Etsy Drops PayPal-Only Option, Will Close All Shops Not Using Etsy Payments In August
Etsy dropped a bombshell on international sellers today, announcing as of August 5th, shops which cannot use Etsy Payments will be closed as the company removes the previous option which allowed payment processing through PayPal.
The update was emailed to sellers in countries where Etsy Payments are not currently available, giving those merchants less than 5 months to move their businesses elsewhere.
For example, one seller in Iceland posted the email they received on Reddit, saying "there goes my steady income":
Other sellers commiserated with the poster and offered suggestions for how to start the difficult process of packing up shop.
This is so incredibly disapointing and sad, and I feel so angry on the behalf of the people impacted, especially when the only really issue it seems like, is streamlining, I can't imagine that the lack of streamlining looses them more money that the amount they'll loose removing it.
I think for sellers impacted, now the time for focus on building you websites, and directing customers to the shops.
Include cards in your orders, with qr codes to get people to sigh up to your email marketing and your stores, start looking into advertising on Pinterest, or social media, to really help drive sales to your website. Look into other platforms, maybe even wholesale if you don't sell custom items.
So incredibly disappointing, and should be a warning to all sellers, to not rely so much on etsy, because the lack of care here for sellers, and also that fact that they're taking it away like that, ridiculous.
Etsy seller and ecommerce consultant Cindy Baldassi offered similar advise as well on her Patreon page, including helpful resources for those looking to move to different marketplaces or their own website.
Baldassi also points out this move isn't surprising, since Etsy has reported that 99% of Gross Merchandise Sales are already going through Etsy Payments since Q3 2023
You can find a full list of countries which support Etsy Payments here.
How will this change to Etsy's payment policies impact your business? Let us know in the comments below!
As many of the items I sell are £10 or less, this makes it not worth the bother and I'll probably have to give it away to the charity shop.
Add that to the "buyer protection" fee they've added on - and the costs are making it untenable for people trying to clear the house, or make a few bob from old bits and pieces. Not happy at all and there doesn't seem to be a way of opting out.
The sooner these sleazebags at the top can be got rid of, or some community-run buy/sell/swap sites come up - the better. We don't need ebay.