Etsy is offering sellers in the Israel and Palestine region relief, confirming to EcommerceBytes that it had reached out directly to its seller community in the region to offer its support, including waiving fees, deferring bills, and extending Star Seller status.
An online merchant-turned vendor shared in a LinkedIn post a letter Etsy sent to sellers in the region outlining protections:
Dear Etsy seller,
We know that so many in our community are facing an incredibly trying and uncertain time. As the conflict unfolds, we want you to know that now, as always, we’re here to help and support you, our small businesses and makers. We’re taking several immediate actions – all detailed below – that we hope will ease the weight of managing your shop. We’ve also included a few suggestions about your shop that we hope might be helpful.
We’re covering your current balance and deferring your next bill
We’re covering all the fees your shop incurred from October 1 to October 9, 2023 and we are covering any remaining balance from September 2023.
We are also rolling your fees incurred from October 10 through the rest of October 2023 up with your November 2023 bill and both will be due on December 1, 2023. Your shop will continue to be in good standing, despite not paying your October bill. You may still get overdue payments notifications, but you can ignore these until your payment is due. We hope this helps you during this time.
We’re extending Star Seller badges
We’re temporarily adjusting the program to support Star Sellers in the region. If you earned a Star Seller badge in October 2023, we’ve automatically granted you a badge for November 2023.
Updated 10/24/2023 to clarify Etsy offered relief to all sellers in the region.
