Taking Care of Business - Shopping on Etsy how to set up an account

If you have followed me for awhile, you know that I love me some Etsy. Understatement? Perhaps!


But I often receive questions about how to do it. So let me walk you through the steps of how to set up your own Etsy account and get started shopping in the greatest handmade superstore out there! Ready? Let's go.

Step 1 - Go to Etsy.com and click on REGISTER

That will bring you to this screen where you put in your basic information and then choose your user name. THIS is a big deal. You cannot change it. 

IF you are ever considering opening a shop of your own, this name needs to reflect what you will be selling. IF it is just for the shopping experience, anything will do. And I have seen it all! And yes, click on the Etsy Finds newsletter...it definitely adds to your shopping experience!


Step 2 - Confirm your account


Once you have clicked on register, you will need to wait for a confirmation email from Etsy. When it arrives, click through the link in the email and you're good to go! Now log in with the user name you chose and your password (you didn't forget ALREADY?).


Step 3 - Go shopping!


There are SEVERAL ways to do this on Etsy. On the home page, back where you clicked REGISTER there is a button that says BUY. Click on that.


It will bring you to THIS screen.

This might confuse you a bit, but feel free to do some exploring. I will address what each of those buttons / places do in another post.

The easiest way to find what you are really looking for is to click on the CATEGORIES button. Which brings you to this screen. Pretty self explanatory.

One other shopping option I want to leave you with is searching for something particular you have in mind. This can be done from the top of the screen no matter what page your on. Look for this box:

Here you can type in whatever you are looking for. Baby sweater? Egg Cups? Graduation gift? Typewriter? ANYthing! Handmade jewelry by thebeadgirl? :)

You are well on your way to a fantastic handmade shopping experience!

When you are ready to BUY you will have to set up a more official account. Like how you will pay for an item etc. I can walk you through that as well in another post. I recommend PayPal. It's safe and secure. All the sellers use it AND it's easy peasy!

Have anymore questions? As always, feel free to ask!

BE creative!

~ lisa