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Tag: etsy

  • Etsy Had Even More Page Views In January Than In December

    Etsy Had Even More Page Views In January Than In December

    Etsy had more page views in January that it did in December, which is pretty impressive, considering the December holiday rush.

    The company put out its “weather report” for January on Friday (better late than never), revealing that Etsy had 1.67 billion page views on its site in January. That’s compared to 1.53 billion page views in December.

    The site also saw $97.6 million worth of goods sold (after refunds and cancellations) during the month, which was 17.1% lower than December’s $117.8 million.

    “To most, January is a quiet time,” writes Etsy’s Michelle Traub in a blog post. “The bustle of holiday activity behind us, we hunker down into cozy routines — sleepily caressing fireside toddies and patiently simmering day-long stews. But there’s no rest for the weary when it comes to buying and selling on Etsy!”

    “The $97.6 million of goods sold (after refunds and cancellations) represents a 77.8% increase from January 2012′s total,” says Traub. “At the same time, items sold were up 60.3%.”

    Etsy saw 4,482,545 items sold in January. 2,699,648 new items were listed during the month (14.2% higher than December’s 2,363,780). 1,128,036 new members joined Etsy (21.8% lower than December’s 1,441,833).

  • Etsy Redesigns Activity Feed

    Etsy Redesigns Activity Feed

    Etsy announced today that is has redesigned the Activity Feed with what it calls “improvements in function and design”. It will be interesting to see if users agree with that sentiment.

    The site has put greater emphasis on items, shops, and treasuries with bigger images and more items per page. There is also now one feed that combines the user’s activity and their followers’ activity.

    Additionally, there is a designated shop feed for sellers, so you can see shop activity all in one place. This includes a notification number for new activity in the “Your Shop” tab.

    New Etsy Feed

    New Etsy feed

    Earlier this week, Etsy announced some new coupon codes.

  • Etsy Launches New Kinds Of Coupon Codes

    Etsy Launches New Kinds Of Coupon Codes

    Etsy announced today that it is launching some new kinds of coupon codes.

    Merchants will now be able to offer fixed discounts on items and set price minimums for coupons. You could offer, for example, $10 off when the customer spends $50.

    Etsy is also testing Thank You emails as a way to introduce shoppers to the deals.

    “Buyers can opt in to receive an email with a promotion when shops they’ve purchased from have an active Thank You coupon,” the company explains in a blog post. “Bought a necklace as a birthday gift and got rave reviews? Maybe that shop is offering a discount and you can pick up the matching earrings for under the tree!”

    Etsy has offered Coupon codes since 2010, and about 3,000 of them are used every day, according to the company.

    Etsy has instructions for offering and promoting coupon codes here.

  • Etsy Had A Really Good Year In 2012

    Etsy Had A Really Good Year In 2012

    2012 was a good year for Etsy, to say the least. CEO Chad Dickerson took to the company blog this morning to share some stats about the year as Etsy’s growth continues to accelerate.

    “Growth of highly-personal shopping categories like wedding goods and home decor was strong in 2012,” an Etsy spokesperson tells WebProNews. “Jewelry, our #1 category, is still hugely popular, but others, like clothing and housewares, are quickly gaining steam. Furniture was the fastest-growing category on Etsy this year, growing 134% year-over-year.”

    Here are some more highlights from Dickerson’s post:

    • Overall sales by the community in 2012 grew 70.3% over the previous year, to $895.1 million from $525.6 million in 2011.
    • Sales in December 2012 were 72.9% higher than 2011 (compared to 69.9% from Dec 2010-Dec 2011).
    • Sales in November 2012 sales increased by 74.9% over the previous year (compared to 65.7% from Nov 2010-Nov 2011).
    • New buyers increased by 83% in 2012.
    • 10 million new members joined Etsy last year, nearly doubling the total number of members to 22 million around the world, in nearly 200 countries.

    Etsy will celebrate its 8th birthday this year. Since opening in 2005, the site has seen over 14 million shoppers buy over 100 million items.

    Etsy has only made more moves in recent months to help its growth continue. Consider that it only laumched its iPad and Android apps in the last two months. The site also continues to expand into more languages.

