You’ll never be able to take a vacation from your Etsy shop.

I've been selling 3D printed products on Etsy for over 6 years, and for the first 3 years I thought taking a real vacation was impossible. Mostly because I lived it. Both my wife's and my families are big vacation people—not going wasn't really an option. So even though I was physically there, mentally I was stressed about orders, messages, and everything happening back home.

Fast forward 6 years later: I'm writing this newsletter from the balcony of our lakeside cabin, watching the kids kayak while my shop continues making sales on autopilot.

When you're starting an Etsy shop, vacation feels impossible. "Who's going to fulfill orders? Answer messages? Handle everything I do every day?"

I get it. But here's the thing—you don't need employees, and you definitely don't need vacation mode.

Don't believe me? Here are yesterday's sales while I was driving through the mountains of Northern Georgia:

The Big Misconceptions That Keep You Chained to Your Shop

Misconception #1: "I need an employee to take vacation"

Wrong. I don't have any employees in my print farm. Since it's in my basement, having someone work in my house while I'm gone feels complicated. (Yes, I know great people exist—I'm working on this hang-up!)

Misconception #2: "I have to use vacation mode or lose money"

This is the killer mistake. Never, ever put your shop in vacation mode. Here's why:

• Etsy and Google stop indexing your shop

• All your SEO work gets reset

• You lose momentum you've spent months building

If you remember nothing else from this newsletter, remember this: vacation mode is shop suicide.

My "Secret" Is Stupidly Simple

Ready for the big reveal? Adjusted processing times.

That's it. No vacation mode. No discounts. No free shipping bribes. Just honest communication about when orders will ship.

How I Used to Screw This Up (Learn From My Pain)

No adjustment

This is a receipt for a super stressful vacation. Hand up 🙋‍♂️ I’ve done this and it was a nightmare. I was terrified that if I touched my processing times no would buy. In my head I convinced myself that if my processing time was 2 days and changed it to 7 days that no one would buy.

For this to be true it means that all your buyer would need to be watching your page before they buy and would have had to seen your processing time was increased and be made about it. This just doesn’t happen.

Paying for increased processing time

After realizing that no adjustment wasn’t an option my next thought was to “pay” my customers for my increased processing time. I did this by changing all my shipping to “free shipping”. My typical shipping is $5.75.

You can imagine what giving away $5.75 on each order did to my profits. Lets just say I would have been better off not getting any sales rather then getting those sales.

The Right Way (So Simple You'll Kick Yourself)

1. Increase your processing time to cover your vacation

2. Change absolutely nothing else

3. Go enjoy your vacation

Buyers pay full price. No discounts. No guilt. Just clear expectations about shipping times.

The Logistics That Make It Bulletproof

Turn on extended processing 1-2 days before you leave. If you leave Friday but get an order Thursday night, can you actually fulfill it? Probably not. Give yourself buffer time.

Turn off extended processing before you return (optional). If your normal processing is 1-3 days, you could switch back while traveling home. Depends on your actual fulfillment speed.

That's literally it.

Fair Warning: Actually Take the Vacation

When you do this, truly disconnect. I'm obviously "working" right now writing this, but I'm not stressed about orders. I'm doing things I normally don't have time for.

You'll come home to a week's worth of orders and need to hit the ground running. So actually rest up—you'll need that energy when you return!

The bottom line: Your customers care more about knowing when to expect their order than they do about lightning-fast shipping. Be honest, be clear, and go recharge. Your business (and your sanity) will thank you.