Jason Del Ray for The Needs writes: Online marketplace Etsy will start offering free credit card readers to some of its U.S. sellers as part of an effort to extend its reach beyond the internet.
The dongles, which can be plugged into a smartphone or tablet, will be used in conjunction with an Etsy app to allow sellers to accept credit card and debit card purchases while hawking their wares at craft fairs and in other retail settings. Etsy says more than a third of the people who sell goods on its online marketplace who are based in the U.S. also sell their products at craft fairs.
With the launch, Etsy will for the first time start earning a cut of transactions that happen away from its digital platform. Sellers using the credit card reader will pay Etsy 2.75 percent of each transaction. The readers are only available to sellers who use Etsy’s own payments platform, called Direct Checkout, to accept credit and debit card purchases on Etsy.com and on the Etsy app. Etsy declined to provide information that would be helpful in figuring out how many of its current sellers would qualify to receive the free reader.
The new product will pit Etsy against other reader providers such as Square, PayPal and Amazon. Square charges the same 2.75 percent fee as Etsy while PayPal charges 2.7 percent. Amazon is taking just a 1.75 percent cut on purchases through the end of 2015, but will raise the fee to 2.5 percent after that. [snip]. The article continues @ The Needs, click here to continue reading...
Etsy Moves Further Into The Offline World With Launch Of Card Reader For In-Person Payments
Sarah Perez for TechCrunch writes: Crafts marketplace Etsy this morning announced a further expansion into the offline world with the launch of an Etsy card reader product designed for sellers who want to take credit and debit card payments in person. The move is centered around Etsy’s larger goal to become a one-stop shop for creative business owners who are often marketing their goods in the real world, at craft fairs, farmer’s markets, flea markets, and elsewhere, as well as through their own local outreach efforts.
The new product launch also follows Etsy’s recent launch of Etsy Wholesale, a service that connects sellers with Etsy sellers with retailers around the U.S. and beyond, who can help sellers who are looking to expand and scale their businesses to a larger consumer base. Etsy this morning says that the card reader is next step in its “multi-channel strategy” to power commerce both online and off.
“…90% of all retail purchases are still made offline. We know that many of our sellers sell in channels other than their online Etsy shop,” explains the company in an announcement posted to its blog this morning. “In fact, 35% of Etsy sellers sell at craft fairs.” [snip] The article continues @ TechCrunch.com, click here to continue reading...
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