    Last week, Etsy announced its acquisition of Mixel.

  • Etsy Announces Acquisition Of Mixel

    Etsy Announces Acquisition Of Mixel

    Etsy announced today that it has acquired Mixel to have its team work on the Etsy mobile experience.

    Mixel users can breathe a sigh of relief, however, as the company will keep the Mixel product up and running. Users can still download past collages, and make new ones, though they are shutting down the social network aspect.

    “Going forward, the Mixel team will be focused on the many exciting challenges we have before us at Etsy,” Mixel says in an FAQ. “However, we still wanted to provide a path forward for Mixel users, who have produced such great work with our previous version. Because the majority of our maintenance efforts have gone towards the social network aspect of Mixel, it made sense to phase that out, thereby dramatically simplifying the upkeep of Mixel. This lets users still have access to the unique functionality, and lets us continue to improve Mixel as our bandwidth allows.”

    “The Mixel team — CEO Khoi Vinh, his co-founder Scott Ostler, and colleagues Akiva Leffert and Roy Stanfield — will turn their focus to Etsy’s mobile future,” writes Etsy’s Randy Hunt in a blog post. “As you may remember, in 2012 we launched apps for iPad and Android, and translated our iPhone app into three new languages with added seller tools. Whew! Mobile visits on Etsy grew 244% in the past year, and right now they represent a steady 25% of visits year round. That’s not too shabby, but something quite astounding happened this past holiday season: almost one in three visits came from shoppers on their mobile devices. We expect that trend to accelerate, so doing more with mobile is one of our top priorities in 2013.”

    “We’re always on the lookout for ways we can make the total experience of Etsy better — out in the world, on your computer, and in your pocket,” he says. “Today we’re taking another step forward, by welcoming the creators of Mixel to our staff. These talented designers and developers built a mobile app that helps you make and share fun, beautiful photo collages. Now they are going to help us do even more with Etsy’s mobile platform. It’s going to be awesome.”

    Etsy saw about 1.5 million new members and 1.53 billion page views in December, while also experimenting with a physical store in New York.

  • Here’s What Etsy Looks Like As An Actual Store

    Here’s What Etsy Looks Like As An Actual Store

    Last month, Etsy launched a pop-up shopping in experience in New York City, in the form of the Etsy Holiday Shop. Many Etsy users have no doubt fantasized about a physical location they could go to and browse Etsy merchandise, and here is that very concept realized.

    The company has shared a couple videos looking at what it was like.

    Etsy’s Holiday Shop 2012 from Etsy Inc. on Vimeo.

    Etsy Holiday Shop with Rebecca Ringquist from Creativebug on Vimeo.

    “One of our goals this holiday season was to reach out to people who were aware of the Etsy brand but had yet to become an Etsy customer,” writes Etsy’s Randy Hunt on the company blog. “We’re happy to say that 50% of the buyers at the Holiday Shop had never purchased from an Etsy seller before. That’s incredible, and reinforces the fact that we can present, position, and promote the Etsy community in unique ways and bring more enthusiastic and supportive shoppers into the fold.”

    “During the ten days, we hosted over 20,000 guests in the SoHo neighborhood, one of the highest profile shopping districts in the world,” he says.

    It sounds like the pop-up shop was a success, and it would be surprising if we don’t see this kind of thing more from Etsy going forward – especially around the holidays.

    Last month, Etsy’s signed up about 1.5 million new members, and the site saw 1.53 billion page views. It’s also expanding into more languages.

  • Etsy Saw Nearly 1.5 Million New Members & 1.53 Billion Page Views In December

    Etsy Saw Nearly 1.5 Million New Members & 1.53 Billion Page Views In December

    Etsy put out its December 2012 weather report today (a blog post listing various company stats), and revealed, among other things, that it saw 1,441,833 new members join the Etsy community during the month. That’s an increase of 314,922 (27.9%) from November, when it surpassed 20 million members.

    We knew Etsy was having an amazing holiday season, but the site also saw 1.53 billion page views in December.

    In December, Etsy launched its iPad app and its Android app, which likely played major roles in its impressive month.

