SELLER POLICY Etsy operates markets where you can sell your handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies directly to buyers around the world. We want to make sure that you and your buyers have a positive experience on Etsy and Etsy Studio. Please read on to find out more about your rights, as well as what is expected of you, as a seller. This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By opening an Etsy shop, you’re agreeing to this policy and our Terms of Use. 1. What Can be Sold on Etsy and Etsy Studio 2. What Can't be Sold on Etsy 3. Representing Yourself, Your Shop, and Your Listings Honestly 4. Privacy and Communicating with Other Etsy Members 5. Creating and Uploading Content 6. Building a Positive Reputation Through our Reviews System 7. Providing Great Customer Service 8. Responding to Requests for Cancellations, Returns, and Exchanges 1. WHAT CAN BE SOLD ON ETSY AND ETSY STUDIO Etsy and Etsy Studio (we’ll refer to Etsy and Etsy Studio collectively as 'Etsy') are unique markets. Buyers come here to purchase items that they might not find anywhere else. Everything listed for sale on Etsy must be handmade, vintage or a craft supply. HANDMADE items are items that are made and/or designed by you, the seller. Read our full Handmade Policy here. If you sell handmade items, you agree that: All handmade items are made or designed by you. If you work with a production partner, you must disclose that production partner in your relevant listings. You accurately describe every person involved in the making of an item in your shop in your About section. You are using your own photographs -- not stock photos, artistic renderings, or photos used by other sellers or sites. Read more about using appropriate photographs in this Help article. If you are selling custom items in the Handmade category, you agree that: All custom item listings are available for purchase. Each custom listing has a set price. If you are using photographs of previous work with options for customisation (like colour choices) included in the listing, it is clear in your description that the photos shown are just examples. For more information on how to list custom items, please see this Help article. VINTAGE items must be at least 20 years old. CRAFT SUPPLIES are tools, ingredients, or materials whose primary purpose is for use in the creation of an item or special occasion. Craft supplies may be handmade, vintage or commercial (not handmade or vintage) in nature. Party supplies may also be sold as craft supplies. Click here to learn more about what may be sold as a craft supply. We encourage you to be transparent about where and how your craft supplies were made and where your materials come from. You can disclose whether your items are handmade or vintage, or have social or environmental attributes, such as organic or recycled. You can also select the location of manufacture. Learn more here. IF YOU ARE LISTING ITEMS IN THE CRAFT SUPPLIES CATEGORY ON ETSY.COM, THOSE ITEMS WILL ALSO APPEAR ON ETSY STUDIO. If you have listed your craft supplies as handmade, vintage, organic or recycled, a corresponding icon will appear on your listing. 2. WHAT CAN'T BE SOLD ON ETSY Even if they otherwise meet our handmade, vintage or craft supply criteria, prohibited items, services, and items that violate our intellectual property policies are not allowed to be sold on Etsy. Reselling is not allowed on Etsy. Reselling refers to listing an item as handmade when you were not involved in designing or making that item. Keep in mind that members may flag listings that appear to violate our policies for Etsy's review. Etsy may remove any listings that violate our policies. Note that listing fees are non-refundable. Etsy may also suspend or terminate your account for any violations. You’ll still be on the hook to pay any outstanding fees on your Etsy bill. You can find more information in our Fees & Payments Policy. If you are raising money on behalf of a charity, you must obtain that charity’s consent. Please see this Help article for more information about donating any portion of your sales to charity. 3. REPRESENTING YOURSELF, YOUR SHOP, AND YOUR LISTINGS HONESTLY At Etsy, we value transparency. Transparency means that you honestly and accurately represent yourself, your items and your business. By selling on Etsy, you agree that you will: Provide honest, accurate information in your About section. Honor your Shop Policies. Accurately represent your items in listings and listing photos. If you are selling craft supplies, accurately disclose whether they are handmade, vintage or commercial (not handmade or vintage), and whether they are organic or recycled, as well as the location of manufacture (if known). Respect the intellectual property of others. If you feel someone has violated your intellectual property rights, you can report it to Etsy. Not engage in fee avoidance. Not create duplicate shops. Please see Multiple Shops on Etsy for more details. Not coordinate pricing with other sellers. 4. PRIVACY AND COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER ETSY MEMBERS CONVERSATIONS You can use Etsy Conversations (“Convos”) to communicate directly with your buyers or other Etsy members. Conversations are a great way for buyers to ask you questions about an item or an order. Conversations may not be used for the following activities: Sending unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations or spam; Harassing or abusing another member or violating our Anti-Discrimination Policy; Contacting someone after they have explicitly asked you not to; or Interfering with a transaction or the business of another member. INTERFERENCE Interference occurs when a member intentionally interferes with another member’s shop in order to drive away their business. Interference is strictly prohibited on Etsy. Examples of interference include: Contacting another member via Etsy Conversations to warn them away from a particular member, shop or