What is Etsy Wholesale? Etsy Wholesale Review, Features

Etsy Wholesale was launched by Etsy in August 2014 as a marketplace to connect sellers with retailers. In this B2B marketplace, buyers can purchase clothes and accessories provided by small businesses. However, Etsy Wholesale has been closed since July 31, 2018.

About Etsy Wholesale

Etsy Wholesale offers wholesale prices at least 50% lower than the suggested retail price. Suppliers can sign up for free, but Etsy charges a 3.5% fee on each transaction.

In its heyday, the Etsy Wholesale program included special events, such as a pop-up shop at Macy's Herald Square and a chance for sellers to sell at Whole Foods. The platform also held an annual Open Call event, among other things.

In May 2018, Etsy announced that it would shut down Etsy Wholesale from July 31, 2018. Etsy said: "While the initial promise of Etsy Wholesale was exciting and some sellers have achieved great success on the platform, what we have learned over the past few years is that buyers' demand for wholesale is not as strong as we hoped. Of the nearly 2 million Etsy sellers, only 5,000 sellers actively sell on Etsy Wholesale, and only a small portion of them have annual revenue of more than $10,000 on Etsy Wholesale. Given these data, Etsy's resource investment is too large to sustain a separate wholesale market. This closure is one of a series of measures Etsy has taken over the past year to simplify its business, and will focus on its core market in the future."