4/7/2023 update: As of today, my Big Cartel shop is in maintenance mode indefinitely. Meaning, the site is still up but no zines are available. I decided I’ll use Big Cartel as a back-up for Etsy, rather than running two shops at the same time. Unless I have a specific need to list zines on Big Cartel, that shop will stay in maintenance mode. Please visit my Etsy shop if you’d like to purchase any of my zines.
I launched a shop on Big Cartel to list some of my zines. My Etsy shop is staying as is, but I wanted to have an alternative (especially if Etsy gets worse…). You might notice a few differences between my Etsy and Big Cartel shops if you browse both of them.
1. Big Cartel ships to the U.S. and Canada only
At least for now, Big Cartel orders can ship only to the U.S. and Canada. That’s for simplicity’s sake. If you want to ship somewhere outside the U.S. or Canada, please use Etsy. I’m also happy to trade zines internationally. (Message me for trades.)
2. U.S. shipping: Free on Etsy and paid on Big Cartel
Well, at least it looks like that on the storefronts. I factor in shipping costs on Etsy and then mark the product as free shipping, because that’s what Etsy encourages sellers to do. On Big Cartel, I have shipping as a separate cost.
But from a customer standpoint, you’ll pay the same price for the same product on Etsy and Big Cartel. For example, a zine that is $4.60 and free shipping on Etsy vs. the same zine that is $4.00 + 60 cents shipping on Big Cartel.
3. Untracked and tracked shipping on Big Cartel
On Big Cartel, I set up shipping so that you can choose between untracked shipping (regular letter mail) and tracked shipping for U.S. and Canada.
This is different from how I ship orders on Etsy. On Etsy, for U.S. purchases, I do untracked for orders under $10 and tracked for orders $10 and over. Outside the U.S., most of my listings will calculate tracked shipping.
For “How to Deal with Small Talk” on Etsy, I made a new shipping profile to experiment. You should have options for:
- free shipping in the U.S.
- untracked shipping everywhere else (you pay postage)
- adding tracking to your order (for U.S. and everywhere else)
If you’re shipping outside the U.S. and run into anything wonky on Etsy or Big Cartel, please message me.