Monday Madness - Etsy Improves Its Listing Process

When I went to list the newest bracelet in my shop last week, I was more than a little surprised to see that Etsy had changed the listing process.  Although some Etsy changes can take some time to get used to, these changes are long overdue.  They started rolling this out in early May, testing it on a few lucky shops.  I believe it has now been changed for everyone on Etsy.  Along the way, the feedback they received led to some great improvements.

The entire listing process takes place on one page!  I know I wasn't the only person going back and forth between pages while trying to list an item. What color did I say this was? Did I remember to add the measurements to the description?

Etsy is also asking some new questions as part of the listing.  They say this is part of helping the search process. 

• Who made it?  (I did, a member of my shop, or another company or person)
• What is it? (a finished product or a supply or tool to make things)
• When was it made? (different date options listed here)

Want to see more?  Click on the image to enlarge it.

You will be able to pick a top category (like Jewelry), then a subcategory (bracelet), and then another subcategory (if possible).  It will leave you with 13 total tags to use further down the page.  Because of this arrangement, I found that I was able to add at least one more tag to my listings.  I also discovered that I could select all five photos at once to have them upload at the same time...Yippee!

Once you're done  filling in everything for your new listing, you will get to preview it and you'll be given the option to publish the listing or save it as a draft.  I have seen people make comments about being able to save their listings as drafts before, but I never could figure out how to do it.  Now it's an official part of the process and I couldn't be happier.  If you only have one day a week to put all the listing information in, but you don't want all your items to go live at the same time, this is a lifesaver.  Get all your listings done, save them as drafts, and then activate them the way you want to - one a day, several per day, etc. 

As soon as you publish the listing, Etsy will offer you the chance to promote it on Twitter and Facebook.  While I wouldn't use these for every single item (especially if you're doing a bunch at a time), it's good to share your new listings from time to time so people remember your shop and the kinds of things you sell.

This new process will also pop up when you go to edit your existing listings. You'll answer the new questions at this time.  What I love about the change here is that your item stays active in your shop while you edit the details.  I always hated that my newest piece was off the market while I fixed some spelling error...urgh!  If you don't want someone to be able to see or purchase it while you are editing, you can deactivate it first.  If you raised the price during the edit and someone actually did purchase it during that time, the customer would be told of the change during the checkout process.

Some of the questions popping up about this in the forums include:

• The original announcement for the change mentioned requiring new photos used in listings to be 570 pixels or larger.  This requirement has now been removed.  It never affected previous listings.
• What if I don't know when the item was made? You can either go with your best guess for a newer item or choose "some time before 1992 "" if it is a vintage item.
• Why are you asking when the item was made?  Etsy's answers have implied that this is mostly to help customers who are searching for vintage items from a particular time period. Your answer on this will not be visible to customers on your item's listing.
• Is it true that item listing titles now have a character limit?  Yes, listings now have a 140 character limit in the titles.

This is a big time saver for me when listing my items and it makes more sense.  Etsy is always looking for ways to improve and they struck gold with this one.  The next change I'm waiting for is the ability to change your user name (they say that some options are in the works).