Terms of Use

Please note that Section 11 of the Terms below contains a binding arbitration agreement and class action waiver for users in North and South America. By agreeing to the Terms, you and Etsy agree to submit any disputes between us exclusively to individual arbitration and not to sue in court, except in the limited circumstances described below.

1. Accepting These Terms

This document and the other documents that we reference below make up our house rules, or what we officially call our Terms of Use (the “Terms” for short).

The Terms are a legally binding contract between you and Etsy. If you live in North America or South America, the contract is between you and Etsy, Inc.; if you live elsewhere, the contract is between you and Etsy Ireland UC, a subsidiary of Etsy, Inc. We’ll just refer to Etsy, Inc. and all of its subsidiaries collectively as “Etsy”.

If you are a buyer on Etsy, the Etsy entity acting as merchant of record may vary depending on the currency and location of your payment instrument. The merchant of record is Etsy, Inc., 117 Adams St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 if you reside in the US; Etsy Ireland UC, One Le Pole Square, Ship Street Great, Dublin 8, Ireland if you reside in the EU; Etsy UK Limited, The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol, England BS13 8FD if you reside in the UK (UK); Etsy Canada Limited, 22 Adelaide Street West, Suite 3600, Toronto ON M5H 4E3, if you reside in Canada; Etsy Australia Pty Limited, Yarra Falls, 452 Johnston Street, Abbotsford, Victoria 3067 if you reside in Australia; and Etsy Ireland UC, One Le Pole Square, Ship Street Great, Dublin 8, Ireland, if you reside in the rest of the world.

Please note that Section 11 contains an arbitration clause and class action waiver, applicable to users in North and South America, and explains how to opt out of arbitration. Unless you validly opt out, you agree to resolve any disputes with Etsy exclusively through binding individual arbitration, with only limited exceptions. This means you and Etsy are waiving the right to sue in court, have a trial by jury, or participate in a class or representative action. Please read this Section carefully, as it affects your rights.

This contract sets out your rights and responsibilities when you use Etsy.com, Pattern by Etsy, our mobile apps, and the other services provided by Etsy (we’ll refer to all of these collectively as our “Services”), so please read it carefully. By using any of our Services (even just browsing one of our websites or apps), you’re agreeing to the Terms. If you don’t agree with the Terms, you may not use our Services. Agree with us? Great, read on!

2. Those Other Documents We Mentioned

Etsy’s Services connect people around the world, both online and offline, to make, sell, and buy unique goods. Here’s a handy guide to help you understand the specific rules that are relevant for you, depending on how you use the Services:

Our House Rules for Everyone. If you use any of our Services, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and our Anti-Discrimination Policy.

Our House Rules for Sellers. If you list any items for sale through our Services, these policies apply to you. You can read them here.

Our House Rules for Buyers. If you use our Services to browse or shop, these policies apply to you. You can read them here.

Our House Rules for Third Parties. These policies apply to intellectual property owners, Etsy API users, affiliates, and anyone requesting information from Etsy.

Search, Advertising and Recommendation Ranking Disclosures. This is a concise summary of how Etsy organises search results and advertising results that could include Your Content.

All of these policies are a part of our Terms, so be sure to read the ones that are relevant for you. Of course, you’ll still want to read the rest of this document because it applies to everyone!

3. Your Privacy

We know your personal information is important to you, so it’s important to us. Our Privacy Policy details how your information is collected, used and shared when you use our Services. By using our Services, you’re also agreeing that we can process your information in the ways set out in the Privacy Policy, so please read it here.

Both Etsy and sellers process members’ personal information (for example, buyer name, email address, and delivery address) and are therefore considered separate and independent data controllers of buyers’ personal information under EU law. That means that each party is responsible for the personal information it processes in providing the Services. For example, if a seller accidentally discloses a buyer’s name and email address when fulfilling another buyer’s order, the seller, not Etsy, will be responsible for that unauthorised disclosure.

If, however, you (as a seller) and Etsy are found to be joint data controllers of buyers’ personal information, and if Etsy is sued, fined, or otherwise incurs expenses because of something that you did (or failed to do) as a joint data controller of buyer personal information, then you agree to defend and indemnify Etsy in accordance with Section 9 below.

4. Your Account with Etsy

You’ll need to create an account with Etsy to use some of our Services. Here are a few rules about accounts with Etsy:

A. You must be 18 years or older to use our Services. Minors under 18 and at least 13 years of age are only permitted to use our Services through an account owned by a parent or legal guardian with their appropriate permission and under their direct supervision. Children under 13 years are not permitted to use Etsy or the Services. You are responsible for any and all account activity conducted by a minor on your account, and there may be commercial products or services available that you may want to consider to limit a minor’s access to material online. For more information, see Etsy’s Minors Policy.

B. Be honest with us. Provide accurate information about yourself. It’s prohibited to use false information or impersonate another person or company through your account.

