Etsy is always doing updates and coming up with new things for both sellers and customers. And I sometimes am not sure, as you probably aren’t – what affects my shop and what doesn’t. And after I switched my party decorations to printables that didn’t change. And one of those things I had questions about was about being a start seller. But now that it’s been around a while, let’s answer the question, Does Being A Star Seller Impact Printable Sales on Etsy?
Please note, this page contains affiliate links to products I recommend. If you purchase something from this page, I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. For additional information, please see my privacy and disclosures page.
Being a star seller on Etsy was a bit of a conundrum for a while. But now that it’s been around for about two years, let’s talk about the perks of being a star seller and if it impacts our sales on Etsy.
How to Become a Star Seller
First, let’s talk about what makes you a star seller on Etsy. On the first of every month, Etsy determines your eligibility for the program by looking back at the past three months of your shop. Here’s what’s considered when determining your star seller badge:
They want to make sure that you:
- Replied to all your messages within 24 hours
- Responded to messages quickly to create a great experience for shoppers
- Achieved a review average of 4.8 or higher
- Shipped orders on time with tracking or a label from Etsy
- Sold at least 5 sales worth $300
before the star seller program on etsy, I always wanted to have great reviews and give stellar customer service anyway! And because of that, the criteria kind of felt like no big deal. But the real question is, what are the benefits of the start seller program and does it have an impact on sales?
What You Get With The Star Seller Badge
The first thing that the start seller program gets you is a chat support button on the shop dashboard. Now does this mean that star sellers get direct access to etsy customer service while others don’t? Not necessarily. It just means that Star Sellers have easier access to the button right on their dashboards. Whereas other sellers have to go to the contact etsy section to find ways, including the chat button, to contact customer service.
So is it truly a perk? You be the judge.
The other thing you get with the start seller badge is that you won’t have payment reserves on your account. This actually is a benefit because if you have a payment reserve it’s a huge nuisance and you can’t indicate how often you’d like to get paid.
And the last “perk” is that customers can sort their Etsy searches by star seller. On one hand, I can see this as being a “perk” because anything to lower the competition against other shops on Etsy is a good thing. However, do customers even understand what a star seller is and if not, would they even use that fitler. Again, I’ll let you be the judge.
Does Being A Star Seller Impact Printable Sales on Etsy?
But Etsy does say that your star seller badge does not effect your ranking in their algorithm. So with all that being said, does being a start seller impact printable sales on Etsy?
Well, as a star seller myself, I don’t know that I feel the difference between what it was like before I had the badge and after. However, what I can tell you is that by looking around on the platform, Etsy sellers with the star sellers badge do seem to have more sales than others.
But, this raises the “chicken or the egg” question. Did the badge help them get more sales, or were they already doing well before the badge and so they have more sales? It’s hard to say!
Final Thoughts on The Star Seller Program on Etsy
What I can say is that, as a printables seller (and a handmade party decorations seller previously), I’ve always valued the things that the Star Seller program promotes. Customer Service? Of course! Star ratings? Absolutely! And shipping? Well, as printables designers, that’s something you and I don’t have to worry about so, yay!
The truth is that all of these things that the star seller promotes should already be of high priority to you as an Etsy seller. We want happy customers. And the Star Seller program is all about happy customers.
Related Articles
You might also be interested in the following articles:
Should You Invest in A Course to Start Your Printables Business
Is Selling Printables Too Competitive?
Lastly, thank you so much for taking the time to read, Does Being A Star Seller Impact Printable Sales on Etsy?! I hope this gives you some ideas about what the star seller program means for your printables business. I love to help you celebrate life through party decorations and personal development! But above all, I’d love to connect with you. Reach out to me on Instagram and let’s chat.
xox
Lindsay
