I had a notice in my etsy shop this week that my shop now has the option of offering “direct checkout”. This is a new feature that’s being rolled out this month to sellers, and will be available to all shops soon. It’s a pretty big change from the standard Paypal checkout, so I thought it was worth a little discussion.
What is Direct Checkout? It’s a payment option that lets buyers worldwide simply checkout in your etsy shop without being re-directed offsite to Paypal. You can read etsy’s official announcement, but these are the basics:
1. If you use Direct Checkout, the money is NOT automatically deposited into your paypal account. You will have to set up a bank link in your etsy shop settings.
2. Direct Checkout will cost you 3% plus $.25 per transaction, which is automatically deducted at checkout. (As a comparison, Paypal charges most sellers 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction). For small price items, direct checkout is cheaper. For pricier goods, you’ll make more money with Paypal checkout.
3. You will NOT be automatically set up to use Direct Checkout. You have to opt-in and set up your bank link.
4. Each shop can decide which payment methods to accept. You can continue as is, or offer this as an alternative to Paypal.
Honestly, I’m not sure how Swanky Press will handle the new option. On one hand, it gives buyers an option they might really like. On the other hand, it’s one more place to have to manage money and keep track of fees. I like the simplicity of everything being deposited directly to paypal.
(And if you love that vintage cash register – check it out on etsy at msp2012. The brand new shop has some great photography for sale!)
