Etsy Review

Etsy sellers are able to quickly list products on their store, while Etsy manages many of the technical details related to payment processing, shipping calculations, site hosting, and marketing.

Nicolette Kier
Expert Analyst & Reviewer
Sep 22, 2022
UPDATED

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Etsy

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Total Rating	2.5
Pricing	Fair
Features	Good
Customer Service	Poor
Integrations & Add-Ons	Fair
Reviews	Fair

Etsy At A Glance

Global handmade item marketplace that averages over 350 million visitors per month
Easy, low-cost to set up a seller shop and list items
Relatively large transaction fees, especially compared to owning your own website

Best to use as an add-on option to get more views online, then direct visitors to your own platform

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Pros

Easy to use
Large marketplace
Strong user community

Cons

Numerous fees
Sudden account terminations
Poor customer service

Table of Contents

What Is Etsy?
Etsy Pricing
Etsy Features
Is Etsy Easy To Use?
Customer Service & Support
Integrations & Add-Ons
Etsy Reviews
Final Verdict Of Etsy
Etsy FAQs

What Is Etsy?

Etsy is an online marketplace for artists and crafters to list original handmade physical products or digital items for sale. Most sellers list items on the huge platform for exposure to a large audience and to avoid having to maintain their own online store.

Etsy Pricing

Rating: Fair

Etsy Plans	Price	When To Use
Etsy Standard Plan	$0/month	If you're just starting out and want an easy way to get found online
Etsy Plus Plan	$10/month	If you want to have more control over the look of your store

Pricing for sellers on Etsy is mainly based on transaction fees, but there are a few monthly plans that you can choose to subscribe to, including the following options.

Etsy Standard Plan

The Etsy Standard plan costs $0/month and includes:

Features for purchasing and printing postage
Discounted postage rates
Sales and coupon creation
Sell on Etsy App

Etsy Plus Plan

The Etsy Plus plan costs $10/month and includes everything in the Standard Plan, plus:

Advanced customization options
Banner options
New layouts for featured listings
Restock requests for sold-out items
15 listing credits monthly (the equivalent of $3 in listings)
$5 in Etsy Ads credits monthly
Free .store domains
50% off select domain extensions: .com, .net, and .ca
Discounts on custom web addresses
Discounts on custom packaging and promotional materials

Etsy Pattern Website

Pattern is a tool that you can use to build your own separate online store. With Pattern, you can sell the same products that you list on Etsy, but on your own branded site. All information syncs automatically between your Pattern site and your Etsy shop. You can try Pattern for free for 30 days.

Etsy’s Pattern website builder costs $15/month and includes:

A secure website
Syncing between Etsy shop and Pattern site
Easy to use design tools

Additional fees for Pattern include:

WHOIS Domain Privacy: $3/year (optional, but recommended)
Currency conversion fee: 2.5% (only applies if you list items in a different currency than your payment account)

Note: Items that you sell from your custom Pattern website are not subject to Etsy’s listing and transaction fees.

Etsy Extra Costs & Fees

Etsy Extra Costs	Price
Listing Fee	$0.20/item
Transaction Fee	6.5% of the amount you charge for an item
Shipping Fee	6.5% of shipping cost
Gift Wrapping Fee	6.5% of the amount you charge for gift wrapping
Currency Conversion	2.5% of sale amount
Etsy Offsite Ads	12%-15% of the sale amount
Etsy Onsite Ads	Choose your budget
Pattern Website (Optional)	$15/month

Etsy’s primary source of revenue comes from Etsy seller fees.

These are just a few of the fees you can anticipate:

Listing Fee: $0.20 per item you list on Etsy
Transaction Fee: 6.5% of the product price
Shipping Transaction Fee: 6.5% of shipping costs
Payment Processing Fee: 3.0% + $0.25 of the total transaction (including shipping, item customization, and gift wrapping costs)

Read more about Etsy seller fees for an idea of how much you could end up paying to use the platform.

