Etsy Sellers Plan Boycott Over Fee Hike

“Increasing seller fees by 30 percent after two years of record sales is nothing short of pandemic profiteering. After the planned increase, our fees as sellers will have more than doubled in less than four years.” That’s how an online petition at Co-Worker.org characterizes a planned fee increase by online retailer Etsy, an increase that could be incredibly impactful for some of the smaller dealers who sell their creations on the internet marketplace. Over 5,000 people have already signed the petition. Etsy announced the increase last month, immediately sparking a social media backlash among many of the marketplace's 5.3 million registered sellers.

Total Retail's Take: The online marketplace saw its sales grow by an average of 73 percent in its two most recent fiscal years, fueling the complaints from its primarily independent and small business sellers that a fee hike wasn't necessary and an act of greed. As for Etsy, it claims the increased seller fees will "expand its efforts around marketing, customer support, and removing listings that don't meet its policies." Those steps would in theory provide a better platform for Etsy's sellers, leading to even higher revenues for the SMBs. What's necessary to support its sellers vs. what's taking advantage of a situation is where the two sides are at odds. What isn't up for dispute is that without an engaged and happy seller base, Etsy's future financial performance will be challenged to meet its most recent past.