We understand that extraordinary circumstances can have an impact on your business. During these times, it can be challenging to balance running your shop with caring for yourself and your family.
If you’ll be away from your shop temporarily, there are steps you can take to set yourself up for success when you return. Creating a plan in advance and periodically updating it can help reduce stress when an emergency occurs. These steps can help you create a plan:
Know your limitations
It’s important to set healthy limits when your attention is required elsewhere. Make sure that you have the time and resources to manage your shop before making commitments to your buyers. Think about how many orders you can complete in a day or a week, the supplies you have, and how much time you can spend on your shop. This can help you determine how many orders you can realistically fulfill.
Consider the resources you have access to and what may be impacted by an emergency. Certain events, like weather, may affect your shipping or supply deliveries. Taking the time to look for alternative resources can help keep your shop running smoothly.
Ask friends or family for help
If you run your shop on your own, consider training a trusted friend or family member to help manage your shop. They could assist with shipping orders that are ready to be mailed, issuing refunds if necessary, or responding to Messages.
Communicate with your buyers
If you anticipate that you won’t be able to fulfill orders within your processing times for any reason, be transparent with your buyers. Let your buyers know about delays and when you plan to ship their orders through Messages. Provide your buyers with detailed updates as often as possible.
If you’re unable to meet a buyer’s deadline or if they don’t agree to the changed timeline, you can refund and cancel the order.
You can let your buyers know about delays and when you plan to ship their orders If you’re in a position to continue accepting orders, edit your processing times to account for delays and accurately reflect the time you need to complete your orders.
You can also set up an auto-reply in your Messages for up to 5 days for any buyer who may contact you.
Turn on Vacation Mode
Putting your shop in Vacation Mode will remove items from public view and prevent buyers from placing new orders. Vacation Mode is a good option if you have limited or no access to your shop. Please keep in mind that open orders should be either fulfilled or refunded.
With vacation mode, you can set up an auto-reply for people who send you a Message, and shoppers can sign up to get a message when you return. You can customize your shop banner or cover photo and update your shop announcement to let everyone know you’re taking a break.
Ask Etsy for support
You’re welcome to reach out to Etsy Support for guidance if you’re in a tough situation. We can help you come up with a plan to make sure your commitments to buyers are still fulfilled while you’re busy handling personal matters. To contact Etsy Support, choose Contact support at the bottom of this page.
As the situation in Ukraine continues to unfold, Etsy is working to support our sellers in affected areas. If you’re a seller in Ukraine or Russia, please review this information to see if it answers your question.
I’m in Belarus or Russia, and Etsy suspended my shopGiven expanding sanctions and business restrictions, sellers in Belarus and Russia will no longer be able to access Etsy.com starting April 4. We don’t know when business restrictions will be lifted. However, we’re monitoring the situation closely, and we’ll be in touch with any updates as soon as we can. Our support agents can’t provide any further information at this time.
If you’re located in Belarus or Russia, until April 4, you’ll still be able to communicate with your customers, fulfill open orders, and download your shop’s data. However, after April 4, you won’t be able to access Etsy.com, the Etsy shopping app, or the Etsy Seller app. We encourage you to fulfill or refund any open orders before April 4. If your buyer requests a refund, and they paid via PayPal, direct them to PayPal for additional support. Your data will not be deleted, but because you won’t have access to Etsy, you should consider saving your shop data. Learn how to download a file with your reviews, orders, and more for reference in the future.
If you’re unable to fulfill your orders at this time, we recommend reaching out to your buyers and letting them know you need to cancel and refund these orders. Once you do this, you may want to put your shop on Vacation Mode if your account is not suspended, so you no longer receive new orders.
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