Etsy Features

Rating: Good

Etsy Features	Availability
Retail Equipment Available
International Sales
Currency Conversion
Shoppable Social Posts
Gift Cards
Customer Loyalty
Marketing Tools
Hosted Platform
Reports
Staff Accounts
Buy Buttons
Multi-Platform Integrations
Shipping Tools
Shipping Discounts
Free Themes
Unlimited Products

Because Etsy aims to simplify the selling process, its features are fairly basic, especially when you compare them to a complete eCommerce software like Shopify. That said, because Etsy is a marketplace (rather than an eCommerce software), features look a bit different in general. Here are the features you get with an Etsy seller account:

Etsy Themes

Etsy’s Pattern website builder offers 10 themes in total.

Individuals with regular Etsy storefronts have a few customization options, including a custom logo insert and storefront banner. Canva, a highly popular beginner-friendly graphic design software, has Etsy storefront banner templates you can customize.

Types Of Payments Accepted With Etsy

With Etsy Payments, the required payment processor for most Etsy sellers, you can accept credit, debit, Etsy Gift card, Etsy Credit, and PayPal transactions.

You can also accept some bank transfer services as well as digital wallet payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Selling On Multiple Sales Channels With Etsy

You can sell on the Etsy Marketplace and your own Pattern site. You can also list your Etsy products on Facebook and Instagram. If you integrate your Etsy website with Square POS, you can sell items in person, as well.

Selling Internationally

With Etsy, you can purchase and print Global Postal Shipping labels from your Shop Manager.

Etsy automatically generates customs forms for international shipments, translates your shop to your customers’ preferred languages, and shows customers pricing in their preferred currency.

Etsy Marketing Features

In addition to the built-in exposure that comes with listing a product on the Etsy marketplace, Etsy offers social media and paid advertising marketing tools.

Social Media Marketing

You can post shop updates on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter by creating and pushing updates to these platforms from your Etsy seller dashboard. You can list items directly on Facebook and Instagram.

Paid Advertising

Your two paid advertising options are Etsy Ads and Etsy Offsite Ads. Etsy Ads are paid promotions that are shown within the Etsy marketplace.

Etsy Offsite Ads are ads that appear on Google and other search engines. Although Etsy Offsite Ads are optional for sellers with under $10,000 in annual sales, participating in the program is mandatory for sellers who make over that amount. Offsite Ads come with their own steep fees (12% – 15% depending on your annual sales).

Etsy Product Limits

Etsy lets you sell an unlimited number of digital and physical products, but you will pay a fee to list them, and a fee to renew any products that are not sold within four months.

You can also sell customizable products on the marketplace.

Inventory Management With Etsy

With Etsy, you can add SKU numbers to all of your products and variants. Your product stock levels will show up on Etsy as well as any other marketplaces or websites you’re selling on.

You cannot bulk add or edit products, but you can create one listing and copy it several times.

Note: All of your Etsy inventory is set to automatically be renewed after four months. You will be automatically charged for renewals.

Etsy Shipping Tools

Etsy has a range of shipping tools available for sellers, including:

Create and display a shipping policy on your storefront
Automatically calculate USPS and/or Canada Post shipping rates (US and Canada-based sellers only)
Set shipping profiles for different destinations
Set custom shipping rates
Offer free shipping
Offer more shipping choices such as shipping insurance using Shipping Upgrade options available at checkout
Give buyers a combined shipping discount
Purchase USPS, FedEx, and Canada Post shipping labels through Etsy
Add tracking numbers to an order (automatically comes with Etsy labels, or can be manually entered)

Here’s how to create a shipping policy for your business.

Etsy SEO Tools

Etsy has released a new search engine, XWalk, which helps users find exactly the products they’re looking for. If you want to show up in Etsy marketplace results, you have to :

Keep listings recent
Add a transparent return policy
Improve your site based on user suggestions
Ask for and post customer reviews
Add tags to your product listings
Use relevant keywords in your listing titles and descriptions
Add your shop’s location, as you’re more likely to show up in search results for users who are in your country
Communicate with customers, respond to questions quickly, and try to settle problems without getting Etsy involved, to show you’re an attentive seller that searchers should interact with
Provide fast processing times and accurate shipping estimates

Also, sellers who make a Pattern website get an automatically generated XML sitemap, which helps Google find and understand your web pages better.

Blogging

Etsy lets you add a blog to your Pattern website.

You could also build a website for free and host a blog (plus make sales) there.

