Most sellers price against the listing fee and a rough idea of the cut, then wonder why the payout is so much smaller than the sale. The reason is that a single Etsy sale is not one fee. It is a stack of them, and they land at different moments.
The full stack on one sale
- Listing fee to put the item up, and again each time it renews or sells
- Transaction fee on the item price
- Payment processing fee, a percentage plus a fixed amount per order
- A fee on the shipping you charge, not just the item
- Offsite Ads fee on any sale that came through Etsy's ads, which is a large cut and is mandatory once you cross a sales threshold
- Currency conversion when your bank currency differs from your listing currency
- Sales tax and VAT handling depending on where you and the buyer are
Why your profit is smaller than you think
Each fee is small on its own, which is exactly why they slip past you. Added together on a real order, they take a bigger bite than most sellers expect, and the Offsite Ads fee can turn a good sale into a thin one. If you priced from the sticker number, your margin is quietly being eaten.
Price from the payout, not the price tag
The number that matters is what lands in your account after every fee, not the number on the listing. Work backward from the profit you want.
Know your real number
- 1Add up every fee for a sale in your own shop country and currency, including shipping and the ads fee
- 2Set your price so the payout hits the profit you actually want, not just above your cost
- 3Before you run a sale or coupon, check it still makes money once the fees come off the discounted price
The Profit Calculator does the whole stack for your shop country: it shows what Etsy takes and what you keep on any price, so you set prices from the real payout. The Discount Lab shows which sales and coupons still make money after fees, using your own Etsy exports, so a promotion never quietly runs at a loss.
Do it with Profit Calculator
Enter a price and see exactly what Etsy takes and what you keep, for your shop country.