Etsy Jargon- What is a BNR, what is a BNS?!

Hello everyone,

I thought today I would do something a little different (infact something I have never done before) and attempt to explain as simply as possible some Etsy jargon! This post is for all my readers who are sellers on Etsy.

I quite often get asked, or come across posts with people asking, what is a BNS and a BNR and how they work. It can be quite confusing and there doesn’t seem to be much explanation of what they are on the internet so I thought it might be of interest to those of my readers who have Etsy shops if I explain what they are and why they can be useful to help with your business. 

What is a BNR?

BNR stands for Buy and Replace

What is a BNS?

BNS stands for Buy and Stay 

They are both very similar but have some key differences.

How do they work?

The curator of the BNS or BNR will put together a treasury of items from different seller’s shops just like a regular treasury on Etsy.

The idea is then that all members who have been involved in the treasury will work together to promote it by putting it on their social media, teams and also sometimes inviting other Etsy members. This way the shops get exposed to a much greater number of people who might not have normally seen their shop. By doing this it increases the likelihood of a shop making a sale. 

Each curator has a slightly different way of running their BNS or BNR so rules are posted at the top of the treasury.

To join in with the BNR or BNS another Etsy shop must do what is called ‘buying in’. They make a purchase from one of the shops featured in the treasury. This means that not only by being in a BNR/ BNS do you do group promotion but you are likely to make a sale.  

The transaction link is the posted so the curator can see that the item has been purchased. This is by copy and pasting it into the comment section of the treasury. By ‘buying in’ the shop has secured themselves a place in the BNR/ BNS.

This is then where the BNS and BNR differ. For a BNR (Buy and Replace) the Etsy shop which has just purchased from one of the featured shops will immediately featured in the treasury. The shop which has just been bought from will be removed and the new shop shall replace it. For a BNS (Buy and Stay), the shop which has ‘bought in’ will wait for the end of the BNS until they are featured. There are different rounds to the BNS so after every sale a new round is started. This means that a featured shop can make more than one sale. In a BNR the featured shop can only make 1 sale before they are swapped out of the BNR. However, a BNR is usually much faster paced and so sales are quicker. It also means that a shop will stay in until it sells an item where in a BNS a shop will be removed at the end of the BNS even if it didn’t make a sale.

Why should I take part in a BNR or BNS?

*Good fun

* Helps you sell items, especially if you are a new shop or a shop who is struggling to get noticed.

*Because all of the people taking part in the BNS or BNR are expected to promote it, it also means that by promoting the treasury you are also promoting each other’s shops and therefore are opening them up to a much wider audience who might have not otherwise known about your shop or looked on it.

* Your shop will be promoted by other members all over social media sites which even if it doesn’t mean you make a sale in the BNR/BNS can mean that you get seen by a potential future customer

*A good way to increase your feedback rating (again this is especially helpful if you are a brand new shop which is yet to get a feedback rating)

* Great way to get to know other buyers and sellers, there usually is a group chat running so it is very social and lots of people will pop in to say hello.

* It is fun to try something new.

* By 'buying in' you are supporting other independant sellers

* You get an excuse to buy some really lovely items.

The main reasons that people join BNRs or BNSs is that they can make quick sales and increase traffic and customers to their shop. Instead of working just to promote their shop and their products, other featured shops are also promoting the treasury so your shop gets the benefit of everyone else promoting the treasury and therefore your shop. 

I hope this has made it more clear what a BNR/ BNS is. Each curator does have their own way of doing things and their own set of rules (which are listed in the treasury) so they may differ slightly from what I have explained here but I just hope that this helps people to understand a little bit about BNR/BNS and encourages you to try one out.

Any questions please feel free to post below and I shall try to answer them as best I can.

The Dorothy Days