    Etsy saw $117.8 million worth of goods (after refunds and cancellations) sold by its members in December, up 11.6% from November’s $105.6 million. 6,001,420 items sold during the month, 9.3% more than November’s 5,489,407. Meanwhile, 2,363,780 items were listed during December, 21.2% less than November’s 2,997,877.

    Last week, Etsy launched in Spanish.

  • Etsy Launches In Spanish With Help From Former Craigslist/Yahoo Engineer

    Etsy Launches In Spanish With Help From Former Craigslist/Yahoo Engineer

    Etsy announced today that the site is launching in Spanish, which has been a long time coming from the sound of it. The company says it has had a high number of sellers who opened their shops from Spanish-speaking countries, though does not provide any specific numbers.

    Etsy also says there has been a steady increase in shipments to Spain and Latin America, suggesting that a significant amount of Etsy customers are also coming from Spanish-speaking countries.

    The company announced back in October that it was working on translation into more languages, and there was “high interest” from the community for a Spanish language version of the site.

    “Releasing Etsy in such a widespread language as Spanish is not just a win for our members who prefer to express themselves in the language of Cervantes,” says Juan Pablo, who joined Etsy after working on the international effort by Craigslist (and Yahoo Search before that). “Etsy is a distinctly global marketplace, and these changes benefit us all: no matter where we are, what language we speak, or which currency we use, our buyers will now be able to access more one-of-a-kind goods in Spanish-speaking countries, and our sellers will see an influx in a vibrant community of Spanish-speaking buyers.”

    “Opening Etsy to a new market is not a trivial task,” adds Pablo. “And while I am joining the efforts on the engineering front, the first step along the way was to translate our site. We have taken the most Etsy approach we know: reaching out to our community of members to translate, adapt and help us understand the needs of their regions.”

    Etsy has a page dedicated to the Etsy habla Español team, which has been dedicated to “teaching Etsy Spanish”.

    Other languages that Etsy is available in so far, include: English, Dutch, French, German and British English. More are sure to come.

  • Etsy May Have Some Competition On Its Hands

    Etsy May Have Some Competition On Its Hands

    Etsy has been growing steadily, and launching features and apps that should only help that growth continue. In November, the company announced that it surpassed 20 million members, and blew the previous year’s sales out of the water.

    If Kitsy Lane can help it, however, Etsy won’t be the only household name in online selling for people who make jewelry and accessories from home. The company, which defines itself as a social commerce company offering a platform for at-home entrepreneurs, has raised $3.5 million in Series A funding from Data Point Captial and Longworth Venture Partners, as well as existing investor Point Judith Capital (via Natasha Lomas).

    In addition, Data Point Capital’s Scott Savitz, who founded ShoeBuy.com, will be joining Kitsy Lane’s Board of Directors.

    Kitsy Lane

    “The Kitsy Lane team is thrilled with the response women have had to our value proposition,” says CEO Andy Fox. “It’s certainly been rewarding to help our network of Kitsy Lane Boutique Owners, many with no experience, grow independent businesses.”

    “Kitsy Lane has demonstrated impressive results at such an early stage of its development,” said Savitz. “The model is ripe for further disruption of traditional commerce offering a turnkey approach for individuals to profitably become retail entrepreneurs. We are happy to be part of such a terrific company and look forward to lending our expertise to help it grow.”

    The company launched in July, and currently has over 22,000 women owned and operated businesses, and continues to own thousands of new shop owners each month.

    “I have had my own Kitsy Lane Boutique, Bright Lily, for four months and I just love it,” says Boutique owner Katie Webb. “The marketing and merchandising tools are easy to use and really work. My business is growing. It’s exciting and at the same time a lot of fun.”

    Kitsy Lane says the key to its success has been its use of Facebook as a way to integrate into each Boutique owner’ social community. Of course, the site also utilizes plenty of Pinterest buttons.

  • Etsy Updates iPad App With Seller Tools, New Languages

    Etsy Updates iPad App With Seller Tools, New Languages

    Etsy launched its iPad app a few weeks ago, and today, the company has launched an update with a few new bells and whistles. These include more holiday shopping options and the full suite of mobile seller tools.

