How to Sell Wedding Invitations on Etsy: Three Things That Must Happen Before You Start
If you can’t tell already, I’m a pretty big fan of selling on Etsy. I decided to start my wedding stationery business on Etsy in 2013, and I haven’t looked back since.
And, because it’s been such a huge source of revenue for my brand, I highly recommend it to other creatives as well.
But–before you get started–it’s important to prepare your shop in order to have the best experience possible.
The thing is, starting a wedding stationery business anywhere online can be challenging due to client miscommunications, product sourcing, supply shortages, packaging, etc. Wedding invitations are such a highly personalized and unique product, and this can be such a stressful time for your clients.
I want you (and your clients!) to both have the best experience possible. And that’s what today’s post is all about–three things that must happen before you sell wedding invitations on Etsy.
Before we get started…
There’s one drawback to having a wedding stationery business on Etsy. We have a limited number of listing variations we can choose from.
What are listing variations? If you offer different options for an item within the same listing, you can add those options as variations.
Etsy allows sellers up to two types of variations for each listing.
For example, one variation could be for the number of invitations needed (where each price would vary) and with the second variation clients could choose their envelope color.
Sellers aren’t obligated to use variations, but I find that most wedding stationers need them because we offer so many add-ons, like envelope addressing, wax seals, etc.
In a perfect world, you’d want something that looks like this from Shine Invitations:
This layout makes the checkout process for wedding invitations so easy! It’s clear, easy to understand, and clients are quickly able to build their suite.
It would be amazing if Etsy allowed this kind of customization for sellers within the checkout process, but it’s unlikely as they want to keep things simple and streamlined for every shop.
Because we are only allowed two variations, stationers often have to find a workaround.
I’ve experimented with this so many different ways, but my current setup includes these two variations:
Variation 1: Build Your Invitation Suite
Buyers choose between options like:
Invitation Only
Or, Invitation + RSVP
Or, Invitation, RSVP + 1 Details Card
Variation 2: Number of Prints + Add-Ons
Buyers can choose their quantity and upgrade their suite with options like:
100 Prints with no add-ons
Or, 100 Prints with Envelope Liners
Or, 100 Prints with Envelope Addressing
Or, 100 Prints with Both Addressing and Envelope Liners
I haven’t decided yet if (or when) I’m going to change my current format for variations. It seems to be working pretty well, but even I’ll admit it’s confusing.
This is what it looks like on the buyer’s end:
You can set your variations similar to this if you’re feeling ambitious. It works very well for semi-custom invitations.
To keep your variations organized, there is a free management tool for Etsy and Shopify sellers called GetVela. This website makes it so easy to bulk edit your listings on Etsy and manage all of your variations.
But if that gives you a headache, there’s an alternative.
You can use one variation with two options: buyers choose between buying a sample or paying a deposit to get started.
This is ideal for those just starting out with learning how to sell wedding invitations on Etsy. It’s also perfect for those of you who offer fully custom stationery.
Alright, now that some of the backend tech is out of the way–let’s get started! Here are three things that must happen before you sell wedding invitations on Etsy.
I. Price for Profit
I know this seems like an obvious step, but I keep going back to this because many stationers are still pricing too low.
If you want to sell wedding invitations on Etsy and make money–the key is to price for profit.
So, how do you do that? Well, this article isn’t a how-to. Each business is different and should approach pricing carefully based on its goals, experience, and clientele. Rather, let’s focus on all the things that go into pricing to make sure you aren’t losing money on unknown expenses.
I currently only offer semi-custom wedding stationery, so nailing down my pricing isn’t as complex for me as it is for other stationers who offer a range of custom design services.
And while we might differ on some things, I hope this helps you feel less intimidated when pricing your products.
how i calculate my pricing
My approach to pricing has allowed me to feel confident I am calculating everything that goes into my products. I want to know the real value of my stationery, down to the penny.
It’s not about nickel-and-diming your customers. It’s about fixing any revenue leaks that you might have in your pricing so you aren’t losing money on unknown expenses.
Here’s the formula I use:
(Design Fee + Materials + Packaging + Overhead Cost) x Markup = Cost
Because I offer free shipping (more on that below), I add one extra step:
Cost + Shipping = Final Retail Price
Design Fee
How much is your time worth? (Hint: It’s worth way more than minimum wage!) Think of how many wedding invitations you expect to sell in one month on Etsy, and how much you want to pay yourself for each order.
Materials
This one’s pretty basic! You probably already know to include the cost of materials in your pricing. For stationers, that can include things like paper and envelopes, or embellishments like wax seals, vellum, etc.
