Etsy Pulls Badge during Key Selling Period

Sellers in Canada, the UK, and elsewhere said that Etsy pulled the Star Seller badge from their accounts just when they need it the most - during the height of the holiday shopping season. Etsy had begun supporting international sellers after the US ended the de minimis exemption by extending Star Seller status as long as they had previously earned it.

However, despite the fact sellers again received notification that Etsy would extend Star Seller status for the month of December, the badge is no longer displaying in their shops. In a thread on the Etsy technical issues board where sellers discussed the issue, a UK seller said, "I meet the stats, and also have screenshots of my message received from Etsy stating I'd be granted it for December. After contacting support, it's sadly yet another technical glitch that Etsy is supposed to be looking into..."

Consultant Cindy Baldassi wrote about the issue in a post on LinkedIn on Monday and pointed out other issues international sellers were facing. "They are forcing these sellers to add tariffs to item prices, meaning Etsy gets to charge us fees on them, and boast of higher GMS as well." We had written about the dual-pricing policy when it went into effect last month.

Baldassi pointed to a broken domestic and global pricing tool, and wrote, "Early in the era of the new US tariffs, Etsy said they would start promoting shopping domestically, but after a few flawed emails where they told Canadians to buy from US shops (eyeroll emoji), the corporation gave up on this promise entirely. They've done nothing for international sellers since."

Let us know if your Star Seller badges disappeared from your international Etsy shop (and what customer service is telling you) and what other "joys and pitfalls" you're facing this month.

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