    “Mobile shoppers looking for last-minute holiday gifts can now order and send Etsy Gift Cards (US only),” an Etsy spokesperson tells WebProNews “And recipients can redeem and apply gift card balance to purchases.”

    “For sellers that that are always on the go, Etsy for iPad now enables them to manage their shops from more places and in more languages,” he adds.

    Etsy iPad update

    Etsy ipad update

    The app now includes access to Shop Stats, the ability to create new listings, and access to all the other seller tools that are currently available on the iPhone app. It even makes the “cha-ching” cash register noise every time a sale is made. Etsy tells us this was a “favorite and highly requested” feature.

    The app is now available in Dutch, French, German and British English. It’s available for download in the App Store.

    Earlier this month, Etsy launched its first Android app.

  • Etsy Finally Launches An Android App

    Etsy Finally Launches An Android App

    Etsy announced that it has launched an Android app, finally. This comes less than a week after the company launched its iPad app (the iPhone app has been out for quite some time).

    “Beyond iPhone and iPad users, nearly a quarter of Etsy’s mobile web visitors come from Android devices all over the world,” Etsy’s Adam Brown tells WebProNews.

    “With the holidays in full swing, the first Etsy for Android app features are geared toward shoppers,” he says. “Users can shop the entire Etsy marketplace (over 17 million items), browse other members’ favorite items and shops, and make purchases directly from a phone or tablet.”

    Here’s what the Android app looks like:

    Etsy For Android

    Etsy for Android

    Etsy for ANdroid

    Brown also tells us that from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, about 1 in 3 visits to Etsy came from mobile devices. That’s compared to 1 in 4 on a typical day.

    The app is launching in English, French, Dutch, and German. The iPhone app has been downloaded over 3.5 million times.

    The app can be found in the Google Play Store.

  • Etsy iPad App Is Now A Reality

    Etsy iPad App Is Now A Reality

    Etsy announced the launch of a new iPad app today. It’s been available for iPhone, but now there’s an iOS version that caters to Apple’s enormously popular set of tablets.

    Etsy’s iPhone app has been downloaded 3.5 million times, since launching in 2011.

    “Early on at Etsy, we saw our number of visitors from mobile devices growing, so we began optimizing our pages to make them faster, easier, and prettier from any phone,” says Laura Hood, product marketing manager at Etsy. “Our community was into it, as evidenced by one member in particular: ‘Awesome Awesomeness.’”

    “Enthusiasm for Etsy mobile continues to grow over time,” she adds. “Every hour, more than 10,000 items and shops are favorited on Etsy from a mobile device. That’s a lot of hearts from a handheld.”

    Etsy had a hell of a Cyber Monday. It just happened to be the biggest day in Etsy history for sellers.

    “The 2012 holiday season is shaping up to be a huge success for Etsy sellers, affirming that shoppers around the world are hungry for alternatives,” said Etsy’s Chad Dickerson. “Two weeks ago, well before the peak season started, the Etsy community broke its all-time daily record for sales, exceeding the heights we saw last holiday season. On Cyber Monday, the community blew the doors off that high with record-breaking sales, capping an all around chart-busting weekend. More sellers made sales on Etsy on Monday than on any other day in history.”

    “A visitor on an iPad is likely to view more pages and spend more time on Etsy than a visitor on any other mobile device,” Hood says. “That’s why we’ve designed this first version with the shopping experience top of mind.”

    The app will allow users to explore by interests, browse members’ favorite items, trends and content curated by editors, read creative stories about sellers, look at big images, and watch mini-documentaries and how-to’s, which you can zap to your TV with AirPlay.

    The app can be downloaded in the App Store.

  • Etsy Sellers Had Their Biggest Day Ever on Cyber Monday

    Etsy Sellers Had Their Biggest Day Ever on Cyber Monday

    By all reports, Black Friday and Cyber Monday produced record sales figures in the ecommerce world. Companies like Amazon are already touting a blockbuster weekend, as they claim the best few days of Kindle sales in the history of the family of devices.

    Now, it’s quirky online retailer Etsy who’s reporting some impressive Black Friday/Cyber Monday numbers.

