When I first started selling on Etsy, I came across an important decision: whether to set my listings to auto-renew or manually renew them. Unlike other marketplaces where listings are free, Etsy charges 20 cents for each listing. So, it's crucial to consider whether it's worth paying that fee every time the listing renews.
For sellers like me who create digital art designs or engage in print-on-demand, where I generate hundreds or even thousands of designs, those 20 cents can add up quickly. It's especially important during the initial phase when I'm testing different designs to understand what works and what doesn't. Gathering data and feedback is essential to making informed decisions about which products to list more of.
That's why, in the beginning, I highly recommend avoiding auto-renewing all your listings. Doing so would significantly increase your business expenses, repeatedly renewing listings that may never sell again. Instead, I have a different approach that has been cost-effective and efficient for me.
To manually renew your listings, start by going to your store page. Scroll down to view all your sales (chances are, you won't have thousands of sales initially, so this process won't take too long). Right-click on each sold listing and open it in a new tab. You can do this page by page to keep things organized and manageable.
Next, go to your shop manager, navigate to your listings, and select "Expired Listings" from the side menu. Here, you'll see the expired listings that you need to review. For example, let's say you have 844 expired listings. You don't want to set all of them to auto-renew because not all of them have sold organically. Instead, focus on the ones that have already sold.
To do this, search for the URL of each listing in your browser's search bar. Once you find the listing, manually renew it. Then, go back into the listing and set it to auto-renew for the future. By following this process, you ensure that you're only auto-renewing listings that have a proven track record of sales.
Taking this manual approach has saved me a significant amount of money. Let's consider the example of the shop I mentioned earlier with 844 expired listings. If I had set all of them to auto-renew, it would have cost me $168.80 in listing fees. That's a substantial amount of money wasted on listings that may not sell again.
Instead, I encourage you to follow my strategy. Renew your listings manually for those that have sold previously, and then set them to auto-renew for future sales. This way, you won't need to manually renew those listings anymore, and they will continue to generate sales organically or through targeted advertising campaigns.
It's important to approach your Etsy business with a cost-conscious mindset...especially in the beginning. By avoiding unnecessary auto-renewals, you can save hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars throughout the year. Don't let those listing fees eat into your profits!
I hope this insight helps you navigate the auto-renewal feature on Etsy more effectively. Remember, being mindful of your expenses is a key aspect of running a successful and profitable business on Etsy.
If you'd like to watch the complete video explanation of this, check it out below.