Random Shipping Transaction fee

[YarnandLaser]

I use a shipping service to ship all my items.  Twice now I have been charged a transaction fee for shipping on two of the same items.  However, I am not using Etsy to ship and thus no shipping fee appears.   I have sold and shipped nearly 100 of this item, so it seems odd that two random times I am being charged 27 cents.   Has anyone else had this issue?  I have not gotten a resolution from support.

[bradgoodell]

This isn't new, or random.  Etsy has been charging a shipping transaction fee for years now.  It has nothing to do with where you buy your shipping labels, you are charged the same fee regardless.  Etsy charges 6.5% on the entire amount the buyer paid for item and shipping.  So the fee will be the same total amount if you do $30 with free shipping, $25 with $5 shipping, or $5 with $25 shipping.  Etsy breaks it down in 2 fees in your shop payment account, but it is the same overall fee.  

[WitticismsRus]

@YarnandLaser 

It's all the same fee as @bradgoodell  explained above.

I'll just add that if you have the free shipping guarantee turned on in your shop (it appears you do) and folks usually purchase more than $35 in your shop then that would explain why you may not see the shipping transaction fee much in your shop payment account. You would only see that fee when the buyer was charged shipping. If they got free shipping then that fee wouldn't show in the line by line accounting for that order. 

[bradgoodell]

Good point @WitticismsRus .  I didn't look at their shop, but if they are getting most sales with free shipping, that would make sense.

[AnniebelloPaper]

Etsy could totally fix this confusion by just showing the transaction fee for the whole order amount instead of splitting it up into item and shipping.

[BootifulLabels]

I can see the forum threads now.  "Why are Etsy hiding fees?" It wouldn't matter how they laid it all out, there would still be people who think Etsy is overcharging.   Fees have been shown this way for years, changing it now would simply cause more confusion.