    “The 2012 holiday season is shaping up to be a huge success for Etsy sellers, affirming that shoppers around the world are hungry for alternatives. Two weeks ago, well before the peak season started, the Etsy community broke its all-time daily record for sales, exceeding the heights we saw last holiday season. On Cyber Monday, the community blew the doors off that high with record-breaking sales, capping an all around chart-busting weekend. More sellers made sales on Etsy on Monday than on any other day in history.”

    So if you’re an Etsy seller, it’s likely that yesterday’s online shopping blitz was a very productive day for you.

    When you looks at the entire post-Thanksgiving shopping weekend, Etsy says that sales increase 80% year-over-year. The spirit of online buying also invaded more people than ever, as Etsy reports a 90% increase in first-time buyers. 25% of all sales made came from buyers and sellers of different countries.

    All of this interest led to 22 million uniques and over 250,000,000 pageviews.

    “When you buy a gift from a seller on Etsy, you’re directly supporting people in local communities all over the world while giving something uniquely special and meaningful to someone you care about. At Etsy, you can find the gifts that get them this holiday season, while helping others make a living – and a life – by following their passions,” said Etsy’s Chad Dickerson.

    It’s clear that Etsy benefitted from an all-around increase in online shopping this past weekend. comScore reported that ecommerce spending surpassed $1 billion for the first time ever on Black Friday. That’s up 26% from last year. How much online shopping have you done in the past four days?

  • Etsy Surpasses 20 Million Members As Sales Blow Last Year’s Out Of The Water

    Etsy Surpasses 20 Million Members As Sales Blow Last Year’s Out Of The Water

    Etsy announced today that it has surpassed 20 million members (buyers and sellers). In the first week of November, the company passed the $700 million mark for sales so far in 2012 (compared to $525 million for all of 2011). By the end of the year, Etsy says, over 100 million items will have been sold in the entire history of Etsy. It has already surpassed $100 million in payments through its direct checkout feature, which enables merchants to accept credit cards and Etsy gift cards.

    “Etsy is poised to have its most successful holiday season this year, catching up to and quickly surpassing last season’s record-breaking holiday,” a spokesperson for Etsy tells WebProNews.

    Etsy will soon launch its first-ever multi-million dollar online advertising campaign, and is debuting a pop-up shop in New York’s SoHo neighborhood from November 29-December 8.

    The company also announced some new features for direct checkout, including: pre-shipping deposits and 3-day hold reduction, expedited bank deposits and reduction in one-time hold when you add a bank account.

    “Just five months after opening direct checkout to all US sellers, we pushed out the most requested improvement to direct checkout functionality,” the company says in a blog post. “Sellers whose first sale date is more than 90 days ago, through any payment method, now have funds available for deposit the next business day after the sale, even before the item ships. If your first sale date is less than 90 days ago, or you haven’t yet made that first sale, you must mark the order as shipped, or wait 3 days for the money to become available, whichever is longer. Once you pass the 90-day mark, you will automatically become eligible for 1-day funds availability.”

    “When you initiate a deposit to your bank account, whether its automatically on Monday, or requested from your Shop Payment Account, we send the deposit to your bank that day,” the company adds. “It previously took anywhere from 2-5 days for the money to clear into your account, depending on your bank. We’ve been able to work with our bank to get this money to you sooner. Now, sellers will start seeing their money clear into their bank accounts in 1-2 days! It will still depend on your bank’s typical processing time, but most of you will see a big improvement. We’ve heard that these deposits are hitting accounts even more quickly than deposits received through PayPal.”

    Buyers are 15-20% more likely to complete the checkout process when a shop has direct checkout enabled, the company says.

    In September, Etsy had about1.5 billion pageviews.

  • Etsy Had Nearly 1.5 Billion Pageviews In September (And People Are Buying More Stuff)

    Etsy Had Nearly 1.5 Billion Pageviews In September (And People Are Buying More Stuff)

    Etsy revealed a handful of stats about its business today. For one, the ecommerce site saw 1.42 billion pageviews during the month of September.

    After refunds and cancellations, the Etsy community sold $76.8 million worth of goods during the month, which is 0.8% higher than the $76.2 million sold in August. It’s a 69% increase year-over-year. In all, 3,988,852 items were sold in September, up 4.9% from August’s 3,802,480 items. Items sold were up 72.6% year-over-year.

