Etsy Introduces Share & Save Marketing Incentive For Sellers
Etsy is introducing an incentive program to entice sellers to share their items on social media to drive traffic and sales - but watch out if you use Off Site Ads and pay close attention to the terms and conditions!
Taylor Combs
At Etsy, we’re always working on ways to help you expand your reach and grow your business. That’s why today, we’re excited to introduce the Etsy Share & Save program. It’s a new way to save on Etsy fees and get rewarded for the sales you drive to your Etsy shop. It’s also just one of the many ways we’re supporting your shop growth this year.
So, how does it work? When you share unique trackable links to your shop or listings and make a sale, we’ll take 4% of the order total off your Etsy bill. Talk about cha-ching! You can use your links whenever* you share your shop or listings: on social media, in texts with your friends and family, on your personal website, or in email marketing. There are tons of possibilities—and each is an opportunity to save on your fees.
Here's how it works:
Join Share & Save today!
Ready to start saving? You can join Share & Save in just one click. It’s super easy, totally free to join, and open to any Etsy shop owner—you just have to let us know you want to participate. You can also head to your Shop Manager and look for the Share & Save announcement.Getting started with Share & Save
- Share your unique links: Use your links whenever you share your shop or listings.
- Buyers click your links and purchase from your shop: Cha-ching! Check your Stats to see how many orders you drove and track your savings.
- We’ll take 4% of the order total off your Etsy bill: You get an instant refund of 4% of the order total for every eligible sale you make from your links.*
- Let’s say you get a $100 order from a buyer who clicked on your Share & Save link from your Instagram bio. Your Share & Save refund will be 4% of this order value—so for this order, you’ll save $4.
What kind of links can you share?
We’ve made sharing trackable links super simple so you can save on fees any time you promote your shop. Any URL you share from your Shop Manager or the Etsy seller app formatted like yourshopname.etsy.com counts toward Share & Save.
Here’s a quick look at some of the different types of links you can share:
- Links to your shop: These links take buyers directly to your Shop Home so they can browse all the items you have for sale. You can find the unique link to your shop in the upper right-hand corner of your Shop Dashboard, in your Stats, and on the Share & Save page in your Shop Manager.
- Links to specific listings: You can also save on fees when you share links to specific listings in your shop. This is great for sharing a trending item or a listing that’s on sale, or posting about new inventory. To get a unique link for a specific listing, head to your Listings in Shop Manager and click the gear icon on a listing and choose “Share.”
- Links for a promo code: Let your followers know about any special offers you’re running. You can share a unique link for any of your promo codes with your followers off of Etsy and you’ll save on fees for the eligible orders you receive. On the Sales and discounts page, just select the promo code you want to share and copy the trackable link.
- Links highlighting recent rave reviews: Toot your own horn! You can also share glowing reviews with a trackable link back to your shop. This feature is exclusive to the Etsy Seller app, so be sure to download the app ASAP if you haven’t already! You can share reviews from the Home tab of the app or from the "Reviews" section.
- Links for a section of your shop: Encourage buyers to explore a particular theme or category of your listings. It’s easy in the Etsy Seller app—just tap Listings, choose the section you want to share, and copy the URL.
A Few Quick Notes
- Buyers must place their order within 30 days of clicking your link for the order to be Share & Save eligible. The great news is that links never expire, so once you share a link new shoppers can discover and click it to visit your shop or listings.
- You only get refunded for traffic you drive from other places to Etsy. While Etsy messages and listing descriptions are still great ways to share details about your items with buyers, you can’t save on fees by sharing your trackable link in those places.
- Share & Save eligibility per order is determined off of a buyer’s last click prior to purchasing. If a buyer’s last click before visiting your shop was on an Offsite Ad, that order won’t be eligible for Share & Save and the Offsite Ads fee will apply.
FAQ
How does Share & Save work?
When a buyer places an order using one of your links, we’ll take 4% of the order total off your Etsy bill. It’s applied to your Payment account automatically—you’ll see it labeled Share & Save refund.How do I join Etsy Share & Save?
