Etsy Testing Make Offer & Displaying Seller Order History

Etsy appears to be testing some new features, specifically a feature to display how many orders a seller has had in the last 30 days and an option to allow buyers to make offers.

Sellers reported the order numbers/regions being displayed were not accurate and noticed it disappeared quickly in a possible acknowledgement the feature wasn't ready for prime time.

new shop has sold information on listing

Uff, I don’t know what to say and am not sure when it started. Shop has sold x in the last 30 days, to paraphrase, is now in the listing information. I am sure Etsy is doing it to build buyer confidence or something, but it makes me anxious. I know it’s silly, but like tears welling up in my eyes an…

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Uff, I don't know what to say and am not sure when it started. Shop has sold x in the last 30 days, to paraphrase, is now in the listing information. I am sure Etsy is doing it to build buyer confidence or something, but it makes me anxious. I know it's silly, but like tears welling up in my eyes anxious. I know it is past trauma that makes me so guarded, but I feel uneasy with this info open to everyone. I am an artist, not a publicly traded company. I suddenly feel the urge to go hide with the lights turned off. I take no issue with the total number of sales displayed, but this new tidbit I am not OK with.

It is a test, I think.... I've seen it too and think it's invasive. Hopefully they do away with it.

I am seeing it, in two different places on each listing. And it goes by country - it shows I have 0 sales to Canada in the last 30 days, but shows close-to-accurate order totals (not sales) if I switch my settings to the US.

Makes it easier to spy on the competition, I guess - if it were accurate.

It also appears Etsy may be playing around with adding additional information to recommendations as well.

I also noticed the drop down recommendations list you get when you search for something, where they give the most popular suggestions now says XXsearches this month, or wording to that effect in red after the keywords.

Sellers are also reporting Etsy is now allowing them to set up "make an offer" on their listings.

While it is an optional feature, sellers are concerned that it could lead to "race to the bottom" pricing once buyers start to expect to be able to negotiate.

Those fears are well founded in my opinion - increasing use of offers and coupons have certainly had that effect on eBay.

Now being asked if we want to let customers make offers?

OMG on my listings page there’s a question at the top Want to let customers make offers on your listings? DISMISS or SETUP! I’m not dealing with that crap sounds like Poshmark! What the heck are these guys doing to us? MAD FACE!

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OMG on my listings page there's a question at the top

Want to let customers make offers on your listings?

DISMISS or SETUP!

I'm not dealing with that crap sounds like Poshmark!

What the heck are these guys doing to us? MAD FACE!

It creates the expectation that ALL shops should offer it. They see it in one shop, and assume ALL should barter and prices are negotiable.

Because it will mean buyers put pressure on sellers who don't want it, thinking they can pay less than an item is worth, and get difficult when a seller refuses.

Sure, optional. But you know eventually there will be a search filter for "ACCEPTS OFFERS".

They can put out a new tv ad:

Etsy: Now a subsidiary of Ebay !

Next they'll set up auctions.

when I shop around on ebay, I accept the formats offered because it is one or the other (or buy it now), I do not go around bidding lower than someone's starting bid unless I feel a (quirky) item is way overpriced, in that case it will only hurt someone's feelings at most. On Etsy there currently is only one format, so it would add a whole new level to the playing field and I am not comfortable with that, not for my other shop with expensive items or for this shop where I get enough low ball offers as it is...

I sell vintage so already get plenty of people asking for a discount. Now people will see others on Etsy allowing offers so there will be even more people asking for discounts that I will need to respond to. TIME SUCK! If you do decide to allow offers you can bet that any buyer that sees it will read it as "you'd be a fool not to request a discount". Should add that on occasion, I do offer a discount when someone asks when I feel there is room for it but most of the time I don't and sure don't want to encourage more requests!

It's well known that when Etsy starts playing around with testing, technical glitches are usually soon to appear - which may explain the massive panic caused this morning when sellers were told their accounts were suspended in error.

Etsy Causes Panic With Shop Suspended Bank Verification Glitch

Etsy sellers see red as glitch falsely reports shops suspended due to failed bank account verification.

Value Added ResourceLiz Morton ~ Founder

What do you think of these new features? Will you opt in to Make An Offer? Let us know in the comments below!