Packaging
Write out everything you’re going to use to pack and ship, add it all up, and include it with the cost of your pricing.
Include things like the shipping box, tissue paper, packing paper, mailing label, packaging tape, etc. I even add an extra $2 for other packaging supplies that I might be overlooking.
Overhead Cost
What does it cost to operate your wedding stationery business? Your overhead cost includes non-tangible expenses that do not directly go into making your products, but rather running your shop.
This includes things like the cost of Adobe Suite, advertising, employees, etc. Here is how I calculate overhead:
Cost of Yearly Expenses / Number of Sales per Year = Overhead Cost Per Sale
The number of average clients I get every year varies, as will yours. But, once you’ve been in business for a year or more, you’ll have a better estimate.
For example, let’s say I spend $5 a year for Etsy ads, $5 a year for Adobe Suite, and $5 a year for one employee. (Obviously, those aren’t accurate numbers. It just makes the math much easier!) That’s $15 per year on overhead expenses.
Then, let’s say I book 5 stationery clients per year. I would divide my total yearly overhead expenses ($15) by the number of anticipated sales per year (5). So, my overhead cost is $3.
$15 in Expenses Yearly / 5 Sales Each Year = $3 in Overhead Cost Per Sale
If you’re just starting out, set a goal of booking 1-2 clients per month and calculate your overhead cost that way.
Markup
There are two main ways to calculate your markup. You can mark them up by a percentage, i.e. a 50% markup. Or, you can mark them up 2 to 3x’s (or more).
Free Shipping
I’ve always offered free shipping, and you should too if you want to rank higher in Etsy search and make more sales.
By now, both you and your clients know that “free shipping” isn’t really free. But, that’s okay. To be honest, nobody really cares. Buyers just don’t want to see another cost added to their order when they go to check out.
I don’t add a markup to my shipping costs. Instead, I just add it to the cost of my products at the end.
II. Set Your Shop Policies and FAQs
This is one of those kind of boring parts of business, but it’s absolutely essential.
I love that Etsy offers templated options for your shop policies. New business owners might struggle with what to come up with, but Etsy has made it so easy.
how to set up your shop polices
To set up your shop policies:
On Etsy.com, click Shop Manager.
Click the pencil icon next to your shop under Sales channels.
Scroll to the Shop policies section.
Your shop policies have several sections. Each section is a template and you can select the options that you want for your shop.
Processing Time
Etsy has a standard processing time statement that reads, “The time I need to prepare an order for shipping varies. For details, see individual items.” You can adjust the processing time for each item within your shipping profiles.
Shipping Time
Make your shipping times as accurate as possible because this can affect your ranking in search results on Etsy as well as affect buyer reviews.
Your turnaround times may vary greatly between items. I currently have a turnaround time of 1-12 weeks in my shop policies, just to cover my bases. Sometimes, I say 1-4 weeks because that’s more accurate. However, because the stationery industry is experiencing supply shortages right now, I opted for up to 12 weeks.
It’s going to vary between your listings, so don’t stress too much about this one.
Returns, Exchanges, and Cancellations
If you sell wedding invitations on Etsy, you should not accept returns or exchanges, especially after they’ve already been approved and printed. This is standard industry practice for items that are personalized.
You can accept cancellations within a certain timeframe. Anywhere between 12-48 hours. I recommend a 12-24 hour cancellation period because I don’t offer cancellations for proofs that have already been designed.
What to Include in your FAQs
Keep your faqs light and friendly. Answer questions for basic information, like whether or not you ship internationally, offer printable files, offer custom requests, etc.
As a general note, Etsy does not count your faqs as part of your shop policies. This is why I recommend keeping this section light and friendly. If there is a customer dispute, Etsy will refer to your shop policies.
III. Include Your Production Partners
Don’t forget to include your production partners! This gives buyers full transparency on how your shop operates.
According to Etsy, a production partner is a company or individual (who’s not part of your Etsy shop) that helps physically produce items based on your own, original designs... We require sellers using production assistance to transparently share this information on the applicable listings.
You do not have to include the names of your print shops or manufacturers, etc. You don’t even have to include the city or state your production partners are based. In fact, I don’t recommend you share that information!
You just need to let buyers know that you aren’t making everything in house. (Unless you are, in which case you can skip this part!)
Here is what my production partners section looks like:
One last thing…
I hope you gained valuable insight from this post regarding how to sell wedding invitations on Etsy.
As you can see, I don't have many bones to pick with the platform. It's easy to set up, user-friendly for both you and your clients, and can be a great source of revenue.
I've had a great experience using Etsy since 2013, which is why I highly recommend it to other stationers (and to you, too!).