Etsy Sellers Plan to Strike in April as the Etsy Fees Raise by 30%
Etsy fees are higher than ever for Etsy sellers, and no one’s staying quiet about it.
We have bad news for Etsy fans. 😟
The Hip team and I absolutely love buying all our custom gifts from Etsy (like our favorite Name Necklaces, Leather Drawer Pulls, and more!) It’s the perfect place to navigate custom gifts for loved ones and yourself. Those who create these items are super talented. These sellers and creators are who make Etsy, well… Etsy! That’s why we have to let you know that Etsy fees are planned to rise by 30% for sellers. As a result, the Etsy community is not staying quiet.
There’s now a petition to urge the CEO to cancel the Etsy seller fee increase.
A petition is circulating that urges Etsy not to go through with this raised fee. The petition on Coworker.org notes that after two years of a record-breaking $3 billion in sales, this 30% raise is not necessary. According to the article, Etsy, which is made of small businesses and shops, has been making more profit than it ever has.
It also emphasizes that many sellers may not be able to afford to sell their creations anymore due to this occurrence. Fees like this can make or break a small business, which is extremely unfortunate.
Etsy has a niche for everyone’s interests, so it breaks our hearts that the people who create such joy for us will be the ones paying the price. The original goal for the petition was 6,000 signatures, and it now has collected over 14,000 from both Etsy sellers and buyers!
To drive the point home, there is an upcoming boycott from Etsy sellers over the new seller fee increase.
Many Etsy sellers plan on halting all sales from April 11th through April 18th, and they’re also encouraging buyers to do the same. Only time will tell whether the CEO will reverse this decision prior to the strike or wait it out through the no-shopping week!
We’re curious to hear if any of our Hip readers are Etsy sellers. If so, what are your thoughts on this fee increase? Let’s hope our favorite Etsy sellers can continue what they do best while earning their fair share!
Looking to support these shops before the boycott? Check out our favorite Etsy purchases!
I had NO idea about this and I am so glad that you shared. I am a nurse, mom of 4 and a small business owner and sell primarily on Etsy. I quit my job as a nurse to grow this business and it has done well.. but the fees associated are already expensive (EX: MTD they’ve taken almost 1/3 of my earnings, almost $1700 in fees). Raise that by 30% and.. WHOA. Time to finish building my website and get away from this platform being my sole focus. :/
I am an Etsy seller; I have been selling on Etsy for several years. I am not happy about the rise in fees that are scheduled but I will not shut down sales for that week. Everything in our world has had a price increase from the groceries you buy to the fuel you put in your vehicle. As a seller you need to know when to raise your prices to compensate for the growing cost. So far this month I have paid 1159.00 in Etsy fees, however without those Etsy sales I would barely have any orders to fill.
I won’t be buying from Etsy those days! Stay strong guys don’t let greedy CEOs win!!! You deserve to have a fair pay
Etsy now also requires their top sellers to pay for advertising. There is no way to opt out.
I’m a top seller. It’s a very, very small amount, IF any at all.. and only if your product was advertised by Etsy off of the Etsy platform and Etsy had to pay advertising fees as well. The seller only pays if the item is purchased through a click from that advertising.. even though Etsy has to pay for every click from the search engine regardless if the item is purchased or not.
For example, I paid $14 this month towards it – but it gained me hundreds of dollars in sales. I feel that’s fair as they’re marketing my products. 🙂
The 30% rise in fees though…..
It’s an additional 12-15% fee on every item sold through offsite ads. That’s not a small amount in my book–especially when that’s added to all the other fees that we already pay.
I occasionally but from Etsy but I signed the petition in support of the small business owners who sell on it. 30% is way too high. Good luck!
I like to shop on etsy, but will not that week and also wont buy from an etsy store that wont stand with others. Ceo greed is outta hand everywhere but weak people refuse to do anything. People can make a change.
This is terrible as artisans don’t make that much money as it is. 30% seems like a lot. As a buyer, I will also boycott the site.
I’m an Etsy seller and my shop sells stickers. They’re only $4 a piece, so with the fee increase I’ll barely make a profit. Thank you for sharing this!
You’re so welcome!
I buy from Etsy but I won’t for that week and I’ll reconsider my purchases going forward. If I can buy from a small business website that’s what I’ll do.
Happy to strike as a buyer. It’s understandable that everything is more expensive but 30% is ridiculous.
Hmm, I understand that the price increased 30% but that is from 5% to 6.5%. I guess the 30% catches more attention than noting the actual % change.
EXACTLY! I’ve been saying this for weeks. It’s $1.50 on every $100 in sales. Or for smaller shops, 15 cents on ten dollars. Sheesh.
Amandaa your comment brings perspective. I was thinking it was a fee increase of 30%, meaning from 5% to 35%…your comment makes sense! Thanks for posting.
Wow. I have a small Etsy shop and did not know there was going to be an increase in fees…absolutely no notifications about this… I for sure check into it. Thanks. The fees have gotten so bad as well as pushing small business sellers to pay for promotions and offer free shipping it’s almost not worth the hours and hours of work making well loved items to sell on Etsy when I can do a craft fair locally and make so much more money. Kinda sad. Miss the Etsy Etsy was 14yrs ago.
Is that correct that it is going from 5% to 6.5%?
Yes
Do they charge just for listing or only when the item sells?
They charge for each listing, then there are other fees in addition to that listing fee.
So it’s really more than 6.5% in total
Some of the fees: listing, transaction, processing, shipping, marketing. There are a lot of fees for sellers!