Hi am new , and struggling with a lot of issues. Am just a hobbyist really, love making things
I have Etsy shop which I finally took the plunge to open a folksy shop but with 3 items listed no sales yet. I don’t understand how to use the stipe card with all the jargon etc so I closed it after panic. Do you really need it? I did the PayPal thingy not 100% on that either but have a rough idea. Then there a wonder about the plus account, is it worth the money? Or do I just wave the white flag and stick with Etsy ( who is full of ai and scam . Sorry for the rant. But would appreciate and insight. ?
Hello and welcome firstly we aren’t allowed to mention the other side on here. Just put a capital E if need be and I understand your frustration is getting your shop set up we have been here 5mths and it took a while to sort everything out…
you do need both PayPal and stripe set up for payment…stripe is very similar to PayPal but a different set up..(someone more knowledgeable may correct me if I’m wrong) make sure you fill in all the relevant information and your social media links…
welcome to folksy…firstly…don’t panic…
I have been here for 16 years and have never had a stripe account …you don’t need it. Just the paypal account and that has always worked well for me…as for the plus account it is well worth the money…just the cost of a coffee and cake…you can pay for it monthly or yearly. Then you can renew your items as often as you like. I have over 500 items in my shop..imagine paying for relists for those every 4 months…but I can renew as often as I like at no extra cost…“E” doesn’t give you that does it…Folksy is a lovely friendly place to be but you need to list more items to get noticed and join us all here on the forums…everyone is here to help you x…
on E my " 500 +" items would cost me £100 every 4 months…here on Folksy just £80 (ish) for the whole year and I can renew them as often as I like…no contest…xx
It’s definitely worth having Stripe as some buyers don’t like using paypal and will move on if they can’t pay by card. Maybe half of my sales are through Stripe. Stripe’s fees are also a bit less than PP. But get yourself set up with Paypal first and do Stripe when you settle in.
Stripe is useful as some customers don’t like using Paypal, but no need to rush, you can add it later if you feel you want to. Ask on here if/when you are ready, and someone will walk you though it.
On the Plus account, don’t rush into buying a full year at the beginning. It does give the benefit of unlimited listings and relistings, but you need a fair number of items to make the cost worthwhile.
Plus does give you other benefits though - such as access to specific promotional events and discounts. You could just sign up for the monthly subscription to try it out before committing for a year. Some people just stay on monthly - it is more expensive but you can can stop and restart at any time - useful if you are more of a seasonal seller.
I had a look at your shop and you have made a great start, so don’t panic! There is a lot to learn but you do not have to do everything at once. What you have done so far is great, shop looks good and now you can just do one thing at a time as you grow in confidence.
Stripe - I was here a long time before I had Stripe. I struggled with setting it up and think it took me several attempts over many weeks but I got there in the end. There’s always someone here to help and Folksy Admin are fantastic if you get really stuck. It is handy to have and saves a few pennies. BUT you don’t have to have it, and as others will tell you, they get along fine without it. I’d put this one on the back burner, don’t give yourself the stress, deal with it when you feel ready.
Plus Account - suits some shops, not others. I have it at the moment, it’s very convenient, but I have quite a lot of lower priced items. I list two or three items a week. Again, I’d advise not to rush into it. It has cost you very little to set your shop up, so unless you have a whole heap of items ready for listing, I think you would be better to concentrate on growing your stock, wait until your items come round for relisting and then make a decision.
You do not need a Stripe account for buyers to use their card. PayPal has the option for making a credit or debit card payment at the bottom of the login dialog box.
Thank you . I will just take my time , I think I will stick with PayPal for now and work this out properly, I do have a lot of items on standby but am just trying out first . It took me ages to work with E and I still struggle with it all and never understood how things work also they kept changing things thank you
This is another thing I’ve previously advised Folksy on. If a seller only accepts PayPal, many buyers assume that means they must have a PayPal account and will abandon the purchase if they don’t have one.
The fact is buyers can pay by debit or credit card through the PayPal checkout without having a PayPal account, and a prominent message telling buyers they can use their debit or credit card through the PayPal checkout would remove a very obvious barrier to purchase, but Folksy won’t do it.
Thank you , I did this myself once when buying something they only took PayPal , I think it was PayPal who said I could use a card . Thank you so much for your kind support and help
firstly we aren’t allowed to mention the other side on here. Just put a capital E if need be and I understand your frustration is getting your shop set up we have been here 5mths and it took a while to sort everything out…
