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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.
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Expert Analyst & Reviewer
UPDATED
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Etsy
| 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
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 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
| 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
| 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:
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
| 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
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
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 |
|
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
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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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.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Etsy is awful to their sellers. You can never speak with anyone that actually has the authority to help or do anything for you. Customer service is people that are outsourced. It is done through email & anything Admin does is final & you have no say. I feel that Etsy is all about the customers even if they are trying to scam or get their order for free without paying for it. Watch out cause any buyer can put in a case & Etsy automatically gives them a refund within minutes & the seller gets no chance to respond since Etsy says anything they do is final. I had a buyer that ordered a bigger quantity of items & agreed that I could ship a few at a time since they needed them for resale. After I shipped a few they put in a case that they did not receive their order even though there was tracking provided & Etsy gave them a FULL REFUND for all the items & they got to keep the items they already received also. I was out over $1200. I have also had several orders where the tracking shows the item is “in transit” & Etsy still gives a refund & customer ends up with the item without paying for it. Watch out as Etsy does what they want when they want. They are NOT in favor of a seller even though sellers is what makes their business money.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Rosalee Boutique
Etsy was pretty good 2 years ago. The past 2 months have been horrible. The fees are crazy, if get charges $1.16 for shipping but charges the seller $1.38. After not getting support/help from etsy and 6 days going back and forth with the post office and customer, I refunded a customer her money even though I had proof that the delivery issue was not my fault or the post offices fault. Etsy immediately took the money out of my bank account. They also took it out of the money that would be deposited in my account on the following deposit day. On a $24 order, after fees and posting I made $10.11. I was also charged .20 when I listed it. Technically I made $9.91 and Etsy made $14.09. If you sell on Etsy watch your account carefully.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Thank you so much for sharing such useful and interesting information.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Prettify
Avoid it at all costs!!! We are a legitimate clothing business registered in the US. Etsy terminated our shop one day after we made an account with no notice and when I reach them out, (after like a week) they replied this:”After a comprehensive review of your account, Etsy has determined it violates our Terms of Service or House Rules. As a result, Etsy has permanently closed your account.Please do not open any additional accounts for buying or selling, as they will be closed without notice.This decision is final and we will not respond to any further outreach about your account. This email constitutes our final communication on this matter.”Could not be ruder than this to a customer!!! Not even said hi back to me!!!!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: vintagecamerastogo
Etsy, my experience as a former short time store owner, ABSOLUTE NEGATIVE !!!l Etsy deactivated my store in the middle of the transaction !! No warning no explanation no reason at all.. Etsy collected a couple of hundred dollars from my buyer and closed my store. I was unable to contact the seller or Etsy. There is no way to contact Etsy when your store closed.. Let me explain a couple of critical issues at Etsy, there is no such thing as customer service In contrast what you read in this article Etsy automatically signs you up for their own offsite advertising which would cost you an extra 15% of commission on top of the 8% of commission !! All together 23% of commission you pay plus a lot of smaller fee at the end of your sale. You pay a commission on shipping cost to. Literally you have no choice but offering free shipping. In short I had a really bad experience at Etsy but, before you do business read Better Business Bureau, TrustPilot and their own Etsy community forum. Then you decide.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.