Latest posts
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Starting the Transition to Holiday Gift Mode While Halloween Is Still Running
Roughly two out of every five holiday shoppers already start browsing and buying before November, according to National Retail Federation survey data. A shop that waits until Halloween ends to think about holiday positioning is starting behind a meaningful share of its own buyers. Table of Contents Introduction With Halloween in its final two weeks,…
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Week in Review — October 12, 2025
Halloween’s peak week is here, and the Star Seller changes from earlier this week are already generating real seller reaction. Star Seller update: early reactions largely positive Following Monday’s coverage of the lowered order minimum and combined messaging threads, several smaller shops reported this week that they now qualify for the badge under the new…
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Scam Alert: What’s Targeting Etsy Sellers This Week
This week’s pattern: fake “item didn’t arrive” claims timed deliberately around Halloween’s hard deadline, designed to pressure sellers into a fast refund or replacement without normal verification. The setup Several sellers in costume and decor categories reported buyers this week claiming an order never arrived, despite tracking showing successful delivery, and specifically pushing for an…
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Handling the Final-Week Halloween Rush Without Burning Out
A Capital on Tap survey of small business owners found 79% report finding their work stressful, and 56% report poor mental health as a result. The final week before Halloween, right before an even longer Q4 crunch begins, is exactly the kind of stretch that produces it. Table of Contents Introduction These are the exact…
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Halloween Decor Niches: Spooky-Cute vs. Gothic Elegant vs. Kid-Friendly
Halloween spending is projected to hit a record $13.1 billion in 2025, and 78% of that spending, roughly $4.2 billion, goes toward home decor alone, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey. That’s a lot of buyers searching for a very specific aesthetic, and most of them are not searching for the word…
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Week in Review — October 5, 2025
Halloween’s final push is underway, and support case volume is already climbing ahead of the busier Q4 stretch. Halloween: full intensity now Sellers across costumes, decor, and party supplies report this is now the single busiest week of the category’s entire selling season, consistent with the compressed timeline we’ve discussed all along. If you’re in…
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Seller Mailbag: How Do I Actually Reach a Human at Etsy Support?
We answered this back in July, but with Q4 approaching and support case volume typically climbing alongside it, worth an updated, more current version of the answer, especially since slow replies right now can also chip away at your Star Seller standing as order volume climbs. “I have a time-sensitive issue and the standard help…
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Managing Quality Under Halloween’s Hard Deadline
A Halloween costume that arrives November 1st isn’t late. It’s useless. That single fact changes almost everything about how you should run production for the next four weeks. Table of Contents Introduction These are the exact habits that separate Etsy shops that sail through the last two weeks of October from shops that spend November…
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Halloween’s Final Stretch: Capturing Last-Minute Shoppers
The National Retail Federation’s 2025 consumer survey found Halloween spending would hit a record $13.1 billion, with 49% of shoppers starting before October even began. That still leaves just over half the market, including roughly $4.3 billion in costume spending alone, deciding in the exact window this guide covers. Table of Contents Introduction October is…
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Week in Review — September 28, 2025
Closing out September with Q4 planning now the clear focus across seller conversation. Cash flow planning resonating Following Thursday’s piece on Q4 cash flow, several sellers reached out specifically about the staggered-ordering approach, with a few mentioning they’d never considered it as an option versus a single large upfront inventory purchase. Worth revisiting that piece…