Etsy told the artisans selling on its platform: If you don’t have what you need to make something, please don’t list it for sale. On Friday, Etsy sellers issued a warning in a post entitled "Tips to Help You Solve Supply Chain Problems."

Etsy uses an example of a clothing manufacturer to illustrate its point. If a company cannot obtain the yarn needed to produce the best-selling sweaters, they cannot produce sweaters. "If that manufacturer can't produce their sweaters, shoppers can't buy them-they will have to go elsewhere to meet their demand for sweaters."

But Etsy pointed out that the shortage of masks caused by the pandemic in 2020 proves that small sellers can fill the gap when physical stores and large retailers cannot maintain inventory of certain products. It said that Etsy sellers may be better positioned than traditional large stores. "By the end of 2020, Etsy sellers have sold a total of more than $740 million worth of masks."

Etsy provides sellers with the following tips to ensure that the current supply chain disruption will not put them in trouble, or even opportunistically:

Promote your holiday superpowers: Remember, in an unpredictable environment, small business owners like you can intercept shoppers who can’t find what they need at large retailers. When marketing your store, adjust your information to reiterate the benefits of small-scale shopping during supply chain disruptions.

Replenish your supplies: collect the items needed to make each item in the shop. This way, you can process any sales in the next few weeks. We know that the high upfront cost of certain supplies may prevent you from stocking as much as possible, so please take a method that is reasonable for you and your business. Adding an extra yard to the fabric used to make the best-selling pot holder may save you a lot of grief.

Don’t forget the shipping and packaging materials: list the items you normally use to pack your order—such as tissues, compostable mail, shipping labels—and replenish these items immediately. In this way, you won't be frantically looking for the last roll of transparent packaging tape in each drawer.

List only what you have: no matter how much you prepare, supply chain issues may still make it difficult for you to obtain the materials you need. In short: if you don’t have what you need to make something, don’t list it for sale.

Although individual sellers may encounter problems in obtaining raw materials and supplies, warnings to Etsy sellers indicate that the company is counting on the entire group of sellers to survive this year's holiday challenges as they did during the pandemic.

However, compared with physical stores, online sellers have shorter windows for selling products to holiday shoppers. Just today, the U.S. Postal Service warned in a press release, "Send packages early this holiday: peak season means extra mail and packages."

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