How to Sell and Make Money on Etsy UK in 2026: A Step-by-step Guide

Etsy¹ is a fantastic marketplace to sell handmade or custom items, vintage goods, and craft supplies - but you need to remember that your creative spark is only as sustainable as the strategy you use to sell it.

To help you build a brand that stands out in a crowded digital marketplace, we’ve put together this step-by-step guide on how to sell and make money on Etsy UK in 2026. We’ve covered everything from choosing your niche and mastering SEO to navigating the latest transaction fees.

And if you’re thinking of going global with your Etsy ecommerce business, we’ve touched on how Wise Business can help you receive international payouts and manage multiple currencies, ensuring you keep more of your hard-earned profits as you scale your shop and introduce the world to your designs and products.

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Summary of steps

Step	Summary
Step 1: Shop Setup 🛠️	Register via desktop and set your location to the UK with GBP as the currency. Choose a unique, future-proof name and complete your profile with a logo, banner, and clear policies.
Step 2: Select Products 🎨	Focus on handmade goods, vintage items (20+ years old), or digital templates. Before launching, validate your niche by checking demand, competition, and UK safety compliance.
Step 3: Pricing & Fees 💸	Account for a £0.15 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee, and a 4% + £0.20 processing fee. Build these costs into your target profit margin (e.g. 40–60%).
Step 4: Create Listings 📈	Use keyword-rich titles and all 13 tags for SEO. Prioritise high-quality, well-lit photography showing products in use, and write descriptions that lead with buyer benefits.
Step 5: Operations & Tax 🏦	Use Etsy Payments for GBP deposits. Register as self-employed with HMRC if income exceeds £1,000, and track expenses for Self Assessment or VAT purposes.
Step 6: Shipping & Service 📦	Use Royal Mail or integrated couriers for labels. Improve your shop’s reputation by using eco-friendly packaging, providing tracking, and adding personal touches like thank-you notes.

Register for Wise Business ✍️

Step 1: Set up your Etsy UK shop properly

Opening a shop on Etsy is simple, you’ll need to visit the Etsy website using a desktop web browser. Once you’re up and running, you can download the Etsy app and manage your online business using your phone or other device, even when you’re on the go.

Here are the simple steps to get your Etsy ecommerce business set up:

1. Create an Etsy account and choose UK / GBP
   • Go to Etsy.com and create an account, or use your existing buyer account
   • When opening your shop, set country: United Kingdom and currency: GBP so fees and payouts work correctly
2. Pick a memorable shop name
   • Your name must be unique on Etsy and reflect what you sell
   • Keep it short, easy to spell and future-proof (so you are not stuck with “JustMugs2024” if you branch out)
3. Complete your shop profile and policies
   • Add a logo and banner that match your brand
   • Fill out your “About” section to explain your story and process
   • Set clear shipping, returns and processing-time policies – they affect buyer trust and Etsy search
4. Turn on Etsy Payments
   • In eligible countries, Etsy requires most sellers to use Etsy Payments, which lets buyers pay with cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and more while Etsy pays you out to your bank.

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💡 As your shop grows, you may want a dedicated business account rather than mixing Etsy payouts into your personal banking.

Wise Business can sit alongside your UK high-street account, letting you separate business income, receive Etsy payouts and any off-Etsy payments into one multi-currency account.

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*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

Register for Wise Business ✍️

Step 2: Decide what to sell on Etsy

Etsy is built around handmade, vintage and craft supplies, plus an increasingly large market for digital products like printables and design templates.

The philosophy behind Etsy is about connecting craftspeople with their customers, and helping people find unusual and one off pieces, whether that’s art, clothing, or all the decor you need for a fabulous gathering.

However, with so many options, it can be difficult to choose your niche. If you want to know how to make money on Etsy, start by making sure your idea fits Etsy’s rules and buyer expectations.

At this stage, do three quick checks:

• Demand: Search on Etsy for products similar to yours and note prices, review counts and best-sellers
• Competition: Check how saturated your niche is and where you can differentiate (materials, style, bundles, personalisation)
• Compliance & safety: Some categories (baby items, cosmetics, electronics, etc.) come with stricter safety and labelling rules – check UK and EU consumer-safety guidance before committing

What Can You Sell on Etsy?

Etsy is a marketplace for handmade goods, vintage items and craft supplies. These categories are then broken up further, covering:

• Jewelry and accessories
• Clothing and shoes
• Home and living
• Wedding and party
• Toys and entertainment
• Art and collectibles
• Craft supplies and tools
• Vintage goods

Many of the products available on Etsy are hand made, or have a personal touch, so it’s the perfect place for your ecommerce business if you’re creative.

You might use Etsy if you’re an artist and want to sell paintings online, or if you love to sew unique creations, and would like to sell clothing online, for example.

You can also sell digital products through Etsy. Think innovative and original templates for wedding invitations, or for customers to create their own professional looking custom-made CV or website at home.

Vintage products (items that are at least 20 years old) can also be sold on Etsy. If you have an eye for a beautiful piece of vintage jewellery or a passion for the traditional toys and games from your childhood, you might be able to make a living if you choose to sell vintage items online.

