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Etsy gets its own Groupon: Heartsy

Good news Etsy addicts! If you're shoveling a good chunk of your paycheck on one or several-of-a-kind crafty items on the artisan sellers' website, you can now afford even more via the deal-of-the-day website Heartsy.According to a guest article on craft blog Handmadeology written by Pepi's Musings (who sells on Etsy as Pepi's Designs), it works like this:Similar to Groupon, Heartsy connects w
Heartsy
HeartsyToday

Good news Etsy addicts! If you're shoveling a good chunk of your paycheck on one or several-of-a-kind crafty items on the artisan sellers' website, you can now afford even more via the deal-of-the-day website Heartsy.

According to a guest article on craft blog Handmadeology written by Pepi's Musings (who sells on Etsy as Pepi's Designs), it works like this:

Similar to Groupon, Heartsy connects with sellers on Etsy and offers their products at a discount of at least 50% off. While Groupon splits the proceeds of the deal with the retailer, Heartsy’s services are currently free but they are planning on incorporating a transaction fee in the near future as they grow.

After I discovered Heartsy, I was curious what the Etsy community thought about it. I searched through the forums and found many sellers with mixed emotions. Those featured on Heartsy before had only great things to say about it, but others felt that such a huge discount would leave them with nothing while giving their product away for free. Being a math person, it really made me wonder if they were right. This reminded me of an article I read in the New York Times last year about doing the math on Groupon and figuring out whether participating in such deals is good for your business or not. So using a similar model, I decided to do the same for Heartsy.

If you're an Etsy dealer, check out the original piece to see the detailed equations. So is it worth it? As TechCrunch sums up, it depends.

Here's how Heartsy works for buyers, according to the website:

1. We send you exclusive deals on handmade items.

Every day or so we email you one deeply discounted deal to use at an artist's Etsy store. Sign up to get our email.

2. Click to buy the deal.

Purchase our deals with one easy click. You will receive your voucher immediately. It's that simple!

3. Use your deal voucher anytime.

After purchasing a deal on Heartsy, you can use it anytime. Vouchers work at the Etsy store that sponsored the deal.

NEW: Get $10 for every friend you refer.

After you buy the deal, you'll get a unique link to share. You'll get $10 to spend with us for every friend that buys the deal!

This could get dangerous.

Helen A.S. Popkin truly believes that if you are very good, and you die, you go to Etsy. Until then, join her on Facebook and/or Twitter, won't you?