Etsy charges 12% marketing fee, pushes off-site advertising and is criticized

Recently, the Etsy platform issued an announcement stating that it will charge sellers 12%-15% content marketing fees through the Offsite Ads program. This advertising fee will apply to any new orders received from content marketing channels after March 25, 2021.

Etsy platform will charge an additional advertising fee of 12%-15%

Etsy released a notice on Tuesday about charging content marketing fees. The notice shows that Offsite Ads can help sellers publish product advertisements on some high-traffic websites to attract consumers to the sellers' products. According to Offsite Ads, these websites include Google, Instagram, Pinterest, Buzzfeed, Martha Stewart and Real Simple.

It is reported that Etsy's content marketing program will share sellers' listings through top publishers, social media influencers and bloggers . If the content marketing published prompts Etsy platform sellers to generate transactions, sellers will have to pay an additional advertising fee of 12%-15% for sales generated by Offsite Ads in addition to the normal sales commission ( 5%) .

In addition, Etsy stated that other publishers participating in Etsy's content marketing program include MyWedding, Better Homes and Gardens, Lyst and Shape, and said that new marketing publishing partners will continue to be added in the future.

All sellers will automatically be registered for Offsite Ads

Although the program can get more traffic to sellers' products, many sellers have complained that all sellers will be automatically registered for Offsite Ads. And the announcement shows that if the registration is successful, only sellers who earn less than $10,000 on Etsy within 12 months can withdraw from the program.

Sellers with revenues above $10,000 will not be able to opt out , which means the program is mandatory, which has caused many sellers to gnash their teeth. In addition, after shoppers successfully purchase products from content marketing channels, sellers will have to pay 12%-15% of the Offsite Ads fee.

Some sellers also said that if they withdraw from the Offsite Ads program, their listings will be hidden , which may make consumers unable to search for their products. It is still unknown whether this series of effects will occur. However, some sellers have said that they may increase prices to make up for the unpredictable commissions.

Etsy

Additional advertising fees

Offsite Ads