Etsy How to Sell Internationally

Selling internationally on Etsy opens exciting new opportunities to grow your business and reach customers worldwide. With over 90 million active buyers across more than 200 countries, Etsy provides a global marketplace for artisans and creators to showcase their unique products. The platform makes it relatively straightforward to expand beyond your local market, though there are several important considerations to ensure your international selling experience is successful.

Selling internationally on Etsy is a settings change plus a customs education. You open your shipping profiles to more countries, price for the real landed cost, and fill customs forms correctly. What has changed recently is that the customs part is no longer optional detail — duties and import VAT rules moved substantially in 2025 and 2026, and getting them wrong now means a buyer receives a surprise bill and opens a case. This guide covers the fees, the two rule changes that matter most, and how to decide whether it is worth it for your shop.

The fees, on a real $100 order

Per Etsy's fee documentation and the rates published on etsy.com/sell, a US seller's $100 order breaks down roughly like this:

Fee	Rate	On $100
Listing fee	$0.20 per listing, renewed every 4 months	$0.20
Transaction fee	6.5% of the order total, including shipping	$6.50
Payment processing	3% + $0.25 in the US; varies by country	$3.25
Currency conversion	2.5% when your listing currency differs from your payment account currency	$2.50
Offsite Ads, if attributed	15%, or 12% once the shop has made $10,000 in any 365-day period; capped at $100	$15.00 or $12.00

So a domestic $100 sale costs about $9.95 in fees, roughly 10%. Currency conversion only applies if your listing currency differs from your payment account currency; a US seller listing and paid in USD pays no conversion fee. If the order is attributed to an Offsite Ad, you are near $25. The transaction fee applies to shipping as well as the item, which is why "free shipping" priced into the item still costs you 6.5% on the shipping portion.

Two rule changes that reset international selling

US-bound orders now require duties paid up front

Etsy's Seller Policy now requires that orders shipped to the United States be sent using a Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) method, and that sellers take no action — including using Delivery Duty Unpaid shipping — that results in buyers being charged additional fees after purchase. DDP is required for orders to US buyers to qualify for Etsy Purchase Protection. This took effect 9 July 2026 and follows the end of the US de minimis exemption on 29 August 2025.

The practical consequence: if you sell into the US from outside it, the duty is now a cost you build into your price, not a surprise the carrier hands your buyer at the door. Etsy also suspended label purchases for Australia Post, Canada Post and Evri on US-bound packages from 25 August 2025 pending DDP support — check Etsy's international shipments page for the current carrier list before you commit to a route.

EU imports: VAT at checkout, plus a per-item duty

Per Etsy's guidance on customs fees and VAT, for goods imported into the EU with a value under €150, Etsy charges VAT at checkout. From 1 July 2026 a customs duty of €3 per item also applies to those orders. Above €150 excluding shipping and gift wrap, the buyer may be charged VAT and duties on delivery unless you ship duties paid.

If you ship to the EU from outside it on an order at or under €150, Etsy's IOSS number must be electronically transmitted by your shipping provider. Buy the label through Etsy and this happens automatically. Buy it elsewhere and it is your job — get it wrong and your buyer is charged VAT twice.

Setting the shop up

1. Build shipping profiles by region, not one global profile. Group destinations with similar rates — domestic, then a near region, then the rest. One flat worldwide rate either loses you money on distant orders or prices you out of close ones.
2. Weigh and measure the packed parcel. Not the item. Etsy's calculated shipping and every carrier quote depend on the boxed weight and dimensions, and international pricing is far less forgiving of a guess than domestic.
3. Set processing time honestly. Transit is on top of it. A 3-day processing time plus 14-day transit is a 17-day expectation you need to state, not discover.
4. Fill customs fields properly. Etsy's international shipments guidance covers customs description, country of origin, tariff number, and declared value. Vague descriptions cause holds; "gift" on a commercial shipment is customs fraud. You are solely responsible for the accuracy of what you declare.
5. Decide about tracking. Untracked international post is cheaper and is also how you lose a Purchase Protection case with no evidence.

Is it worth it?

It depends on your item's value density — price relative to weight and bulk.

Almost always worth it: digital downloads, which have no shipping, no customs and no duty exposure at all. If you sell digital, you already sell internationally and should simply stop excluding countries.

Usually worth it: small, light, high-value physical goods. Jewellery, prints, patterns, small leather goods. The shipping cost is a modest fraction of the order and duty is small in absolute terms.

Usually not worth it: heavy, bulky or fragile items at low price points. Ceramics, furniture, framed glass, anything over a few kilos. Shipping approaches or exceeds the item price, breakage risk multiplies over long transit, and a single lost parcel erases the margin on many orders.

Requires care: anything regulated. Food, cosmetics, plant material, batteries and wood products face destination-specific import rules that neither Etsy nor your carrier will check for you.

What does not work

Enabling worldwide shipping with a single flat rate. The most common way sellers lose money internationally. Distance-based cost variation is far too wide for one number.

Declaring a low value to reduce the buyer's duty. This is customs fraud, it voids your insurance, and under the current US DDP requirement you are the one paying the duty anyway.

Marking commercial goods as gifts. Same problem. Customs authorities are experienced at spotting it.

Assuming Etsy handles all tax automatically. Etsy collects VAT at checkout in defined circumstances. It does not file your income tax, register you for VAT where you have an obligation, or track thresholds in your own country.

Building duties into shipping instead of item price. The 6.5% transaction fee applies to shipping too, so you pay Etsy on the duty you passed through.

Common questions

Can I sell on Etsy if my country is not listed?

Not properly, no. Etsy requires you to be in a location where Etsy Payments is available — this is stated up front in How to Open an Etsy Shop. Using a friend's address or a VPN to open a shop from an unsupported country risks suspension and, more painfully, frozen funds. Etsy's supported-country list does change, so re-check it rather than relying on a forum post.

How much does Etsy take from a $100 sale?

Around $9.95 for a US seller on a domestic order — $0.20 listing, $6.50 transaction, $3.25 payment processing. Currency conversion does not automatically apply to international orders — it applies only when your listing currency differs from your payment account currency. If the order is attributed to an Offsite Ad, add 15% (or 12% above the $10,000 threshold), which puts total fees near a quarter of the order.

Does Etsy charge international fees?

There is no separate "international fee." What you pay extra is the 2.5% currency conversion fee when the buyer pays in a currency other than your shop's, plus payment processing rates that vary by country. Import VAT and duty are charges on the buyer or, under DDP, prepaid by you — not Etsy fees.

Is shipping internationally on Etsy worth it?

For digital items and small high-value goods, yes — you are adding demand at almost no marginal cost. For heavy or fragile items, usually not. Run one honest calculation: item price minus the ~10% Etsy fees, minus real international postage, minus prepaid duty, minus an allowance for the small percentage of parcels that go missing. If that number is not comfortably positive, ship domestically.

Who pays customs duty on an Etsy order?

It depends on destination and value. For US-bound orders from outside the US, Etsy now requires DDP, so you prepay and build it into the price. For EU imports at or under €150, Etsy charges VAT at checkout and, from 1 July 2026, a €3-per-item duty applies. Above €150 the buyer may be billed on delivery unless you ship duties paid.

Duty rates, VAT thresholds, carrier availability and Etsy's own fee schedule all change — several of the rules above changed within the last twelve months. Verify against the Etsy pages linked here and your destination country's customs authority before pricing anything. This is general information, not tax or legal advice; consult a qualified accountant or customs broker about your specific obligations.