    Not only are more people buying, but more people are listing. 2,530,651 items were listed in September, up 2.9% from August’s 2,459,069. 866,750 new members joined the Etsy community during the month, which is a 1.7% increase from 14,879 in August.

    In recent weeks, Etsy has made a number of moves to help sellers unload more merchandise. For one, they made search ads available to thousands more sellers. Then, they launched new browse pages, making it so items are more discoverable, turning up in more than one place on the site.

    So far this week, Etsy has launched Listing Variations for sellers and gift cards in time for the holidays, which any merchant in the U.S. can accept, as long as they implement Etsy’s direct checkout feature.

  • Etsy Launches Gift Cards In Time For The Holidays

    Etsy Launches Gift Cards In Time For The Holidays

    Etsy announced today that it now has gift cards available. They can be purchased at etsy.com/giftcards, and are accepted by over 100,000 Etsy shops. They can be sent via email or printed to give to the recipient in person.

    The company announced that gift cards were coming back in August, but the wait is over. Along with the recently launched Google Play cards, these should make good gifts for the web savvy people in your family as the holidays approach.

    “We all have those people on our lists who are seemingly impossible to shop for — and this is the perfect alternative to settling for a generic gift card or the ever-impersonal check,” the company says in a blog post. “This choose-your-own-adventure gift lets your friends or family take the reins and find something they really want! We’re excited to buy these for the Etsy-obsessed people in our lives, and even more excited to buy them for friends who don’t shop on Etsy (yet!). We also look forward to using them to promote Etsy through advertising and partnerships and introduce the world to the magical gift adventure that is Etsy.”

    These gift cards should help Etsy gain exposure, but they’re also good for sellers, who often sell items that would be very targeted to niche audiences. For example, as a Friday The 13th fan, I can find all kinds of art and apparel related to the film and its sequels that I’m not going to find elsewhere. Etsy was made for gift giving.

    Sellers who wish to accept Etsy gift cards in their shops need to have direct checkout enabled.

    “Since Etsy is issuing and managing the gift cards, they rely on our direct checkout feature, and the security and legal protections we provide through our payments system,” the company explains. “To offer a gift card that works across multiple shops, there must be a central checkout flow connecting shops to Etsy, and not to individual PayPal accounts. This ensures that gift card holders have all the legal protections required by each state, and that sellers aren’t personally liable.”

    Those already set up with Direct Checkout don’t need to do anything else. The feature is, however, only available to U.S. sellers.

    Etsy is launching the cards by holding a giveaway, in which everyone who buys an Etsy gift card before November 14 will be entered to win an additional $250 card. They’ll draw four winners a week at random for four weeks. Winners will be emailed by November 20.

  • Etsy Launches Listing Variations For Sellers

    Etsy Launches Listing Variations For Sellers

    Etsy announced today that it is rolling out Listing Variations to sellers. These, the company says, will enable sellers to highlight available options and gather requisite details from buyers at the time of purchase.

    The feature should ensure prompt fulfillment and shipment of orders, Etsy says, adding, “This should also reduce the time our sellers spend on administrative tasks, like convos with buyers, and help them focus more energy on creating items and designing new products. As the holidays rapidly approach, we know this is their top priority!”

    Etsy Listing Variations

    This is just the latest in a series of changes Etsy is making, apparently with sellers in mind. Last week, Etsy launched new Browse Pages, designed to surface sellers’ merchandise in more places. Earlier this month, the company made its search ads available to thousands more sellers.

    “Variations will be available to all Etsy sellers and can be chosen during the listing process,” Etsy says. “Sellers can add up to two properties for each listing, selecting from suggested properties like ‘size’ and ‘color,’ or entering custom ones that are relevant to their item. Before a buyer can check out, they’ll be required to select an option for each listed property, like size and color on the listing below. Sellers can view buyer’s selections in their transaction emails, Sold Orders and Receipts.”

    The roll out will be taking place over the course of the next several days.

