January 2021 Updates to Etsy’s Seller Policies | Announcements

Provenant · 2021-01-19T18:53:11.679000Z

Etsy’s policies (we call them Our House Rules) are the terms that apply to just about everything that happens on Etsy. Today we sent an email to let our community know about a few updates we’re making to policies. Extra protection for the Etsy marketplace More and more people are doing their shopping online and millions of new buyers have recently discovered Etsy, but that also means some sellers are seeing an increase in order disputes and issues. To keep buying and selling on Etsy safe and easy for everyone, we’re introducing payment account reserves. For now, this means some sellers may have a reserve placed on their account for a short period after their first sale. Learn more about payment account reserves in our updated Etsy Payments Policy. What’s a reserve? A reserve means that sellers will have a percentage of each sale held before the funds are available for deposit. Some sellers may have a reserve placed on their account for the short period after their first sale. Why is Etsy doing this? This year, more and more people are shopping online and millions of new buyers have discovered Etsy. This also means some sellers are seeing an increase in customer order issues. Reserves help to keep a shop’s balance from going into the negative if they receive a chargeback from a customer’s credit card company. Does this affect my shop? We expect fewer than 1% of Etsy sellers will be affected by this change right now. If it has been more than 90 days since the first sale in your Etsy shop, we do not expect that you will have a reserve placed on your account at this time. However, we wanted to let our entire seller community know about this added protection. Sellers who have a reserve placed on their account will receive an email notification from Etsy. Where can I see reserved funds? Sellers with funds reserved will be able to see the amount reserved, their charge activity, as well as how much is available for deposit in their Payment account. How will reserved funds be used? Reserve funds will be used to cover refunds, chargebacks, and shop expenses and fees. For example, reserves can help to keep a shop’s balance from going into the negative if the seller receives a chargeback from a customer’s credit card company. All the money held in reserve will be available for deposit after the reserve period if it’s not used to cover any fees or chargebacks. How can I share feedback about the reserve? You can share your feedback about this change directly with us by completing this survey. Other updates In addition to the changes outlined above, we’ve made a few small adjustments to some of our other policies. We’ve also added a bit more information about your responsibility to follow local tax laws and clarified that Etsy may take action against your shop if you’re not adhering to those requirements and providing Etsy with relevant tax information. You’ll receive additional info if these changes affect your shop. Learn more about what’s changed in Etsy’s Help Center. These updates take effect on February 23, 2021. If you keep using Etsy after that date, you acknowledge and agree to our updated policies.

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January 2021 Updates to Etsy’s Seller Policies | Announcements | Etsy Community