With a staggering 86.53 million active users, it’s no wonder more and more WooCommerce store owners are keen to start selling on Etsy. This is especially true if you’re selling vintage eCommerce items and craft supplies.
This begs the question: how do you integrate Etsy with your WooCommerce store?
In response to this common query, we’re walking you through how to do precisely that to help you can kickstart your multichannel selling strategy.
There’s lots to cover in this tutorial, so let’s get started.
Why Integrate Your WooCommerce Store With the Etsy Marketplace?
Etsy is a well-known online marketplace, with 4.1 million sellers choosing to do business via this platform. With so many entrepreneurs selling their wares here, it’s no wonder that in 2020 Etsy generated a whopping $1.7 billion in sales.
Its focus is mainly on the aforementioned vintage items and handmade eCommerce products. For instance, crafts, jewelry, bags, clothing, furniture, etc. If you sell products like this, integrating your WooCommerce store with Etsy could be a wise business move for you. Not least because once you’ve successfully integrated your WooCommerce and Etsy shops, you can:
- Manage inventory across both sales channels
- Track multiple orders
- Upload product information to either online store from the convenience of your WooCommerce backend.
That said, there are several other benefits to integrating your WooCommerce store with Etsy that are worth noting:
- Synchronization: As we’ve already hinted at, you don’t have to run two separate stores. With a WooCommerce-Etsy integration, you’ll save lots of time and effort as your product data, orders, and stock-keeping units (SKUs) for both stores automatically sync with one another. As a result, both your WooCommerce and Etsy stores benefit from real-time inventory updates, so you don’t run the risk of overselling. You can also sync products, attributes, including product prices, images, etc. Again this saves tons of time on the tedious task of updating multiple eCommerce platforms.
- Boost brand exposure: In 2021, Etsy had 81.9 million active buyers, so there’s lots of potential to increase your brand’s exposure.
- Establish yourself as unique: As Etsy focuses on individual, creative, and often handmade items, establishing yourself as a one-of-a-kind brand is easy.
- Low overheads: Like running a WooCommerce store, you don’t have the costly overhead costs that come with running a traditional brick-and-mortar business.
- Payment options: Etsy partners with several third-party payment platforms, including Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal, Worldpay, Adyen, and more. In addition, they accept all major debit and credit cards as well as Etsy-exclusive payment methods like Etsy Credit, Etsy Coupon, and Etsy Gift Card.
- Advertising Tools: Etsy has several advertising tools built into the platform that makes it easy for you to:
- List products on social media platforms like Facebook
- Run promotions conveniently from your Etsy dashboard, including percentage discounts, fixed discounts, or a pre-set discount when customers buy a certain number of items.
- Automatically send abandoned cart emails that include a discount.
- Send automated emails containing thank you messages and discounts on the customer’s next purchase immediately after they’ve bought something.
- Run Etsy ad campaigns. You can set a daily budget and decide which countries your ads are shown to (you’re charged per click).
Etsy Fees
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a closer look at Etsy’s fees:
- Product listing fees: For each item listed on Etsy, there’s a $0.20 charge. There are no costs for editing a listing, and unless you create a “Private Listing,” you’re charged regardless of whether you sell the item. In contrast, with “Private Listings,” you’re only charged once the item is sold. These are intended for reserved sales or custom order requests and won’t appear publicly. Etsy charges $0.20 for any type of listing upon auto-renewal. This occurs once an item’s sold or once every four months.
- Transaction fees: Each time you make a sale, you’re charged a 5% transaction fee of the displayed product price, delivery fee, and gift wrapping costs.
- Subscription fees: It’s free to sign up and launch an Etsy shop. However, you can opt for a $10 a month subscription to unlock various perks. These include more advanced shop customizations, discounts on business cards (30% off Moo), printable promotional materials, product listing and ad credits, and more.
- Payment processing fees: These charges are based on your bank account’s location, as well as your total sales, tax, and postage.
- Integration Fees: Different Etsy to WooCommerce/WordPress plugins come with varying charges.
- Advertising Fees: Etsy offers a couple of advertising options that come with different prices:
- Off-site ads: Etsy partners with numerous off-site advertisement networks, including search engines, social media sites, and apps. This service has no upfront cost. Instead, you’re charged once a sale is made. The amount charged depends on your yearly revenue. If you make less than $10,000 a year, you’re charged a 15% fee; this drops to 12% if you make over $10,000 a year. It’s worth noting that off-site advertising fees won’t exceed $100, regardless of the totals of your Etsy orders.
- Etsy ads: As we’ve already mentioned, you can also promote your listings and/or shop on Etsy and set a daily budget for this PPC advertising.
How to Integrate Your WooCommerce Store with Etsy
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s turn our attention to our step-by-step guide on integrating your WooCommerce store with Etsy:
Step 1: Create an Etsy Account
If you haven’t done so already, you’ll need an Etsy account to get started. To do this, head to Etsy’s homepage and click ‘Sell on Etsy.’ You’ll then be prompted to fill in information about your business. For example, your shop’s language, country, and currency. You’ll also need to choose a shop name that doesn’t match any of Etsy’s existing sellers.
You’ll also need to enter your preferred credit or debit card information to receive customer payments during the store creation process. Note that Etsy also requires you to verify your identity before you’re allowed to start selling and receiving payments on Etsy.
