How to sell on Etsy in Singapore with 5 simple steps?

Want to open your online shop? Learn how to sell on Etsy Singapore with 5 simple steps.

Etsy may seem far from Singapore, and the idea of getting on it may seem tough. This is all just a facade. Singaporeans can also play the game, and setting up our shop on Etsy is as simple as ABC. As a Singaporean, I managed to set up my Etsy Shop in one afternoon after my first one got suspended. Super fast, isn’t it?

In this article, you will learn all about how to set up a shop on Etsy, create an Etsy account, set up payment details, and many more.

This post is for Singaporeans wanting to learn how to sell on Etsy Singapore.

Step 1: Create a new email address

The first step to selling on Etsy is to create a new email address. If you prefer to use an email address that you already have, you can do it too. 

Based on my experience, I would recommend that you create a new Google email address for these reasons:

1. Great housekeeping – It keeps personal and work separate.
2. Sustainability – In the long run, when your Etsy shop grows, you will thank yourself for having a separate email address

Most importantly, if your Etsy shop gets suspended (touchwood), one of the ways you can tackle this situation is to create another email address to open another Etsy shop. This way, you can ‘abandon’ the old email. 

If you were to be using your personal email, you may not have the freedom to just abandon it simply because you are constantly using it. I am a bit OCD so when I see too many email accounts in my app, I like to clean it up, starting with those that I am no longer using daily.

Related posts: 4 Practical Approaches for Dealing with an Etsy Account Suspension Without Receiving an Email | One of the Best Etsy Alternatives for Digital Downloads

Step 2: Create an Etsy Account

Using the email address you have just created, go to Etsy and create a new Etsy Account.

The simplest way is to connect with your Google email address by clicking ‘Continue with Google’ and you are good to go.

Step 3: Set up your Etsy shop logistics

Once you have logged in, navigate to your shop manager. If you are on Etsy for the first time, try finding it by clicking on your profile image and looking for something similar to ‘Be an Etsy seller’. As the Etsy interface changes all the time, we just have to use our senses to find these things. 

Once you are in Shop Manager, set up these 8 things. They should not take you more than an afternoon. 

On the side panel, click on the pencil icon next to your shop name under ‘Sales Channel’. Set up these 6 elements.

1. Shop Name –  This is the name of your shop (ie brand name)
2. Shop Banner – This is the banner of your shop where you highlight your shop products, discount codes, and many more. It is essentially a visual representation of what your shop stands for.
3. About Section – Here, write a short paragraph covering your name and location, your story, why you opened this shop or anything that makes you relatable. This is where you sell your story and build trust with your customers. You can also add photos such as behind-the-scenes, operations, and many more. 
4. Shop Policies – Indicate whether you accept returns & exchanges. For me, I do not accept any due to the nature of my digital products. It is extremely important for you to fill this up. It can protect yourself, especially when there are customer disputes.
5. Frequently Asked Questions –  This section is also equally important. If you are planning to sell on Etsy for a long time, you will inevitably meet irrational customers. Every time you have a customer service issue or bad experience, update your FAQ. This acts like a contract within Etsy. If the customer agrees to a shop’s policies when they choose to make a transaction with the shop. Protect yourself first!
6. Shop Announcement –  This portion is at the top of the shopfront, right under your shop name. I like to include links to my best sellers, my social media, and a short paragraph to welcome them.

For the next 2 elements, find them under ‘Finances’.

7. Legal and Tax Information – This is where I first found it confusing and it stressed me up, but turns out it is very simple. If you are a solo seller like me, indicate your seller type as ‘Individual’, and write your legal name and Singapore home address. Then, under legal documents, submit your Singaporean ID – both passport and driving license work. 

I always recommend you to do this first because Etsy will put your shop on holiday mode (ie you can’t sell anything and all your products will not be visible to customers) while they verify your identity. It will be much more efficient if you do this at the start.

8. Payment Settings – Setting up the payment methods on how you want to pay Etsy and how you want Etsy to pay you. Etsy accepts quite a lot of payment methods such as Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and more. I connected my bank account just because it’s easier. 

In addition, you can set up your deposit schedule here. What this means is to indicate how frequently you want to collect your profits. I indicated “once per week” because it takes some time for Etsy to transfer you and I prefer to have my money in ASAP.

Another thing you should take note of here is that once you get your first sale, Etsy will ask you to verify your bank account. What they will do is they will send you a small amount, you will have to go to your bank to see how much they send you and verify it in Shop Manager. This can’t be completed if you do not have your first sale.

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Step 4: Start to list products

After setting up your shop, it is time to start listing your products. Regardless of what type of products you are selling (eg digital products, POD, physical products), a product listing consists of these elements:

1. Title
2. Photos – up to 10
3. Video – 5 to 15 seconds
4. Tags
5. Description
6. Price
7. Quantity
8. Alt Text

You can add a new product listing under ‘Listing’ > ‘Add a listing’.

What you would want to take note of here is the sections and shop merchandising. 

For sections, I like to add a “+” in front just so it looks nicer. A small tip here is to do some keyword research and name the sections using the more popular keywords.

For shop merchandising, this is where you control how your shop front looks. You can edit this the same way you edit your shop banner and announcement. Here’s what you can play around with:

• Set 4 products as the featured image
• Rearrange items under ‘All’ 

Both work well in pushing new items and boosting product revenue.

However, rearranging products is only available under “All”. In the individual sections, you will not have the freedom to rearrange. It will be sorted automatically according to which one you listed first.

Related post: How to Optimise Your Etsy Listing for Digital Products?

Step 5: Start selling on Etsy

Once you have listed all your products, you are ready to start selling on Etsy. Of course, there are a few things you can try to boost your sales on Etsy.

• Etsy Ads 
• Set up your social media accounts
• Run a sale or create a promo code
• And many more

Happy selling ~

This post is all about the 5 simple steps on how to sell on Etsy Singapore.

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