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Still looking for inspiration? Check out our guide on how to start an Etsy business, covering 20 different business ideas.

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Step 3: Understand Etsy UK fees and price for profit

How much does it cost to sell on Etsy? Before you choose to sell on this platform, you’ll want to know about the transaction fees involved.

All costs are billed in US dollars, and the price will then be converted to British pounds when a payment is made to you.

The main fees² are detailed here - and there’s more on how to get paid for your Etsy sales, below.

Service	Etsy fee
Listing fee	£0.15 (Listing fees are billed for $0.20 - amount charged in your currency may change with exchange rate)
Transaction fee	6.5% of transaction value
Payment processing fee	4% + £0.20 processing fee (varies by country)3
Regulatory operating fee UK	0.32% (varies by country and is calculated on item price, postage, and gift wrap)4

Besides these, there is also an optional fee for Offsite Ads. If Etsy’s offsite ads generate a sale, you pay an additional 12%–15% of the order total, depending on your shop’s annual revenue, capped per order⁵.

For a more detailed breakdown of the fees you should expect, always check directly with Etsy.

To stay profitable, it's important to take all the fees into account when setting your prices.

You want to:

• Start from a target margin (e.g. 40–60%) and work backwards.
• Build in Etsy fees, packaging, time and tax before deciding a final price
• Consider a pricing ladder: standard, premium, and bundle options to increase average order value

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💡 If you sell internationally in another listing currency (for example, USD) while your payment account is in GBP, Etsy may also apply a currency-conversion fee.

Using Wise Business to receive Etsy payouts in GBP and to handle other cross-border income can give you more visibility on FX costs. This is because Wise converts at the mid-market rate with a transparent fee, instead of building a spread into the rate itself.

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*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

Wise implements a wide range of safety and security measures, including a team of thousands of fraud specialists working night-and-day to keep your money safe.

Register for Wise Business ✍️

Step 4: Create high-converting listings

Knowing how to sell on Etsy UK profitably is as much about conversion as it is about setup.

Etsy search works a bit like Google: it matches keywords from your titles, tags and categories with what buyers type, then looks at relevance, quality and engagement.

Here's how to optimise your listings:

• Titles and keywords:
  • Put your main keyword near the start: e.g. “Minimalist printable wall art – A3 digital download – neutral living room decor”
  • Use all available tags (up to 13) with phrases buyers actually search, including “digital wall art”, “Canva template”, “printable planner” and similar where relevant
• Photography:
  • Use clear, well-lit images showing the product in use (e.g. jewellery on a model, prints on a wall, digital products in a mock-up)
  • Include multiple angles and detail shots – buyers cannot pick items up, so images must do the work
• Descriptions:
  • Lead with the buyer’s outcome (“This weekly planner helps you organise your workweek in one glance”)
  • Clearly specify sizes, materials, processing times, what is and is not included (especially for digital downloads)
  • For digital items, explain how customers will access and use their files

As your listings start to convert, you will see which products, keywords and price points drive most of your revenue.

Step 5: Manage operations, taxes and cashflow as a UK Etsy seller

When you’re setting up your Etsy shop, it’s worth considering how best to arrange to receive payments. The usual way to get paid for your Etsy sales is via Etsy Payments. This is recommended for sellers based in the UK, although there are some countries where this service isn’t available⁶.

Etsy Payments lets you link a bank account and have Etsy automatically deposit your sales income, subject to hitting a minimum daily amount.

You can choose to add a bank account to take online payments by bank transfer, and give the details in your listings and your shop policies.

When you link your bank account through Etsy payments, your account will set the currency that you will receive payments in. So, if your bank account is in the UK, then you will receive payments in British Pound (GBP).

Once you've set up an account, you will still need to handle taxes and bookkeeping. You will typically need to:

• Register as self-employed with HMRC if your total self-employed income exceeds the £1,000 Trading Allowance
• Track income and expenses for Self Assessment, and possibly VAT if you cross the £90,000 registration threshold
• Keep records of fees, shipping, packaging, software and marketing costs, as they may be deductible business expenses

Note: This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited, its subsidiaries or affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining business advice from a tax advisor or any other professional.

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💡 If you expect a high share of international buyers – for example, US customers buying your digital prints, think early about how you will handle multi-currency income.

A Wise Business account lets you receive in major currencies (such as GBP, EUR and USD) with local account details in 8+ currencies, then convert to GBP at the mid-market rate, which can help you keep more of every sale instead of losing profit in bank FX margins.

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*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

Register for Wise Business ✍️

Managing your inventory and shipping

Once you start to make sales, you’ll need to make sure you can ship items to your customers efficiently, and replenish your inventory.

Etsy lets you either set flat rates, calculated shipping (for certain countries and services) or offer free shipping and build the cost into your prices.

You can buy postage labels from Royal Mail or other UK couriers directly, or use third-party shipping tools that integrate with Etsy to batch-print labels and track parcels⁷.

Source: Royal Mail Shipping Labels on Etsy

Decide whether you will offer tracked services as standard or only above a certain order value. Tracked services cost more but can reduce disputes and “item not received” claims.

