As an Etsy shop owner, there may come a time when your business growth necessitates enlisting the help of production partners. Whether due to the lack of necessary equipment or a surge in orders, these external entities can be crucial to maintaining your shop’s efficiency and productivity.

What Are Production Partners on Etsy

In the context of Etsy, a production partner is an external individual or company that aids in crafting items based on your unique designs. These could include various services like printing, apparel production, engraving, and more.

It’s important to note that shop members or suppliers from whom you source ready-made products for resale are not considered production partners.

Moreover, any handmade item produced with assistance from a production partner must adhere to our Handmade Policy. Transparency is key here; sellers must disclose their use of such assistance on relevant listings.

For further information about ethical expectations for sellers collaborating with production partners refer to Etsy’s Ethical Expectations.

Steps To Add A Production Partner

There are multiple ways to integrate a production partner into your workflow:

• When adding or editing a listing, you can add details under Production partners within the Listing details section.
• In case you’re managing multiple listings at once, navigate towards the Listings section of Shop Manager, select at least one listing and choose Editing options, then Change production partners.

You can also create detailed profiles for each in the production partner manager:

1. Access Settings within Shop Manager.
2. Choose Production partners.
3. Select Add a new production partner and fill out provided form.
4. Enter your collaborator’s business name under Production partner.
5. Fill in location details in the designated field labeled as Location.
6. Describe how you collaborate under About Production Partner.
7. Provide answers in dropdown menus marked as ‘About Your Partnership’.
8. Preview how this information appears by visiting its respective About Section.

Note: Any unmarked private information will be publicized within all relevant locations including listings and shop profile. So make sure you check how this will look on your shop’s About Section before going live.

How To Modify Or Delete A Production Partner From Listings

There might come a time when you need to modify details of your production partner or even remove them from your listings. Here’s how you can do it:

• Go to the Listings page via the Shop Manager. Choose an associated listing and deselect a production partner from it.
• If you want to make changes for multiple listings simultaneously, select the desired listings > choose Editing Options > Change Production Partners > Deselect chosen collaborator > Update.
• Alternatively, if you wish to alter or remove a specific partner across all connected listings, navigate to the Productions Partners manager and click on Edit or the X near their name.

Remember that any changes made will automatically update across all linked listings, ensuring real-time updates with minimal effort from your end.

For mobile users using Etsy Seller app, please note that production partner profiles can only be altered while adding or editing a listing. For other editing functionalities, you would require access through a computer or mobile web browser.

It’s important always to adhere strictly towards guidelines laid down by Etsy Seller Policy before adding collaborators into workflow process.

Do You Need To List Your Etsy Production Partners?

The question of whether or not to list production partners often confuses many, especially those new to the selling platform offered by Etsy. This is largely because Etsy’s focus primarily lies upon facilitating trade involving handmade, vintage supplies, and more.

Simply put, if you’re designing an item but it’s physically made by someone else (whether that’s a company or a contracted person), you need to list them as a production partner. This includes any print-on-demand (POD) company used to print your designs onto merchandise and contractors hired who aren’t direct employees of your shop.

For vintage sellers, this won’t apply at all since it doesn’t involve any designing or making on your part.

Is It Necessary To Declare Material Suppliers As Well Within Same Context?

No, declaration isn’t mandatory when it comes to sourcing materials required for manufacturing products. These suppliers provide the raw materials you use in creating your own unique items - they are not directly involved in the creation process itself and therefore do not fall under the ‘production partner’ category.

Remember though, that you can’t just package these materials as they are and call it a handmade item; there must be significant transformation from supplier material to final product reflecting your unique design input.

For example, if you make handmade soap – buying ingredients from various suppliers does not necessitate declaring them as production partners. However, if another entity takes on an active role in actually crafting the soap based on your recipe – they would be considered a production partner.

List of Best Print-On-Demand Production Partners Approved By Etsy

If you’re unsure about selecting the right collaborators for print-on-demand services approved by Etsy itself - worry no more!

Alura has done the homework for you with our curated list of The Best Etsy-Approved Print-On-Demand Production Partners.

This comprehensive guide will help ensure quality and timely deliveries thus boosting overall sales while maintaining integrity towards Etsy’s guidelines and values regarding handmade products.

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