3 years ago I decided it would be great to open an Etsy business however at that time I wondered? What are the start up costs?
Etsy fees are pretty straight forward. Here is a breakdown what it will cost you need to get started to open a productive shop. I would say the cost in minimal for what you get in return. READ ON…..
Basic Fees
Does Etsy charge a flat fee to open a shop? NO.
Does Etsy charge a monthly fee to open a shop? NO.
Etsy has several fees for various activities. If you were to open a shop and add product there are 4 basic fees you will be changed from the time your product is posted in your shop until the day is sells.
- Listing Fee
- Multi Quantity Fee
- Transaction Fee
- Payment Fee
The 4 Fees To Know
~ Listing Fee
Your first charge. Hooray! A listing fee of $.20 USD is added for each listing once the item is published. This fee is good for 4 months or until the item is sold.
Equates to: Basically it’s Etsy’s charge for using their platform. Cost of $.020 for each added item to “their shelves”.
~ Multi- Quantity Fee
This is a fee if you only have more than one of the same item in one listing. Let’s say you sell pencil holders. You have made 30 of them. You can put them all in one listing in your shop. As each one sells this fee is issues.
~ Transaction Fee
This is a charge of 5% of the sale of your item. It’s very important to understand that this 5% is off not only the sale price of your item but of the shipping cost as well.
Equates to: I see this as Etsy’s commision or cut from the sale.
~ Payment Fee
Once your item sells Etsy charges you a Payment fee. Etsy charges 3% plus a fee of $0.25 cents for each sale. Think of this fee as a charge for handling the payments from the buyer and getting the payment to you the seller.
You might be surprised how inexpensive it truly is to setup shop on Esty.
THE REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
Here is a breakdown of your “out- of- pocket” expense to open an Etsy shop. It shows one item added to your shop. By adding more items the price goes up per items. Just remember every time you add a new items to your shop it will cost you. See below for more details on each expense.
Let’s open our pretend shop with 1 item that sells for $15.00
| Example: Backstreet Baby Dolls /Sold at $15.00 and $4.50 to ship | ||
| Item | Amount | Running Total |
| Listing Fee | $.20 cents (every 4 months in shop until sold) | $0.20 cents |
| Multi-Quantity Fee | $.20 cents (for each additional doll you list) | $0.00 (only listing 1 item here) |
| Transaction Fee | 5 % of the items price (if sold) | $0.75 cents |
| *Payment Fee | 3% of the total sale plus $0.25 cents | $0.60 cents |
| Total expense for opening with 1 item sold | $1.55 TOTAL |
*SIDE NOTE: Payment fee
Buyer DO pay shipping cost however, your payment fee (shown in chart above) is based on the cost of the items as well as the shipping costs together.
Optional Start Up Fees
As my business grew so did my expenses. As soon as my shop went from 1 product posted to 5 products posted in my shop other expenses started to creep up. I felt it was important to give you a “Glimpse into your future” regarding expenses. You may not need all of the things on this list today however, after a few sales these “optional” items because necessities.
- Shipping Supplies: Shipping boxes, Shipping tape, bubble wrap, scale
- Office Supplies: Thank you cards, Record keeping book, Printer Paper or Mailing Labels
- Business Cards
- Storage Containers: Storage bins for product
- Gas Money: Gas Expenses for getting product supplies
- Supplies for Product: Any craft supplies needed for items selling
- Software To Track Expense: Monthly expense for tracking finance IE: Quickbooks, Every Dollar app
- Promotional Listings: Etsy does offer a promotional listings options at a fee. These fees are all optional.
The Wrap Up!
Is it worth opening an Etsy shop? I would say if your willing to invest some of your time and efforts in it’s absolutely worth it. As you can see with under $5.00 you can open up shop. For me it was more of a time investment not so much a cash investment. If you love what you do I would advise that you go for it.