Etsy move to take a higher percentage of sales strikes a nerve with longtime sellers on the site.
Anyone who has ever sold clothes, books or really anything else online will know that most e-commerce platforms will ask for steep fees for the exposure — eBay (EBAY) – Get eBay Inc. Report starts at 12.9% of the item’s value while Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report can ask for anything between 8% to 45% depending on the category.
For those who make a living out of selling their handmade work, high fees can quickly become prohibitive. That is why, when Etsy (ETSY) – Get Etsy, Inc. Report CEO Josh Silverman followed news of record-breaking growth and revenue of $717.1 million with the announcement that they’d be hiking transaction fees by 30%, many sellers felt disrespected.
What Happened When Etsy Tried To Raise Fees?
The hike, which Silverman announced on February 24, would raise the transaction fees that sellers have to pay from 5% to 6.5%. The 5% number had not changed since 2018.
While Silverman said that the increase would go toward “significant investments in services and tools that will make it easier and smoother to grow your business,” the sellers were not convinced: many mobilized to form an alliance and organized a strike that is set to begin on April 11.
“Most Etsy sellers agree that the platform has gotten worse over time,” Kristi Cassidy, an Etsy seller leading the movement, told TheStreet. “Seller fees continue to rise, while the services and support we get diminishes. This fee increase would be just another cost that gets displaced onto our customers shoulders.”
As part of the campaign, they have released five demands that include canceling the fee, nixing its Star Seller program for judging good metrics and cracking down on those who use the platform to resell mass goods (Etsy was originally designed as a space for small business owners and independent craftspeople).
“AI-powered bots shut down legitimate seller accounts seemingly at random, while Etsy looks the other way on resellers who undercut authentic makers by peddling sweatshop-produced junk in clear violation of the spirit of the Etsy community,” campaign organizers write in a petition that was signed by nearly 17,000 people. “Rather than rewarding the sellers whose hard work has enabled Etsy to become one of the most profitable tech companies in the world, Etsy gouges us, ignores us and patronizes us.”
Are Buyers Joining The Strike Too?
Starting from April 11, the thousands of sellers who signed the campaign are planning to suspend sales for a week as a protest over all these changes. They are asking buyers who support their cause to also not spend money on the platform during that time.
While it is not clear whether the strike will lead to action from Etsy’s side, the movement is gaining traction — in an exodus similar (in style if not in scope) to Spotify (SPOT) – Get Spotify Technology SA Report‘s decision to continue platforming Joe Rogan, many artists started exiting the platform and writing threads about alternate platforms like Ecwid, Ko-Fi and Shopify SHOP.
