Etsy hits sellers with 30 percent transaction fee increase

After the record-breaking fourth quarter of 2021, Etsy has raised seller transaction fees from 5 percent to 6.5 percent, the company announced today. at Transfer For investors today, the company says the 30 percent increase will take effect from April 11. The transaction fee is the percentage of the total order amount that Etsy charges when a seller makes a sale.

The additional expense for sellers comes as Etsy reported fourth-quarter revenue of $717.1 million, which the company attributes to a strong holiday shopping season. Etsy added 10 million new buyers in the last quarter of 2021, bringing the number of active buyers to 90 million. Stock prices jumped more than 15 percent after the market closed on Thursday after a report to investors.

“We’ve demonstrated our ability to make improvements that directly translate into more sales for our sellers, as evidenced by record sales per seller in 2021,” Etsy CEO Josh Silverman says in the report. “Our new transaction fees will enable us to invest in key areas such as marketing and support to build our strong momentum.”

Etsy says the fee increase will mostly pay for “marketing, seller tools, and creating world-class customer experiences.” But previous changes to seller features – such as the controversial advertising program – have occurred It didn’t go well With sellers, some of them are unable to withdraw.

The high seller fees are likely to annoy merchants on the platform, who have done so for years complained About changes at Etsy as the company grows. The last time Etsy raised transaction fees was in 2018, when it went from 3.5 percent to the current 5 percent, and sellers also paid $0.20 to list an item, in addition to a payment processing fee.