How Much Does Etsy Charge To Sell Your Creations?
Etsy is a popular online marketplace for creative entrepreneurs who make and sell handmade or vintage goods.
The platform has become a popular destination for artisans and patrons looking for unique, one-of-a-kind items.
To continue serving its community of sellers and buyers, it needs to generate revenue. For this, the company charges fees and taxes on all goods sold on the platform.
Just how much does Etsy charge for selling on its platform? Is creating your own Etsy Seller Account even worth it?
What Are the Different Types of Fees on Etsy?
When you first start selling on Etsy, keeping track of all the fees can be a little overwhelming.
Looking at the breakdown for each sale, it might seem like a lot. But it’s not that bad when you consider how much traffic Etsy gets daily.
With so many potential customers coming to the site, it’s worth paying a few fees to get your products in front of them.
Once you start making sales, you will quickly see that the costs are more than worth it.
Mandatory Fees
Etsy makes most of its revenues in mandatory fees. These are typically taken automatically from an Etsy seller’s credit card on file or factored into the buyer’s payment for the order.
Listing
Creating a listing on Etsy has a flat rate charge of $0.20, which is paid no matter how much it converts into sales.
Each listing lasts only four months, and the company automatically takes renewal fees unless the seller cancels the original listing.
If a listing performs well and generates more than one sale, Etsy charges an additional listing fee of $0.20 each for the extra item(s).
These are called the multi-quantity listing fee and account for much of Etsy’s revenue.
To give you an example, if a single listing generates three sales, Etsy will charge the seller $0.60 for the order.
Etsy allows its sellers to offer custom orders, which lets a seller customize a listing according to the customer’s request.
These are also charged $0.20 fees and are called private listings.
Transaction
On top of the listing fees, Etsy also takes a 6.5% cut out of every single transaction a seller makes on the platform.
This includes the total cost of the product, shipping fees, and gift-wrapping fees that sellers charge their customers.
Payment Processing
Etsy has an in-house payment processing system called Etsy Payments, which is currently available in 36 countries.
It allows its sellers to process credit cards and use mobile payment systems such as bank transfers, Apple Pay, Etsy gift cards, and other payment methods.
The amount Etsy charges varies depending on the seller’s bank account location.
For many US sellers, the processing fee is $0.25 + 3% of the final price, which includes shipping, customizations, and wrapping.
So, if you sell an item for $100 with $10 shipping, your total Etsy fees would be $3.25.
For sellers not mentioned in Etsy Payment’s Current Country List, payment via PayPal is also accepted. The fees using this method are comparable to Etsy Payments.
Regulatory Operating
Regulatory operating fees are charges assessed by a company to offset the cost of doing business in a particular country.
These fees vary widely from country to country and are typically evaluated as a percentage of the product price, shipping cost, customization fees, and applicable gift-wrapping fees.
Currently, only France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Turkey impose these fees, but this can change later on as the laws change.
Currency Conversion
Etsy gives your shop a global audience. As such, your customers may come from different parts of the world and pay in foreign currencies.
If the order is processed via Etsy Payments, a currency conversion fee of 2.5% of the total price will be deducted from your payout if your bank requires it.
On the flip side, Etsy Payments use real-time foreign exchange rates, so you shouldn’t be caught off-guard by the constantly changing rates.
Optional Fees
Etsy offers its sellers some tools that can either help them boost their sales or make managing their Etsy Shops a little bit easier.
Etsy Ads
Etsy’s growing popularity as the go-to marketplace for people looking for unique product listings comes with a price in the form of advertising fees.
The company uses two levels: offsite and onsite.
While Etsy adswww.virtualshoprz.com/blog/are-etsy-ads-worth-it are not required, they can be a great way to increase traffic to your listings. They work on a pay-per-click basis, so you will only be charged when someone clicks on the ad.
The amount you pay per click can vary depending on several factors, but on average, most sellers pay around $0.2 to $0.5 per click.
Etsy has recently changed how ads work, so it is no longer possible to rely on the price of clicks. However, you can still choose which specific listings to promote and even set a daily budget.
In general, onsite ads can significantly increase exposure for your listings and boost sales.
Offsite Ads
Contrary to onsite Etsy ads, sellers only pay for offsite advertisements that result in actual sales rather than for ads that are simply clicked on.
You can expect a lot of traffic from these types of ads because they are shown on large sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The fees for offsite ads are lower for sellers who have made more than $10,000 in sales over the past 12 months.
For these “top-performing” sellers, the fee is only 12%, as opposed to 15% for other sellers.
Shipping Label Fees
Custom Etsy Shipping Labels are labels you can print at home that are available only to sellers in certain countries.
What makes it such a good purchase is that it can help you spend less time at the post office and grant access to postage discounts.