C. Choose an appropriate name. If you decide to not have your full name serve as the name associated with your account, you may not use language that is offensive, vulgar, infringes someone’s intellectual property rights, or otherwise violates the Terms.

D. You’re responsible for your account. You’re solely responsible for any activity on your account. If you’re sharing an account with other people, then the person whose financial information is on the account will ultimately be responsible for all activity. If you’re registering as a business entity, you personally guarantee that you have the authority to agree to the Terms on behalf of the business. Accounts are generally not transferable.

E. Protect your password. As we mentioned above, you’re solely responsible for any activity on your account, so it’s important to keep your account password secure. Here’s a Help article on how to make your account more secure.

F. Let’s be clear about our relationship. These Terms don’t create any agency, partnership, joint venture, employment, or franchisee relationship between you and Etsy.

G. Cases and Appeals. To participate in our case system (as described in Section 10), or to appeal an action by Etsy, you must have an account.

This detailed Help article should answer any questions you may have about registering an account with Etsy.

5. Your Content

Content that you post using our Services is your content (so let’s refer to it as “Your Content”). We don’t make any claim to it, which includes anything you post using our Services (like shop names, profile pictures, listing photos, listing descriptions, reviews, comments, videos, usernames, etc.).

A. Responsibility for Your Content. You understand that you are solely responsible for Your Content. You represent that you have all necessary rights to all parts of Your Content and that you’re not infringing or violating any third party’s rights by posting it.

B. Permission to Use Your Content. By posting Your Content through our Services, you grant Etsy and, as authorised by Etsy in its sole discretion, third parties, a licence to use it. We don’t claim any ownership to Your Content, but we have your permission to use it to help Etsy function and grow. That way, we won’t infringe any rights you have in Your Content and we can help promote it. For example, you acknowledge and agree Etsy may offer you or Etsy buyers promotions on the Site, from time to time, that may relate to your listings or other listings on Etsy.

C. Rights You Grant Etsy. (Here’s the legalese version of the last section). By posting Your Content, you grant Etsy and, as authorised by Etsy in its sole discretion, third parties, a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual licence to use, display, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, store, and prepare derivative works of Your Content. This allows us to provide the Services and to promote Etsy, your Etsy shop, other shops and listings, or the Services in general, in any formats and through any channels, including across any Etsy Services, our partners, or third-party website or advertising medium. You agree not to assert any moral rights or rights of publicity against us for using Your Content. You also recognise our legitimate interest in using it, in accordance with the scope of this license, to the extent Your Content contains any personal information.

That sounds like a lot, but it’s necessary for us to keep Etsy going. Consider these examples: if you upload a photo or video of a listing on your Etsy shop, we have permission to display it to buyers, and we can resize or enhance it so it looks good to a buyer using our mobile app; if you post a description in English, we can translate it into French so a buyer in Paris can learn the story behind your item; and if you post a beautiful photo or video of your latest handmade necklace, we can feature it – often along with your shop name and shop picture – on our homepage, in one of our blogs or even on a billboard to help promote your business and Etsy’s.

D. Reporting Unauthorised Content. Etsy has great respect for intellectual property rights, and is committed to following appropriate legal procedures to remove infringing content from the Services. If content that you own or have rights to has been posted to the Services without your permission and you want it removed, please follow the steps listed in our Intellectual Property Policy. If Your Content is alleged to infringe another person’s intellectual property, we will take appropriate action, such as disabling it if we receive a report of infringement that complies with our policies, or terminating your account if you are found to be a repeat infringer. We’ll notify you if any of that happens.

E. Inappropriate, False, or Misleading Content. This should be common sense, but there are certain types of content we don’t want posted on Etsy’s Services (for legal reasons or otherwise). You agree that you will not post any content that is abusive, threatening, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, or otherwise offensive or in violation of our Prohibited Items Policy, Community Policy, or any part of our Terms. You also agree not to post any content that is false and misleading or uses the Services in a manner that is fraudulent or deceptive.

6. Your Use of Our Services

License to Use Our Services. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use our Services – subject to the Terms and the following restrictions in particular:

A. Don’t Use Our Services to Break the Law. You agree that you will not violate any laws in connection with your use of the Services. This includes any local, state, federal, and international laws that may apply to you. For example, it’s your responsibility to obtain any permits or licences that your shop requires, and to meet applicable legal requirements in applicable jurisdiction(s). This includes the sale and delivery of your items, such as age verification upon delivery, where required by law. You may not sell anything that violates any laws; you must comply with our Sanctions Policy, and you may not engage in fraud (including false claims or infringement notices), theft, anti-competitive conduct, threatening conduct, or any other unlawful acts or crimes against Etsy, another Etsy user, or a third party.

