Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Does your Etsy shop need Privacy Policies?

GDPR laws in EU require privacy policies
Recent events have prompted an interest in privacy policies. The European Union has enacted new rules in that arena called the "General Data Protection Regulation" or GDPR. It takes effect on May 25, 2018.

Do small sellers really have to do this? Here is a hint: basic identity data like names and addresses are included under these new regulations.

Who needs to have a privacy policy in place?


This is what Etsy says:
"If you’re a seller based in the European Union or you offer your listings to buyers there, the GDPR applies to you, which means you’re required to have a privacy policy for your shop. Many other countries have also adopted data protection laws similar to the GDPR, so whether or not you sell to Europe, we recommend that all sellers create a privacy policy."

So privacy policy is recommended for all Etsy sellers.

If you use Etsy's so-called "canned" policies template (I do) your privacy policy will display as a link. For others, it will be a paragraph added.

How to do it


Here is Etsy's guide to crafting your own GDPR-compliant privacy policy. Simply use their template, copy and paste their example to fit your shop.

Here is one very simple sample privacy policy for those who only ship within the USA:
"We only use customer information to fulfill orders. We do not store or use customer information for any other purpose. Information such as name, address, and email address is not stored on our computers. If and when required, we will communicate with you about your order status using the Etsy platform."
Here is a longer one:
"ETSY is an online marketplace made up of over 1 million individual shops. The information you provide to Etsy for transaction purposes is governed and stored by Etsy. As a seller on Etsy, I am bound to their policies. If you have questions relating to the way Etsy uses your information, please refer to the Etsy Privacy Policy here: https://www.etsy.com/legal/privacy. 
"We only use customer information to fulfill orders. Your personal information (name and address) as provided to me by Etsy will only be used by me as needed to provide my services. I may use your information to fulfil your order, to settle disputes, or to provide customer support. I may collect, use, retain, and share your information if I have a good faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond to legal process or to government requests (i.e. taxes) (b) enforce my agreements, terms and policies; (c) prevent, investigate, and address fraud and other illegal activity, security, or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property, and safety of my customers or others. If and when required, we will communicate with you about your order status using the Etsy “convo” platform. 
"I have no access to your payment account details: Etsy Payments and PayPal process your financial information independently of me.  
"Your transaction information will be stored on the Etsy system as long as I have my store on Etsy or until Etsy deletes it. I will not spam you or solicit you using the information provided to me."
Here is another template to consider.

To adjust shop policies, go to your public shop page. Find the orange "Edit shop" button. (It is right under your shop's star rating next to your shop avatar.) Scroll down, down, down to where it says "shop policies" on the left side. Opposite that, on the right side, is the button to edit your shop policies.

There are some unknowns in this process. For example, the EU law requires that companies provide a "reasonable" level of protection for personal data. But it does not specify exactly what “reasonable” means.

Time will tell how this shakes out. In the mean time, Etsy sellers should consider adopting a written privacy policy as a start. That includes sellers (like myself) who limit their selling to the USA.

Those who sell in the European Union will need privacy policies beyond the scope of this blog post. (Thanks for noting that this blog post is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice.) Here is a blog post with more information.

Concerns over privacy policies have changed the landscape of online selling. It is wise for sellers to do their homework.

Have you adopted a privacy policy for your shop?

17 comments:

  1. I don't sell to Europe either but I will get a basic privacy statement as is suggested. Better to be safe than sorry

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't sell to Europe or any other foreign country. Only in the US and sometimes to Canada. That said, I like your 2nd template best, as it gives the reader a more in-depth feel for what is going on. And if that's okay, I will copy and paste it into my policies, because, as yet, I have done nothing about this confusing issue. I appreciate your knowledge more than you will ever know. Thanks, Joanne.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am happy to find this post Very useful for me, as it contains lot of information. I Always prefer to read The Quality and glad I found this thing in you post. Thanks corsi DPO

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for your insight about Private Policy!

    May I have your permission to copy and paste your second template policy into my policy on Etsy?

    Oreather

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for this information, Joanne. It is the most concise I have found. I noticed you gave permission above to use your second privacy policy. May I also get permission to used this same?
    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you so much for this information Joanne! I wasn't sure how to write my own privacy policy, and what information I had to include and omit, so your second example of a privacy policy is EXACTLY what I needed. I hope you don't mind my also using it for my Etsy shop, as I saw you give permission to do so above and this is perfect. I really appreciate this post, thank you once again!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi, I'm just setting up my first Etsy shop and this article has been immensely helpful! May I copy and paste your longer privacy policy for my Etsy page?

    Thank you!
    Alex

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice article Joanne!

    I just got a lawyer to create a compliant privacy policy for my Etsy shop. I thought this would be useful for other sellers as well, so I hired him a couple of hours more to make it a template and created a free privacy policy generator:

    https://www.alura.io/resources/etsy-privacy-policy-generator

    It was created by a licensed US lawyer. If you’d like, feel free to give it a try - it’s 100% free! All feedback is welcome ��

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi!
    This has been very helpful, being that I am new to Etsy. I also limited my shipping to North America buyers - would it be okay to use your second policy example?

    I see that you gave permission to another seller but just want to make sure. :)

    Thanks in advance!
    -Arelis

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello!

    Thank you so much for the advice. May I have permission to copy the second policy example you laid out? It is the most concise and to the point one that I have found!

    Thank you!

    Emma A.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for the information! I am new to Etsy and am working through figuring all of this out. May I also have permission to use the longer privacy policy template?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for your suggestions! It is hard to find similar templates. May I have your permission to adopt the 2nd policy for my shop? Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Joanne, I'm setting up my new Etsy store and your article is very helpful.
    May I have permission to use the first USA template for my Etsy store?
    Thank you, Cherie

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is such a good post. Can I please ask permission to use your 2nd template for my Etsy shop as well? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is awesome information. I really like the second template. May I copy this as well. Thank you for your time.

    ReplyDelete

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