Some vendors on Etsy say they are halting sales of their items on the site for a week to protest a hike in the fees the crafts e-commerce marketplace charges them.
Starting Monday, Etsy sellers must pay a 6.5% commission on each transaction, up from the 5% in place since 2018.
Cassidy and others are also taking issue with Etsy’s advertising policy implemented early in 2020. It requires sellers making at least $10,000 a year on Etsy and who have have their products advertised on Etsy's offsite social media and search-engine partners, to pay a 12% advertising fee on sales made through the ads.
Raina Moskowitz, chief operating officer at New York-based Etsy, said that the new fee structure will enable the company to increase spending on marketing, customer support and removing listings that don’t meet its policies.Etsy, best known for selling handmade soap and jewelry, was one of the few beneficiaries in the pandemic as more people stayed at home and either made items or sought homemade items online.
Cassidy said the protest over fees is just the beginning. She told The Associated Press she wants to actually “build an equivalent of a union" for Etsy sellers and said she's been inspired by the union organizing activity heating up at such companies as Amazon and Starbucks.
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