Tuesday, April 08, 2008

How to trade via etsy

I thought I'd share my recent trading experience with you. Having never traded before I was somewhat of a trading virgin - fortunately my trade partner was very patient with me and helped me learn about how to trade via etsy (just to be clear here, when I say trade, I mean swap).

It all started when Zsuszi found me on flickr. I love to see who links to me so I went to have a look at what she does, and I was quite taken by surprise because glass is not usually my thing but I love the colours and shapes of her glass work so popped into her etsy shop and bought this lovely hair pin:
Zsuzsi then convo'd me in etsy to see if I wanted to trade and of course i did!
This is how it works:
  • contact the person you would like to trade with to ask if they want to trade with you (helps if you already know that there is a mutual appreciation of each others work)
  • decide what you would like from that person and find out what they would like from you
  • the value of your item(s) and their item(s) needs to match - or near enough match
  • reserve the items they would like in your esty shop - by putting a note in the description/header saying something like 'reserved - only purchase if your name is Monda'. Your trade partner does the same in their shop.
  • to make sure etsy get the fees, you and your trade partner need to purchase via the etsy shopping cart (we all like esty and we want them to get their fees - it's bad practice if you don't do this). You do not need to make an actual payment via the company that handles payments (no names mentioned) - although you can if you wish (bear in mind there is a fee there).
  • trade completed - send off the goods as you would with any order via etsy, and leave feedback for your trade partner.
I hope this all makes sense to everyone who hasn't traded before, and for those who have traded via etsy - did I get this right?

This is what Zsuzsi wanted:And this is what I got in return:so all in all a very happy trading experience - I'm off now to leave some feedback for Zsuzsi :o)

6 comments:

Kitty said...

Gosh, that's really interesting - thanks Monda.

I love your monsters and I love that lady's glass - I'm off to check her out right away.

x

Locket Pocket said...

Thanks for that info Monda! Love your monsters by the way - I wouldn't have wanted to part with them!!!

trash said...

beautiful glasswork and did you notice that if you melted those three monsters you would get the pendant?

Anonymous said...

Love the necklace, such beautiful colours. I would like to do a swap with you but I probably don't have anything as nice as your stuff to swap!x

Mrs Moog said...

Darn that Trashy, she stole my line!!
I didn't even know you could trade like that on etsy - what a fab idea - it's like old fashioned bartering with goats....not that I've ever been in a position to barter with a goat but y'know what I mean?

Great trade on both parts...and not a goat in sight :)

xxx

panyizsuzsi said...

Thanks for mentioning my art wort. etsy rocks, so does trading!