In response to a thread proposing on-site payment processing for all Etsy purchases, Rokali gave this response:
Yes, this is something we’re working on. It’s a large project and requires a hefty amount of legal, technical and operational planning, with almost no margin for making any mistakes.
The most common complaint we hear from buyers concerning the checkout process is having to pay every seller separately, off-site.
This also creates the problem of the “non-paying buyer,” i.e. someone who purchases an item on Etsy but never pays for the item. This is a big drain on both sellers and our own customer support.
Any online transaction is going to involve a “middleman” between the buyer & a seller’s bank account. We’d still allow for a buyer to specify PayPal at checkout if that’s what they preferred. Many other online ecommerce sites do this.
Having our own in-house payment system would also facilitate site-wide gift-certificates, coupons, an affiliate program and more. It’d also entirely eliminate non-paying buyers.
We’ll keep everyone updated as to our planning here. This is something we’d announce several months ahead of time, if we get the go-ahead in the first round (legal) of implementation.
Posted at 6:37 pm, December 26 2007 EST
You can follow the entire thread here.
January 1st, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Well, talk about a reason to not have all your eggs in one basket!
Etsy seems pretty determined to let the basket get smashed in their slowly unfolding train wreck.
December 31st, 2007 at 10:25 pm
True, yes. I wonder if we’ll be in nursing homes before they even tell buyers which currency they’re shopping in, let alone implement this!
But then they do have a history of implementing new things that aren’t needed well ahead of things that desperately are needed, so who knows. Either way, the mere thought of this change scares the pants off me!
December 31st, 2007 at 8:24 pm
I think the panic is a little too early. Later in that thread Rob says he doesnt want to answer questions because he doesn’t even know if it’s something they will be doing. Which leads me to believe that like everything else of importance, it will never get done. They haven’t even fleshed out the legalities of it much less started any coding. Nope, this is one change I’ll likely be in a nursing home by the time they implement it.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
I also wonder if Etsy is handing the payments, would they take an additional cut from the sale price?
Right now we pay 3.5% of the sale price to Etsy and then another cut goes to paypal.
If Etsy replaced paypal they would have to charge for the payment processing, will they charge more or less than paypal charges?
December 28th, 2007 at 4:14 am
I suppose if you could still specify that you take or prefer Paypal, that would be fine.
However, I imagine Etsy would want sellers and buyers alike to use their payment system. Most future site explanations or payment process improvements would be centered on that option, I would guess, and they already don’t make it very clear or convenient for some people about how to pay with Paypal or credit cards.
Notable is how long it took them to fix the autobilling earlier this year. I don’t want a company that can’t even handle paying themselves to be in charge of paying me.
Pretty much everything Etsy does lacks proper thinking through of the details, and most features are generally pretty limited in function. The customer service decisions are arbitrary and inconsistent. The idea of ‘Etsy-Pal’ fills me with dread.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:57 am
I don’t sell on sites where I do all the work and someone else has my money…if they implement this without out an opt-out I’m gone from Etsy…that’s just good business sense given their history.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:54 am
could a seller still pick just paypal for payment? rob’s saying the buyer can pick. what about the seller? what if i only want to accept paypal payments? are they going to make me accept this “integrated system payment thing?”
I do not trust Etsy to appropriately handle money. I’ve been overbilled already. (i can’t argue it because i dont’ have specifics–i’ll keep better track in the future) but i know i did not spend what they said one month. They can’t seem to get their poop together on billing. they’ve screwed up other money issues. additionally they do not behave impartially like EVER. so, no.
Besides, wouldn’t this make them no longer JUST A VENUE? and wouldn’t ETSY then be liable for things like copyright violations and the pacifier mess?
December 28th, 2007 at 2:17 am
JB Says:
If Etsy were handling the payments then they’d also have to mediate payment disputes, which I unfortunately do not trust them to handle fairly and professionally, without bias or emotion.
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Etsy judge disputes impartially and without bias?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Seriously, every person on their internal wiki blacklist ought to be afraid.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:14 am
*holds CheapThreads*
I am also concerned about how quickly sellers would be paid under such a system. I can totally see Etsy deciding something ridiculous like paying everyone once a month. In the meantime, thousands and thousands of dollars would be sitting there collecting interest for THEM instead of for the SELLERS. Any kind of integrated payment system must have INSTANTANEOUS transfers.
And what’s more, they’d better plan on offering 24-7 customer support for just such a system. They can’t just operate on Brooklyn time only if they implement this. Sellers in Asia/Australia can’t be expected to stay up until the wee hours of the morning or wait days for an email response when it comes to payment problems.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:05 am
All of the above and then some…
After all the experiences I have had with this company, screw ups I’ve witnessed and in light of their apparent lack of expertise at everything, a change like this would be enough to make me really, super extra rethink any involvement with selling on the site.
Simply horrifying.