A few years ago, I thought opening an Etsy business would be great, but I wondered at the time, should I? Are there any startup costs?
The Etsy fee structure is relatively straightforward. An overview of what you need to start a productive business can be found here. Overall, it would seem that the cost of starting a business is not that high.
Basic Fees
To open a shop on Etsy, is there a flat fee? Not at all.
How much is Etsy’s monthly fee for opening a shop? None.
There are several fees associated with Etsy’s activities. From the moment your product is added to your shop until the day it sells, there are four basic fees you will be charged.
The 4 Fees to Know
1. Listing Fee
Listing fees of $.20 are added to each item once it has been published. Each listing fee is valid for 4 months or until the item sells.
Basically, it is the fee Etsy charges to use their platform. The cost of adding an item to their shelves is $.020.
2. Multi-Quantity Fee
You must pay this fee if you only list more than one item at a time. As an example, consider selling pencil holders. There are thirty of them. They can all be listed on one page in your shop. Each one will incur a fee.
3. Transaction Fee
A 5% commission is charged on the sale of your item. Please note that the 5% discount applies to both the sale price as well as the shipping cost.
The commission is Etsy’s cut or commission from the sale.
4. Payment Fee
After your item sells, Etsy charges a fee for Processing Payments. Each sale on Etsy incurs a fee of $0.25 plus 3%. Fees for handling payments from buyers and transferring payments to sellers are what this fee represents.
It might surprise you to learn how cheap it is to open a shop on Etsy.
Optional Start-Up Fees
My business grew along with my expenses. Other expenses began to rise as soon as I posted 5 products in my shop instead of 1 product. I think it is important to give you an idea of what your expenses might be in the future. It may not seem necessary to buy everything on this list right now, but after a few sales, these “optional” items may become necessities.
The Wrap-Up!
Does it make sense to open an Etsy shop? You must be willing to invest some time and effort into it if you want it to be worthwhile. As you can see, it cost under $5.00 to create a website. Investing my time wasn’t so much a cash investment for me. My advice is to pursue your passion if it is what you love.
