Etsy UK Fees Explained - Complete Guide 2023

Etsy®¹ lets online sellers offering unique, crafted and vintage items - as well as connected craft supplies - connect easily with customers globally. It’s a very popular platform for customers looking for a special item for a gift or for themselves, and also a great marketplace for craft and party supplies of all types.

If you’re thinking of starting an Etsy business you’re probably wondering:how much does Etsy charge UK sellers, and how does the payment process work? This guide has you covered with a quick introduction to how to sell on Etsy UK, as well as a full look at Etsy selling fees (UK). We’ll also touch on Wise Business as a great option if you’re receiving, holding, sending or spending payments in foreign currencies as part of your Etsy business.

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How to sell on Etsy UK

Before we dive into the details about Etsy UK fees, let’s take a quick look at how to sell on Etsy.

The first thing you’ll need to do is choose what you want to sell. Etsy has a select range of categories you’ll need to use when picking - generally things being listed must be handmade, vintage or craft supplies. Hand made means made by the seller, rather than reselling something someone else has made. Vintage items must be genuine and 20 years or more old. And craft supplies is a pretty broad category which also covers party and special occasion goods.

As you’d expect there’s also a range of items you can’t sell on Etsy, but browsing the Etsy UK site is a good way to get a feel for what’s popular and what customers may be looking for. Once you’ve picked your niche, you can source suppliers and goods to sell, and choose your store name.

Once you know what type of Etsy business you’re going to create, setting up an Etsy store is surprisingly easy - here’s a step by step:

1. Go to the Etsy website on your laptop (setting up a store can’t be done through the app)
2. Click ‘Sell on Etsy’, and follow the prompts to enter the required details, including the country you’re based in, your language and currency
3. Enter a store name, save, and add listings for the items you want to sell
4. Choose how you want to be paid, and link a credit or debit card for verification purposes
5. Confirm and you’ll be ready to open your store

We’ll look at the ways you can get paid with Etsy a little later. You can also learn more about how to sell on Etsy here.

Etsy UK fees

On to the main question: how much does it cost to sell on Etsy UK?

There are several different fees related to selling and operating a store with Etsy. Some of the costs involved depend on how you set up your store, how you choose to take payments, and where you’re selling. We’ll run through the key Etsy UK fees now one by one - but for the full lowdown it’s important to review the Etsy UK fee schedule² in detail so there are no surprises.

Etsy listing fee UK

The first of the Etsy seller fees UK you’ll need to know about is the Etsy listing fee. You’ll pay a listing fee every time you list an item in your Etsy store, even if that item does not ultimately sell.

If you list multiple quantities of a single item, the fee is charged every time the item is sold and the listing is effectively renewed. If your item doesn’t sell, the listing will expire after 4 months. Your account will be set to auto renew, which automatically relists an item upon sale or expiry, but you can change it to allow you to manually renew if you want to.

The Etsy listing fee in the UK is 0.20 USD per listing. Etsy fees are always set in USD, and will be converted back to the currency of your account when they’re paid. More on Etsy currency conversions later.

Etsy transaction fee UK

The next important Etsy fee to know about is the Etsy transaction fee. You’ll pay this fee whenever an item sells. The Etsy transaction fee UK is 6.5% of the overall sale amount. The overall sale amount includes:

• The cost of goods as listed on your site
• Shipping costs
• Any gift wrapping fees
• The cost of personalisation if offered

Etsy payment processing fee UK

The Etsy payment processing fee in the UK is 4% + 0.2 GBP³, which applies when receiving payments through Etsy Payments. Etsy payments is the Etsy platform that lets customers pay securely in a variety of ways including credit and debit cards. Fees are charged on the full sale amount including shipping and any taxes. Etsy payments are then deposited to your linked account or card in the currency of your choice.

If you’re listing items in currencies other than the currency your account is set to, there are conversion fees to switch the value back to your account currency. We’ll look at this later in more detail, but these fees are usually 2.5%.

Etsy regulatory operating fees UK

In some countries, including the UK, Etsy charges a regulatory operating fee which applies to cover the higher operating costs in that particular location. The Etsy regulatory operating fee UK is 0.32% of the sale amount⁴.

Other Etsy fees in the UK

While we’ve covered the key and common costs involved with selling on Etsy UK, there are also a few other fees you might run into, depending on how you use your Etsy store. We’ll summarise some of these potential charges here, but you’ll still want to look over all of Etsy’s policies to make sure you’re clear on any other fees that are likely to apply in your particular situation.

One important fee to know about is the Etsy 2.5% currency conversion fee. This applies usually if the seller lists items in a currency other than the currency their Etsy account is set to. So, for example, if you’re in the UK and you choose to list items in euros, the conversion fee may be applied when switching the euro payments from your customers back to pounds to deposit to your linked bank account.

You can avoid this fee by listing items only in the currency of your Etsy account. If you subsequently need to convert to a different currency for onward payments, you might want to use a specialist service like Wise Business to access currency conversion and payments which use the mid-market rate with low transaction fees. More on that next.

How to get paid on Etsy

Generally when you sell with Etsy you’ll need to link a bank account or card to withdraw your earnings (after fees have been deducted).

One smart option is to link your Etsy account to a multi-currency business account from a provider like Wise Business. With Wise you can receive payments with linked bank details in 9 currencies, and hold and exchange 40+ currencies.

That means you can use Wise to get paid on Etsy in the currency of your Etsy account, and then switch to the currency or currencies you need within Wise to send payments to contractors or suppliers, or to spend internationally.

Wise Business come with a linked debit card which can be used in 174 countries, and all currency conversion uses the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees from 0.43%⁵. That can mean your Etsy earnings go further.

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Wise Business 🚀

So there you have it - all you need to know about Etsy UK fees, including the Etsy UK listing fee, the transaction or payment processing fees that apply and the UK regulatory operating fees. We’ve also summarised the other common costs involved with selling on Etsy like the 2.5% currency conversion that’s applied whenever you list an item in a currency other than the one your Etsy account is set up in. Instead, try using a service like Wise Business to withdraw in the currency of your Etsy account and then convert later with low fees and the mid-market exchange rate.

Sources used in this article:

Sources last checked June 30, 2023