If you’re browsing Etsy reMarkable templates, or the same kind of listing for Supernote or Kindle Scribe, you’ve probably noticed there’s a lot to choose from. That’s Etsy’s biggest strength, and it can also make choosing harder. We sell our planners and notebooks directly, not on Etsy, so here’s an honest look at how buying a template on Etsy compares with buying from a maker’s own shop like ours, and what to check before you buy from anyone.
What Etsy does well
Etsy is a good place to shop for templates, and plenty of the sellers there are small makers like us. A few things it does really well:
- Variety. If you want something unusual, like a knitting tracker, a tarot journal or a planner for a very specific hobby, Etsy is the first place we’d look. No single shop can match that range.
- Reviews in one place. Every listing shows reviews from other buyers, so you can see what people thought before you spend anything.
- A download library. According to Etsy’s help pages, your files sit on your Purchases page, and there’s generally no limit on when or how many times you can download them.
- Buyer protection. Etsy says digital items can’t be returned or canceled, but a file that doesn’t match its listing may be covered by Etsy’s Purchase Protection, with an Etsy agent deciding the case.
- Low prices. There are plenty of templates for a few dollars, and sales are common.
How buying a digital template on Etsy works
When you buy an instant download on Etsy, the files are ready once your payment is confirmed. You get an email that links to your Purchases page, and you download from there in a web browser. Etsy’s help pages say you can’t download files in the Etsy app, so you’ll need a browser on your phone or computer.
Sellers can attach up to five files to a listing, and Etsy doesn’t allow variations on digital items, and each file can be at most 20 MB, according to its seller help page. That’s why many listings for e-ink tablets come as one zip file with every size inside, a link to a shared folder, or a separate listing for each tablet. None of that is wrong, but it’s worth knowing so you pick the right file once it arrives.
What to check on any template listing
These checks apply to every template you buy, on Etsy, from us, or anywhere else. Most problems we hear about come from one of these.
- Your exact tablet. Look for your model by name, like Paper Pro, Manta or the 11 inch Kindle Scribe. A file made for one screen gets shrunk or letterboxed on another, and the lines stop lining up with the edges. “Works on all tablets” can mean one file stretched to fit, so check.
- Links, and how to tap them. If a listing says hyperlinked, check which tablets the links are tested on. On some tablets, links respond to a finger tap rather than the pen, which can look like a broken link when it isn’t.
- Room for the toolbar. Pages that run right to the edge end up with your tablet’s toolbar sitting on top of your writing.
- Week start. For planners, check whether weeks start on Sunday or Monday, and whether you get a choice.
- Page count and structure. A good listing tells you how many pages there are and how the sections link together.
- A way to ask questions. Message the seller before you buy if anything’s unclear. A quick, clear answer is a good sign.
Where we’re different
We’re a two-person shop, and we only sell our own designs. Here’s what that means when you buy from us instead of a marketplace listing.
- One file per tablet. You pick your tablet at checkout and get the file drawn for that screen, with a margin on both sides for the toolbar. We make sizes for Supernote, reMarkable, Kindle Scribe, BOOX, Kobo and Fujitsu Quaderno, plus notebooks for iPad.
- Both week starts. Every planner comes with a Sunday-start and a Monday-start version, so you don’t have to choose up front.
- Linked all the way through. Our 2027 Daily Planner links the year to every month, week and day, our weekly and monthly planners link down to each week or month, and every notebook has a tappable index and a breadcrumb on every page.
- Painted covers. Rabia paints every cover by hand.
- A real sample first. Our free samples give you the first 25 pages of a notebook and all of January from a planner, sized for your tablet, so you can try the links on your own device before you buy. You just enter your email to get them.
- Straight to the makers. If a file doesn’t behave on your tablet, email us within 7 days of buying and one of us will sort it out.
To be fair about refunds: all our sales are final, and we don’t offer refunds once you’ve bought a file. If a file is faulty or you got the wrong one, tell us within 7 days and we’ll make it right. On Etsy, each seller sets their own policy, and Etsy’s Purchase Protection adds a case process run by Etsy itself, which we don’t have. Our payments go through Polar, our merchant of record, but any problem with a file comes straight to us.
When Etsy is the better pick
Etsy makes more sense if you want something niche that we don’t make, like a layout for a specific hobby, profession or spiritual practice. It’s also a good choice if you want the lowest price for a simple page, if you’d like a marketplace’s buyer protection behind your purchase, or if you already have a favorite seller whose style you love. Small shops on Etsy work hard on their templates, and if one of them fits you, buy from them.
When buying direct makes more sense
Buying from a maker’s own shop makes more sense if you want one planner or notebook that runs for the whole year with everything linked, made for your exact screen. It’s also the easier route if you own more than one tablet, because we sell the same designs sized for each one, so your setup can stay the same when you switch devices.
Can you mix them?
Yes. A PDF is a PDF, so a planner from us and a tracker from an Etsy shop can sit side by side on the same tablet. A common setup is one dated planner for the year, plus a few single-purpose files for hobbies or projects that a general planner doesn’t cover. The only thing to watch is size: if the two files were made for different screens, one of them may look smaller or have different margins. Picking files made for your exact model keeps everything lined up.
It’s also a good way to spend less. Buy the structured, linked part once, and fill the gaps with small, specific templates as you need them.
Etsy reMarkable templates or ours: try before you decide
You don’t have to decide on faith. Get our free samples for your tablet and tap through them for a week. If you find you’d rather have something more specialized, Etsy is a great place to look. If the sample feels right, you’ll find everything we make for your tablet on our planners and notebooks pages.
