Offsite Ad Fee

[#1]

Similar question: 

First; frustrated that Etsy opt'ed me into Offsite Ads without my permission. 

I have an item for sale that sells for $10. 

Total transaction cost was $22.23.  

Etsy is taking $3.13 in Offsite Ads (15% of the $22.23).  

An Advertising Fee should be assessed only on the value of the item sold not on the shipping fee, transaction fee, or taxes. 

This math reduces a seller's margin not by 15% but by 31.3% in my example.  

How does this get disputed? 

[CatsWhiskersCurios]

"I have tried to refund £684 etsy paid in my account out of £910 but they want me to pay back the full £910 to the buyer and I'll be out of pocket"

Well of course Etsy expects you to pay back the full amount straight away - the buyer is entitled to have every penny returned as you decided not to honour the transaction. If you haven't read up on Etsy's fee structure, that's on you, and a customer should never be a pawn in your disputes with Etsy. It's not extortion, it's part of what you signed up to when you joined Etsy. You don't have to like it, but you can't cry foul when you didn't read the small print. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

looks like that didn't work out, the shop is no longer selling here, not on vacation

[TreeSeedMan]

 I don’t think anyone would be more upset than I should be with offsite ad fees as it is almost $1000 I have in offsite ad fees already this year **(It is January btw)**. My pricing structure was not set up to have these fees and this cost is very upsetting that this is required.  There should be a limit on how much can be charged for offsite at Etsy charges of dollars but they pay pennies to operate that’s just wrong

[bradgoodell]

@TreeSeedMan There is a limit.  If I remember correctly, it is $100 max per sale.  So if you sell a $1500 painting or a $3000 sofa, the fee will stay at $100.  

Unfortunately for you, you are selling very low cost products, so you will likely never reach that limit in one sale.  If you are getting that many sales from off-site ads, drop the sale you currently have in your shop and nudge your prices up to cover the fees.

Best of luck.

[BagmakerSupply]

@TreeSeedMan: Totally understand and share your frustration with how the Offsite Ads program is implemented, but in theory, at least, you would not have received any of those orders without the Offsite Ads.

Unless all of your sales come from Offsite Ads, you need to calculate what percentage of total revenue the ad fees are and as @bradgoodell suggested adjust prices accordingly. For us, last year Offsite Ad fees were less than 1/2 of 1 percent.

[dayspringcollectible]

@bradgoodell 

Yes, $100 limit per item.

@TreeSeedMan 

You are charging too little for your seeds.  I sell garlic bulbils (seeds) in season.  I had them priced at $7.99 per 100, shipping included, which at the time was about $4 for the seeds and $4 for the shipping (1 oz).  I added $1 to that when off-site ads kicked in, raising the price to $8.99  and it didn't slow sales in the least.  Postage has gone up a bit since then, so now I might charge another 50c or so.

Raise your price $1.00 and your customers will be paying the entire cost and more of the off-site ads for you...nothing out of your own pocket!

[Mannydecor]

I've made over £10k

But what if I set my ad limit myself , I guess etsy will still charge me regardless of setting my own AD limit, so is extortion and I've been automatically opted in the offsite Ad , I got charged £81 for offsite AD fee for one sale 

[TreeSeedMan]

I don’t know if providing financial info is allowed on here, but I paid over $30,000 in seller fees last year.  Let’s just leave it at that.

[dayspringcollectible]

@TreeSeedMan 

Of course, a lot of that would be listing fees and commissions.  However, you're averaging over 10,000 sales per year since opening your shop.  Raise your price by $1 to offset the Off-site ad fees and you'll take a big bite out of those fees.   Your items will still be so inexpensive it shouldn't hurt sales at all.

[DYEGRL]

just got a $4.99 charge for a $35 item :-I

[swatchoclock]

@DYEGRL that sounds about right (15%)... 

[PalmBeachSun]

I tried and they said you can only opt out if you have not made any yearly sales of $10,000 since before 2020.