Etsy Discounts & Coupons

In your Shop Manager, you can:

Create promo codes to share with customers via direct message, on your storefront announcements bar, on social media, on a website, in a marketing email, etc.
Decide whether promo codes are a percentage off, fixed amount off, or free shipping
Decide whether sales are a percentage off or free shipping
Set sales and discounts for individual items, your entire store, or a minimum number of items customers need to purchase to qualify
Send targeted promo code offers to individuals who abandoned their shopping cart, shoppers who favorited an item in your store, and recent customers
Review performance of sales and promo codes

Developer Tools

Etsy offers an open API for developers to build Etsy apps and integration.

In-Person Selling Tools

Etsy integrates with Square, so you can sell your Etsy storefront items in person at popup events, artist markets, etc.

You’ll need a Square credit card reader to sell items in person.

Is Etsy Easy To Use?

Etsy is very easy to use. It’s simple to add products, manage orders, and monitor your traffic. Etsy’s built-in shipping solution and payment processing remove a few of the complexities of online selling.

Etsy’s Pattern websites are also simple to set up. Pattern automatically syncs with your Etsy shop, which means that your listed products import into your Pattern site seamlessly. You can manage both your Etsy shop and your Pattern site from your Etsy Shop Manager.

Customer Service & Support

Rating: Poor

Etsy Support	Availability
Phone Support
Email Support	Support ticket email responses
Support Tickets
Live Chat
Dedicated Support Representative
Knowledge Base or Help Center
Videos & Tutorials	Not for sellers
Company Blog
Social Media

Sellers used to be able to reach Etsy’s support team via phone, email, or live chat. These are the available support resources currently:

Live Chat: Etsy seller support always has you start with a live chat, although the chatbot does ask for your email to contact you in case you have to leave the chat.
Help Center: The Etsy Help Center includes articles for both buyers and sellers. These articles include clear instructions, and they are up to date. Unfortunately, there aren’t many screenshots or videos embedded in these articles.
Community Forum: Etsy hosts a number of active community forums. Ask questions in the forum, and a seasoned Etsy seller can help you find an answer. In addition, there are Etsy Teams. Etsy Teams are groups of sellers who share an interest or goal. Each Etsy Team has its own closed forum.
Guides: Access Etsy’s Seller handbook to find guides on photography, shipping, marketing, productivity, and more. You can also view the Shipping Help page, which contains guides on various shipping methods.
Videos: Etsy has a YouTube page. However, it is intended for buyer entertainment. There are not many useful videos for Etsy sellers.
Blog: Etsy’s blog is called Etsy Journal. This blog is mostly intended for buyers instead of sellers.
Social Media: Etsy has active accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.

Integrations & Add-Ons

Rating: Fair

Etsy offers 23 built-in integrations that you can use to connect your Etsy shop to your email marketing tools, bookkeeping software, and more. A few notable integrations include QuickBooks, TaxJar, and AWeber. You can also connect directly with Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Etsy Reviews

Rating: Fair

Negative Etsy Reviews & Complaints

Huge Fee Increase: Etsy’s recent transaction fee increase from 5% to 6.5% on all payments related to product purchases, shipping, and gift wrapping did not sit well with the majority of sellers.
Suspended & Deactivated Accounts: This is the most common complaint I have seen from Etsy sellers. Etsy reportedly suspends and closes seller accounts often, with little to no warning. Be sure to read Etsy’s Terms of Service and the Seller Handbook to ensure your shop fits all of Etsy’s requirements. Hopefully, if you follow Etsy’s guidance, you’ll avoid sudden account termination.
Lack Of Support From Etsy: Etsy sellers say that Etsy tends to side with buyers in chargebacks and other disputes.
Lack Of Customer Service: Sellers say customer support is difficult to contact and often unhelpful.
Mandatory Offsite Ads Enrollment: Sellers are automatically enrolled in Etsy’s Offsite Ads program, which takes anywhere from 12-15% of a transaction if a buyer found the item from search engine results, in addition to transaction and payment processing fees. Some sellers are able to opt-out, but others are not. Many sellers report that it’s not even worth using offsite ads with the number of fees Etsy takes from transactions.