For international deliveries, check current Royal Mail and courier zones, customs requirements and size/weight limits, and be realistic about how long parcels take to reach the US, EU or Australia.

Etsy has a great shipping notifications tool which you can use to talk to your customers, and to confirm when they’ll receive their purchases.

Because Etsy is proud to work with craftspeople, and customers love a personal touch, you could also consider the following ideas:

• Add an individual note to your customer, thanking them for using your store and asking for feedback on the product and service
• Use vouchers or discount codes to encourage repeat business
• Try to find unique or creative packaging - you might choose recycled or environmentally friendly options to show your green credentials, too
• Give your customer that little bit extra - adding in a small gift or a seasonal extra, like some gingerbread at Christmas or chocolate at Easter, is a great way to make sure you’re remembered

Thinking of selling online with Etsy? Wise Business can help you receive your payments locally

Setting up an ecommerce business is exciting, and there’s a world of opportunities available through Etsy, if you’re into crafts, art, photography or have an eye for vintage finds.

International payments and converting between currencies can be expensive, and if you want to make your online shop profitable, consider Wise Business.

A Wise Business multi-currency account allows you to receive and send money to 140+ countries and hold 40+ currencies within one business account.

It also gives you local bank account details (with the Advanced Plan)) for 8+ currencies and every currency conversion is done using the mid-market exchange rate (close to the one you’ll find on Google) with no hidden fees.

Be Smart, Get Wise.

Register for Wise Business ✍️

*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

FAQs

How much does it cost to sell on Etsy UK?

For UK sellers, Etsy charges a listing fee of about £0.15 (equivalent to $0.20 USD) per listing, a transaction fee of 6.5% on the item price plus shipping and gift wrap, and a payment processing fee (through Etsy Payments) of around 4% + £0.20 per order.

Sales made via Etsy’s Offsite Ads incur an additional 12–15% advertising fee on the order total, up to a capped amount. You will also have your own costs (materials, packaging, postage, tax and software), so your pricing strategy should account for all of these layers.

Do I need to register as a business to sell on Etsy UK?

Etsy does not require a specific UK business registration. With that said, if your self-employed earnings (from Etsy and any other freelance work) exceed the relevant threshold, you must usually register as self-employed and file a Self Assessment tax return with HMRC.

You may also need to register for VAT if your taxable turnover exceeds the UK VAT threshold.

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💡 A separate business account such as Wise Business can make it easier to show what is business income and what is personal, which is helpful when working with accountants or HMRC.

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How are Etsy UK earnings taxed?

Etsy does not withhold UK tax for you. As a UK resident, your net profit from Etsy (income minus allowable expenses) is normally subject to UK income tax and National Insurance, reported via Self Assessment.

If your turnover crosses the VAT threshold you may need to charge and account for VAT on eligible sales. It is wise to set aside a portion of each payout for tax, and to keep clean records of income and expenses, for example by receiving Etsy payouts into a dedicated business account such as Wise Business and syncing statements with your accounting software.

Note: This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited, its subsidiaries or affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining business advice from a tax advisor or any other professional.

How to sell Canva templates on Etsy?

You can sell Canva templates on Etsy as long as you design them yourself and follow Canva’s and Etsy’s rules.

In practice, you create an original template in Canva, generate a share link that lets buyers make their own copy, and upload a PDF or text file with that link as your digital product.

Your listing should clearly say that it’s a Canva template (not finished graphics), what can be edited, whether buyers need Canva Free or Pro, and how they are allowed to use it.

Good mock-ups, clear instructions and keywords like “Canva social media template” or “Canva resume template” will help the listing be found and reduce support questions later.

How to sell prints on Etsy?

To sell prints on Etsy, start with your own artwork or designs and then decide whether you’ll print and ship them yourself or use a print-on-demand partner.

If you use a third party, you still need to be the original designer and list that company as a production partner in your listing.

Your product page should state whether the print is framed or unframed, which sizes and paper types are available, and show realistic mock-ups so buyers understand the look and scale.

You’ll also need to set processing times, choose shipping services (with or without tracking), and factor printing, packaging, shipping and any customs/VAT into your prices to protect your margins.

How to sell digital products on Etsy?

To sell digital products on Etsy, you create a listing as a digital item instead of a physical one and upload the files buyers will receive after payment. Popular options include printable wall art, planners, SVGs, fonts and templates.

Your description should clearly explain what’s included (file types, sizes, number of pages), how customers download their files from Etsy, and what software they need to use them.

It also helps to include simple licence terms (for example, “personal use only” or “personal and small commercial use”) so buyers know what they can do with the files.

Testing downloads yourself and offering bundles or coordinated sets can increase customer satisfaction and average order value.

Sources:

1. Etsy
2. Fees & Payments Policy - Our House Rules | Etsy
3. Processing fees | Etsy
4. What is a Regulatory Operating Fee?
5. How to sell on Etsy United Kingdom
6. Countries Eligible for Etsy Payments
7. Royal Mail Shipping Labels on Etsy

Sources last checked on 21st January 2026