item; Posting in public areas to demonstrate or discuss a dispute with another member; Purchasing from a seller for the sole purpose of leaving a negative review; Maliciously clicking on a competitor's Promoted Listings ads in order to drain that member's advertising budget, also known as 'click fraud'. HARASSMENT Any use of Etsy Conversations to harass other members is strictly prohibited. Similarly, Conversations may not be used to support or glorify hatred or otherwise violate our Anti-Discrimination Policy. If you receive a Convo that violates this policy, please let us know right away. PRIVACY AND PROTECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION You are responsible for protecting members’ personal information you receive or process. This means that, to the extent you use the Services outside of the Sites or Apps, or to the extent your local jurisdiction requires it, you must maintain a privacy policy for your shop that is consistent with the privacy terms set forth in Etsy’s Terms of Use (including this Seller Policy) and Etsy’s Privacy Policy. Such laws may require that you post, and comply with, your own privacy policy, which must be accessible to Etsy members you interact with and compatible with this policy and Etsy’s Terms of Use. When you sell on Etsy, you may communicate with other members or have transactions with buyers. This means you may process personal information (for example, buyer name, email address, and shipping address) and may be considered an independent and separate “data controller” under EU law or other local regulations. If you disclose personal information like a buyer’s name and email address without the buyer’s consent, you are responsible for that unauthorised disclosure. For example, you may receive a buyer’s email address or other information as a result of entering into a transaction with that buyer. This information may only be used for Etsy-related communications or for Etsy-facilitated transactions. You may not use this information for unsolicited commercial messages or unauthorised transactions. Without the buyer’s consent, and subject to other applicable Etsy policies and laws, you may not add any Etsy member to your email or physical mailing list, use that buyer’s identity for marketing, or obtain or retain any payment information. Please bear in mind that you're responsible for knowing the standard of consent required in any given instance. If Etsy and you are found to be joint data controllers of personal information, and if Etsy is sued, fined, or otherwise incurs expenses because of something that you did as a joint data controller of buyer personal information, you agree to indemnify Etsy for the expenses it occurs in connection with your processing of buyer personal information. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. 5. CREATING AND UPLOADING CONTENT As a member of Etsy, you have the opportunity to create and upload a variety of content, like listings, Convos, text, photos, and videos. In order to keep our community safe and respectful, you agree that you will not upload content that is: Abusive, threatening, defamatory, harassing, or otherwise in violation of our Anti-Discrimination Policy; Obscene or vulgar; In violation of someone else’s privacy or intellectual property rights; or False, deceptive, or misleading. 6. BUILDING A POSITIVE REPUTATION THROUGH OUR REVIEWS SYSTEM Reviews are a great way for you to build a reputation on Etsy. Buyers can leave a review, including a one to five star rating and a photograph of their purchase, within 100 days after their item’s expected delivery date. The estimated delivery date is the purchase date + processing time + shipping time. Buyers can edit their review, including the photograph, any number of times during that 100-day period. On the rare occasion you receive an unfavourable review, you can reach out to the buyer or, if the review is less than 3 stars, leave a response. Reviews and your response to reviews may not: Contain private information; Contain obscene, racist, or harassing language or imagery; Violate our Anti-Discrimination Policy; Contain prohibited medical drug claims; Contain advertising or spam; Be about things outside the seller’s control, such as a shipping carrier, Etsy or a third party; or Undermine the integrity of the Reviews system. EXTORTION Extortion is not allowed on Etsy. Any attempt to manipulate reviews through threats, intimidation, or bribery is considered extortion and is strictly prohibited on Etsy. Extortion includes when a seller offers a buyer additional goods, services, or compensation in exchange for a positive review. For more information, please see this Help article. SHILLING Shilling is strictly prohibited on Etsy. Shilling is the fraudulent inflation of a shop’s reputation by use of an alternate account. The intent of shilling is to make a seller look more desirable by increasing the shop’s number of sales and overall review score. Not only does it violate our core value of transparency, but it is considered to be a deceptive business practice by the US Federal Trade Commission. Reviews must reflect the honest, unbiased opinions, findings, beliefs or experience of the buyer. For more information on shilling, including examples, please see this Help article. 