After getting tons of sewing done last night, I sat down to take care of some more business related items. I really need to finish setting up my Etsy shop, so I decided to tackle my Shop Policies page (which I've been avoiding). I searched the Etsy Forums and read this guide to help me with the process.
The Shop Policies page includes accepted payment types, shipping policies, and the shop return policies. I found the Payment section easy - I know I want to primarily accept PayPal because it's easy, but I don't want to exclude anyone who can't (or won't) use Paypal. Here's what I ended up with.
The Shipping section is the challenge for me. I very very rarely ship ANYTHING, so this will be quite a learning experience for me. I've decided to start out using USPS Priority Mail because it seems to be the most simple - the post office supplies you with free boxes, and the shipping rate is based on size box. The boxes are delivered to my house and I can ship from home, which frees me from the nightmare of entertaining two squirrelly children while waiting in line at the post office. As I understand it, this is not the cheapest way to ship, so this may change once I start shipping regularly. Here's my shipping section.
The return section is a little intimidating, but I knew from the start that I wanted a pretty generous return policy. I just think people are more likely to buy from someone who genuinely wants them to be happy with their purchase. I figure if I do get some returns, I'll just chalk it up to the costs of doing business. What do you think, is it too vague?
Last but not least, I put a little note about custom orders and wholesale inquiries. I really would love to drum up some wholesale business, so hopefully this will help.
If you have any advice, I'd love to hear it! Have a great weekend!
