Etsy reminded sellers of the higher rates shipping carriers are charging in the New Year. But it conveniently left out a reminder that it will cost sellers even more than posted shipping rates: Etsy charges a 5% “Shipping Transaction” fee, which will cost sellers more while boosting Etsy revenue.
“At the beginning of every calendar year, most shipping providers make changes to their rates and services,” Etsy informed sellers in a post on Wednesday. “We know these changes may have a big impact on your shops, and we want to make sure you have the information you need to succeed in 2022.”
Etsy pointed to rate changes from the USPS, FedEx, and Canada Post, noting that sellers can print shipping labels from those carriers on its website with a link to its Shipping landing page. (UPS also raised rates for 2022.)
Things Etsy wants sellers to know: “Changes in rates are already reflected in labels purchased on Etsy or will be updated when they go into effect. These new rates are also updated automatically for sellers in the US who use calculated shipping. The first of the new rates will go into effect on January 3 (FedEx).”
What Etsy didn’t mention, which comes from its help page on Shipping Transaction Fees: “The shipping transaction fee is a 5% transaction fee on the cost of shipping, which we introduced on July 1, 2018. This is similar to the 5% transaction fee on the item price.”
Etsy goes on to justify the fee on the help page: “Applying the transaction fee to shipping is a standard practice in e-commerce marketplaces.” Sellers have eBay to thank for that.
Lucky them, ebay charges me 11.7% on shipping and taxes, just wait until April 3rd when they add another $15 surcharge on packages over 30″. Still can’t verify if USPS boxes are included in the surcharge esp. the medium triangle boxes. Can’t find one person in the USPS organization to answer the phone.