Positive Etsy Reviews & Testimonials

Simplicity: Sellers appreciate how Etsy simplifies accepting payments and purchasing shipping labels. For many sellers, Etsy is the simplest way to turn their hobby into a business.
Large Customer Base: When you sell on Etsy, you gain access to a large customer base. You’ll be able to gain new customers without spending a lot on marketing (although it’s always a good idea to run your own marketing campaigns).
Low Fees Compared To Alternatives: Some sellers say that Etsy is a more affordable solution than other marketplaces. Specifically, they say that selling on Etsy costs less than running their own online store or selling on eBay.

Final Verdict Of Etsy

Etsy Review Summary
Pricing	$0/month-$15/month
Choose If You Need	Easy store setup and maintenance Built-in exposure to target audience To not manage your own website

For some sellers, Etsy is a decent solution. The Shop Manager is easy to use and all of the technical elements of running an online store are out of your hands. These sellers are happy to produce great products, provide excellent customer service, and let Etsy handle the rest.

However, Etsy has many flaws. The most notable issue with Etsy is the number of fees involved. Also, it can be hard for sellers to compete in such a vast marketplace.

In addition, Etsy sellers do not have much control over their shops. Etsy can raise fees, implement new fees, change how shops turn up in Etsy search results (like the company did with its latest search engine update), or close your seller account, and there’s little you can do about it.

If the easy Etsy shop setup and management are worth the drawbacks to you, read our post on how to get sales on Etsy. If you’re ready to look elsewhere to sell your handcrafted items, check out the best Etsy alternatives to find the right place to start your online store.

Or, consider using Etsy to get found more online, then direct your customers towards a different seller platform or your own website to avoid Etsy fees.

Etsy FAQs

What is Etsy pricing?

Etsy costs $0-$10/month for subscriptions, but most of Etsy’s costs come in the form of Etsy fees, which (most notably) include a 6.5% transaction fee that applies to the cost of the order, shipping, and gift wrapping.

Is Etsy safe?

Etsy is safe and legit, for the most part. There are a few instances where buyers have opened dispute cases with sellers, and Etsy usually sides with the buyer and makes you refund customers.

To avoid these kinds of problems, keep good records of your inventory, shipping, and customer communication.

Does Etsy have good reviews?

Etsy used to have good reviews, but since Etsy’s recent fee increases, many reviews are negative and people are looking for Etsy alternatives with lower fees.

The good reviews are mostly related to the vast built-in exposure of the Etsy marketplace, and most sellers recommend using the platform for exposure, then moving away from it.

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Nicolette Kier

Expert Analyst & Reviewer

As a small business owner, contributing writer Nicolette Kier has been sharing her knowledge on all things related to freelancing and eCommerce since 2019. She earned a BS in Physics and a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.

View Nicolette Kier's professional experience on LinkedIn.

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Sources

What are Payment Processing Fees for Etsy Payments? (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy Help Center
Etsy (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy
What are Integrations for Etsy Shops? (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy Help Center
Update Your Browser (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy Help Center
Sell on Etsy (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Google Play
Sell on Etsy (Accessed 09/13/2022) — Apple App Store
How to Get Paid with Etsy Payments (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy Help Center
Etsy Payments Policy Update (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy Help Center
Pricing and Fees for Pattern (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy Help Center
Seller Protection Policy (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy
Trust Makes Etsy Possible (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy
Credit Card Security Information (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy Help Center
Terms of Use (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy
Privacy Policy (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy
How to Make Your Account More Secure (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy Help Center
Etsy (Accessed 09/20/2022) — ConsumerAffairs
Etsy (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Trustpilot
Etsy Reviews (Accessed 09/20/2022) — REVIEWS.io
Pattern (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Etsy
Create your Etsy Shop icon and cover photo in minute (Accessed 09/20/2022) — Canva

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6 Comments

Responses are not provided or commissioned by the vendor or bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the vendor or bank advertiser. It is not the vendor or bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Capsils April 19, 2022 at 2:13 am

The charges that Esty place on sales are outrageous. I pay nearly 25% as I am not VAT registered. I’m not sure why Etsy feel the need to subtract additional charges because of this. It is my responsibility to submit my own tax and if I don’t earn a certain amount because of this, then that’s fine, it is my responsibility to inform HMRC.