Here’s a list of carriers that accommodates Etsy Shipping Labels:
Etsy Plus
While you can create and maintain an Etsy account for free, paying a monthly subscription fee of $10 for Etsy Plus can help you manage your listings easier.
Here’s a list of the best Etsy Plus features:
Customizations for your shop front
Restock requests for products that have sold out
Listing credits
Etsy ads credits
Discounts on packaging and custom marketing props
Pattern Fees
Etsy gives its sellers a chance to make it on their own using the Etsy Pattern service. That said, you can consider Pattern a separate storefront for your Etsy shop.
As you’ll soon see, it comes with a domain name and layout of its own. In fact, it can even display your shop’s custom logos and other branding materials.
It has a $15 monthly subscription fee with a 30-day trial period.
So, if you’re looking to give your Etsy shop a professional makeover, Pattern is definitely worth checking out.
With a monthly subscription package to Etsy Pattern, you can eliminate transaction and listing fees if your customers purchase from you using Pattern.
For in-demand sellers, these fees can amount to a significant number, so upgrading to a Pattern website and funneling their sales there would make a lot of sense.
How Much Does Etsy Charge to Sell on Their Website?
Now that you have an overview of the charges for selling on Etsy, it’s time to break it down.
For a more comprehensive look at the fees for a product listing that costs $100, check out the table below:
Etsy Fees
Cost
Listing
$0.20
Transaction
$7.15
Payment Processing
$3.25
Total Fees
$10.6
Again, the mandatory fees include a listing fee and a transaction fee.
The listing fee is charged every time you list an item, and the transaction fee is charged when an item is sold.
The optional fees include shipping labels, promoted listings, and ads.
While some may view the fees as unfair or unreasonable, it’s important to remember that they help keep Etsy running.
That way, artisans can continue to sell their wares, and buyers can find unique items from around the world.
How To Make Selling on Etsy Worth It Despite the Fees
Etsy fees have been trending up lately, with many sellers choosing to leave the platform instead of paying them.
However, for budding business owners trying to get their start on selling their treasured products, Etsy’s services are priceless.
Millions of buyers go through the site every day, and many of them may be looking exactly for the product you make.
So, don’t let the fees discourage you from selling your products on the platform.
Plus, there are plenty of ways to reduce these fees anyway, and we’ve listed some of the best ones here:
1. Take advantage of the free listings for new Etsy Seller Accounts.
You get 40 free listings for each new Etsy Seller Account. So, if you are just starting, you can easily skirt the $0.20 flat rate charges.
Just make sure to put your best foot forward so that these free listings actually generate sales.
2. Reassess the optional fees you are paying.
Whether it’s the optional advertising fees or the costs of running your Etsy Pattern site, cutting your overheads is essential.
If you run Etsy ads, ensure you’ve optimized your listings. While the ads may bring eyeballs, poorly made listings can instantly turn them away.
You should also use Etsy Patterns strategically. For business owners just starting out, it may be beneficial to forgo this optional tool.
On the other hand, larger businesses with plenty of products to sell can take advantage of Patterns because listings are free and transaction fees are minimized.
3. Raise the sale price on your product listings.
The simplest, and perhaps the best, way to offset these Etsy Seller fees is to set the listing price to a level where you’re comfortable with the profit margin.
This often leads sellers to increase prices, but it should also make it more worth it to sell on the platform.
4. Highlight custom orders and raise prices on the customization.
A lot of six-figure Etsy Sellers promote their private listings for a reason. You can often charge more for custom orders while the listing fee stays the same.
5. Reduce shipping costs.
Charges related to shipping can also drive up the fees you have to pay Etsy.
In a lot of cases, finding ways to reduce your shipping rates can have a significant impact on your profit margins.
One way that sellers can do this is by finding less expensive shipping carriers.
It will cost you less to ship your products to the customer, and it should further increase your margins by reducing the shipping transaction fees.
You can also try to eliminate the shipping cost and fees altogether by offering digital products. Canva templates, for example, are quite in-demand right now.
6. Consider opening a foreign bank account currency.
If your shop listings generate cross-border sales, you may want to consider opening a bank account in the particular currency that’s performing well for you.
Doing this should reduce the currency conversion fees while you wait for more favorable currency exchange rates.
Is Etsy Worth It?
While Etsy has helped entrepreneurs make a profit on their creative output, Etsy itself has to make a profit to maintain and improve its operations.
One of the main ways the company tries to achieve this is through fees.
However, these fees answer exactly how much does Etsy charge to sell on their massive platform and can amount to a significant chunk of a seller’s revenue.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make selling on Etsy worth it.
With a little know-how, you can even reduce the total fees you have to pay Etsy. We hope we have helped in this department.
Now that you have the knowledge of how to make it on Etsy, don’t hesitate to create one now. Etsy will even give you your first 40 listings for free with a new Etsy Seller Account!
Read also: How to Sell Custom Orders on Etsy
