Seller Handbook

Earlier this year we let you know that we’re committed to making continuous investments in our community to help bring you more buyers, and keep Etsy a beloved and trusted marketplace. Today, we’re excited to announce one of our investments–a new program that gives more support to sellers who are already providing a great experience for their customers: Etsy Purchase Protection.

What’s new

We know that as an Etsy seller, you do everything you can to ensure a smooth and successful order experience for your customers. Chances are, you won’t encounter an issue when shipping an order, but sometimes things go wrong that are just out of your control. We understand that these issues can be expensive and frustrating for small businesses, so we want you to know we’re here to help when the unexpected happens.

With this new program, for qualifying orders up to $250 USD (or the equivalent of your local currency) including shipping and taxes, Etsy will refund buyers and you’ll keep your earnings if:

• A buyer never received their package (for example, if it was lost in transit).
• Their item arrived damaged (for the first instance per calendar year).
• Their item arrived after the estimated delivery date window.

Program criteria

Starting August 1, all sellers will be eligible for Etsy’s Purchase Protection* program.

For an order to be eligible for Etsy Purchase Protection, it must:

• Have valid tracking information and/or have been shipped using a shipping label purchased on Etsy. In countries where shipping labels are available, purchasing a shipping label on Etsy is a great way to help ensure your order’s eligibility.
• Have an estimated delivery date.
• Be shipped on time (within your stated processing times).
• Be packaged carefully before shipping.
• Use accurate photos and descriptions within the item listing.

See the full list of eligibility criteria here.

What’s eligible for Etsy Purchase Protection

For orders up to $250 USD (including shipping & taxes) Etsy Purchase Protection will provide the refund to buyers and you’ll keep your earnings for the following if you follow the program criteria:

• Item doesn’t arrive: A buyer never received their package (for example, if it was lost in transit).
• Item arrived damaged (for the first instance per calendar year): After the first instance, any subsequent orders that were damaged during shipping will not be eligible for Etsy Purchase Protection, similar to how the case system works today. It’s very rare that sellers receive claims for damaged items. In fact, less than 1% of orders per calendar year are reported as damaged.
• Item arrived late: A buyer's order arrived outside of the estimated delivery date window.

What’s not eligible for Etsy Purchase Protection

You will be responsible for refunding buyers for the following even if you follow the program criteria:

• Orders over $250 USD (including shipping & taxes): For this reason, we strongly recommend purchasing insurance when fulfilling your orders that are over $250
• Item doesn’t match the listing description: We strongly recommend using accurate photos and descriptions when listing an item. Check out this article in the Seller Handbook for best practices on writing listing descriptions.

*Some exclusions may apply. Sellers must be in good standing (not violating Etsy policies) in order to be eligible. If a seller has obtained third party insurance, or has carrier, and/or payment processor coverage, we ask that they submit a claim to their primary coverage.

What’s next

Etsy’s Purchase Protection program will be available starting August 1. You don’t have to take any action to participate in Etsy Purchase Protection, as long as your order meets the eligibility criteria outlined above. While we believe the criteria outlined above follows best practices for packaging and shipping your items, participating in Etsy Purchase Protection is completely optional–it’s up to you if you’d like to participate. We’re excited to offer this benefit to sellers, at no additional cost to you, to give you more support in the rare event something goes wrong.

Have questions? We’ve got answers.

What do sellers have to do to be eligible for Etsy Purchase Protection?

Sellers don’t have to take any action to participate in Etsy Purchase Protection. Your orders just need to meet the eligibility criteria, including:

• Keep your shop in good standing (that means you're not violating any of Etsy's policies).
• Use Etsy's payment platform, Etsy Payments, where available. Please note that Etsy Payments is only available in certain countries. See our Etsy Payments policy for more details. If Etsy Payments is not yet available to you, you will not be eligible for Seller Protection and disputes will need to be resolved via the payment platform used (i.e. PayPal).
• Fill out all of your Shop Policies (it's especially important to have policies for returns, exchanges, and custom orders).
• Have estimated delivery dates on your listings.
• Package your order carefully to avoid damage in transit.
• Ship your order within your stated processing times. We use the processing times you set for each listing to determine the ship-by date.
• Ship the order to the address provided on Etsy. If your buyer provides an alternate shipping address through Messages, you may choose to cancel, refund the order, and ask the buyer to purchase the item again with the corrected shipping address.
• Use valid tracking and/or a shipping label purchased on Etsy, where available.

Does Etsy Purchase Protection cost sellers anything?

Sellers don’t need to pay anything to participate in Etsy Purchase Protection. While we believe the program criteria follows best practices for packaging and shipping your items, participating in Etsy Purchase Protection is completely optional.

What if my order is $250 USD (including shipping and taxes) or more?

Orders over $250 USD are not eligible for Etsy Purchase Protection. Etsy Purchase Protection eligibility is based on the full order amount and does not apply to partial amounts of orders. For example, an order of $300 would not be eligible for Etsy Purchase Protection. Because of this, we strongly recommend purchasing insurance when fulfilling your orders over $250.

What does Etsy Purchase Protection mean for buyers?

With Etsy’s Purchase Protection program, buyers will get a full refund if their item doesn’t arrive, arrives damaged, arrived outside of the estimated delivery date window, or isn’t as described. We’ve heard from buyers that trust is an important factor that drives their decision making. We want them to shop confidently on Etsy knowing that if something goes wrong with their order, they can easily get the help they need. Etsy’s Purchase Protection program is not an insurance policy, a warranty, nor a guarantee. We believe Etsy Purchase Protection will give buyers more peace of mind, and could result in increased orders to your shop. And for sellers, we want to help your business run with more confidence on Etsy–especially when something happens that is outside your control. Learn more about the buyer program here.

Is Etsy managing buyer fraud?

Yes, we’ll monitor for buyer abuse of Etsy’s Purchase Protection program to protect the seller community. Buyers who abuse the program could lose access to Etsy Purchase Protection.

Want to learn more about how Etsy’s Purchase Protection program works? Visit our help center for more information.

Your feedback is crucial for helping us improve the seller experience. Share your thoughts about Etsy’s Purchase Protection program and let us know what you would like to see from it in the future in this brief survey.