https://www.barrons.com/articles/etsy-sellers-strike-rising-transaction-fees-51649690984
Thousands of sellers on Etsy began a planned weeklong strike Monday to protest a range of new fees rolled out by the e-commerce company.
The protests weren’t affecting the stock very much. Etsy (ticker: ETSY) was rising 0.3% to $117.07 on Monday.
The company was a big winner during the pandemic as more consumers stayed at home and shopped online for things like homemade masks and other trinkets. But it has struggled over the past year, with the stock falling more than 46% over the past year.
Etsy has a base of 5.3 million businesses, or sellers, on its platform. When those sellers make a sale through Etsy.com, they will now be charged a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price displayed for each listing, plus the amount charged for shipping and gift wrapping. The fee hike is the first of its type since 2018. The fee previously was 5%.
Sellers began discussing the fee hikes nearly two months ago on a Reddit thread for Etsy sellers, expressing anger over the situation and questioning the company’s true motives. The conversations then led to the strike.
Etsy didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
Etsy executives have said previously that the increases are needed for investments in marketing and other seller-based tools.
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