In your Shop Manager, click Marketing > Share & Save. At the top of the page, you’ll see a “Join now” button— just follow the steps to accept the Terms and Conditions!How do I find and share my unique links?
You can find your unique shop link on your Shop Manager dashboard and the Share & Save page. You can also share unique links to specific listings from your Listings page and promo codes through the Sales and discounts page. In the Etsy Seller App, you can easily share sections of your shop and rave buyer reviews as well. Orders from any URL formatted like this are eligible for Share & Save: yourshopname.etsy.com!Any time you click a share button within Shop Manager or the Etsy Seller App, your share link will be pre-formatted for you. P.S. If you're using the Etsy Seller App, make sure that you’re on app version 1.50 or later in order to see the Share & Save tab and ensure that all of your share links are properly formatted for Share & Save (yourshopname.etsy.com).
Where can I share my link to save on fees?
Traffic you drive to your Etsy shop from your own marketing qualifies for Share & Save—think social media posts, email newsletters, and adding it to your business card. However, you can’t save on fees by sharing your unique link in Etsy Messages or in your Etsy shop and listing descriptions.I’ve never driven my own traffic before and I’ve never promoted my shop on social media! Where do I start?
Check out the Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing in Etsy’s Seller Handbook. We also regularly host workshops on social media marketing as well as other sessions designed to help you succeed on Etsy. Check the Etsy Seller Events Hub to find the latest.What is the cost of joining Etsy Share & Save? What happens if I join the program, and I don’t bring in any of my own traffic?
Share & Save is a totally optional program—there’s no cost to join, only opportunity to save more on your fees. When you share your unique link to your shop and make a sale, we’ll take 4% of the order total off your Etsy bill—so you pay less in fees for that order. There is no additional cost or penalty for not sharing your unique link, or for sharing your link and not making a sale. The standard Etsy fees will apply for orders that do not come from your unique link.How can I opt out of Share & Save?
In your Shop Manager, click Marketing > Share & Save. At the bottom of the page within “Frequently asked questions”, click on “How can I opt out of Share & Save?” and click “Opt out”.Are sellers who aren’t a part of the Share & Save program penalized in any way?
No—there are no consequences for choosing not to participate in the Share & Save program. The program is completely optional. It’s up to you to decide if it’s right for your business.Does participation in the Share & Save program affect my search ranking?
No—choosing to join the Share & Save program doesn’t affect your search ranking.How is the Share & Save refund calculated?
When you share a unique link to your shop or listings and make a sale, we’ll take 4% of the order total off your Etsy bill. Your order total includes shipping, but does not include taxes. As an example—say you get a $100 order from a buyer who clicked on your Share & Save link from your Instagram bio. Your Share & Save refund will be 4% of this order value—so for this order, you’ll save $4. Cha-ching!Where can I see how much I’ve saved?
In your Stats, you can see the total amount you’ve saved in Etsy fees by doing your own marketing to drive traffic to your shop.When will I get my refund?
Refunds are applied instantly after a buyer places an order using one of your Share & Save links. You’ll see the refund applied to your Payment Account labeled “Share & Save refund”.How do I know which of my orders are eligible for Share & Save?
Look for the Share & Save badge on your Orders page. You can also find more details about each order in your Payment account.Does Share & Save work on the Etsy Seller App?
Yes! Just make sure that you’re on app version 1.50 or later in order to see the Share & Save tab and ensure that all of your share links are properly formatted for Share & Save (yourshopname.etsy.com).How does Share & Save work with Offsite Ads?
We track orders based on the last link the shopper clicked on before making their purchase. If your unique link is the last link the shopper clicked on, you’ll save on fees for that sale. If the buyer clicks on an Offsite Ad as the last step before making a purchase that order won’t be eligible for Share & Save and the Offsite Ads fee will apply.How long are links eligible?
