Seller Handbook

In an emergency, it pays to have a plan. And, with natural disasters increasing in frequency and intensity,* being prepared is more important than ever. Since crucial disaster readiness and response information can be scattered and difficult to find—an experience that’s especially frustrating when navigating the aftermath of a crisis—we’ve compiled essential resources for Etsy sellers, all in one place.

Featuring best practices from the “Building Climate Resilience and Responding to Climate Impacts Guidebooks,” which Etsy developed in partnership with Nest, a nonprofit supporting the maker economy, and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a nonprofit tackling climate change, the following resources include actionable steps you can take to help keep your business safe and sound.

Follow these handy links to jump directly to the resources you need:

• How to prepare before a disaster happens
• What to do after a disaster strikes
• Ways to maintain your Etsy shop during an emergency

How to prepare before a disaster happens

Having a plan in place can help your business avoid calamity—or at least minimize the risks. Since many small businesses don’t have extra capital to recover from a devastating situation, like a fire or a flood, taking preparedness measures is incredibly important.

Consider the following proactive preparations to reduce or avoid the risk of a natural disaster:

• Assess your home and business’s exposure and vulnerability. Different geographical locations and housing or workspace designs can have very different natural disaster risks. Find a list of tools to help you identify local climate issues.

• Evaluate insurance options. Did you know that homeowners insurance rarely covers business property? Understanding what types of insurance policies are available and what each covers—and doesn’t cover—is crucial. Brush up on the ins and outs of insurance coverage.

• Develop a business continuity plan. Continuity plans can help you maintain critical business functions (among other things) during an emergency. Start drafting your own with this business continuity template.

• Consider home-hardening or weatherization measures. Strengthening the physical resilience of your workspace, home, and studio to withstand hazards can reduce the risk of damage. These updates can range in cost, scope, and suitability for certain disasters. Learn more about which home-hardening steps suit your circumstances.

• Cover the costs of building modifications. Weatherizing your home and workspace, of course, costs money. Funding sources, such as low-interest loans, tax credits, and grants, can help. Read this list of resources to find financing options.

What to do after a disaster strikes

If your business was directly affected by disaster, there are a number of organizations out there to help with funding, resources, and support.

Public funding sources in the United States

• Federal Emergency Management Agency: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides access to disaster help and resources. The FEMA application can be tricky to navigate. To prepare, review this checklist of eligibility criteria, including whether to apply as a home or business and steps to follow to apply for FEMA assistance, and visit FEMA’s disaster assistance website.

• Small Business Association: The Small Business Association (SBA) offers low-interest loans to businesses that are damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster. To seek assistance, review this summary of eligibility requirements and application process details, and visit SBA’s disaster assistance website.

Private funding sources

• Insurance: Review the coverage details for any existing insurance policies you have and reach out to your insurance agent. To help guide this conversation, equip yourself with this list of targeted questions to ask your insurance agent and an overview of the claims process.

• Grants: Small businesses have access to a number of private emergency resources, including Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+), which offers information, grants, low-interest loans, and other assistance to artists. See your options in this list of potential funding sources.

Ways to maintain your Etsy shop during an emergency

Hurricane, blizzard, broken leg, you name it—sometimes real-life situations stand in the way of your business. If something happens, stay knowledgeable and keep customers in the loop.

• Communication: If you’re affected by a storm or sell something in an area where shipping might be slow, let buyers know. You can do this in your shop announcement, message to buyer, simply by sending a message, or you can edit processing times to reflect delays.

• Shipping: Stay up to date on shipping delays where you’re shipping to and from. If you use the United States Postal Service (USPS), you can track service disruptions with USPS service alerts.

• Mobile: Even if your router goes down, your shop doesn't have to. To edit your shop's messaging or manage orders straight from your phone, download the Etsy Seller app.

• Vacation Mode: Putting your shop on Vacation Mode will remove items from the public view of your shop. In this mode, buyers will not be able to purchase from your shop. They’ll receive an auto-reply to messages and can sign up to get a notification when you return. This is a good option if you have limited or no access to your shop. Find out how to turn on Vacation Mode.

• Etsy’s Purchase Protection: Etsy's Purchase Protection program was built to ensure that buyers and sellers have a positive experience on Etsy. For eligible sellers, this program can offer a little extra peace of mind when cases arise. Etsy may cover buyer refunds for orders up to $250 on any case arising from a qualified order. Read more about Etsy’s Purchase Protection program for sellers.

* According to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, annual cost of natural disaster damages in the US have increased nearly 40% from 2013–2023 compared with the decade prior, and the Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey found small businesses reported a 7% increase in disaster-related losses from 2019–2021.