7. PROVIDING GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE We expect our sellers to provide a high level of customer service. By selling on Etsy, you agree to: Honor your shipping and processing times. Sellers are obligated to ship an item or otherwise complete a transaction with a buyer in a prompt manner, unless there is an exceptional circumstance. Please be aware that legal requirements for shipping times vary by country. These requirements are detailed in our Shipping Policy. Respond to Conversations in a timely manner. Honor the commitments you make in your shop policies. Resolve disagreements or disputes directly with the buyer. In the unlikely event that you can’t reach a resolution, our Dispute Resolution team can help through our case system. Read about your rights and responsibilities regarding cases here. If you are unable to complete an order, you must notify the buyer and cancel the order. Read about how to cancel an order in this Help article. Etsy will help you provide great customer service and maintain trust with your buyers through our Seller Service Level Standards (“SLS.”) Read more about SLS here. Etsy also provides limited protection to sellers who meet the requirements of our Seller Protection Program. Read more about Etsy’s Seller Protection Programme here. 8. RESPONDING TO REQUESTS FOR CANCELLATIONS, RETURNS, AND EXCHANGES Please be aware that in addition to this policy, each country has its own laws surrounding shipping, cancellations, returns and exchanges. Please familiarise yourself with the laws of your own country and those of your buyers’ countries. EUROPEAN UNION RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL Buyers in the European Union (EU) may be entitled to a 14-day “right of withdrawal” after receiving an item, during which they may return an item for any reason. The details of this right vary by EU member state. The right of withdrawal does not apply to custom items or certain perishable goods. Rights with respect to digital items vary by EU member state. Read more about the EU Right of Withdrawal in this Help article. CANCELLATIONS If you are unable to complete a transaction, you must notify the buyer via Etsy Conversations and cancel the transaction. If the buyer already submitted payment, you must issue a full refund. You are encouraged to keep proof of any refunds in the event a dispute arises. You may cancel a transaction under the following circumstances: The buyer did not pay. (The seller may flag a buyer for a payment not received, chargeback or cancelled payment.) Both you and the buyer agree to cancel the transaction prior to shipment, and you have issued the buyer a full refund. You have decided to refuse service to the buyer and are complying with our Anti-Discrimination Policy. If the buyer has already paid, you must also issue a full refund, including shipping. The buyer did not receive the item(s) ordered, even though you provided proof of shipping, and you have issued a refund for the item. (Refunding shipping is optional, unless the buyer paid with Etsy Payments, in which case you'll need to refund in full.) Both you and the buyer agreed that the buyer could return the item for a refund, you have received the returned item and issued a refund to the buyer for the item. (Refunding shipping is optional, unless the buyer paid with Etsy Payments, in which case you will need to refund in full.) ETSY’S CASE SYSTEM We ask buyers to contact a seller directly and attempt to resolve any outstanding issues before opening a case on Etsy. For this reason, it is important that you fill out your shop policies and regularly respond to Conversations from your buyers. Buyers may file a case for a non-delivery or a not-as-described item. You must respond to any open cases within seven days or the time frame noted by Etsy in the case. Etsy reserves the right to escalate a case early for circumstances such as seller inactivity, harassment, refusal of service, case manipulation, and undermining the integrity of the case system. By using Etsy’s Case System, you understand that under Etsy’s dispute resolution procedures, Etsy may use your personal information for the purpose of resolving disputes with other members. Cases can be filed in the following circumstances: NON-DELIVERY A NON-DELIVERY occurs when a buyer places an order and submits payment, but does not receive the item. The following are examples of non-delivery cases: An item was never sent. An item was not sent to the address provided on Etsy. There is no proof that the item was shipped to the buyer’s address. NOT AS DESCRIBED An item is NOT AS DESCRIBED if it is materially different from your listing description or your photos. The following are examples of not as described cases: The item received is a different colour, model, version or size than is shown in the photo or described in the listing. The item has a different design or material. The item was advertised as authentic but is not authentic. You failed to disclose the fact that an item is damaged or is missing parts. A buyer purchased three items but only received two. The condition of the item is misrepresented. For example, the description at the time of purchase said the item was “new” and the item is used. NOT AS DESCRIBED CASES CAN ALSO BE FILED FOR LATE DELIVERY. In order to qualify as late delivery, the buyer must provide proof that all of these conditions have been met: The item(s) were ordered for a specific date or event. The item(s) are rendered useless after that date. The seller did not ship the item(s) according to their processing time or the date agreed upon in Conversations. For more information on how to resolve a case, please see this Help article. If Etsy determines that an item is not as described, you will be required to refund the original shipping and return shipping, in addition to the cost of the item. INELIGIBLE TRANSACTIONS Some disputes don’t qualify for Etsy’s case system. These include: Items that have been purchased in person. Intangible items, services, or prohibited items. Transactions where payment is not made through Etsy Payments or PayPal. Items that are returned without a return agreement. Items that have been altered, used, worn, or washed after receiving them. Physical or tangible items that are not available for return because they have been destroyed or discarded by the buyer. Items that are received after the agreed-upon delivery date due to shipping delays. Cost of shipping disputes. When a dispute is ineligible for our case system, we encourage both parties to work together to come to an amicable solution. Last updated on 02 Oct, 2017
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