Etsy Is Covering Your Transaction Fees Through January. Is Share and Save Worth It?

Etsy fees are a lot like your cable bill.

You know they’re there. You don’t totally understand all the line items. And every time you look closely, you’re a little surprised.

So when Etsy announced it’s covering the full transaction fee on certain holiday orders, my ears perked up.

The catch? It only applies to Share and Save orders. Here’s how Etsy Share and Save works, what the holiday deal actually covers, and whether it’s worth bothering with if you’re a small shop.

What Is Etsy Share and Save?

Share and Save is Etsy’s referral program.

You share a special link to your shop or listing, on Instagram, Pinterest, your website, wherever. When someone buys through that link, Etsy refunds part of your transaction fee.

Normally that refund is 4% of the order. Etsy’s transaction fee is 6.5%, so you’re still paying a bit, just less.

What’s Different for the Holidays

Etsy announced on October 20 that it’s temporarily raising the Share and Save refund from 4% to the full 6.5%.

That means on qualifying Share and Save orders, you pay zero transaction fees. The promo runs through January 4, 2027, then drops back to the usual 4%.

A few things it doesn’t cover:

• Payment processing fees still apply
• Listing fees still apply
• Orders that don’t come through your share link don’t count

If you’re already enrolled in Share and Save, you get the higher refund automatically. If you’re not, it’s free to join in Shop Manager.

Why This Matters (Especially for Small Shops)

Here’s the thing about Etsy fees: they add up fast on low-priced items.

I run a small digital print shop where prints sell for a few dollars on sale. When your product costs less than a fancy coffee, every percentage point you keep matters.

On a $5 sale, 6.5% is about 33 cents. Doesn’t sound like much. But it’s 33 cents on every order, every day, and it’s money you keep for doing something you should probably be doing anyway: sharing your shop.

The Catch Nobody Mentions

The deal only works if people actually buy through your link.

That’s the real question. Share and Save doesn’t send you traffic. It rewards you for traffic you bring yourself.

So if you’re not sharing your shop anywhere, this promo is worth exactly zero dollars to you.

If you do have somewhere to send people, like a social account, a blog or even a group of friends who buy holiday gifts, it’s free money through the busiest shopping season of the year.

What Etsy Fees Actually Look Like

If you’re new to Etsy, here’s a quick refresher on what you’re paying, so you can see where Share and Save fits:

• Listing fee: $0.20 per listing, renewed when it sells or expires
• Transaction fee: 6.5% of the order total
• Payment processing fee: a percentage plus a small flat fee, depending on your country
• Offsite Ads fee: charged only when a sale comes from an Etsy ad on another site

The transaction fee is the biggest percentage most sellers pay, which is why covering it matters. Share and Save only touches that one line. Everything else stays the same.

Etsy updates fees from time to time, so double check the current numbers in your own Shop Manager before you plan around them.

Where to Share Your Link (Even If You Don’t Have a Following)

The biggest objection to Share and Save is “I don’t have an audience.” Fair. Most small sellers don’t.

But “audience” doesn’t have to mean thousands of followers. A few places that work even for tiny shops:

• Pinterest. It works more like a search engine than a social network, and home decor, gifts and wall art do especially well there. A pin can keep sending visitors for months.
• Your personal social accounts. Friends and family are often happy to buy from someone they know, especially around the holidays.
• Gift guides. If you have a blog or know someone who does, holiday gift guides are a natural place for a shop link.
• Your email signature. It’s free, it’s passive, and it sits in front of everyone you email.
• Local groups. Community pages and local gift markets online can be great for handmade and custom items.

You don’t need all of these. Pick one or two you’ll actually keep up with.

How to Make the Most of It

If you’re going to use it, here’s what I’d do:

• Enroll in Share and Save in Shop Manager if you haven’t already
• Grab your share links for your shop and your best listings
• Put them where people already see you: your Instagram bio, Pinterest pins, your website, your email signature
• Share specific listings, not just your shop. A link to a great holiday gift converts better than “check out my shop”
• Push hardest before mid December. That’s when gift shoppers are most active
• Note the end date. After January 4, the refund drops back to 4%

Is Share and Save Worth It?

If you have any audience outside Etsy at all, Etsy Share and Save is worth it. It’s free to join and it can only lower your fees.

If you don’t, it’s still worth enrolling, because it costs nothing and you might share a link someday. Just don’t expect it to move the needle on its own.

Final Thoughts

Etsy covering your fees is rare. Etsy covering your fees during the holidays is even rarer.

It’s not a magic traffic button. It’s a reward for promoting your own shop, which is something most of us should be doing more of anyway.

So go grab your links.

And if you were already planning to post your shop on social media this holiday season, congratulations. You just gave yourself a raise.

Dom

Sources: Value Added Resource: Etsy offers 0% Share and Save transaction fees for the holidays, Etsy fees and payments policy

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