Etsy is a marketplace for sellers listing handmade goods, vintage items, or craft supplies. If you want to start your own Etsy Shop and set up your very own Etsy seller account, this FAQ blog will help you get started:
What do I need to set up an Etsy seller account?
To get started, you will need to create an Etsy customer account which includes registering an email address and creating a password.
Once you have done that, you will be able to set up your Etsy shop.
During the shop setup process you will need to complete the following steps before you can open a shop:
- List your shop’s country, currency, and language.
- Name your shop.
- Create a listing. To progress to the next stage of setup, you will need to create one manual listing first. The listing will require photos, a product title, product category, description, price, and quantity. Shipping options will also be selected at this stage, plus your item’s weight and size. You will be able to automate your listing process after the initial shop setup.
- Set up your payment profile. You’ll supply your bank information, including account and routing numbers, plus some personal identifying information like your name, date of birth, and last four digits of your Social Security Number. You will also need to fill in your home address and phone number.
- Set up your billing details. Add a credit card and your billing address. This is how Etsy will charge you for any fees (listing fees, payment processing fees, etc.) that you cannot cover with the funds you generate from item sales.
What are the commission rates and fees on Etsy?
Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee per item. Listings expire after four months, and cost an additional $0.20 to renew. Etsy has additional explanations for how the listing fees work with multiple units of stock—you are only charged a listing fee for additional inventory if the additional units sell.
Etsy charges a 5% transaction fee for every purchase. The transaction fee includes your listing price plus any shipping charges or gift-wrapping costs. Etsy offers more in-depth details about fees on its site.
Payment processing fees are also calculated by Etsy. In the United States, the payment processing fee is 3% of the total amount of the sale (including tax and shipping), plus a $0.25 flat fee. Etsy provides more details about payment fees on its site.
Here is an example of how Etsy’s fees would work.
Let’s say you are selling a paintbrush for $8.00. You have 5 units of the paintbrush listed in stock. A customer purchases 3 paintbrushes in a single transaction.
The sale price for 3 paintbrushes is $24.00. Shipping for the order costs $6.00, and the sales tax is $1.98.
You have already paid a $0.20 listing fee for listing the first unit of stock. You will pay an additional $0.20 for each unit that sells after the first unit, plus an “auto-renewal sold” listing fee of $0.20 for renewing the listing with your remaining stock. Your total listing fees for this transaction amount to $0.60.
The transaction fee is 5% of the total value of the sale price plus shipping ($24.00 plus $6.00). In this case, your transaction fee is 5% of $30.00, or $1.50.
The payment processing fee is calculated based on the total amount of the transaction, which includes tax and shipping. The total amount of the transaction was $31.98. The payment processing fee is 3% of $31.98, plus $0.25. The payment processing fee for this transaction is $1.21, since Etsy rounds up to the nearest cent.
All in all, your fees for the transaction would be $0.60 in listing or auto-renewal fees, plus a $1.50 transaction fee, plus $1.21 in payment processing fees, for a total of $3.31 in fees.
All fees are first deducted from your account balance generated from the sales you make. If your account balance does not have sufficient funds to cover the fees, Etsy will charge the credit card you have on file.
What are the image requirements on Etsy?
Etsy accepts the following file types for product image URLs: JPEG, GIF, or PNG.
The max file size is 1 MB. Larger files may fail to upload.
Etsy recommends using pictures that are at least 2000 pixels on the shortest side, with a resolution of 72 PPI. Smaller images will be blurry, but will not be prevented from uploading.
Use a square or horizontal main image with an aspect ratio of 4:3 to account for the cropped view in the thumbnail image.
Do I need approval to list in certain categories on Etsy?
No. As long as you are selling handmade items, vintage items (at least 20 years old), or crafting supplies, you can list products on Etsy. Etsy’s site provides more detail about these categories, plus prohibited items and services.
Are UPCs or GTINs required to sell on Etsy?
No, UPCs or GTINs are not required to sell on Etsy.
If you have a large product catalog or a high volume of orders, feel free to contact us to see how we can help you with product listing optimization to order management.
Brian Roizen is the Cofounder and Chief Architect of Feedonomics, a full-service feed optimization platform that optimizes product data for hundreds of channels. He has been featured on numerous podcasts and eCommerce webinars, and regularly contributes to Search Engine Land and other industry-leading blogs. Brian graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