The buyer must place an order within 30 days of clicking your link for the order to be Share & Save eligible. The great news is that links never expire, so once you share a link new shoppers can discover and click it to visit your shop or listings.What happens to my Share & Save refund if a buyer returns an item and I issue them a refund?
If you refund a buyer, your Etsy transaction and processing fees for the refunded transactions are automatically refunded to your Payment account and your Share & Save refund will no longer apply.How is Share & Save different from Creator Co?
Share & Save is designed for any seller, no matter where you are in your social media journey. You’ll get rewarded for sales you drive to your own shop. Creator Co is best for social media savvy sellers who also identify as influencers or content creators. As part of Creator Co you can earn commission by promoting Etsy in your content and appearing in Etsy’s paid ads. You can participate in either Share & Save or Creator Co—you can't earn rewards from both programs. Before joining Share & Save, decide which program is the best fit for your unique goals. Learn more.What should I do if I use a custom domain as part of my Etsy Plus subscription?
You’ll need to use domain forwarding to redirect your custom domain to your trackable Share & Save link. Head to Etsy’s Help Center for step-by-step instructions on setting up domain forwarding.
As always, sellers are highly encouraged to read the full terms and conditions before signing up - it looks like Etsy has buried a confidentiality agreement in this one!
Excerpt:
Confidential Information
You understand that as part of your participation in the Program you may be exposed to Etsy features or information that is not, and may never become, available to the public such as, by way of example only, beta features ("Confidential Information").Confidential Information does not include information that is generally known about Etsy, information that you have legally obtained from sources other than Etsy or persons with confidentiality obligations to Etsy, or information that is or becomes available to the public through no act that violates this agreement.
You agree to keep confidential and secret all Confidential Information. In other words, you agree you will not disclose Confidential Information with anyone, including but not limited to other Etsy members. Etsy considers a breach of confidentiality to be a material violation of Etsy’s Terms of Use.
Sellers are sharing their thoughts in the Etsy community, with many sharing concerns about lack of transparency around Offsite Ads and others saying they are not inclined to do Etsy's marketing for them as long as their listing pages are being used to advertise competitor products.
Considering the total lack of transparency from Etsy on offsite ads I need considerably more convincing on this. For now, I'm out
Maybe it’s the cynical New Yorker in me, but I’m sure there’s a catch (or several catches) somewhere. In addition, as seemingly generous as this offer is, it would be a lot more palatable if social media traffic generated by a seller is not redirected by Etsy to other listings in competing shops.
If a link on social media to Etsy saves me 4%, that same link sent to my website saves me 6% (.5 difference because I use PayPal). Which is why I'll continue to promote my own website on social media.
if they can guarantee to NOT place any redirection crap it would maybe be worth something like this, but 4% off of fees to do labor drawing people to etsy for them to redirect around the site for their own benefit is not worth it.
Honestly, if etsy guaranteed NOT to have ANY redirecting links or other shops listing shown on our listing page for our direct traffic, id pay an EXTRA 4% in fees on my direct traffic just to know I can promote my items with actual confidence and not have etsy interfere, hurting my conversion rate, taking potential sales away and not just wasting my efforts but actually making my efforts possibly cost me possibly without any sort of benefit if the only tactic in the scenario that works is etsys tactic of driving my traffic away.
I'm not going to leverage any promotional abilities towards a site that is mainly interested in making those efforts benefit them and others at my expense.
If I bring a potential buyer to my shop through one of these URLs and they don’t immediately buy something, they’re now a sitting duck for being targeted by Etsy offsite ads. This is not cool, Etsy, particularly for those of us who can’t opt out of offsite ads! It’s like handing over your prospect list to Etsy, and then being charged 12% (or 15%) for the privilege of them mining it.
eBay had teased a similar feature in 2021 that would have allowed sellers to pay only a 2.5% final value fee for orders made from sharing links on social media, but the program was never rolled out and has apparently been indefinitely moved to the backburner.
Liz Morton ~ Founder
Will Etsy's move push eBay to reconsider offering a social sharing incentive as well?
Let us know what you think of Etsy Share and Save in the comments below!
