Need to Know14,000 Etsy Sellers Are on Strike—Here’s WhyAmid a broader atmosphere of labor activity, Etsy sellers are banding together to oppose new fees and policies

By Tim Nelson

April 12, 2022

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Over the years, Etsy has grown into one of the internet’s go-to marketplaces for handmade items from an array of artisans, amateur and professional alike. But for the next week, some of its digital storefronts are closing shop.

Through Monday, April 18, an estimated 14,000 Etsy sellers have pledged to participate in a one-week protest that hopes to draw attention to policies and unresolved issues that organizers say have made it harder to sustain their businesses on the platform. As of Tuesday, nearly 65,000 people have signed a petition calling on Etsy to cancel a transaction fee increase from 5 to 6.5% that took effect on Monday, April 11.

Some 14,000 Etsy sellers (of the marketplace's 5 million active sellers) plan to be on strike for one week, beginning today. 

Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images

While the fees have garnered the most vocal criticism, organizers of the unconventional strike outlined further demands that they hope to see resolved. Beyond the fee increase, the prevalence of resellers and knockoffs on the platforms is an ongoing issue, with participants who spoke to NPR insisting that the company has been unresponsive to their complaints. Furthermore, they’re calling for an end to Etsy’s Star Seller program. as well as the ability to opt out of off-site advertising, the cost of which is passed onto sellers when such an ad leads to a purchase.

When it came time to communicate their grievances to Etsy, organizers of the strike—who are technically customers of the platform rather than employees—did not mince words.

“Etsy has become a downright hostile place for authentic small businesses to operate. For both full-time and part-time sellers alike, the changes on Etsy have brought many of us to the brink of financial ruin,” they said in a letter to CEO Josh Silverman, according to NPR. “After giving Etsy two years of record profits under the most difficult circumstances imaginable, we’re tired, frustrated, and ready to fight for our seat at the table.”

From Etsy’s perspective, the transaction fee increase is the necessary means by which they can improve their offering to satisfy some of the other demands articulated by those on strike.

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“The new fee structure will enable us to increase our investments in areas outlined in the petition, including marketing, customer support, and removing listings that don’t meet our policies,” Etsy COO Raina Moskowitz told Newsweek. “We are committed to providing great value for our 5.3 million sellers, so they are able to grow their business while keeping Etsy a beloved, trusted, and thriving marketplace.”

Among the broader seller population, opinions vary. At least one who spoke to NPR noted that the fee increase is an opportunity for sellers to reconsider their pricing structure and cut costs. On the other hand, Etsy seller Liv Rainey-Smith tweeted that, as the platform transitioned “into a marketplace for mass-produced goods… artists who can’t or don’t want to be larger businesses are getting burned by the policy changes.”

Though a strike of this scale won’t be enough to paralyze the platform, those involved hope that it will draw meaningful attention to their grievances. At a time of labor activity spanning from Starbucks to Amazon and beyond, Etsy’s makers are about to find out whether they can come together to make a change.