. For example, a shopper that purchases from an Etsy shop without a shop policy can demand a refund for the items months after purchase without a distinct reason. On the other hand, a shop that has a policy stating that refunds can only be given to customers who return an item within 14 days can say no to a buyer looking to get money back without returning the item in a timely matter.
What Should an Etsy Shop Policy Include?
Every Etsy shop owner will need to decide what policies will and won’t apply to their individual shop. For example, shops that sell digital downloads will not need to include shipping exchange policies. However, most shops can include policies on returns and exchanges, refunds, cancellations, and privacy, while all shops are required to include Etsy’s general fixed policies.
Related: What are the most popular items on Etsy?
Returns and Exchanges Policies
Perhaps the most important topic for Etsy shops to include in their shop policies is information on returns and exchanges. For one, shops should state whether they accept returns or exchanges, and they should state a time window in which returns and exchanges are accepted. A good time frame you can use for this is a period of either 14, 21, or 30 days after an item is received by a buyer.
Shops should also state, if returns and exchanges are accepted, what reasons for returns and exchanges are acceptable. For example, a damaged item may be acceptable to some sellers as a reason for return while a simple change of mind in the customer may not be.
Another piece of information to include in a return and exchange policy is whether or not the buyer is responsible for shipping costs to return or exchange an item to an Etsy shop.
Refund Policies
Another key piece of any Etsy shop’s policies is information on refunds, specifically for items that are not going to be returned or exchanged. While this varies for every shop, too, a good policy to follow is one that offers refunds only for items that have been damaged during shipping, which is out of control of the seller’s hands. Sellers can refund buyers for this reason without losing money themselves if the sellers have taken out shipping insurance for any orders they ship. However, most shipping insurance companies will only offer insurance money claims to those who can offer clear photos of the damage done to items during shipping, so sellers should be sure to ask for these types of photos from buyers as soon as the buyers ask for a refund. Sellers can also protect their businesses further by stating in their refund policies that photos of damage done during shipping are required for refunds to be issued.
Cancellation Policies
Many Etsy shops also like to include information about their individual shops’ cancellation policies in their overall shop policies, and this can center around whether or not each shop accepts cancellations and, if so, for how long after an order is placed. For most shops that ship products to customers, cancellations are often accepted up until the point of shipping. However, some shops that offer customizable orders choose not to accept any cancellations at all because that would cause the shop to lose money and time that has already been put into the order.
Privacy Policies
The last policy type that Etsy allows sellers to add to their overall shop policies is a privacy policy, or a policy outlining how each shop uses and stores customers’ personal information like customer e-mails, addresses, and payment methods. For most global shops, a privacy policy is optional; however, shops based in the EU or that sell to customers in the EU are required to show a privacy policy that adheres to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Most Etsy shops can create a privacy policy acceptable to GDPR standards based on a template that Etsy provides.
Fixed Etsy Store Policies
Every Etsy store owner is covered by some of Etsy’s site-wide fixed policies, too. These additional policies include things like estimated delivery dates, payment options, and fees, customs and import tax obligations, and instant digital download options. These policies are not editable or changeable for individual shops.