You’ll also be prompted to create your first listings. Lastly, upload a banner and profile picture, update your store’s description, and frequently asked questions to ensure your Etsy store looks professional.
Step 2: Connect Etsy to WooCommerce
After successfully creating an Etsy account, it’s time to link it to your WooCommerce store. The easiest way to integrate your Etsy and WooCommerce store is to purchase the Etsy Integration for WooCommerce.
For $199 a year, this extension fully synchronizes your Etsy and WooCommerce stores’:
- Inventory
- Pricing
- Item attributes
- Product catalogs
…you can also assign separate inventory rules for each store, pricing plans, and shipping options. Order management is also made so much easier from one centralized location.
To kickstart the integration process, ensure you’re logged into your Etsy account. Then purchase the plugin and upload it to your WordPress website.
Step 3: Configure the Plugin
Navigate to your WooCommerce admin panel and find CedCommerce. Underneath, click the Etsy tab. Next, a popup will appear. Here, click “Add account” to link your Etsy Store. Then, enter your exact Etsy shop name and click the “Authorize” button.
Next, you’ll be redirected to an authorization page. Here you’ll have to log in with your seller login details. Then, click “Allow Access” to enable API access, sign in to your Etsy Store as prompted, and hit “Configure.”
Now your Etsy account will be linked to your WooCommerce store. You can manage this integration from the Etsy Panel inside your WooCommerce dashboard. From here, you can click “Configure” to make further edits to your store connection. For instance, you can modify your:
- Product export settings
- Meta keys
- Attributes
- Title prefix or suffix your WooCommerce products will use when listed on Etsy.
You can also dictate the products descriptions uploaded to Etsy if you want them to be different from the description published on your WooCommerce store. You can also add product tags and materials, decide where products will be displayed on your Etsy shop, and map WooCommerce categories to your Etsy categories.
Are There Other Ways to Integrate WooCommerce with Etsy?
The price tag may make the Etsy Integration for WooCommerce plugin unsuitable for newer sellers with tighter budgets. So, are there other ways to integrate WooCommerce with Etsy? The answer is yes:
With Another WooCommerce-Etsy Plugin:
LitCommerce is an alternative WooCommerce-Etsy integration plugin with a free version. However, the downside of LitCommerce’s free version is that it’s only available for 20 listings. It also won’t sync orders, which means you won’t get inventory updates automatically from each store.
However, the Basic plan boasts similar features to CedCommerce’s Etsy Integration plugin. But, at $299 a year, it’s more expensive. As such, if you’re looking for a full Etsy-WooCommerce integration, you find it any cheaper with LitCommerce. It’s also worth bearing in mind the Basic plan limits you to 500 listings, whereas CedCommerce imposes no such boundaries.
Using an Integration Platform:
Another option is to use an integration platform like Automate.io or Integromat. These work as bots that perform repetitive tasks that would otherwise need executing manually.
Browsing Integromat’s platform, you’ll find various applications, including common WooCommerce to Etsy tasks which function by creating rules with triggers and actions. I.e., if X happens, perform Y. More specifically, here are some of the tasks Integromat can handle:
- Sync WooCommerce product data with Etsy
- Add an Etsy listing from a modified product in WooCommerce
- Add or update product variations in WooCommerce to a new listing in Etsy
Automation platforms like these are pretty flexible. They allow you to create specific rules that trigger automations that make the most sense for your business. However, the downside is that it’s nowhere near as intuitive as a plugin that grants complete control over both inventories from your WooCommerce dashboard.
Not to mention, as your processes change, you’ll need to modify your pre-set rules. Also, if you miss a part of your workflow, there will be gaps in your automations where the desired action might not trigger.
All in all, automation platforms might initially be cheaper as you can set up to 600 actions per month for $9.99. However, bots can fail if the data isn’t regularly checked and connections aren’t re-attempted. So, you might have to upgrade to a more expensive plan that automatically retries actions if necessary. Such a plan would set you back $468 per year, which, again, is much more costly than CedCommerce’s Etsy Integration for WooCommerce.
Are You Ready to Integrate Etsy With Your WooCommerce Store?
If you run a thriving WooCommerce store selling creative and craft-related products that could flourish on Etsy, integrating your stores is a good idea. An Etsy to WooCommerce integration allows you to easily upload new WooCommerce listings to your Etsy shop with ease. Not to mention, managing customer orders, product inventories, and editing product attributes, titles, descriptions, pricing, and shipping rules is made hassle-free!
That said, once you start to benefit from a successful integration with Etsy, it’s essential not to neglect your WooCommerce store. Unlike Etsy, you’re solely responsible for providing a first-rate user experience.
In light of that, if you need assistance managing your WooCommerce store, adding fresh features, or improving your website’s performance, consider engaging experienced WordPress developers with Codeable. Codeable carefully vets all of its developers to ensure complete peace of mind. In addition, your funds are held in escrow and aren’t released until you’re delighted with the end result. Best of all, you’ll be matched with a developer who boasts relevant experience in under a day – so rest assured, you’ll be able to hit the ground running fast.
So, what are you waiting for? Submit your WooCommerce or WordPress development project to Codeable for free today!
