But I want to sell things anonymously
April 20, 2019 7:53 PM   Subscribe

I want to sell obnoxious trinkets online. How do I easily do so without having it linked back to me?

I have a funny idea (think enamel pin), but I don't want it tied to my professional life. Is there an easy way to set up orders and payments that don't involve me becoming a llc or having my name on the payment form? This is not for tax avoidance purposes, I just don't want to mess with my day job.
posted by history is a weapon to Shopping (6 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think etsy will do you pretty well, and you can definitely use a nom de trinket for all your customer-facing profile details. Or have a friend set up an etsy shop for you with their info. (unless by "obnoxious trinkets" you mean ones that are likely to invite online harassment and doxxing, which maybe don't have your friend sign up for; I'm not sure about how etsy is about that kind of stuff).
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:21 PM on April 20, 2019


I sell on Mercari and my seller name that prints out on my shipping labels is just my first name and last initial. I could put it as anything really. And my shop name is something else entirely. My address does print out on the label also but you could use a PO Box for extra anonymity. Payments are done through Mercari so the buyer doesn’t get any info from that other than your shop name and the other information I outlined.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:31 PM on April 20, 2019


Possibly a Shopify? I'm sure you can start the process of signing up for some of these and see where they take you.

I have an Etsy but it is connected to my name. You have a "personal" profile that is linked to your shop - I don't know what the TOS is for having a real name on them.

ETA: I have a PO BOX return address but am a registered business as well.
posted by Crystalinne at 11:12 PM on April 20, 2019


Response by poster: Doh. Maybe I asked the question wrong, but maybe I didn't. I have my own URL that I want to sell the items from. Ideally, there'll be a simple webstore where people can make orders from, but there will not be nearly enough money involved to become an LLC. I just don't want my name anywhere near it (not because it's something shameful, I'll tell everyone I know about it, but because I don't want to attached to my professional life and invite the kind of bullshit Jon_Evil suggests).

Would this work with an etsy or shopify?
posted by history is a weapon at 10:42 AM on April 21, 2019


I think if you want to use your own domain it becomes much harder to do this while obscuring your identity. I would just do this on Etsy (or Witchsy if it's a good fit) rather than trying to reinvent the wheel on your own site.
posted by potrzebie at 10:52 AM on April 21, 2019 [2 favorites]


I agree with potrzebie. If the URL is to capitalize on some current event, you can keep it and either redirect directly to your Etsy page or put some photos on the homepage of the URL and then have the “buy now” button go to Etsy.

You could also set up just a paypal button but setting up al the forms and everything to gather shipping info is a pain.

Also, how will you deal with sales tax? Something like Etsy will take care of all of that for you.
posted by dawkins_7 at 6:50 PM on April 21, 2019


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