The 411 on Etsy Direct Checkout

Etsy rolled out a new payment feature called direct checkout this summer.  Lots of Etsy sellers are already using direct checkout, but I thought I would share some information about the feature for anyone still on the fence or unclear about the benefits.

What is direct checkout?

With direct checkout, a buyer will be able to purchase an item without being redirected from Etsy or without the use of PayPal. Funds from sales through direct checkout will be deposited into your bank account.

Are there any fees for direct checkout?

When using direct checkout as a payment method, Etsy will charge a payment processing fee of 3% + $0.25 USD per order. (I believe PayPal charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction so the pricing is comparable)

When do funds become available for direct checkout payments?

The amount from your sale, minus payment processing fees, is available for deposit to your bank account once the order is marked as "shipped" and any applicable deposit delay passes since the sale. The majority of shops have a standard deposit delay of three days. The funds are automatically deposited into your bank account.

How do you set up direct checkout?

Just go to Shop Settings > Shipping & Payment > Payment Method and select that you want to activate Etsy direct checkout. You'll have to enter your bank account information and Etsy will make two small deposits (a couple cents) into your account within a couple days, which you'll have to confirm to begin receiving deposits. However, at this point you are ready to start accepting Etsy direct checkout. You just can't get your money until you confirm the small deposits from Etsy.

What are the benefits of using Etsy direct checkout?

- Ability to accept Etsy Gift Cards! You can not accept gift cards in your shop if you only have PayPal activated. Think about all the people receiving Etsy gift cards for the holidays this year - you'll want to show up in their searches come January :)

- Easier shipping options. Right now Etsy has the option to print USPS shipping labels to USA buyers, but there are big plans for lots of other shipping features, which will probably be only available to direct checkout purchases because of all the controls that need to be in place.

- Offer your customers more options.  To be honest, it took me a few weeks to get direct checkout set up in my shop because I was just being lazy and Paypal was working fine for me.  However, once I sat down to do it I realized a.) it took less than 5 minutes and b.) I immediately started getting sales from customers using direct checkout.  Would they have passed if I only offered Paypal? Who knows, but why take the chance?!

You can read more FAQ here: www.etsy.com/help/topics/#Direct_Checkout