Etsy users have one week to permanently change their names.
The handmade marketplace announced that it is giving users one week to adjust how they’re represented on Etsy.
Currently, Etsy sellers have a single username to represent themselves and their shops. Starting next week, sellers will be represented by both a username and a shop name, one on top of the other.
Etsy encourages shop owners to opt in and use their legal names, but assures users that “showing your full name is always optional.”
The changewill be finalized on October 18.
“There are… several places on the site where, if you click on a username (which is also a shop name), you don’t know where you are going. Will you find more information about the person (shop owner) or the shop?” wrote Natalie Schwartz, Etsy’s Product Marketing Manager. “The changes we are announcing today aim to make this more clear.”
The change is designed to make Etsy more user-friendly
This effort at clarity has also led to an Etsy first: allowing sellers to change their shop names. While Schwartz wrote this feature has been frequently requested, it has never been allowed before.
Etsy sellers have long complained that the user name they choose when they sign up to join Etsy is automatically used as their shop name. And once they’ve chosen that user name, they are stuck with it.
“Changing your shop name is a big decision, so we wanted to give you a week to think about it,” wrote Schwartz.
However, once the new name is picked, it will again be permanent.
Unlike other sites that have faced veritable riots when they’ve made changes, hundreds, if not thousands, of Etsy sellers immediately applauded the news.
“this is awesome, i know a lot of people who want to change their shop names!” wrote one commenter.
“I’m sure there will be lots of confusion about this, but people have been asking for it for so long I’m sure there will be some happy dances too,” another wrote.
“A big thank you! I have waited five years for this!” still another wrote.
Similar comments were echoed hundreds of times.