  • Etsy Makes It Easier To Find Stuff

    Etsy Makes It Easier To Find Stuff

    Etsy has launched a new browsing experience for it shoppers with the addition of new “browse pages”. Etsy’s Hebo explains in a company blog post:

    A few months ago, we released a new way to browse items for Weddings. It’s been a success — those planning their weddings are able to find items more easily and purchases have increased, which is welcomed news for shoppers and sellers alike!

    Building on the success of Weddings, we’re happy to extend this new way to browse to the rest of Etsy’s marketplace. If you look on Etsy’s homepage, we’ve moved the long list of Categories under More Ways to Shop and we’ve replaced it with new browse pages.

    Here are a couple examples of Browse Pages:

    Browse Page on Etsy

    Etsy Browse Pages

    With new browse pages, items are organized by what they are, who they’re for or what they’re used for, as opposed to them being separated by technique or material. The browse pages, based on search results, will also surface items in more than one place, as opposed to the old way where they were only surfaced in one location based on category. This should be good for creating more exposure for sellers.

    Handmade and vintage items have been combined, and it’s now a filter that can be used from any browse page.

    Etsy notes that the browse pages also make it easier for the site to highlight “of-the-moment” shopping trends, such as holidays, seasonal themes or things like iPhone accessories.

    Etsy isn’t finished with making the browsing experience better. The company also hints at a coming region-based shopping experience. I suppose we’ll hear more about that soon.

  • Etsy Makes Search Ads Available To Thousands More Sellers

    Etsy Makes Search Ads Available To Thousands More Sellers

    A little over a year ago, Etsy launched search ads. This week, the company announced some new features to the offering, and dropped some numbers about the product.

    Over the past year, the company says, Etsy’s search ads have generated $12 million in sales and 3.6 million “favorites” for 145,000 sellers who have used them to advertise their products.

    As far as the new stuff, Etsy has added holiday keywords, flexible timing, support for all English-language listings, and real-time setup and management.

    “We periodically add and remove keywords from the Search Ads system depending on whether people are searching for them,” Etsy says in a blog post. “We’re starting to see a lot of traffic around Halloween and holiday-related searches, so we’ve added some new keywords to the mix…if you have holiday inventory in your shop, go to the Search Ads console to start running holiday Search Ads or to add keywords to your existing ads!”

    “Sellers will now also be able to start and end ads at any time without setting a duration or the auto renew feature,” Etsy says. “You will simply select a weekly budget, which we will stick to, and we’ll keep promoting your items until you come back and turn them off. We will send you a weekly email with performance stats and a reminder that your ads are still running.”

    Etsy has expanded the number of shops that can use the ads, and has removed the restriction on the shop’s primary language. Staring on October 9th, all listings in English (even if this isn’t the seller’s primary language) are eligible for search ads. Etsy says this will make the ads available to thousands of more sellers.

    Finally, changes to ads don’t go into effect until the next day at this time, but next week, that will change, and set-up and modification will be “almost instantaneous” according to the company.

  • Ass Kicking Presidential Portraits Get The Job Done

    Ass Kicking Presidential Portraits Get The Job Done

    (image)

    New Presidential Seal

    Everyone in the United States knows that one of the reasons we have become one of the most powerful nations to inhabit the earth in all of history is because we have fantastic presidential leaders. What is not known was why exactly they are badass leaders. Was it because they were awesome diplomats? Or maybe because they bartered peace between 2 warring countries. No, it was because they kicked ass and took names.

    Jason Heuser is an American artist from San Francisco who decided to put his patriotism and love for history into these amazing prints. He decided to show the true history of some of our most beloved Presidents. All of this artwork is also available to buy on his Etsy page for around $25. Check out his Deviant Art page too for more great awesomeness.

    You know, I do a lot of these types of posts, but I cannot remember one that I have been more excited to do. I was nearly giddy while writing this up. From Kennedy’s robot unicorn on the moon, to Reagan’s uzi that says Gipper on the side, I was laughing the entire time I wrote this. I really hope Jason is able to do more of these pieces. Oh, and I also threw in a print of how Ben Franklin really discovered electricity….he took it from Zues’ cold dead hands.