B. Pay Your Bills. You are responsible for paying all fees that you owe to Etsy. Except as set forth below, you are also solely responsible for collecting and/or paying any applicable taxes for any purchases or sales you make through our Services. Where applicable, Etsy will calculate, collect and remit value-added tax or VAT and sales tax. Some countries may refer to VAT using other terms, e.g. Goods and Services Tax (GST), but we’ll just refer to VAT, GST, and any local sales taxes collectively as “VAT”. Please see this FAQ and our Fees & Payments Policy for more information on taxes, including details on the taxes Etsy collects and remits from the buyers. Your fees, bills, taxes, and how you can pay them are fully explained in our Fees & Payments Policy.

C. Don’t Steal Our Stuff. You agree not to crawl, scrape, or spider any page of the Services or to reverse engineer or attempt to obtain the source code of the Services (including both Etsy Intellectual Property and Seller Content) without our express permission. If you want to use our API, please follow our API Terms of Use.

D. Don’t Try to Harm Our Systems. You agree not to interfere with or try to disrupt our Services, for example by distributing a virus, excessive requests to our site or platform, or other harmful computer code.

E. Follow Our Trademark Policy. The name “Etsy” and the other Etsy marks, phrases, logos, and designs that we use in connection with our Services (the Etsy Trademarks), are trademarks, service marks, or trade dress of Etsy in the US and other countries. If you’d like to use our trademarks, you agree to follow our Trademark Policy.

F. Share Your Ideas. We love your suggestions and ideas! They can help us improve your experience and our Services. Any ideas or other materials you submit to Etsy (not including Your Content or items you sell through our Services) are considered non-confidential and non-proprietary to you. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use and publish those ideas and materials for any purpose, without compensation to you.

G. Talk to Us Online. From time to time, Etsy will provide you with certain legal information in writing. By using our Services, you’re agreeing to our Electronic Communications Policy, which describes how we provide that information to you. It says that we can send you information electronically (such as by email) instead of mailing you paper copies (it’s better for the environment), and that your electronic agreement is the same as your signature on paper.

7. Termination

Termination By You. We’d hate to see you go, but you may terminate your account with Etsy at any time from your account settings. You can find more information in this Help article. Terminating your account will not affect the availability of some of Your Content that you posted through the Services prior to termination. Oh, and you’ll still have to pay any outstanding bills.

Termination By Etsy. We may terminate or suspend your account (and any accounts Etsy determines are related to your account) and your access to the Services should we have reason to believe you, your Content, or your use of the Services violate our Terms. If we do so, it’s important to understand that you don’t have a contractual or legal right to continue to use our Services, for example, to sell or buy on our websites or mobile apps. Generally, Etsy will notify you that your account has been terminated or suspended, unless you’ve repeatedly violated our Terms or we have legal or regulatory reasons preventing us from notifying you.

If you or Etsy terminate your account, you may lose any information associated with your account, including Your Content.

We May Discontinue the Services Etsy reserves the right to change, suspend, or discontinue any of the Services for you, any or all users, at any time, for any reason, including those laid out in Etsy’s policies under these Terms of Use. We will not be liable to you for the effect that any changes to the Services may have on you, including your income or your ability to generate revenue through the Services.

Survival. The Terms will remain in effect even after your access to the Service is terminated, or your use of the Service ends.

8. Warranties and Limitation of Liability (or the Things You Can’t Sue Us For)

Items You Purchase. You understand that Etsy does not manufacture, store, or inspect any of the items sold through our Services. We provide the venue; the items in our marketplaces are produced, listed, and sold directly by independent sellers, so Etsy can’t and does not make any warranties about their quality, safety, authenticity, or their legality. Any legal claim related to an item you purchase must be brought directly against the seller of the item. You release Etsy from any claims related to items sold through our Services, including for defective items, misrepresentations by sellers, or items that caused physical injury (like product liability claims).

Content You Access. You may come across materials that you find offensive or inappropriate while using our Services. We make no representations concerning any content posted by users through the Services. Etsy is not responsible for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, or decency of content posted by users that you accessed through the Services. You release us from all liability relating to that content.

People You Interact With. You can use the Services to interact with other individuals, either online or in person. However, you understand that we do not screen users of our Services other than to meet certain compliance and legal obligations, and you release us from all liability relating to your interactions with other users. Please be careful and exercise caution and good judgement in all interactions with others, especially if you are meeting someone in person. This Help article has some good advice about handling in-person meetings.

Third-Party Services. Our Services may contain links to third-party websites or services that we don’t own or control (for example, links to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest). You may also need to use a third party’s product or service in order to use some of our Services (like a compatible mobile device to use our mobile apps). When you access these third-party services, you do so at your own risk. The third parties may require you to accept their own terms of use. Etsy is not a party to those agreements; they are solely between you and the third party.

Promotions. Etsy special offers or promotions are managed by Etsy in its sole discretion and redemption of and participation in such offers or promotions are subject to Etsy’s sole discretion. Etsy is not responsible for special offers or promotions provided by sellers.