    Ronald Reagan Riding A Velociraptor

    (image)

    “‘Mr. Gorbachev, I tore down that wall!’ The famous speech President Ronald Reagan gave after he destroyed the Berlin wall. He rode he most trusty steed into battle…a raptor which he had the CIA clone for such an occasion. Practice Reaganomics today and buy this print to show your love for ‘merica!”

    George Washington Zombie Hunter

    (image)

    “George Washington was known for many things…being a great general, having wooden dentures (okay they weren’t really wooden, cutting down the cherry tree, and being nicknamed the ‘Destroyer of Villages.’ But what many don’t know is he was an avid zombie hunter. This is a picture of one of his many adventures out into the night to give some ‘Liberty and Justice to all.’”

    Abe Lincoln Riding a Grizzly

    (image)

    “If history could only be this awesome, Abe Lincoln riding the worlds most awesome bear, the Grizzly. He’s also carrying the worlds most awesome gun the M16. Enjoy this piece of historic and accurate work.”

    John F. Kennedy Alien Hunter

    (image)

    “In 1963 after the alleged JFK assassination, John F. Kennedy was sent the moon to be the first man to walk on the moon. This was kept secret to us, and we were made to believe he was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963. Upon arrival his mission was to clear the moon of any alien life to make future moon landings easy and safe. He lived on the moon for 26 years hunting and slaying aliens until NASA lost communication….his death has still not been confirmed however and many believe hes still murdering aliens today.”

    Teddy Roosevelt VS. Bigfoot

    (image)

    “He’s one of America’s most bad-ass presidents….Teddy Roosevelt. Not only did Teddy Roosevelt give a speech with a bullet in his chest, but what many people don’t know is he slaughtered many bigfoot in his time…this is a picture of one of those events.”

    Thomas Jefferson Vs Gorilla

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    “Thomas Jefferson was never much of a warrior history tells us, but yet again history is wrong. This is an image of one of the many attempts by Jefferson to battle all the manliest animals on earth while trying to teach them the ways of America.”

    FDR Battle Master

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    “FDR, arguable one of the best presidents of all time. Known for his program “The New Deal” and other such accomplishments, what is not not known is his many victories in battle against many different types of enemies. FDR possessed great power and technology as can be seen from his transforming wheel chair in which he slayed many foes.”

    Andrew Jackson Alien Slayer

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    “In the year 2055 the world was invaded, humanity sat on the brink of destruction the world governments united and sent agents back in time to get the best general we’d ever known…Andrew Jackson and throughout his life he did a lot of cool shit, dueled people…a lot which is how he ended up with a musket ball in his chest pretty much exactly like Tony Stark. Went to war, gambled, etc, etc . This is a war portrait as he stands victorious in yet another battle.”

    Ben Franklin VS. Zeus

    (image)

    “In 1752 before Ben Franklin invented pizza, Gameboy, the iPad2 or Mexican food, he was contemplating how to conquer electricity. Being the genius he was he decided go get it at its source, this being Zeus. Strapping himself to a kite, and equipping some homemade lightning claws he ascended through the clouds and into the realm of the Gods to battle it out with Zeus. This is a painting capturing the exact moment the battle started.”

  • These Star Wars Crochet Patterns Show Why You Can Even Sell PDFs On Etsy

    These Star Wars Crochet Patterns Show Why You Can Even Sell PDFs On Etsy

    The average Etsy may not like it much when Etsy features sellers who aren’t selling handmade goods, but something tells me the community will be alright with sellers selling PDF documents, particularly if they’re this awesome (and, of course, have to do with handmade goods).

    Etsy seller lucyravenscar is selling PDFs of Star Wars crochet patterns. That’s 13 patterns for $34, and not even with the actual crafts. Just patterns.

    And Feedback is 100% postitive.

    The seller is selling patterns for Boba Fett, C-3PO, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, an Ewok, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, a Jawa, Obi-Wan Kenobi (young and old), Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Stormtrooper and Yoda. Here are some pics:

    Star Wars crochet

    Star Wars crochet

    Star Wars crochet

    This is exactly the kind of thing that is making Etsy one of the hottest ecommerce sites on the web. Earlier this week, Etsy announced new Facebook integration, which as we’ve seen with other sites, can have an enormous impact on growth.

    (hat tip to Google’s Irene Au)